Sunday 1 August 2021
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Office of Readings
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
This day at thy creating Word
First o’er the earth the light was poured:
O Lord, this day upon us shine
And fill our souls with light divine.
This day the Lord for sinners slain
In might victorious rose again:
O Jesus, may we raisèd be
From death of sin to life in thee!
This day the Holy Spirit came
With fiery tongues of cloven flame:
O Spirit, fill our hearts this day
With grace to hear and grace to pray.
O day of light and life and grace,
From earthly toil a resting-place,
The hallowed hours, blest gift of love,
Give we again to God above.
All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to thee,
Whom, with the Spirit, we adore
For ever and for evermore.
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Psalm 103 (104):1-12
Hymn to God the Creator
“For everyone who is in Christ there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here” (2 Cor 5:17).
Lord God, how great you are, clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in light as in a robe. Alleluia.
Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord God, how great you are,
clothed in majesty and glory,
wrapped in light as in a robe!
You stretch out the heavens like a tent.
Above the rains you build your dwelling.
You make the clouds your chariot,
you walk on the wings of the wind,
you make the winds your messengers
and flashing fire your servant.
You founded the earth on its base,
to stand firm from age to age.
You wrapped it with the ocean like a cloak:
the waters stood higher than the mountains.
At your threat they took to flight;
at the voice of your thunder they fled.
They rose over the mountains and flowed down
to the place which you had appointed.
You set limits they might not pass
lest they return to cover the earth.
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow in between the hills.
They give drink to all the beasts of the field;
the wild-asses quench their thirst.
On their banks dwell the birds of heaven;
from the branches they sing their song.
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 God, how great you are, clothed in majesty and glory, wrapped in light as in a robe. Alleluia.
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Psalm 103 (104):13-23
The Lord brought forth bread from the earth and wine, to cheer man’s heart. Alleluia.
From your dwelling you water the hills;
earth drinks its fill of your gift.
You make the grass grow for the cattle
and the plants to serve man’s needs,
that he may bring forth bread from the earth
and wine to cheer man’s heart;
oil, to make his face glad
and bread to strengthen man’s heart.
The trees of the Lord drink their fill,
the cedars he planted on Lebanon;
there the birds build their nests;
on the tree-top the stork has her home.
The goats find a home on the mountains
and rabbits hide in the rocks.
You made the moon to mark the months;
the sun knows the time for its setting.
When you spread the darkness it is night
and all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
The young lions roar for their prey
and ask their food from God.
At the rising of the sun they steal away
and go to rest in their dens.
Man goes forth to his work,
to labour till evening falls.
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 brought forth bread from the earth and wine, to cheer man’s heart. Alleluia.
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Psalm 103 (104):24-35
God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Alleluia.
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you have made them all.
The earth is full of your riches.
There is the sea, vast and wide,
with its moving swarms past counting,
living things great and small.
The ships are moving there
and the monsters you made to play with.
All of these look to you
to give them their food in due season.
You give it, they gather it up:
you open your hand, they have their fill.
You hide your face, they are dismayed;
you take back your spirit, they die,
returning to the dust from which they came.
You send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the earth.
May the glory of the Lord last for ever!
May the Lord rejoice in his works!
He looks on the earth and it trembles;
the mountains send forth smoke at his touch.
I will sing to the Lord all my life,
make music to my God while I live.
May my thoughts be pleasing to him.
I find my joy in the Lord.
Let sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked exist no more.
Bless the Lord, my soul.
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.
God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Alleluia.
Psalm-prayer
Father, as you made springs in valleys to form streams between mountains, so you made living streams of grace flow from the apostles that their teaching may bring salvation to all nations. May we have a practical knowledge of their doctrine, be obedient to their commands, obtain remission of sins through their prayers, and finally receive the reward of eternal happiness.
Or:
God of all life, light, and love, through the visible things of this world you raise our thoughts to things unseen, and you show us your power and your love. From your dwelling place refresh our hearts and renew the face of the earth with the life-giving water of your word, until the new heaven and new earth resound with the song of resurrection.
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℣. Blessed are your eyes, for they see.
℟. Blessed are your ears, for they hear.
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Readings (official one-year cycle)
First Reading
Amos 1:1-2:3
The Lord’s judgement on the Nations
Words of Amos, who was one of the shepherds of Tekoa. The visions he had about Israel in the time of Uzziah king of Judah and of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
He said:
The Lord roars from Zion,
and makes his voice heard from Jerusalem;
the shepherds’ pastures mourn,
and the crown of Carmel withers.
The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of Damascus
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because they have thrashed Gilead with iron threshing-sledges,
I am going to hurl fire on the House of Hazael
to burn up Ben-hadad’s palaces;
I am going to break the gate bars of Damascus,
and cut down the one enthroned at Bikath-aven
and the sceptred one at Beth-eden;
and the people of Aram shall go captive to Kir, says the Lord.
The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of Gaza
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because they have deported entire nations as slaves to Edom,
I am going to hurl fire on the walls of Gaza
to burn up her palaces.
I am going to cut down the one enthroned at Ashdod
and the sceptred one at Ashkelon;
I am going to turn my hand against Ekron
until the last of the Philistines is dead,
says the Lord.
The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of Tyre
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because they have deported entire nations as slaves to Edom
and have not remembered the covenant of brotherhood,
I am going to hurl fire on the walls of Tyre
to burn up her palaces.
The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of Edom
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because he has persecuted his brother with the sword,
stifling his pity,
persistently nursing his fury
and ever cherishing his rage,
I am going to hurl fire on Teman
to burn up the palaces of Bozrah.
The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of the sons of Ammon
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because they have disembowelled the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to extend their own frontiers,
I am going to light a fire against the wall of Rabbah
to burn up her palaces,
to the sound of war-cries on the day of battle,
amid storms on a day of hurricane;
and their king shall go into exile,
he and his princes with him,
says the Lord.
The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of Moab
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because they have burnt the bones of the king of Edom for lime,
I am going to hurl fire on Moab
to burn up the palaces of Kerioth,
and Moab shall die in tumult,
to the sound of war cries and the blare of trumpets;
I will cut down the chieftain inside her
and slaughter all her princes with him,
says the Lord.
Responsory
Ps 9:7-8; Am 1:2
℟. The Lord has set up his throne for judgement, he will judge the world with justice,* he will judge the peoples with his truth.
℣. The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem:* he will judge the peoples with his truth.
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Second Reading
From the beginning of a letter attributed to Barnabas
Hope of life is the beginning and end of our faith
Greetings, sons and daughters. In the name of the Lord who loves us, peace be to you.
Because the Lord has granted you an abundance of blessings, I rejoice immeasurably in your blessed and glorious company.
You have received abundantly that indwelling grace which is the Spirit’s gift, and for this reason I hope in my own salvation and I give thanks all the more when I see the bountiful fullness of the Lord’s Spirit pouring over you. I have longed so much for you that when I saw you I was overwhelmed.
I am now convinced and fully aware that I have learned much by speaking with you, for the Lord accompanied me on the road to righteousness, and so I am driven in all ways to love you more than my own life. For surely there is a great store of faith and charity within you because of your hope for life in Christ. Therefore, I have been thinking that if my concern for you inspires me to pass on to you a portion of what I have received, then I will be rewarded for ministering to souls such as yours. Consequently, I am writing to you, that you may have perfect knowledge along with your faith.
The Lord has given us these three basic doctrines: hope for eternal life, the beginning and end of our faith; justice, the beginning and end of righteousness; and love, which bears cheerful and joyous witness to the works of righteousness. Now the Lord has made the past and present known to us through his prophets, and he has given us the ability to taste the fruits of the future beforehand. Thus, when we see prophecies fulfilled in their appointed order, we ought to grow more fully and deeply in awe of him. Let me suggest a few things – not as a teacher, but as one of you – which should bring you joy in the present situation.
When evil days are upon us and the worker of malice gains power, we must attend to our own souls and seek to know the ways of the Lord. In those times reverential fear and perseverance will sustain our faith, and we will find need of forbearance and self-restraint as well. Provided that we hold fast to these virtues and look to the Lord, then wisdom, understanding, knowledge and insight will make joyous company with them.
Truly, the Lord has revealed to us through the prophets that he has no need of sacrifice, burnt offerings or oblations. He says in one place: Your endless sacrifices, what are they to me? says the Lord. I have had my fill of holocausts; I do not want the fat of your lambs, nor the blood of your bulls and goats, nor your presence in my sight. Indeed, who has made these demands of you? No more will you trample my courts. Your sacrifices of fine flour are in vain; your incense is loathsome to me; I cannot bear your feasts of the new moon, nor your sabbaths.
Responsory
℟. We acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is faith in Jesus Christ.* We had to become believers in Christ Jesus, so that faith in Christ might justify us.
℣. Abraham put his faith in God, and it was reckoned virtue in him.* We had to become believers in Christ Jesus, so that faith in Christ might justify us.
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Vigils
If time allows, those who celebrate the Office of Readings of a Sunday (or solemnity, or feast of the Lord) on the evening before, or at the crack of dawn on the day itself, may enrich the celebration with three Old Testament canticles and a Gospel reading.
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Canticle
Te Deum
We praise you, O God:
we acclaim you as the Lord.
Everlasting Father,
all the world bows down before you.
All the angels sing your praise,
the hosts of heaven and all the angelic powers,
all the cherubim and seraphim
call out to you in unending song:
Holy, Holy, Holy,
is the Lord God of angel hosts!
The heavens and the earth are filled
with your majesty and glory.
The glorious band of apostles,
the noble company of prophets,
the white-robed army who shed their blood for Christ,
all sing your praise.
And to the ends of the earth
your holy Church proclaims her faith in you:
Father, whose majesty is boundless,
your true and only Son, who is to be adored,
the Holy Spirit sent to be our Advocate.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
Son of the eternal Father.
When you took our nature to save mankind
you did not shrink from birth in the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the power of death
opening the Father’s kingdom to all who believe in you.
Enthroned at God’s right hand in the glory of the Father,
you will come in judgement according to your promise.
You redeemed your people by your precious blood.
Come, we implore you, to our aid.
Grant us with the saints
a place in eternal glory.
The final part of the hymn may be omitted:
Lord, save your people
and bless your inheritance.
Rule them and uphold them
for ever and ever.
Day by day we praise you:
we acclaim you now and to all eternity.
In your goodness, Lord, keep us free from sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
May your mercy always be with us, Lord,
for we have hoped in you.
In you, Lord, we put our trust:
we shall not be put to shame.
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Let us pray.
We recognize with joy
that you, Lord, created us,
and that you guide us by your providence.
In your unfailing kindness, support us in our prayer:
renew your life within us,
guard it and make it bear fruit for eternity.
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.
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Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
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.