Friday 14 January 2022
Friday of week 1 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.
________
Hymn
In ancient times God spoke to us
Through prophets, and in varied ways,
But now he speaks through Christ his Son,
His radiance through eternal days.
To God the Father of the world,
His Son through whom he made all things,
And Holy Spirit, bond of love,
All glad creation glory sings.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
________
Psalm 34 (35):1-2,3c,9-12
The Lord, a saviour in time of persecution
“They united in making plans to arrest Jesus by treachery and have him put to death” (Mt 26:3,4).
O Lord, arise to help me.
O Lord, plead my cause against my foes;
fight those who fight me.
Take up your buckler and shield;
arise to help me.
O Lord, say to my soul:
‘I am your salvation.’
But my soul shall be joyful in the Lord
and rejoice in his salvation.
My whole being will say:
‘Lord, who is like you
who rescue the weak from the strong
and the poor from the oppressor?’
Lying witnesses arise
and accuse me unjustly.
They repay me evil for good;
my soul is forlorn.
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.
O Lord, arise to help me.
________
Psalm 34 (35):13-16
Lord, plead my cause; defend me with your strength.
When they were sick I went into mourning,
afflicted with fasting.
My prayer was ever on my lips,
as for a brother, a friend.
I went as though mourning a mother,
bowed down with grief.
Now that I am in trouble they gather,
they gather and mock me.
They take me by surprise and strike me
and tear me to pieces.
They provoke me with mockery on mockery
and gnash their teeth.
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, plead my cause; defend me with your strength.
________
Psalm 34 (35):17-19,22-23,27-28
My tongue shall speak of your justice, all day long.
O Lord, how long will you look on?
Come to my rescue!
Save my life from these raging beasts,
my soul from these lions.
I will thank you in the great assembly,
amid the throng I will praise you.
Do not let my lying foes
rejoice over me.
Do not let those who hate me unjustly
wink eyes at each other.
O Lord, you have seen, do not be silent,
do not stand afar off!
Awake, stir to my defence,
to my cause, O God!
Let there be joy for those who love my cause.
Let them say without end:
‘Great is the Lord who delights
in the peace of his servant.’
Then my tongue shall speak of your justice,
all day long of your praise.
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.
My tongue shall speak of your justice, all day long.
Psalm-prayer
Lord, you rescue the poor from their oppressors, and you rose to the aid of your beloved Son against those who unjustly sought his life. Look on your Church as we journey to you, that the poor and weak may recognize the help you provide and proclaim your saving acts.
________
℣. My son, keep my words.
℟. Keep my commandments, and live.
________
Readings (official one-year cycle)
First Reading
Ecclesiasticus 43:14-37
Praise of God in his creation
By his command the Lord sends the snow,
he speeds the lightning as he orders.
In the same way, his treasuries open
and the clouds fly out like birds.
In his great might he banks up the clouds,
and shivers them into fragments of hail.
At sight of him the mountains rock,
at the roar of his thunder the earth writhes in labour.
At his will the south wind blows,
or the storm from the north and the whirlwind.
He sprinkles snow like birds alighting,
it comes down like locusts settling.
The eye marvels at the beauty of its whiteness,
and the mind is amazed at its falling.
The cold wind blows from the north,
and ice forms on the water,
settling on every watery expanse,
and water puts it on like a breastplate.
He swallows up the mountains and scorches the desert,
like a fire he consumes the vegetation.
But the mist heals everything in good time,
after the heat falls the reviving dew.
By his own resourcefulness he has tamed the abyss,
and planted it with islands.
Those who sail the sea tell of its dangers,
their accounts fill our ears with amazement:
for there too there are strange and wonderful works,
animals of every kind and huge sea creatures.
Thanks to him all ends well,
and all things hold together by means of his word.
We could say much more and still fall short;
to put it concisely, ‘He is all.’
Where shall we find sufficient power to glorify him,
since he is the Great One, above all his works,
the awe-inspiring Lord, stupendously great,
and wonderful in his power?
Exalt the Lord in your praises
as high as you may – still he surpasses you.
Exert all your strength when you exalt him,
do not grow tired – you will never come to the end.
Who has ever seen him to give a description?
Who can glorify him as he deserves?
Many mysteries remain even greater than these,
for we have seen only a few of his works,
the Lord himself having made all things –
and having given wisdom to devout men.
Responsory
℟. Praise the God of heaven for all men to hear,* and thank him for the mercy he has shown you.
℣. Worship him, sing his praise, tell of all his marvellous works,* and thank him for the mercy he has shown you.
________
Second Reading
From the Discourse Against the Pagans by Saint Athanasius, bishop
The Word creates a divine harmony in creation
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made. In these words John the theologian teaches that nothing exists or remains in being except in and through the Word.
Think of a musician tuning his lyre. By his skill he adjusts high notes to low and intermediate notes to the rest, and produces a series of harmonies. So too the wisdom of God holds the world like a lyre and joins things in the air to those on earth, and things in heaven to those in the air, and brings each part into harmony with the whole. By his decree and will he regulates them all to produce the beauty and harmony of a single, well-ordered universe. While remaining unchanged with his Father, he moves all creation by his unchanging nature, according to the Father’s will. To everything he gives existence and life in accordance with its nature, and so creates a wonderful and truly divine harmony.
To illustrate this profound mystery, let us take the example of a choir of many singers. A choir is composed of a variety of men, women and children, of both old and young. Under the direction of one conductor, each sings in the way that is natural for him: men with men’s voices, boys with boys’ voices, old people with old voices, young people with young voices. Yet all of them produce a single harmony. Or consider the example of our soul. It moves our senses according to their several functions so that in the presence of a single object they all act simultaneously: the eye sees, the ear hears, the hand touches, the nose smells, the tongue tastes, and often the other parts of the body act as well as, for example, the feet may walk.
Although this is only a poor comparison, it gives some idea of how the whole universe is governed. The Word of God has but to give a gesture of command and everything falls into place; each creature performs its own proper function, and all together constitute one single harmonious order.
Responsory
℟. Praise the God of heaven for all men to hear,* and thank him for the mercy he has shown you.
℣. Worship him, sing his praise, tell of all his marvellous works,* and thank him for the mercy he has shown you.
________
Let us pray.
In your love, Lord,
answer our humble prayer:
give us the grace to see what we have to do
and the strength to do it.
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 © 1996-2022 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.