Thursday 23 June 2022
The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist - Solemnity
Midday Prayer (Sext)
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
Lord God and Maker of all things,
Creation is upheld by you.
While all must change and know decay,
You are unchanging, always new.
You are man’s solace and his shield,
His Rock secure on which to build.
You are the spirit’s tranquil home,
In you alone is hope fulfilled.
To God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit render praise:
Blest Trinity, from age to age
The strength of all our living days.
Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal
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COMPLEMENTARY PSALMS
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Psalm 122 (123)
The Lord guards his people
“The two blind men cried out, ‘Lord, have pity on us, Son of David’” (Mt 20:30).
When I heard your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy, alleluia.
To you have I lifted up my eyes,
you who dwell in the heavens;
my eyes, like the eyes of slaves
on the hand of their lords.
Like the eyes of a servant
on the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes are on the Lord our God
till he show us his mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
We are filled with contempt.
Indeed all too full is our soul
with the scorn of the rich,
with the proud man’s disdain.
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.
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Psalm 123 (124)
Our help is in the name of the Lord
“The Lord said to Paul, ‘Do not fear; for I am with you’” (Acts 18:9,10).
‘If the Lord had not been on our side,’
this is Israel’s song.
‘If the Lord had not been on our side
when men rose against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive
when their anger was kindled.
‘Then would the waters have engulfed us,
the torrent gone over us;
over our head would have swept
the raging waters.’
Blessed be the Lord who did not give us
a prey to their teeth!
Our life, like a bird, has escaped
from the snare of the fowler.
Indeed the snare has been broken
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and 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.
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Psalm 124 (125)
The Lord guards his people
“Peace to the Israel of God” (Gal 6:16).
Those who put their trust in the Lord
are like Mount Sion, that cannot be shaken,
that stands for ever.
Jerusalem! The mountains surround her,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and for ever.
For the sceptre of the wicked shall not rest
over the land of the just
for fear that the hands of the just
should turn to evil.
Do good, Lord, to those who are good,
to the upright of heart;
but the crooked and those who do evil,
drive them away!
On Israel, 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.
When I heard your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy, alleluia.
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Short Reading
(Isaiah 49:5-6)
The Lord speaks, the Lord who formed me in the womb to be his servant: ‘I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.’
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℣. The Lord called me before I was born.
℟. From my mother’s womb he pronounced my name.
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Let us pray.
Almighty God and Father,
you sent Saint John the Baptist to the people of Israel
to make them ready for Christ the Lord.
Give us the grace of joy in the Spirit,
and guide the hearts of all the faithful
in the way of salvation and peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
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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.