Office of Readings
INVITATORY
The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.
Go to the Hymn
Go to the Psalmody
Lord, + open my lips.
– And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
The antiphon is repeated. In individual recitation, the antiphon may be said only at the beginning of the psalm; it need not be repeated after each strophe.
Go to Psalm 24
Go to Psalm 67
Go to Psalm 100
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Go to the Hymn
Psalm 24
The Lord’s entry into his temple
Christ opened heaven for us in the manhood he assumed (Saint Irenaeus).
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, *
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas; *
on the waters he made it firm.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? *
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart, †
who desires not worthless things, *
who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord *
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him, *
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Go to the Hymn
Psalm 67
People of all nations will worship the Lord
You must know that God is offering his salvation to all the world (Acts 28:28).
O God, be gracious and bless us *
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth *
and all nations learn your saving help.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Let the nations be glad and exult *
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples, *
you guide the nations on earth.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
The earth has yielded its fruit *
for God, our God, has blessed us.
May God still give us his blessing *
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Go to the Hymn
Psalm 100
The joyful song of those entering God’s temple
The Lord calls his ransomed people to sing songs of victory (Saint Athanasius).
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. †
Serve the Lord with gladness. *
Come before him, singing for joy.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Know that he, the Lord, is God. †
He made us, we belong to him, *
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. †
Enter his courts with songs of praise. *
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth; serve the Lord with gladness.
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
God, + come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.
HYMN
Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation:
O my soul, praise him, for he is thy health and salvation.
All ye who hear,
Now to his altar draw near,
Joining in glad adoration.
Praise to the Lord who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely his goodness and mercy shall daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
What the Almighty can do,
Who with his love doth befriend thee.
Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore him!
All that has life and breath come now in praises before him!
Let the Amen
Sound from his people again:
Now as we worship before him.
Tune: Lobe Den Herren 14.14.478
Music: Stralsund Gesangbuch, 1665
Text: Joachim Neander, 1650-1680
Translation: Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 We groan in pain as we await the redemption of our bodies.
Psalm 39
Urgent prayer of a sick person
Creation is made subject to futility . . . by him who subjected it, but it is not without hope (Romans 8:20).
I
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 to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Ant. We groan in pain as we await the redemption of our bodies.
Ant. 2 Hear and answer my prayer, O Lord; let me not weep in vain.
II
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 to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
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.
Ant. Hear and answer my prayer, O Lord; let me not weep in vain.
Ant. 3 I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy.
Psalm 52
Against a calumniator
If anyone would boast, let him boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).
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 a 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 to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
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.
Ant. I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy.
I put my trust in the word of the Lord.
– All my hope is in him.
READINGS
FIRST READING
7:6-14; 8:1-6
Israel, the chosen people
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“You are a people sacred to the Lord, your God; he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations. It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, then, that the Lord, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments, but who repays with destruction the person who hates him; he does not dally with such a one, but makes him personally pay for it. You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments, the statutes and the decrees which I enjoin on you today.
“As your reward for heeding these decrees and observing them carefully, the Lord, your God, will keep with you the merciful covenant which he promised on oath to your fathers. He will love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your soil, your grain and wine and oil, the issue of your herds and the young of your flocks, in the land which he swore to your fathers he would give you. You will be blessed above all peoples; no man or woman among you shall be childless nor shall your livestock be barren.
“Be careful to observe all the commandments I enjoin on you today, that you may live and increase, and may enter in and possess the land which the Lord promised on oath to your fathers. Remember how for forty years now the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep his commandments.
“He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord. The clothing did not fall from you in tatters, nor did your feet swell these forty years. So you must realize that the Lord, your God, disciplines you even as a man disciplines his son.
“Therefore, keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, by walking in his ways and fearing him.”
RESPONSORY
1 John 4:10, 16; Isaiah 63:8, 9
God first loved us,
and sent his own Son to be the sacrifice that frees us from our sins.
– We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
The Lord himself has become our savior;
he has redeemed us in his love.
– We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.
SECOND READING
From the dogmatic constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council
(Lumen gentium, nn. 2.16)
See, I will save my people
In his wisdom and goodness the eternal Father created the whole world according to his supremely free and mysterious purpose and decreed that men should be raised up to share in the divine life. When they fell in Adam, he did not abandon them but always kept providing them with aids to salvation, in consideration of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Before the ages the Father already knew all the elect and predestined them to be made into the likeness of his Son, so that he should be the firstborn among many brothers.
God resolved to gather into holy Church all who believe in Christ. The Church, foreshadowed even from the beginning of the world, so marvelously prepared in the history of the people of Israel, established in these last times and revealed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, will be made perfect in glory at the end of time. Then, as we read in the Fathers of the Church, all the righteous from Adam onward—from Abel, the righteous, to the last of the elect—will be gathered in the universal Church in the presence of the Father.
Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel are in their different ways related to God’s people.
In the first place, there is that people which was given the covenants and the promises and from which Christ was born by human descent: the people which is by God’s choice most dear on account of the patriarchs. God never repents of his gifts or his call.
God’s plan of salvation embraces those also who acknowledge the Creator. Among these are especially the Mohammedans; they profess their faith as the faith of Abraham, and with us they worship the one, merciful God who will judge men on the last day.
God himself is not far from those others who seek the unknown God in darkness and shadows, for it is he who gives to all men life and inspiration and all things, and who as Savior desires all men to be saved.
Eternal salvation is open to those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church but seek God with a sincere heart, and under the inspiration of grace try in their lives to do his will, made known to them by the dictates of their conscience. Nor does Divine Providence deny the aids necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet reached an explicit belief in God, but strive to lead a good life, under the influence of God’s grace.
Whatever goodness and truth is found among them is seen by the Church as a preparation for the Gospel, and as given by him who shines on all men, so that they may at last have life.
RESPONSORY
Ephesians 1:9-10; Colossians 1:19-20
It was God’s plan
that in the fullness of time
– all creation should be brought together in unity under Christ.
It pleased God that all perfection should dwell in Christ,
and through him God chose to reconcile all things to himself.
– All creation should be brought together in unity under Christ.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father of heaven and earth,
hear our prayers,
and show us the way to peace in the world.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
Or:
Almighty ever-living God,
who govern all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
mercifully hear the pleading of your people
and bestow your peace on our times.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.
******
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