Daytime Prayers
INTRODUCTION
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
At Midmorning [Terce]
Now, Holy Spirit, come, descend,
one with the Father and the Son;
come swiftly in and fill our hearts
with your full flood of holiness.
In mind and mouth, with heart and tongue,
with strength and sense, may praise resound,
May charity with ardor blaze
and kindle others with its flame.
Now through your presence may we know
and love the Father and the Son,
and you, the Spirit of them both,
may we profess throughout all time. Amen.
Tune: TALLIS’ CANON, 8 8 8 8
Music: Thomas Tallis, ca. 1505-1585 (Weekdays); ELY 8 8 8 8, Thomas Turton, 1780-1864 (Memorials)
or Mode D, melody 124 (Weekdays) melody 106 (Memorials); Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Nunc, Sancte, nobis, Spiritus, unknown author, very ancient; traditionally attributed to Saint Ambrose, 340-397, © 2023 ICEL
Or:
We keep the order of the day
with loving heart and earnest prayer;
at this third hour we humbly beg
the glory of your threefold pow’r.
That we may be a dwelling place
where God the Holy Spirit dwells,
who at this hour, in parted tongues,
on each Apostle came to rest.
Throughout the course of daily hours
the Author of the heavn’ly realm
with splendor has adorned all things
to be our everlasting crown.
To God the Father glory be,
all honor to his only Son,
one with the Spirit Paraclete,
from age to age for evermore. Amen.
Tune: As above
Text: Certum tenentes ordinem, before 6th c., © 2023 ICEL
At Midday [Sext]
O mighty Ruler, God of truth,
for days and seasons setting bounds,
you clothe with splendor morning light
and midday skies with brilliant heat.
Extinguish flames of bitter strife,
all harmful passion take away,
grant health unto our mortal frame,
and on our hearts bestow true peace.
Most loving Father, hear our prayer,
and you, O Christ coequal Son,
who with the Spirit Paraclete
now reign for all eternity. Amen.
Tune: As above
Text: Rector potens, verax Deus, unknown author, very ancient, attributed to Saint Ambrose, 340-397, © 2023 ICEL
Or:
Let us sing praises to the Lord
with willing mind and fervent heart;
the noonday hour returns again
and summons us once more to prayer.
For to the faithful at this hour
true saving glory was restored
by off’ring of the blessed Lamb
and by the power of his Cross.
The Cross obscures the noonday sun
by its most clear and brilliant light;
let us receive with all our heart
the gift of such resplendent grace.
To God the Father glory be,
all honor to his only Son,
one with the Spirit Paraclete,
from age to age for evermore. Amen.
Tune: As above
Text: Dicamus laudes Domino, before 6th c., © 2023 ICEL
At Midafternoon [None]
O God, our firm and steadfast strength,
remaining in yourself unmoved,
you rule the span of daily light
and guide the course of all the hours.
Bestow at eventide a light
by which our life may never fail;
may endless glory be the crown
that follows on a holy death.
Most loving Father, hear our prayer,
and you, O Christ, coequal Son,
who with the Spirit Paraclete
now reign for all eternity. Amen.
Tune: As above
Text: Rerum, tenax vigor, unknown author, very ancient; traditionally attributed to Saint Ambrose, 340-397, © 2023 ICEL
Or:
Three times the cycle of the hours
returns to us by gift of God;
let us devoutly sing to him
who is the perfect Three in One.
We keep with pure and faithful hearts
the sacred myst’ry of our God;
this is the rule that Peter taught
and showed with wondrous, healing signs.
Let us sing psalms with heart and mind
and to the Apostles let us cling,
that they may guide with pow’r from Christ
our feeble steps that falter still.
To God the Father glory be,
all honor to his only Son,
one with the Spirit Paraclete,
from age to age for evermore. Amen.
Tune: Tune: As above
Text: Ternis horarum terminis, before 6th c., © 2023 ICEL
PSALMODY
Complementary Psalmody
Ant. 1 Law finds its fulfillment in love.
Psalm 119:97-104
XIII (Mem)
A meditation on God’s law
I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34).
Lord, how I love your law! *
It is ever in my mind.
Your command makes me wiser than my foes; *
for it is mine for ever.
I have more insight than all who teach me *
for I ponder your will.
I have more understanding than the old *
for I keep your precepts.
I turn my feet from evil paths *
to obey your word.
I have not turned from your decrees; *
you yourself have taught me.
Your promise is sweeter to my taste *
than honey in the mouth.
I gain understanding from your precepts; *
I hate the ways of falsehood.
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
Make us so love your law, Father, as to ponder it continually in our hearts. May it bear fruit in works acceptable to you.
Ant. Law finds its fulfillment in love.
Ant. 2 Lord, remember your people, whom you chose from the beginning.
Psalm 74
Lament for the destruction of the temple
Do not fear those who can only kill the body (Matthew 10:28).
I
Why, O God, have you cast us off for ever? *
Why blaze with anger at the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your people whom you chose long ago, †
the tribe you redeemed to be your own possession, *
the mountains of Zion where you made your dwelling.
Turn your steps to these places that are utterly ruined! *
The enemy has laid waste the whole of the sanctuary.
Your foes have made uproar in your house of prayer: †
they have set up their emblems, their foreign emblems, *
high above the entrance to the sanctuary.
Their axes have battered the wood of its doors. *
They have struck together with hatchet and pickaxe.
O God, they have set your sanctuary on fire: *
they have razed and profaned the place where you dwell.
They said in their hearts: “Let us utterly crush them: *
let us burn every shrine of God in the land.”
There is no sign from God, nor have we a prophet, *
we have no one to tell us how long it will last.
How long, O God, is the enemy to scoff? *
Is the foe to insult your name for ever?
Why, O Lord, do you hold back your hand? *
Why do you keep your right hand hidden?
Yet God is our king from time past, *
the giver of help through all the land.
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. Lord, remember your people, whom you chose from the beginning.
Ant. 3 Rise up, Lord; defend your cause.
II
It was you who divided the sea by your might, *
who shattered the heads of the monsters in the sea.
It was you who crushed Leviathan’s heads *
and gave him as food to the untamed beasts.
It was you who opened springs and torrents; *
it was you who dried up ever-flowing rivers.
Yours is the day and yours is the night. *
It was you who appointed the light and the sun:
it was you who fixed the bounds of the earth: *
you who made both summer and winter.
Remember this, Lord, and see the enemy scoffing; *
a senseless people insults your name.
Do not give Israel, your dove, to the hawk *
nor forget the life of your poor ones for ever.
Remember your covenant; every cave in the land *
is a place where violence makes its home.
Do not let the oppressed return disappointed; *
let the poor and the needy bless your name.
Arise, O God, and defend your cause! *
Remember how the senseless revile you all the day.
Do not forget the clamor of your foes, *
the daily increasing uproar of your foes.
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
Lord, our faithful God, you permitted the temple of the old covenant to be destroyed and your people to be persecuted by unbelievers. Do not forget the new covenant sealed with the blood of your Son. Make the Church your spiritual house, and make us living stones built upon Christ so that a full and true temple may be founded at last.
Ant. Rise up, Lord; defend your cause.
MIDMORNING [Terce]
READING
Jeremiah 22:3
Do what is right and just. Rescue the victim from the hand of his oppressor. Do not wrong or oppress the resident alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood.
The Lord will judge the whole world with justice.
— He will render to all peoples their just award.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
All-powerful and ever-living God,
in midmorning you poured out the Holy Spirit
as a constant Friend and Guide for your apostles.
Send that same Spirit of love to us
to make us faithful witnesses to you
in the sight of all mankind.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
— Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.
MIDDAY [Sext]
READING
Deuteronomy 15:7-8
If one of your kinsmen in any community is in need in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand to him in his need. Instead, you shall open your hand to him and freely lend him enough to meet his need.
You have given the poor their heart’s desire.
— You comfort them and bend down to hear their prayer.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Lord God,
you made known to Peter
your desire to bring all nations to salvation.
Let all our work give you praise
and carry out your loving plan.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
— Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.
MIDAFTERNOON [None]
READING
Proverbs 22:22-23
Injure not the poor because they are poor,
nor crush the needy at the gate;
For the Lord will defend their cause,
and will plunder the lives of those who plunder them.
The Lord will free those who have no one to help them.
— He himself will come to save the poor.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Father,
you sent your angel to Cornelius
to show him the way to salvation.
Help us to work generously for the salvation of the world
so that your Church may bring us and all mankind
into your presence.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.
— Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.
******
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COMPLEMENTARY PSALMODY
The complementary psalmody from Series I and III is used
Go to Series III (Midafternoon)
Series I (Midmorning [Terce])
Ant. 1 I cried out, and the Lord heard me.
Psalm 120
Longing for peace
Be patient in suffering, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12).
To the Lord in the hour of my distress *
I call and he answers me.
“O Lord, save my soul from lying lips, *
from the tongue of the deceitful.”
What shall he pay you in return, *
O treacherous tongue?
The warrior’s arrows sharpened *
and coals, red-hot, blazing.
Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech, *
dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Long enough have I been dwelling *
with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I speak, *
they are for fighting.
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
You declared peacemakers happy, Lord Jesus, since they will be called sons of God. Give us that peace which the world cannot give so that your Church may be freed from the schemes of arrogant men, and, devoted to works of peace, go forward joyfully to meet you, the King of Peace.
Ant. I cried out, and the Lord heard me.
Ant. 2 May the Lord watch over you as you come and as you go.
Psalm 121
Guardian of his people
Never again will they hunger and thirst, never again know scorching heat (Revelation 7:16).
I lift up my eyes to the mountains: *
from where shall come my help?
My help shall come from the Lord *
who made heaven and earth.
May he never allow you to stumble! *
Let him sleep not, your guard.
No, he sleeps not nor slumbers, *
Israel’s guard.
The Lord is your guard and your shade; *
at your right side he stands.
By day the sun shall not smite you *
nor the moon in the night.
The Lord will guard you from evil, *
he will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming *
both now and for ever.
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
Lord Jesus Christ, you have prepared a quiet place for us in your Father’s eternal home. Watch over our welfare on this perilous journey, shade us from the burning heat of day, and keep our lives free of evil until the end.
Ant. May the Lord watch over you as you come and as you go.
Ant. 3 I rejoiced in the good news they told me.
Psalm 122
The holy city, Jerusalem
You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22).
I rejoiced when I heard them say: *
“Let us go to God’s house.”
And now our feet are standing *
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built as a city *
strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up, *
the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel’s law it is, *
there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement *
of the house of David.
For the peace of Jerusalem pray: *
“Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls, *
in your palaces, peace!”
For love of my brethren and friends *
I say: “Peace upon you!”
For love of the house of the Lord *
I will ask for your good.
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
When you rose from the dead, Lord Jesus, you formed the Church into your new body, and made of it the new Jerusalem, united in your Spirit. Give us peace in our day. Make all nations come to your Church to share in your gifts in fellowship, that they may render you thanks without end and come to your eternal city.
Ant. I rejoiced in the good news they told me.
Continue with Daytime Prayer
Ant. 1 You dwell in the heavens; have mercy on us.
Psalm 123
The Lord is the hope of his people
Two blind men cried out: “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us” (Matthew 20:30).
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 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 in heaven, we lift our eyes to you and pray: confound the scorn of the proud and graciously show us your mercy.
Ant. You dwell in the heavens; have mercy on us.
Ant. 2 Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Psalm 124
Our help is in the name of the Lord
The Lord said to Paul: “Fear not. . . . 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 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
Lord Jesus, you foretold that your disciples would be despised on account of your name, but that not a hair of their heads is ever forgotten. In times of persecution, defend and revive us by the power and comfort of the Holy Spirit, so that we can be freed from our enemies and praise your saving help.
Ant. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Ant. 3 The Lord surrounds his people with love, now and for ever.
Psalm 125
The Lord, the guardian of his people
Peace to God’s true Israel (Galatians 6:16).
Those who put their trust in the Lord †
are like Mount Zion, 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 scepter 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 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
Surround your people, Lord, within the safety of your Church, which you preserve on its rock foundation. Do not let us stretch out our hands to evil deeds, nor be destroyed by the insidious snares of the enemy, but bring us to share the lot of the saints in light.
Ant. The Lord surrounds his people with love, now and for ever.
Continue with Daytime Prayer
Series III (Midafternoon [None])
Ant. 1 The Lord has done great things for us; he is the source of all our joy.
Psalm 126
Joyful hope in God
Companions with him in suffering, you will share his overflowing happiness (2 Corinthians 1:7).
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage, *
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: “What marvels *
the Lord worked for them!”
What marvels the Lord worked for us! *
Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage *
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears *
will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears, *
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song, *
carrying their sheaves.
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
Lord, you have raised us from the earth; may you let the seeds of justice, which we have sown in tears, grow and increase in your sight. May we reap in joy the harvest we hope for patiently.
Ant. The Lord has done great things for us; he is the source of all our joy.
Ant. 2 May the Lord build our house and watch over our city.
Psalm 127
Apart from God our labors are worthless
You are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9).
If the Lord does not build the house, *
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city, *
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising, *
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat: *
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.
Truly sons are a gift from the Lord, *
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth *
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of the man *
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame *
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.
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
You command the seed to rise, Lord God, though the farmer is unaware. Grant that those who labor for you may trust not in their own work but in your help. Remembering that the land is brought to flower not with human tears but with those of your Son, may the Church rely only upon your gifts.
Ant. May the Lord build our house and watch over our city.
Ant. 3 Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Psalm 128
Happiness of family life rooted in God
“May the Lord bless you from Zion,” that is, from the Church (Arnobius).
O blessed are those who fear the Lord *
and walk in his ways!
By the labor of your hands you shall eat. *
You will be happy and prosper;
your wife like a fruitful vine *
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive, *
around your table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed *
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion *
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children *
in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, peace!
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
Give lasting happiness, Lord, to those who reverence your name, so that our life and work may be such as to deserve your commendation, and bring us, laden with good fruit, to our everlasting home.
Ant. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Continue with Daytime Prayer
