O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
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.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 42 (43) |
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| Longing for the temple |
| Vindicate me, Lord: judge my case against an unholy nation, rescue me from betrayers, from the wicked. For you are the God of my refuge; why have you rejected me? why must I suffer while my enemies torment me? Send forth your light and your truth; let them lead me away, let them lead me up your holy mountain, up to your sanctuary. I shall go in to the altar of God, to the God of my gladness and joy. I will sing out to you on the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you so sad, my soul, and anxious within me? Put your hope in the Lord, I will praise him still, my saviour and my God. 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. |
| Canticle | Isaiah 38 |
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| The psalm of Hezekiah on recovering from sickness | |
| I said, in the middle of my days I am going to the gates of the underworld. Where shall I find the remainder of my years? I said, I will not see the Lord God in the land of the living, I will never see another of the inhabitants of the earth. My dwelling-place is taken away, taken far away from me, like the tent of a shepherd. Like a weaver, he has rolled up my life and cut it off from the loom. From morning to night, you have made an end of me. I cried for help till daybreak; like a lion, he has crushed all my bones. From morning to night, you have made an end of me. I twitter like a fledgling sparrow, make noises like a dove. My eyes are weak from looking upward. But you have pulled my soul out of the pit of destruction, you have put all my sins behind you. For after all, the underworld will not proclaim you, nor death praise you; those who go down there do not wait in hope for your faithfulness. It is the living, the living who will proclaim you, as I do today. Fathers will pass on to their children the truth of your faithfulness. Save me, Lord, and to the sound of the harp we will sing to you, all the days of our life, in the house of the Lord. 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 64 (65) |
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| A solemn thanksgiving |
| To you we owe praise, O God, in Sion; to you we will fulfil our vows, in Jerusalem. It is you who answer prayers: to you must all men come, because we are sinners; even if our transgressions overwhelm us, you will blot them out. Blessed is the man you have taken up and chosen: he will live within your halls. We shall be filled with the good things of your house, with the holiness of your temple. Marvellous is the justice with which you listen to us, God of our salvation, hope of all the earth and far-off coasts. You make firm the mountains in their place, clothed in your power and might. You make still the roaring of the sea, the crash of its waves; and the tumult of the peoples. Those who live at the ends of the earth will tremble at your wonders. You will fill the east and the west with joy. You have come to the earth, you have filled it, saturated it with fruitfulness. The river of God is filled with water, as you prepare the harvest: for thus you have prepared the land, watering its furrows, smoothing its roughnesses, softening it with showers, blessing the seeds within it. You have crowned the year with your kindness. Your footsteps will drip with fruitfulness. The desert pastures will be soaked, the hills will be wrapped in rejoicing. The fields will be clothed with flocks, the vales overflow with corn. They will cry out, and sing 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. |
| Short reading | Genesis 49:10 © |
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| The sceptre shall not pass from Judah, nor the mace from between his feet, until the one comes to whom it belongs, to whom the peoples shall render obedience. | |
| Canticle | Benedictus |
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| The Messiah and his forerunner | |
| Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of 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. |
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| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| God, you proclaimed your salvation to the very ends of the earth. Grant, we ask you, that we may rejoice as we await his glorious birth. 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. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
Happy Feast Day. This morning at Mass, Father tied in Our Lady of Guadalupe with praying for an end to abortion. Just as she brought about the end to human sacrifice in the temples, so we must ask that she help bring about an end to our sacrifice of babies.