Office of Readings

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 9B (10)
Thanksgiving
The Lord will give just judgments to the poor.
With what purpose, Lord, do you stay away, hide yourself in time of need and trouble? The wicked in their pride persecute the weak, trap them in the plots they have devised. The sinner glories in his desires, the miser congratulates himself. The sinner in his arrogance rejects the Lord: “there is no God, no retribution.” This is what he thinks – and all goes well for him. Your judgements are far beyond his comprehension: he despises all who stand against him. The sinner says to himself: “I will stand firm; nothing can touch me, from generation to generation.” His mouth is full of malice and deceit, under his tongue hide trouble and distress. He lies in ambush by the villages, he kills the innocent in some secret place. He watches the weak, he hides like a lion in its lair, and makes plans. He plans to rob the weak, lure him to his trap and rob him. He rushes in, makes a dive, and the poor victim is caught. For he has said to himself, “God has forgotten. He is not watching, he will never see.” 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.
The Lord will give just judgments to the poor.

Psalm 9B (10)
Lord, you see the poor man’s trouble and his suffering.
Rise up, Lord, raise your hand! Do not forget the weak. Why does the wicked man spurn God? Because he says to himself, “you will not take revenge.” But you do see: you see the trouble and the pain, and then you take things into your own hands. The weak fall to your care, and you are the help of the orphan. Break the arms of the sinner and evil-doer: seek out wickedness until there is no more to be found. The Lord is King for ever and for ever. The Gentiles have perished from his land. You have heard the prayer of the weak, Lord, and you will strengthen their hearts. You will lend your ear to the pleas of the orphans and the helpless, so mere mortals can frighten them no longer. 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.
Lord, you see the poor man’s trouble and his suffering.

Psalm 11 (12)
A prayer against the proud
The words of the Lord are pure words, they are silver refined in the furnace.
Save me, Lord, for the good men are all gone: there is no-one to be trusted among the sons of men. Neighbour speaks falsehood to neighbour: with lying lips and crooked hearts they speak. Let the Lord condemn all lying lips, all boastful tongues. They say “Our tongues will make us great, our lips are ours, we have no master.” “On account of the sufferings of the poor, the groans of the weak, I will rise up,” says the Lord. “I will bring to safety the one whom men despise.” The words of the Lord are pure words, silver tried by fire, freed from dross, silver seven times refined. You, Lord, will help us and guard us from now to all eternity – while the wicked walk round outside, where the vilest are most honoured of the children of men. 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.
The words of the Lord are pure words, they are silver refined in the furnace.

The Lord will guide the humble on the right path.

– He will teach his ways to the meek.

Reading	2 Samuel 2:1-11,3:1-5 ©
After this David consulted the Lord. ‘Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?’ he asked. The Lord answered, ‘Go up.’ ‘Which shall I go to?’ David asked. ‘To Hebron’ was the reply. So David went up, with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the wife of Nabal from Carmel. The men who were with him, David made go up too, each with his family, and they settled in the towns of Hebron. There the men of Judah came and anointed David king over the House of Judah. They told David that the people of Jabesh-gilead had given Saul burial, so David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead. ‘May you be blessed by the Lord’ he said ‘for doing this kindness to Saul your lord, and for burying him. And now may the Lord show kindness and faithfulness to you! I too shall treat you well because you have done this. And now take courage and be men of valour. Saul your lord is dead, but the House of Judah has anointed me to be their king.’ Abner son of Ner, Saul’s army commander, had taken Ishbaal son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He had made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin, and indeed over all Israel. Ishbaal son of Saul was forty years old when he became king of Israel, and he reigned for two years. Only the House of Judah supported David. The length of David’s reign over Judah in Hebron was seven years and six months. So the war dragged on between the House of Saul and the House of David, but David grew steadily stronger, and the House of Saul ever weaker. Sons were born to David at Hebron: his first-born Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; his second Chileab, by Abigail the wife of Nabal from Carmel; the third Absalom the son of Maacah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth Shephatiah the son of Abital; the sixth Ithream, by Eglah wife of David. These were born to David at Hebron.

Reading

2 Samuel 2:1-11,3:1-5 ©

After this David consulted the Lord. ‘Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?’ he asked. The Lord answered, ‘Go up.’ ‘Which shall I go to?’ David asked. ‘To Hebron’ was the reply. So David went up, with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the wife of Nabal from Carmel. The men who were with him, David made go up too, each with his family, and they settled in the towns of Hebron. There the men of Judah came and anointed David king over the House of Judah.

They told David that the people of Jabesh-gilead had given Saul burial, so David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead. ‘May you be blessed by the Lord’ he said ‘for doing this kindness to Saul your lord, and for burying him. And now may the Lord show kindness and faithfulness to you! I too shall treat you well because you have done this. And now take courage and be men of valour. Saul your lord is dead, but the House of Judah has anointed me to be their king.’

Abner son of Ner, Saul’s army commander, had taken Ishbaal son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim. He had made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel and Ephraim and Benjamin, and indeed over all Israel. Ishbaal son of Saul was forty years old when he became king of Israel, and he reigned for two years. Only the House of Judah supported David. The length of David’s reign over Judah in Hebron was seven years and six months.

So the war dragged on between the House of Saul and the House of David, but David grew steadily stronger, and the House of Saul ever weaker.

Sons were born to David at Hebron: his first-born Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; his second Chileab, by Abigail the wife of Nabal from Carmel; the third Absalom the son of Maacah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; the fourth Adonijah the son of Haggith; the fifth Shephatiah the son of Abital; the sixth Ithream, by Eglah wife of David. These were born to David at Hebron.

Reading	From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ
This is our glory: the witness of our conscience. There are men who rashly judge, who slander, whisper and murmur, who are eager to suspect what they do not see, and eager to spread abroad things they have not even a suspicion of. Against men of this sort, what defence is there save the witness of our own conscience? My brothers, we do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that if we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us. They should imitate us if we are imitators of Christ; and if we are not, they should still imitate him. He cares for his flock, and he alone is to be found with those who care for their flocks, because they are all in him. And so we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We want to take our joy in men – and we rejoice when they take pleasure in what is good, not because this exalts us, but because it benefits them. It is clear who is intended by the apostle Paul: If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. And similarly when he says: Be pleasing to all men in all things, even as I in all things please all men. Yet his words are as clear as water, limpid, undisturbed, unclouded. And so you should, as sheep, feed on and drink of his message; do not trample on it or stir it up. You have listened to our Lord Jesus Christ as he taught his apostles: Let your actions shine before men so that they may see your good deeds, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven, for it is the Father who made you thus. We are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hands. If then you are good, praise is due to him who made you so; it is no credit to you, for if you were left to yourself, you could only be wicked. Why then do you try to pervert the truth, in wishing to be praised when you do good, and blaming God when you do evil? For though he said: Let your works shine before men, in the same Sermon on the Mount he also said: Do not parade your good deeds before men. So if you think there are contradictions in Saint Paul, you will find the same in the Gospels; but if you refrain from troubling the waters of your heart, you will recognise here the peace of the Scriptures and with it you will have peace. And so, my brothers, our concern should be not only to live as we ought, but also to do so in the sight of men; not only to have a good conscience but also, so far as we can in our weakness, so far as we can govern our frailty, to do nothing which might lead our weak brother into thinking evil of us. Otherwise, as we feed on the good pasture and drink the pure water, we may trample on God’s meadow, and weaker sheep will have to feed on trampled grass and drink from troubled waters.

Reading

From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop

If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ

This is our glory: the witness of our conscience. There are men who rashly judge, who slander, whisper and murmur, who are eager to suspect what they do not see, and eager to spread abroad things they have not even a suspicion of. Against men of this sort, what defence is there save the witness of our own conscience?

My brothers, we do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that if we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us. They should imitate us if we are imitators of Christ; and if we are not, they should still imitate him. He cares for his flock, and he alone is to be found with those who care for their flocks, because they are all in him.

And so we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We want to take our joy in men – and we rejoice when they take pleasure in what is good, not because this exalts us, but because it benefits them.

It is clear who is intended by the apostle Paul: If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. And similarly when he says: Be pleasing to all men in all things, even as I in all things please all men. Yet his words are as clear as water, limpid, undisturbed, unclouded. And so you should, as sheep, feed on and drink of his message; do not trample on it or stir it up.

You have listened to our Lord Jesus Christ as he taught his apostles: Let your actions shine before men so that they may see your good deeds, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven, for it is the Father who made you thus. We are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hands. If then you are good, praise is due to him who made you so; it is no credit to you, for if you were left to yourself, you could only be wicked. Why then do you try to pervert the truth, in wishing to be praised when you do good, and blaming God when you do evil? For though he said: Let your works shine before men, in the same Sermon on the Mount he also said: Do not parade your good deeds before men. So if you think there are contradictions in Saint Paul, you will find the same in the Gospels; but if you refrain from troubling the waters of your heart, you will recognise here the peace of the Scriptures and with it you will have peace.

And so, my brothers, our concern should be not only to live as we ought, but also to do so in the sight of men; not only to have a good conscience but also, so far as we can in our weakness, so far as we can govern our frailty, to do nothing which might lead our weak brother into thinking evil of us. Otherwise, as we feed on the good pasture and drink the pure water, we may trample on God’s meadow, and weaker sheep will have to feed on trampled grass and drink from troubled waters.

Concluding Prayer
O God, by your grace you adopted us and chose us to be children of light. Grant that we may not become entangled in error and shadow but always shine with the glory of truth. 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.

The First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church

The First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church
optional memorial
June 30th

Jan van Eyck
The Ghent Altarpiece (wings open)
1432
Oil on wood, 350 x 461 cm
Cathedral of St Bavo, Ghent
Red clothes in painting represents martyrs

Collect:
Father,
you sanctified the Church of Rome
with the blood of its first martyrs.
May we find strength from their courage
and rejoice in their triumph.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Reading: Romans 8:31b-39
What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with Him? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, "For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 24:4-13
And Jesus answered them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ', and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.
"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved.