Thursday 25 February 2021
Thursday of the 1st week of Lent
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.
________
Hymn
Creator of the earth and skies,
To whom the words of life belong,
Grant us thy truth to make us wise;
Grant us thy power to make us strong.
Like theirs of old, our life is death,
Our light is darkness, till we see
The eternal Word made flesh and breath,
The God who walked by Galilee.
We have not known thee: to the skies
Our monuments of folly soar,
And all our self-wrought miseries
Have made us trust ourselves the more.
We have not loved thee: far and wide
The wreckage of our hatred spreads,
And evils wrought by human pride
Recoil on unrepentant heads.
For this, our foolish confidence,
Our pride of knowledge and our sin,
We come to thee in penitence;
In us the work of grace begin.
________
Psalm 56 (57)
Morning prayer in time of affliction
“This psalm celebrates the passion of Christ” (St Augustine).
Awake, lyre and harp: I will awaken the dawn.
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I call to God the Most High,
to God who has always been my help.
May he send from heaven and save me
and shame those who assail me.
May God send his truth and his love.
My soul lies down among lions,
who would devour the sons of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharpened sword.
O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!
They laid a snare for my steps,
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path
but fell in it themselves.
My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul,
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.
I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.
O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!
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.
Awake, lyre and harp: I will awaken the dawn.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, send your mercy and your truth to rescue us from the snares of the devil, and we will praise you among the peoples and proclaim you to the nations, happy to be known as companions of your Son.
________
Canticle
Jeremiah 31
The joy of those whom God sets free
“Jesus had to die to reunite the children of God who had been scattered” (Jn 11:51,52).
Thus says the Lord: my people shall be filled with my good things.
O nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it to the far-off coasts.
Say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him
and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock.’
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
has saved him from an overpowering hand.
They will come and shout for joy on Mount Sion,
they will stream to the blessings of the Lord,
to the corn, the new wine and the oil,
to the flocks of sheep and the herds.
Their life will be like a watered garden.
They will never be weary again.
Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance,
the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console them, give gladness for grief.
The priests I will again feed with plenty,
and my people shall be filled with my blessings.
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.
Thus says the Lord: my people shall be filled with my good things.
________
Psalm 47 (48)
Thanksgiving for the safety of the people
“He took me to the top of a great mountain, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem” (Rev 21:10).
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.
Mount Sion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King’s city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.
For the kings assembled together,
together they advanced.
They saw; at once they were astounded;
dismayed, they fled in fear.
A trembling seized them there,
like the pangs of birth.
By the east wind you have destroyed
the ships of Tarshish.
As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of our God,
in the city of the Lord of hosts
which God upholds for ever.
O God, we ponder your love
within your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name
reaches the ends of the earth.
With justice your right hand is filled.
Mount Sion rejoices;
the people of Judah rejoice
at the sight of your judgements.
Walk through Sion, walk all round it;
count the number of its towers.
Review all its ramparts,
examine its castles,
that you may tell the next generation
that such is our God,
our God for ever and always.
It is he who leads 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.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.
Psalm-prayer
Father, the body of your risen Son is the temple not made by human hands and the defending wall of the new Jerusalem. May this holy city, built of living stones, shine with spiritual radiance and witness to your greatness in the sight of all nations.
________
Short Reading
(1 Kings 8:51-53)
Lord, we are your people and your heritage. Be always watchful for the entreaty of your servant and of your people Israel, and listen to us whenever we call to you. For it was you who set us apart from all the peoples of the earth to be your own heritage.
________
Short Responsory
It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
And from the evil word.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– It is he who will free me from the snare of the hunters.
________
Canticle
Benedictus
The Messiah and the one who was sent before him
If you, evil though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him.
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.
If you, evil though you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him.
________
Prayers and intercessions
We give praise to Christ our Lord, the radiant light of the world. He guides our steps in a path of light and we no longer live in darkness. Let us turn to him in confident prayer:
– May your word light up our way.
Christ, our Saviour, may we grow today in your likeness,
may we gain through the second Adam what was lost by the first.
– May your word light up our way.
May your word take flesh in our lives and your truth shine forth in our actions;
may your love burn brightly within us.
– May your word light up our way.
Teach us to work for the good of all, whether the time is right or not;
make your Church a welcome light for the whole human family.
– May your word light up our way.
May we always treasure your friendship and come to know its depth;
may we atone for the sins against your wisdom and love.
– May your word light up our way.
________
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.
________
In your bounty, Lord,
give us the Spirit
who alone can teach us to think and do what is right,
so that we, who without you cannot exist,
may live in loving obedience to your will.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
________
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
Copyright © 1996-2021 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.