Posted on 09/27/2007 8:56:52 AM PDT by Salvation
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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.
| This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited. |
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 15 (16) |
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| The Lord, my inheritance |
| My body will rest in calm and hope. |
| Preserve me, Lord, I put my hope in you. I have said to the Lord “You are my Lord, in you alone is all my good”. As for the holy and noble men of the land, in them is all my delight. But for those who run to alien gods, their sorrows are many. I will not share in their libations of blood. I will not speak their names. You, Lord, are my inheritance and my cup. You control my destiny, the lot marked out for me is of the best, my inheritance is all I could ask for. I will bless the Lord who gave me understanding; even in the night my heart will teach me wisdom. I will hold the Lord for ever in my sight: with him at my side I can never be shaken. Thus it is that my heart rejoices, heart and soul together; while my body rests in calm hope. You will not leave my soul in the underworld. You will not let your chosen one see decay. You will show me the paths of life, the fullness of joy before your face, and delights at your right hand until the end of time. 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 body will rest in calm and hope. |
| Reading | 1 Thessalonians 5:23 |
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| May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you in every way and preserve your life and your soul and your body without blemish, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. | |
| Short Responsory | ? |
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| Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. - Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. |
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| Canticle | Nunc Dimittis |
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| Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace. | |
| Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace. You have fulfilled your promise. My own eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples. A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness; the glory of your people Israel. 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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| Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace. | |
| Prayer | |
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| Let us pray. Lord our God, we are tired by the work of the day. Refresh us with peaceful sleep and, forever renewed by the help you give, let us always be dedicated to you in body and mind. Through Christ our Lord, Amen. |
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| May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end. |
| A M E N |
Imitation of Christ: 1, 7, Avoiding False Hope and Pride [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 8, Shunning Over- Familiarity [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 9, Obedience and Subjection [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 10, Avoiding Idle Talk [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 11, Acquiring Peace and Zeal for Perfection [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 12, The Value of Adversity [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 13, Resisting Temptation [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1. 14, Avoiding Rash Judgment [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 15, Works Done in Charity [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 16, Bearing With the Faults of Others [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1. 17, Monastic Life [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 18, The Example Set Us by the Holy Fathers [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 19, The Practices of a Good Religious [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 20, The Love of Solitude and Silence [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 21, Sorrow of Heart [Devotional]
Imitation of Christ: 1, 22, Thoughts on the Misery of Man [Devotional]
From: Haggai 1:1-8
Rebuilding of the temple
[1] In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the
month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son
of She-alti-el, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high
priest, [2] “Thus says the Lord of hosts: This people say the time has not yet
come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” [3] Then the word of the Lord came by
Haggai the prophet, [4] “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled
houses, while this house lies in ruins? [5] Now therefore thus says the Lord of
hosts: Consider how you have fared. [6] You have sown much, and harvested
little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill;
you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages
to put them into a bag with holes.
[7] “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. [8] Go up to the
hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I
may appear in my glory, says the Lord.
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Commentary:
1:1. The text appears to be following the Persian calendar, which was based on
the lunar month, with regular adjustments to keep it in line with the solar year.
The date mentioned here would be 29 April 520 BC. References to dates in
Haggai can be checked against dates found in Chronicles, Ezra and Zechariah.
The prophecy is addressed to Zerubbabel and Joshua, the two senior administra-
tors, civil and religious (cf. Ezra 3:2, 8; 4:2, 3). Zerubbabel was a grandson of
Jehoiachin, the king exiled to Babylon (cf. 1 Chron 3:16-19). St Matthew (cf. Mt
1:12-13) includes him among the ancestors of Jesus.
1:2-15. The first oracle includes the message communicated by Haggai (vv. 2-11)
and the positive response of his audience (vv. 12-15). The words of the prophet
are addressed to the leaders of the people mentioned in 1:1 and also to the
“remnant” of the people (v. 14). In his oracle, the prophet plays with three ideas—
“the time”, the “house” and an invitation to “consider”. The whole line of argument
is based on what the people are saying: “the time has not come to rebuild the
house of the Lord” (v. 2). The prophet pokes fun at their saying this, given that
the time has come for them to build comfortable houses for themselves and leave
the temple rebuilding for later (the “House” of the Lord: vv. 2, 4, 8, 9). Therefore,
he twice (vv. 5, 9) invites them to consider the matter; they will find that they have
worked a lot but nothing has come of it (vv. 6, 9). This leads to the conclusion of
the message: the earth withholds its produce because the people have shown
such distrust in God; he is the Lord of nature; he can make the land fruitful – or
barren.
This rallying of the people to get them to rebuild the temple may seem a minor
matter compared with the high moral tone found in the prophetical books
generally. However, it derives from a profound faith: the people, whom God
“created”, will never have a proper sense of their identity unless they can see God
in their midst. This idea comes across clearly in the middle of the oracle: “build
the house . . . that I may take pleasure in it and that I may appear in my glory”
(v. 8). This should be read in the context of other biblical passages that assert
how good God is to reach down to his people: “For the Lord has chosen Zion; he
has desired it for his habitation: ‘This is my resting place for ever’” (Ps 132:13-14).
A logical consequence of this is that God should be offered the best that we can
give him, and that offering should also be seen in the beauty of church decoration,
for the arts, “by their very nature, are oriented towards the infinite beauty of God
which they attempt in some way to portray by the work of human hands; they
achieve their purpose of redounding to God’s praise and glory in proportion as
they are directed the more exclusively to the single aim of turning men’s minds
devoutly toward God” (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 122).
Verses 12-15 report the people’s response. The text describes an interesting
chain of events: Haggai’s listeners “obeyed” the oracle and were filled with fear
of the Lord (v. 12); God then hastens to comfort them, assuring them, as he
always did the leaders of Israel, “I am with you” (v. 13; Gen 26:3; 31:3; Ex 4:12;
Josh 1:5; etc.); and he encourages them to set out to work with a will (v. 14).
Twenty-four days have passed (v. 15; cf. v 1) since Haggai first addressed them,
but the Lord has achieved his objective. Drawing on her great experience of
friendship with God, St Teresa of Avila said something that would fit in here:
“Since he does not want to force our will, he takes whatever he is given; but he
does not give everything of himself until he sees that we have given everything
of ourselves to him” (Way of Perfection, 48, 4).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
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