Saturday 11 December 2021
Saturday of the 2nd week of Advent
or Saint Damasus I, Pope
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
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 91 (92)
Praise of God, the Creator
“The deeds of God’s only Son are praised” (St Athanasius).
Lord, we proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night.
It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your truth in the watches of the night,
on the ten-stringed lyre and the lute,
with the murmuring sound of the harp.
Your deeds, O Lord, have made me glad;
for the work of your hands I shout with joy.
O Lord, how great are your works!
How deep are your designs!
The foolish man cannot know this
and the fool cannot understand.
Though the wicked spring up like grass
and all who do evil thrive,
they are doomed to be eternally destroyed.
But you, Lord, are eternally on high.
See how your enemies perish;
all doers of evil are scattered.
To me you give the wild ox’s strength;
you anoint me with the purest oil.
My eyes looked in triumph on my foes;
my ears heard gladly of their fall.
The just will flourish like the palm-tree
and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
Planted in the house of the Lord
they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
still full of sap, still green,
to proclaim that the Lord is just.
In him, my rock, there is no wrong.
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, we proclaim your love in the morning and your truth in the watches of the night.
Psalm-prayer
Take our shame away from us, Lord, and make us rejoice in your saving works. May all who have been chosen by your Son always abound in works of faith, hope and love in your service.
Or:
Lord Jesus Christ, you taught your disciples that the Father is glorified by good works. Uproot your enemies even if they should grow as thick as weeds, and make us flourish in your courts and always remain in you as you are in the Father. May we bring forth a rich harvest in the radiance of your light.
________
Canticle
Deuteronomy 32
The things God has done for his people
“How often have I longed to gather your children as a hen gathers her young under her wings!” (Mt 23:37).
Proclaim the greatness of our God.
Listen, O heavens, and I will speak,
let the earth hear the words on my lips.
May my teaching fall like the rain,
my speech descend like the dew,
like rain drops on the young green,
like showers falling on the grass.
For I shall praise the name of the Lord.
O give glory to this God of ours!
The Rock — his deeds are perfect,
and all his ways are just,
a faithful God, without deceit,
a God who is right and just.
Those whom he begot unblemished
have become crooked, false, perverse.
Is it thus you repay the Lord,
O senseless and foolish people?
Is he not your father who created you,
he who made you, on whom you depend?
Remember the days of old,
consider the years that are past;
ask your father and he will show you,
ask your elders and they will tell you.
When the Most High gave the nations their heritage
and disposed men according to his plan,
in fixing the boundaries of the nations
he thought first of Israel’s sons.
For Israel was the Lord’s possession,
Jacob the one he had chosen.
God found him in a wilderness,
in fearful, desolate wastes;
he surrounded him, he lifted him up,
he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Like an eagle that watches its nest,
that hovers over its young,
so he spread his wings; he took him,
placed him on his outstretched wings.
The Lord alone was his guide
and no other god was with him.
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.
Proclaim the greatness of our God.
________
Psalm 8
The greatness of God, the dignity of man
“He has put all things under his feet, and appointed him to be the head of the whole Church” (Eph 1:22).
How great is your name, Lord, through all the earth.
How great is your name, O Lord our God,
through all the earth!
Your majesty is praised above the heavens;
on the lips of children and of babes
you have found praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the foe and the rebel.
When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what is man that you should keep him in mind,
mortal man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him little less than a god;
with glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over the works of your hand,
put all things under his feet.
All of them, sheep and cattle,
yes, even the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and fish
that make their way through the waters.
How great is your name, O Lord our God
through all the 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.
How great is your name, Lord, through all the earth.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty Lord, how wonderful is your name. You have made every creature subject to you; make us worthy to give you service.
Or:
Lord, creator of all that is, you made your Son one of us, a little less than the angels. When you crowned him with honour and glory, you raised the dignity of man beyond the skies. Always care for us, your royal children in your Son, the new Adam, so that one day we may be radiant with his splendour.
________
Short Reading
Isaiah 11:1-3
A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots: on him the spirit of the Lord rests, a spirit of wisdom and insight, a spirit of counsel and power, a spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord is his delight.
________
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
The Lord will raise a signal for the nations and he will gather together the scattered children of Israel.
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.
The Lord will raise a signal for the nations and he will gather together the scattered children of Israel.
________
Prayers and intercessions
Let us pray to Christ, whom the scriptures foretold, and whose coming we await in this holy season:
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
Isaiah foretold that the spirit of the Lord would rest upon you:
come to us bringing wisdom and understanding.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
The spirit of counsel and power is given to you;
move the hearts of all who govern or rule.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
teach us to know the Father as he is.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
As now we live with you in faith and hope,
prepare us to see the Father face to face.
– Come, Jesus, our Saviour!
________
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.
________
Almighty God,
let the splendour of your glory dawn in our hearts.
May the coming of your only Son dispel all darkness
and reveal that we are children of light.
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.