Thursday 23 April 2020
Thursday of the 2nd week of Eastertide
or Saint George, Martyr
or Saint Adalbert of Prague, Bishop, Martyr
Morning Prayer (Lauds)
Introduction (without Invitatory)
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, use the version with the Invitatory Psalm instead.
O God, come to our aid.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
________
Hymn
Light’s glittering morn bedecks the sky,
Heav’n thunders forth its victor cry:
The glad earth shouts her triumph high,
And groaning hell makes wild reply.
While he, the King of sovereign might,
Treads down death’s strength in death’s despite,
And trampling hell by victor’s right,
Brings forth his sleeping saints to light.
Fast barred beneath the stone of late,
In watch and ward where soldiers wait,
Now shining in triumphant state,
He rises victor from death’s gate.
Hell’s pains are loosed and tears are fled:
Captivity is captive led:
The angel, crowned with light, hath said:
‘The Lord is risen from the dead.’
Author of all, be thou our guide
In this our joy of Eastertide;
Whene’er assaults of death impend,
Thy people strengthen and defend.
To thee who, dead, again dost live,
All glory, Lord, thy people give:
All glory, as is ever meet,
To Father and to Paraclete.
________
Psalm 79 (80)
Lord, tend your vine
“Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20).
I am the vine, you are the branches. Alleluia.
O shépherd of Ísrael, héar us, *
you who léad Jóseph’s flóck,
shine fórth from your chérubim thróne *
upon Éphraim, Bénjamin, Manásseh.
O Lórd, róuse up your míght, *
O Lórd, cóme to our hélp.
Gód of hósts, bríng us báck; *
let your fáce shine on ús and wé shall be sáved.
Lórd God of hósts, how lóng *
will you frówn on your péople’s pléa?
You have féd them with téars for their bréad, *
an abúndance of téars for their drínk.
You have máde us the táunt of our néighbours, *
our énemies láugh us to scórn.
Gód of hósts, bríng us báck; *
let your fáce shine on ús and wé shall be sáved.
You bróught a víne out of Égypt; *
to plánt it you dróve out the nátions.
Befóre it you cléared the gróund; *
it took róot and spréad through the lánd.
The móuntains were cóvered with its shádow, *
the cédars of Gód with its bóughs.
It strétched out its bránches to the séa, *
to the Great Ríver it strétched out its shóots.
Then whý have you bróken down its wálls? *
It is plúcked by áll who pass bý.
It is rávaged by the bóar of the fórest, *
devóured by the béasts of the fíeld.
God of hósts, turn agáin, we implóre, *
look dówn from héaven and sée.
Vísit this víne and protéct it, *
the víne your ríght hand has plánted.
Men have búrnt it with fíre and destróyed it. *
May they pérish at the frówn of your fáce.
May your hánd be on the mán you have chósen, *
the mán you have gíven your stréngth.
And we shall néver forsáke you agáin; *
give us lífe that we may cáll upon your náme.
Gód of hósts, bríng us báck; *
let your fáce shine on ús and wé shall be sáved.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Lord God, eternal shepherd, you so tend the vineyard you planted that now it extends its branches even to the farthest coast. Look down on your Church and come to us. Help us remain in your Son as branches on the vine, that, planted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere.
________
Canticle
Isaiah 12
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
“If any man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (Jn 7:37)
With joy you will draw water from the wells of the Saviour, alleluia.
I thank you, Lord: you were angry with me, *
but your anger has passed and you give me comfort.
Truly, God is my salvation, *
I trust, I shall not fear.
For the Lord is my strength, my song, *
he is my saviour.
With joy you will draw water *
from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name! *
Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples.
Declare the greatness of his name, *
sing a psalm to the Lord!
For he has done glorious deeds: *
make them known to all the earth!
People of Zion, sing and shout for joy, *
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of the Saviour, alleluia.
________
Psalm 80 (81)
Solemn renewal of the covenant
“Take care that no one among you has a wicked, disbelieving heart” (Heb 3:12).
The Lord has fed us with finest wheat, alleluia.
Ring out your jóy to Gód our stréngth, *
shout in tríumph to the Gód of Jácob.
Raise a sóng and sóund the tímbrel, *
the swéet-sounding hárp and the lúte;
blów the trúmpet at the new móon, *
when the móon is fúll, on our féast.
For thís is Ísrael’s láw, *
a commánd of the Gód of Jácob.
He impósed it as a rúle on Jóseph, *
when he went óut against the lánd of Égypt.
A vóice I did not knów said to mé: *
‘I fréed your shóulder from the búrden;
your hánds were fréed from the lóad. *
You cálled in distréss and I sáved you.
‘I ánswered, concéaled in the stórm cloud; *
at the wáters of Meríbah I tésted you.
Lísten, my péople, to my wárning. *
O Ísrael, if ónly you would héed!
‘Let there bé no fóreign god amóng you, *
no wórship of an álien gód.
Í am the Lórd your Gód, †
who bróught you from the lánd of Égypt. *
Ópen wide your móuth and I will fíll it.
‘But my péople did not héed my vóice *
and Ísrael wóuld not obéy,
so I léft them in their stúbbornness of héart *
to fóllow their ówn desígns.
‘Ó that my péople would héed me, *
that Ísrael would wálk in my wáys!
At ónce I would subdúe their fóes, *
turn my hánd agáinst their énemies.
‘The Lord’s énemies would crínge at their féet *
and their subjéction would lást for éver.
But Ísrael I would féed with finest whéat *
and fíll them with hóney from the róck.’
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Lord has fed us with finest wheat, alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Lord God, open our mouths to proclaim your glory. Help us to leave sin behind and to rejoice in professing your name.
Or:
Father, you rescued your people from slavery and acquired, through the passion of your Son, a new people united in his body and signed with his holiness. Make us faithful to your covenant and obedient to your commandments, so that we may have in your finest bread food for this life and a foretaste of eternity and be able to walk in your ways until we reach our home.
________
Short Reading
Romans 8:10-11
Though your body may be dead it is because of sin, but if Christ is in you then your spirit is life itself because you have been justified; and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you.
________
Short Responsory
The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
– The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
For our sake he died on the cross, alleluia, alleluia.
– The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord has risen from the dead, alleluia, alleluia.
________
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
The Father loves the Son, and has entrusted everything to him. Alleluia.
Bléssed be the Lórd, the Gód of Ísrael! *
He has vísited his péople and redéemed them.
He has raised úp for ús a mighty sáviour *
in the hóuse of Dávid his sérvant,
as he prómised by the líps of holy mén, *
thóse who were his próphets from of óld.
A sáviour who would frée us from our fóes, *
from the hánds of áll who háte us.
So his lóve for our fáthers is fulfílled *
and his hóly covenant remémbered.
He swóre to Ábraham our fáther to gránt us, *
that frée from féar, and sáved from the hánds of our fóes,
we might sérve him in hóliness and jústice *
all the dáys of our lífe in his présence.
As for yóu, little chíld, *
you shall be cálled a próphet of Gód, the Most Hígh.
You shall go ahéad of the Lórd *
to prépare his wáys befóre him,
To make knówn to his péople their salvátion *
through forgíveness of áll their síns,
the loving-kíndness of the héart of our Gód *
who vísits us like the dáwn from on hígh.
He will give líght to those in dárkness, †
those who dwéll in the shádow of déath, *
and gúide us into the wáy of péace.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Father loves the Son, and has entrusted everything to him. Alleluia.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray with confidence to God our Father. In Christ he has given all his children the pledge of resurrection.
– May the Lord Jesus be our life.
Father, by a pillar of fire you led your people through the desert;
may the risen Christ be the light of our lives.
– May the Lord Jesus be our life.
Through the voice of Moses you spoke on the mountain;
may the risen Christ be our word of life.
– May the Lord Jesus be our life.
With the gift of manna you fed your wandering people;
may the risen Christ be our bread from heaven.
– May the Lord Jesus be our life.
You drew water from the rock to save your children;
may the risen Christ fill us with his Spirit.
– May the Lord Jesus be our life.
________
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
________
God of mercy,
let the mystery we celebrate at Eastertide
bear fruit for us in every season.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
________
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Copyright © 1996-2020 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.