Wednesday 5 January 2022
Saint John Neumann, Bishop
on Wednesday after Epiphany Sunday
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.
________
Hymn
Bethlehem, of noblest cities
none can once with thee compare:
thou alone the Lord from heaven
didst for us Incarnate bear.
Fairer than the sun at morning
was the star that told his birth;
to the lands their God announcing,
hid beneath a form of earth.
By its lambent beauty guided,
see, the eastern kings appear;
see them bend, their gifts to offer,
gifts of incense, gold and myrrh.
Solemn things of mystic meaning:
incense doth the God disclose;
gold a royal Child proclaimeth;
myrrh a future tomb foreshows.
Holy Jesu, in thy brightness
to the Gentile world displayed,
with the Father and the Spirit
endless praise to thee be paid.
________
Psalm 38 (39):2-7
A prayer in sickness
“Creation was unable to attain its purpose because of him who kept it so in a state of hope” (Rom 8:20).
We groan inwardly and await the redemption of our bodies.
I said: ‘I will be watchful of my ways
for fear I should sin with my tongue.
I will put a curb on my lips
when the wicked man stands before me.’
I was dumb, silent and still.
His prosperity stirred my grief.
My heart was burning within me.
At the thought of it, the fire blazed up
and my tongue burst into speech:
‘O Lord, you have shown me my end,
how short is the length of my days.
Now I know how fleeting is my life.
‘You have given me a short span of days;
my life is as nothing in your sight.
A mere breath, the man who stood so firm,
a mere shadow, the man passing by;
a mere breath the riches he hoards,
not knowing who will have them.’
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.
We groan inwardly and await the redemption of our bodies.
________
Psalm 38 (39):8-14
Lord, hear my prayer: do not be deaf to my tears.
And now, Lord, what is there to wait for?
In you rests all my hope.
Set me free from all my sins,
do not make me the taunt of the fool.
I was silent, not opening my lips,
because this was all your doing.
Take away your scourge from me.
I am crushed by the blows of your hand.
You punish man’s sins and correct him;
like the moth you devour all he treasures.
Mortal man is no more than a breath;
O Lord, hear my prayer.
O Lord, turn your ear to my cry.
Do not be deaf to my tears.
In your house I am a passing guest,
a pilgrim, like all my fathers.
Look away that I may breathe again
before I depart to be no more.
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, hear my prayer: do not be deaf to my tears.
Psalm-prayer
Through your Son you taught us, Father, not to be fearful of tomorrow but to commit our lives to your care. Do not withhold your Spirit from us but help us find a life of peace after these days of trouble.
________
Psalm 51 (52)
Against calumny
“Let the one who glories glory in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31).
I trust in the goodness of God for ever and ever.
Why do you boast of your wickedness,
you champion of evil,
planning ruin all day long,
your tongue like a sharpened razor,
you master of deceit?
You love evil more than good,
lies more than truth.
You love the destructive word,
you tongue of deceit.
For this God will destroy you
and remove you for ever.
He will snatch you from your tent and uproot you
from the land of the living.
The just shall see and fear.
They shall laugh and say:
‘So this is the man who refused
to take God as his stronghold,
but trusted in the greatness of his wealth
and grew powerful by his crimes.’
But I am like a growing olive tree
in the house of God.
I trust in the goodness of God
for ever and ever.
I will thank you for evermore;
for this is your doing.
I will proclaim that your name is good,
in the presence of your friends.
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 trust in the goodness of God for ever and ever.
Psalm-prayer
Father, hear the prayer of your family. Make us flourish in your domain like fruitful olive trees, confiding in your loving kindness here and longing to see your face when we take our place among the blessed in heaven.
Or:
Father, you cut down the unfruitful branch for burning and prune the fertile to make it bear more fruit. Make us grow like laden olive trees in your domain, firmly rooted in the power and mercy of your Son, so that you may gather from us fruit worthy of eternal life.
________
℣. You will hear the word from my mouth.
℟. You will speak to them in my name.
________
Readings (official one-year cycle)
First Reading
Isaiah 63:7-19
The remembrance of God’s mercy by a forsaken people
Let me sing the praises of the Lord’s goodness,
and of his marvellous deeds,
in return for all that he has done for us
and for the great kindness
he has shown us in his mercy
and in his boundless goodness.
He said, ‘Truly they are my people,
sons and no rogues.’
He proved himself their saviour
in all their troubles.
It was neither messenger nor angel
but his Presence that saved them.
In his love and pity
he redeemed them himself,
he lifted them up, carried them,
throughout the days of old.
But they rebelled, they grieved
his holy spirit.
Then he turned enemy,
and himself waged war on them.
They remembered the days of old,
of Moses his servant.
Where is he who brought out of the sea
the shepherd of his flock?
Where is he who endowed him
with his holy spirit,
who at the right hand of Moses
set to work with his glorious arm,
who divided the waters before them
to win himself everlasting renown,
who made them walk through the ocean
as easily as a horse through the desert?
They stumbled as little as an ox
going down to the plain.
The spirit of the Lord led them to rest.
This is how you guided your people
to win yourself glorious renown.
Look down from heaven, look down
from your holy and glorious dwelling.
Where is your ardour, your might,
the yearning of your inmost heart?
Do not let your compassion go unmoved,
for you are our Father.
For Abraham does not own us
and Israel does not acknowledge us;
you, Lord, yourself are our Father,
Our Redeemer is your ancient name.
Why, Lord, leave us to stray from your ways
and harden our hearts against fearing you?
Return, for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your inheritance.
Why have the wicked set foot in your sanctuary,
why are our enemies trampling your sanctuary?
We have long been like people you do not rule,
people who do not bear your name.
Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down
– at your Presence the mountains would melt.
Responsory
Is 63:19 – 64:1; 59:11
℟. Lord, we have long been like people you do not rule, people who do not bear your name.* Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down!
℣. We wait for the justice that never comes, for salvation that is removed far away from us.* Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down!
________
Second Reading
From a letter to Cardinal Barnabo by John Neumann, bishop
I have laboured with all my powers to fulfil the duties of my office
Indeed, I have apparently delayed too long in writing to the Holy See the letter promised by the Archbishop of Baltimore in the name of the council. However, this delay was not without reason. For the council was scarcely finished and I was discussing the division of the Diocese of Philadelphia and my translation to a new see with one of the Fathers of the council, when the Father intimated to me [that he did not know] whether that could more probably be hoped for, since the Holy See thought that I would resign from the episcopate, or wished to resign. In the same way when the Archbishop of Baltimore informed me of the designation of a coadjutor, he added that in the event that I should persevere in the desire to resign, the Holy See would permit me to give the title of the ecclesiastical property to the same coadjutor.
I was no little disturbed by the fear that I had done something that so displeased the Holy Father that my resignation would appear desirable to him. If this be the case, I am prepared without any hesitation to leave the episcopacy. I have taken this burden out of obedience, and I have laboured with all my powers to fulfil the duties of my office, and with God’s help, as I hope, not without fruit.
When the care of temporal things weighed upon my mind and it seemed to me that my character was little suited for the very cultural world of Philadelphia, I made known to my fellow bishops during the Baltimore council of 1858 that it seemed opportune to me to request my translation to one or the other see that was to be erected (namely in the City of Pottsville or in Wilmington, North Carolina). But to give up the episcopal career never entered my mind, although I was conscious of my unworthiness and ineptitude; for things had not come to such a pass that I had one or the other reason out of the six for which a bishop could safely ask the Holy Father permission to resign. For a long time I have doubted what should be done....
Although my coadjutor has proposed to me that he would take the new see if it is erected, I have thought it much more opportune and I have asked the Fathers that he be appointed to the See of Philadelphia, since he is much more highly endowed with facility and alacrity concerning the administration of temporal things. Indeed, I am much more accustomed to the country, and will be able to care for the people and faithful living in the mountains, in the coal mines and on the farms, since I would be among them.
If, however, it should be displeasing to His Holiness to divide the diocese, I am, indeed, prepared either to remain in the same condition in which I am at present, or if God so inspires His Holiness to give the whole administration of the diocese to the Most Reverend James Wood, I am equally prepared to resign from the episcopate and to go where I may more securely prepare myself for death and for the account which must be rendered to the Divine Justice.
I desire nothing but to fulfil the wish of the Holy Father whatever it may be.
Responsory
℟. Well done, my good and faithful servant; you have been faithful in the little tasks I gave you; now I will entrust you with greater ones.* Come and share my joy.
℣. Lord, you gave me five coins, and see, I bring you back double.* Come and share my joy.
________
Let us pray.
Almighty God,
you called Saint John Neumann to a life of service, zeal and compassion
for the guidance of your people in the new world.
By his prayers help us to build up the community of the Church
through our dedication to the Christian education of youth
and through the witness of our brotherly love.
We ask this 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.
________
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.