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 56 (57) |
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| Morning prayer in time of affliction |
| Have mercy on me, God, have mercy. My soul flies to you for refuge. I will hide in the shelter of your wings until the time of ambush is past. I will cry to God the Most High, to the God who cares for me. He will send help from heaven to set me free. He will disgrace those who trample me underfoot. He will send forth his mercy and faithfulness. My soul lies among lion-cubs that would devour the children of men. Their teeth are spears and arrows, their tongues are pointed swords. May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the whole earth. They prepared a trap for my feet; my soul was bent double under its burden; they dug a pit in front of me – but they fell into it themselves. My heart is ready, God. My heart is ready. I will offer you music and song. Awake, my glory, awake, lyre and harp. I will awaken the dawn. I will proclaim you among the peoples, Lord, and make music for you among the nations, for your mercy reaches as high as the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. May you be exalted above the heavens, O God; let your glory cover the 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. |
| Canticle | Jeremiah 31 |
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| The joy of those whom God sets free | |
| All you nations, listen to the word of the Lord, proclaim it in the farthest islands: “He who scattered his people Israel has brought them back together. He will care for them as a shepherd tends his flock”. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob and freed him from the hand of his conqueror. They will come and sing praises on Mount Sion, they will flood in to receive the good things of the Lord, grain, and wine, and oil, and the young of both herd and flock. Their spirit will be like a richly watered garden, and they will hunger no more. The young girl will dance for joy, young men and old men too. “I will turn their weeping into gladness”, says the Lord, “I will comfort them and give them joy after sorrow. I will overwhelm my priests with rich food, and my good things will fill my people to overflowing”. 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 47 (48) |
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| Thanksgiving for the safety of the people |
| The Lord is great and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain is a beautiful sight, the joy of all the earth. Mount Sion is at its northernmost edge, the city of the great king. Here among its palaces, God has shown himself as its refuge. For the kings assembled, made alliance against it – but when they saw it, they were amazed. Panic took them and they scattered. Trembling took hold of them, pain like that of childbirth. With the east wind you will destroy the ships of Tarshish. What we had heard, we saw in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God has founded for ever. We ponder your mercy, O God, as we stand in your temple. Your name, O Lord, and your praise will reach to the ends of the earth. Your right hand delivers justice. Let Mount Sion be glad and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements. Go round Sion, see it all, count every tower. Feel its strength, visit its palaces, so that you can tell the next generation – Here is God, our God, here he remains for ever; and for ever he will lead us and guide 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. |
| Short reading | Isaiah 45:8 © |
|---|---|
| Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain it down. Let the earth open for salvation to spring up. Let deliverance, too, bud forth which I, the Lord, shall create. | |
| 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. |
| Show forth your power, O Lord, and bring your great strength to our aid. Although our sins impede our steps, let your grace help us to go forward. 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 |
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| Other Articles by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D. Printer Friendly Version |
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| This Isn't A Dress Rehearsal | ||
Is 26:1-6 / Mt 7:21, 24-27
What do you put your trust in? That question can have as many answers, both honest and phony, as there are people. You can imagine the cowpoke in the western movie answering, "I put my trust in this little ol' six-gun here." Or perhaps you might think of the athlete flexing his muscles in response, or the race car driver patting his car in reply, or the banker eyeing his checkbook serenely. The good thing about those responses is that they're probably all honest. The bad thing about them is that they're entirely inadequate.
Far too often we treat life as if it were just a dress rehearsal and not the real thing, as if there were an infinite number of days still ahead of us, and we needn't get serious. Well, of course, that isn't true. Our days are numbered, this is the real and only chance at a life that we're going to get, and we'd better decide who and what we can really count on in the long term.
Isaiah gives us the right answer in today's reading. "Trust in the Lord forever!" he says. "For the Lord is an eternal rock." Well said: As solid and enduring as an eternal rock, and as gentle as a kindly father. What more could we ask?
Trust Him. He'll never let you down!