Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

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 23 (24)
The Lord comes to his temple
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all who live in it. He himself founded it upon the seas and set it firm over the waters. Who will climb the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in his holy place? The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart, who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely. He will receive the blessing of the Lord and be justified by God his saviour. This is the way of those who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob. Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter. Who is the king of glory? The Lord of might and power. The Lord, strong in battle. Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter. Who is the king of glory? The Lord of hosts – he is the king of glory. 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.

Psalm 23 (24)

The Lord comes to his temple

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all who live in it.
He himself founded it upon the seas and set it firm over the waters.

Who will climb the mountain of the Lord? Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of might and power. The Lord, strong in battle.

Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors, and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of hosts – he is the king of glory.

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	Tobit 13
God punishes and saves
Blessed be God who lives for ever, whose kingdom is eternal: for he both punishes and takes pity, he leads down to the underworld, and rescues from perdition; no one can escape him. Give thanks to him before all nations, children of Israel: he scattered you among them, and there he has made known his greatness. Give glory to him before all who live: he is our Lord, our father, and our God for ever. He will punish you for your transgressions; but he will take pity on all your sufferings, and gather you together from all the nations among whom he scattered you. If you turn back to him with all your heart and soul – if you keep faithful to him – he will turn back to you and hide his face no longer. So now look at what he has done with you, and praise him with all your might. Bless the Lord of justice, and glorify the eternal King. In the land of my captivity I trust in him; I show his power and majesty to the sinful people. Turn back, sinners, and be upright in his presence – perhaps he will forgive you and show you his favour. I will rejoice in the Lord with all my soul, my soul will rejoice as long as it lives. Bless the Lord, all his chosen ones: all people, praise his greatness. Fill your days with joy and proclaim his glory. 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

Tobit 13

God punishes and saves

Blessed be God who lives for ever, whose kingdom is eternal:
for he both punishes and takes pity,
he leads down to the underworld, and rescues from perdition;
no one can escape him.

Give thanks to him before all nations, children of Israel: he scattered you among them, and there he has made known his greatness.
Give glory to him before all who live: he is our Lord, our father, and our God for ever.

He will punish you for your transgressions; but he will take pity on all your sufferings, and gather you together from all the nations among whom he scattered you.
If you turn back to him with all your heart and soul – if you keep faithful to him – he will turn back to you and hide his face no longer.

So now look at what he has done with you, and praise him with all your might.
Bless the Lord of justice, and glorify the eternal King.

In the land of my captivity I trust in him; I show his power and majesty to the sinful people.
Turn back, sinners, and be upright in his presence – perhaps he will forgive you and show you his favour.

I will rejoice in the Lord with all my soul, my soul will rejoice as long as it lives.
Bless the Lord, all his chosen ones: all people, praise his greatness.
Fill your days with joy and proclaim his glory.

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.

Psalm 32 (33)
The Lord provides
Rejoice in the Lord, you just: it is good for the upright to praise him. Proclaim the Lord on the lyre, play his song on the ten-stringed harp. Sing a new song to the Lord, sing out your cries of triumph, for the word of the Lord is truly just, and all his actions are faithful. The Lord loves justice and right judgement; the earth is full of his loving kindness. By the Lord’s word the heavens were made, and all their array by the breath of his mouth. He gathered the seas as if in a bag, he stored up the depths in his treasury. Let every land fear the Lord, let all the world be awed at his presence. For he spoke, and they came into being; he commanded, and they were made. The Lord confounds the counsel of the nations, throws the thoughts of the peoples into confusion. But the Lord’s own counsel stands firm for ever, his thoughts last for all generations. Happy the nation whose lord is God, the people he has chosen as his inheritance. The Lord looks down from the heavens and sees all the children of men. From his dwelling-place he looks upon all who inhabit the earth. He moulded each one of their hearts, he understands all that they do. The king will not be saved by his forces; the abundance of his strength will not set the strong man free. Do not trust a horse to save you, whatever its swiftness and strength. For see, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, upon those who trust in his mercy, hoping he will save their souls from death and their bodies from hunger. Our souls praise the Lord, for he is our help and our protector, for our hearts rejoice in him, and we trust in his holy name. Lord, show us your loving kindness, just as we put our hope in you. 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.

Psalm 32 (33)

The Lord provides

Rejoice in the Lord, you just: it is good for the upright to praise him.
Proclaim the Lord on the lyre, play his song on the ten-stringed harp.
Sing a new song to the Lord, sing out your cries of triumph,
for the word of the Lord is truly just, and all his actions are faithful.
The Lord loves justice and right judgement; the earth is full of his loving kindness.
By the Lord’s word the heavens were made, and all their array by the breath of his mouth.
He gathered the seas as if in a bag, he stored up the depths in his treasury.

Let every land fear the Lord, let all the world be awed at his presence.
For he spoke, and they came into being; he commanded, and they were made.
The Lord confounds the counsel of the nations, throws the thoughts of the peoples into confusion.
But the Lord’s own counsel stands firm for ever, his thoughts last for all generations.

Happy the nation whose lord is God, the people he has chosen as his inheritance.
The Lord looks down from the heavens and sees all the children of men.
From his dwelling-place he looks upon all who inhabit the earth.
He moulded each one of their hearts, he understands all that they do.

The king will not be saved by his forces; the abundance of his strength will not set the strong man free.
Do not trust a horse to save you, whatever its swiftness and strength.
For see, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, upon those who trust in his mercy,
hoping he will save their souls from death and their bodies from hunger.

Our souls praise the Lord, for he is our help and our protector,
for our hearts rejoice in him, and we trust in his holy name.
Lord, show us your loving kindness, just as we put our hope in you.

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	Romans 13:11,12-13 ©
You must wake up now: the night is almost over, it will be daylight soon. Let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime.

Canticle	Benedictus
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.

Canticle

Benedictus

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.

Prayers and Intercessions

We are called to heaven, beloved brethren, so let us bless Jesus, high priest of our faith, and call on him: - Lord, you are our God and our saviour.
Almighty King, through our baptism you have made us a royal priesthood:: may we offer you a constant sacrifice of praise.
Help us to keep your commandments: so that through the Holy Spirit we may dwell in you, and you in us.
Give us your eternal wisdom: so that it may be with us today and work with us.
Grant that today we may bring sadness to no-one: but on the contrary, give happiness to all we meet.

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.

Lord, look with favour on our morning prayers.
Brighten the inmost places of our hearts with your love so that no dark desires can hide there:
heal us with the light of your heavenly grace.

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

We’ve all heard parents say, “I’m only doing this because I love you” and “This hurts me more than it hurts you.” Perhaps only when we ourselves become parents can such statements make sense to us!

Like a parent disciplining his or her child, the Spirit has some pretty hard things to say in these two letters. “You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead,” he tells members of the church in Sardis. “I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. … Repent.” To those in Laodicea he says: “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth… . You are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:1-3,16-17).

How can we face such condemnations? Only by remembering the principle, “Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise” (Revelation 3:19). If God didn’t love us so much, our well-being wouldn’t concern him, and our mistakes wouldn’t matter to him. And because God loves us so much, he gives us the grace to respond to his correction. He invites us, as he invited the Laodiceans, to open the door so that Jesus can enter our house and “dine” with us (3:20).

Only in such intimacy can we find the courage to face our shortcomings, repent, and allow God’s love to change us.

Jesus doesn’t expect us to change everything at once—just as he didn’t expect Zacchaeus to become perfect overnight. All Zacchaeus had to do at first was come down from the tree. Then Jesus invited him to open his home. In the joy of fellowship with Jesus, Zacchaeus found the grace to change his lifestyle in very specific ways.

Is there a line in this reading that strikes me as particularly apt? Am I lukewarm, straddling the fence about something? Am I self-satisfied, failing to recognize how much I need God? Is there some work I began with good intentions but haven’t continued? Ask these questions honestly in the full light of God’s unconditional love. Then ask what step God may be inviting you to take today.

“Holy Spirit, help me to believe in the love you have for me. In the light of that love, show me today how you are inviting me to draw closer to you.”

Psalm 15:2-5; Luke 19:1-10

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

Meditation: Revelation 3:1-6,14-22