Friday 4 December 2020
Friday of the 1st week of Advent
or Saint John Damascene, Priest, Doctor
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.
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Hymn
Hark! a herald voice is calling
Through the shadows of the night
‘Cast away the dreams of darkness
Christ descends with heavenly light.’
Wakened by the solemn warning,
Let the earthbound soul arise;
Christ, her sun, all sloth dispelling,
Shines upon the morning skies.
Lo, the Lamb, so long expected,
Comes with pardon down from heav’n;
Let us haste, with tears of sorrow,
One and all to be forgiv’n;
So, when next he comes with glory,
And his judgement-day draws near,
Faithful he may find his servants,
Watching till their Lord appear.
Honour, glory, might, and blessing
To the Father and the Son,
With the everlasting Spirit,
While eternal ages run.
________
Psalm 50 (51)
God, have mercy on me
“You must be made new in mind and spirit, and put on the new nature of God’s creating” (Eph 4:23,24).
Lord, you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice offered on your altar.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.
That you may be justified when you give sentence
and be without reproach when you judge,
O see, in guilt I was born,
a sinner was I conceived.
Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,
that the bones you have crushed may revive.
From my sins turn away your face
and blot out all my guilt.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervour sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.
O rescue me, God, my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
In your goodness, show favour to Sion:
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,
holocausts offered on your altar.
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.
Lord, you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice offered on your altar.
Psalm-prayer
Father, he who knew no sin was made sin for us, to save us and restore us to your friendship. Look upon our contrite heart and afflicted spirit and heal our troubled conscience, so that in the joy and strength of the Holy Spirit we may proclaim your praise and glory before all the nations.
________
Canticle
Isaiah 45
All peoples, turn to the Lord
“Every knee must bow at the name of Jesus” (Phil 2:10).
All the descendants of Israel shall glory in victory through the Lord.
Truly, God of Israel, the Saviour,
you are a God who lies hidden.
They will be put to shame and disgraced,
all who resist you.
They will take themselves off in dismay,
the makers of idols.
But Israel is saved by the Lord,
saved for evermore.
You will never be ashamed or disgraced
through endless ages.
For this is the word of the Lord,
the creator of heaven,
the God who made earth and shaped it,
he who made it firm.
He did not create it in vain,
he made it to be lived in.
‘I am the Lord, there is no other.
I have not spoken in secret, in some dark place,
I have not said to Jacob’s sons
“Search for me in vain.”
I am the Lord, I speak the truth,
I proclaim what is right.
Assemble, all of you, draw near
you who have escaped from the nations.
They know nothing, who carry around
their idols made of wood
and keep on praying to a god
that cannot save them.
State your case and bring your proofs,
consult among yourselves.
Who proclaimed this beforehand,
who foretold it long ago?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no god but me,
a God of justice, a saviour.
There is none but me.
Turn to me and be saved,
all the ends of the earth!
For I am God, there is no other;
by myself I swear it.
It is truth that goes forth from my mouth,
a word beyond recall.
To me every knee shall bow,
every tongue shall swear.
They will say: “In the Lord alone
are victory and power.
And to him will come in dismay
all who have resisted.
Through the Lord will come victory and glory
for all Israel’s sons.”’
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.
All the descendants of Israel shall glory in victory through the Lord.
________
Psalm 99 (100)
Enter the Temple with joy
“The Lord calls all those he has redeemed to sing a hymn of victory” (St Athanasius).
Come before the Lord, singing for joy.
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing for joy.
Know that he, the Lord, is God.
He made us, we belong to him,
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Go within his gates, giving thanks.
Enter his courts with songs of praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Indeed, how good is the Lord,
eternal his merciful love.
He is faithful from age to age.
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.
Come before the Lord, singing for joy.
Psalm-prayer
With joy and gladness we cry out to you, Lord, and ask you: open our hearts to sing your praises and announce your goodness and truth.
Or:
God, devoted to us as a Father, you created us as a sign of your power and elected us your people to show your goodness. Accept the thanks your children offer that all men may enter your courts praising you in song.
________
Short Reading
Jeremiah 30:21,22
The Lord says this: Their prince will come from Jacob, their ruler come from their own people. I will let him come freely into my presence and he can come close to me. And you shall be my people and I will be your God.
________
Short Responsory
The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
– The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
His glory will appear in your midst.
– The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The glory of the Lord will shine on you, Jerusalem. Like the sun he will rise over you.
________
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
Behold the one who is both God and man: he comes forth from the house of David and sits on the throne, alleluia.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!
He has visited his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour
in the house of David his servant,
as he promised by the lips of holy men,
those who were his prophets from of old.
A saviour who would free us from our foes,
from the hands of all who hate us.
So his love for our fathers is fulfilled
and his holy covenant remembered.
He swore to Abraham our father to grant us,
that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes,
we might serve him in holiness and justice
all the days of our life in his presence.
As for you, little child,
you shall be called a prophet of God, the Most High.
You shall go ahead of the Lord
to prepare his ways before him,
To make known to his people their salvation
through forgiveness of all their sins,
the loving-kindness of the heart of our God
who visits us like the dawn from on high.
He will give light to those in darkness,
those who dwell in the shadow of death,
and guide us into the way of peace.
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.
Behold the one who is both God and man: he comes forth from the house of David and sits on the throne, alleluia.
________
Prayers and intercessions
It was the Father’s will that men should see him in the face of his beloved Son.
– Hallowed be your name!
Christ greeted us with good news:
may the world hear it through us, and find hope.
– Hallowed be your name!
We praise and thank you, Lord of heaven and earth:
the hope and joy of men in every age.
– Hallowed be your name!
May Christ’s coming transform the Church,
renewing its youth and vigour in the service of men.
– Hallowed be your name!
We pray for Christians who suffer for their beliefs:
sustain them in their hope.
– Hallowed be your name!
________
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.
________
Call forth your power, Lord:
come and save us from the judgement
that threatens us by reason of our sins.
Come, and set us free.
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.