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 37 (38)
The plea of a sinner in great peril
Lord, do not ruin me in your anger.
Lord, do not rebuke me in your wrath, do not ruin me in your anger: for I am pierced by your arrows and crushed beneath your hand. In the face of your anger there is no health in my body. There is no peace for my bones, no rest from my sins. My transgressions rise higher than my head: a heavy burden, they weigh me down. 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, do not ruin me in your anger.

Psalm 37 (38)
Lord, all that I desire is known to you.
My wounds are corruption and decay because of my foolishness. I am bowed down and bent, bent under grief all day long. For a fire burns up my loins, and there is no health in my body. I am afflicted, utterly cast down, I cry out from the sadness of my heart. Lord, all that I desire is known to you; my sighs are not hidden from you. My heart grows weak, my strength leaves me, and the light of my eyes – even that has gone. My friends and my neighbours keep far from my wounds. Those closest to me keep far away, while those who would kill me set traps, those who would harm me make their plots: they plan mischief all through the day. 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, all that I desire is known to you.

Psalm 37 (38)
I shall proclaim my wrongdoing. Do not abandon me, Lord, my saviour.
But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; like one who is dumb, I do not open my mouth. I am like someone who cannot hear, in whose mouth there is no reply. For in you, Lord, I put my trust: you will listen to me, Lord, my God. For I have said, “Let them never triumph over me: if my feet stumble, they will gloat.” For I am ready to fall: my suffering is before me always. For I shall proclaim my wrongdoing: I am anxious because of my sins. All the time my enemies live and grow stronger; they are so many, those who hate me without cause. Returning evil for good they dragged me down, because I followed the way of goodness. Do not abandon me, Lord: my God, do not leave me. Hurry to my aid, O Lord, my saviour. 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.
I shall proclaim my wrongdoing. Do not abandon me, Lord, my saviour.

My eyes are weary with longing for your salvation

– and for your words of justice.

Reading	1 Kings 1:11-35,2:10-12 ©
Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, ‘Have you not heard that unknown to our lord David, Adonijah, Haggith’s son, has become king? Well, this is my advice to you if you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go straight in to King David and say, “My lord king, did you not make your servant this promise on oath: Your son Solomon is to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne? How is it, then, that Adonijah is king?” And while you are still there talking to the king, I will come in after you and confirm what you say.’ So Bathsheba went to the king in his room (he was very old and Abishag of Shunem was in attendance on him). She knelt down and did homage to the king, and the king said, ‘What is your wish?’ ‘My lord,’ she answered ‘you swore this to your servant by the Lord your God, “Your son Solomon is to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne.” And now here is Adonijah king and you, my lord king, knowing nothing about it. He has sacrificed quantities of oxen and fatted calves and sheep, and invited all the royal princes, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the army commander; but he has not invited your servant Solomon. Yet you are the man, my lord king, to whom all Israel looks, to name for them the successor of my lord the king. And when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, my son Solomon and I will be made to suffer for this.’ She was still speaking when the prophet Nathan entered. ‘The prophet Nathan is here’ they told the king; and he came into the king’s presence and bowed down to the ground on his face before the king. ‘My lord king,’ said Nathan ‘is this, then, your decree: “Adonijah is to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne”? For he has gone down today and sacrificed quantities of oxen and fattened calves and sheep, and invited all the royal princes, the army chiefs, and the priest Abiathar; and they are there now, eating and drinking in his presence and shouting, “Long live King Adonijah!” He has not, however, invited me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon. Is this with my lord the king’s approval? Or have you not told those loyal to you who is to succeed to the throne of my lord the king?’ Then King David spoke. ‘Call Bathsheba to me’ he said. And she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. Then the king swore this oath, ‘As the Lord lives, who has delivered me from all adversity, just as I swore to you by the Lord the God of Israel that your son Solomon should be king after me and take my place on the throne, so I will bring it about this very day.’ Bathsheba knelt down, her face to the ground, and did homage to the king. ‘May my lord King David live for ever!’ she said. Then King David said, ‘Summon Zadok the priest, the prophet Nathan and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.’ So they came into the king’s presence. ‘Take the royal guard with you,’ said the king ‘mount my son Solomon on my own mule and escort him down to Gihon. There Zadok the priest and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him king of Israel; then sound the trumpet and shout, “Long live King Solomon!” Then you are to follow him up and he is to come and take his seat on my throne and be king in place of me, for he is the man I have appointed as ruler of Israel and of Judah.’

Reading

1 Kings 1:11-35,2:10-12 ©

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, ‘Have you not heard that unknown to our lord David, Adonijah, Haggith’s son, has become king? Well, this is my advice to you if you want to save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go straight in to King David and say, “My lord king, did you not make your servant this promise on oath: Your son Solomon is to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne? How is it, then, that Adonijah is king?” And while you are still there talking to the king, I will come in after you and confirm what you say.’

So Bathsheba went to the king in his room (he was very old and Abishag of Shunem was in attendance on him). She knelt down and did homage to the king, and the king said, ‘What is your wish?’ ‘My lord,’ she answered ‘you swore this to your servant by the Lord your God, “Your son Solomon is to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne.” And now here is Adonijah king and you, my lord king, knowing nothing about it. He has sacrificed quantities of oxen and fatted calves and sheep, and invited all the royal princes, the priest Abiathar, and Joab the army commander; but he has not invited your servant Solomon. Yet you are the man, my lord king, to whom all Israel looks, to name for them the successor of my lord the king. And when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, my son Solomon and I will be made to suffer for this.’

She was still speaking when the prophet Nathan entered. ‘The prophet Nathan is here’ they told the king; and he came into the king’s presence and bowed down to the ground on his face before the king. ‘My lord king,’ said Nathan ‘is this, then, your decree: “Adonijah is to be king after me; he is the one who is to sit on my throne”? For he has gone down today and sacrificed quantities of oxen and fattened calves and sheep, and invited all the royal princes, the army chiefs, and the priest Abiathar; and they are there now, eating and drinking in his presence and shouting, “Long live King Adonijah!” He has not, however, invited me your servant, Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, or your servant Solomon. Is this with my lord the king’s approval? Or have you not told those loyal to you who is to succeed to the throne of my lord the king?’

Then King David spoke. ‘Call Bathsheba to me’ he said. And she came into the king’s presence and stood before him. Then the king swore this oath, ‘As the Lord lives, who has delivered me from all adversity, just as I swore to you by the Lord the God of Israel that your son Solomon should be king after me and take my place on the throne, so I will bring it about this very day.’ Bathsheba knelt down, her face to the ground, and did homage to the king. ‘May my lord King David live for ever!’ she said. Then King David said, ‘Summon Zadok the priest, the prophet Nathan and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.’ So they came into the king’s presence. ‘Take the royal guard with you,’ said the king ‘mount my son Solomon on my own mule and escort him down to Gihon. There Zadok the priest and the prophet Nathan are to anoint him king of Israel; then sound the trumpet and shout, “Long live King Solomon!” Then you are to follow him up and he is to come and take his seat on my throne and be king in place of me, for he is the man I have appointed as ruler of Israel and of Judah.’

Reading	From a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope
We are blessed if we fulfil the commands of the Lord in the harmony of love
Beloved, see what a marvellous thing love is; its perfection is beyond our expression. Who can truly love save those to whom God grants it? We ought to beg and beseech him in his mercy that our love may be genuine, unmarred by any too human inclination. From Adam down to the present time all generations have passed away; but those who were perfected in love by God’s grace have a place among the saints who will be revealed when the kingdom of Christ comes to us. As it is written: Enter your chambers for a little while, until my wrath and anger pass away; and I shall remember a good day and raise you from your graves. We are blessed, beloved, if we fulfil the commands of the Lord in harmonious, loving union, so that through love our sins may be forgiven. For it is written: Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes not iniquity, and in whose mouth there is no deceit. This is the blessing that has been given to those who have been chosen by God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen. We should pray then that we may be granted forgiveness for our sins and for whatever we may have done when led astray by our adversary’s servants. And for those who were the leaders of the schism and the sedition, they too should look to the common hope. For those who live in pious fear and in love are willing to endure torment rather than have their neighbour suffer; and they more willingly suffer their own condemnation than the loss of that harmony that has been so nobly and righteously handed down to us. For it is better for a man to confess his sins than to harden his heart. Who then among you is generous, who is compassionate, who is filled with love? He should speak out as follows: If I have been the cause of sedition, conflict and schisms, then I shall depart; I shall go away wherever you wish, and I shall do what the community wants, if only the flock of Christ live in peace with the presbyters who are set over them. Whoever acts thus would win great glory for himself in Christ, and he would be received everywhere, for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. Thus have they acted in the past and will continue to act in the future who live without regret as citizens in the city of God.

Reading

From a letter to the Corinthians by Saint Clement, pope

We are blessed if we fulfil the commands of the Lord in the harmony of love

Beloved, see what a marvellous thing love is; its perfection is beyond our expression. Who can truly love save those to whom God grants it? We ought to beg and beseech him in his mercy that our love may be genuine, unmarred by any too human inclination. From Adam down to the present time all generations have passed away; but those who were perfected in love by God’s grace have a place among the saints who will be revealed when the kingdom of Christ comes to us. As it is written: Enter your chambers for a little while, until my wrath and anger pass away; and I shall remember a good day and raise you from your graves. We are blessed, beloved, if we fulfil the commands of the Lord in harmonious, loving union, so that through love our sins may be forgiven. For it is written: Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes not iniquity, and in whose mouth there is no deceit. This is the blessing that has been given to those who have been chosen by God through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

We should pray then that we may be granted forgiveness for our sins and for whatever we may have done when led astray by our adversary’s servants. And for those who were the leaders of the schism and the sedition, they too should look to the common hope. For those who live in pious fear and in love are willing to endure torment rather than have their neighbour suffer; and they more willingly suffer their own condemnation than the loss of that harmony that has been so nobly and righteously handed down to us. For it is better for a man to confess his sins than to harden his heart.

Who then among you is generous, who is compassionate, who is filled with love? He should speak out as follows: If I have been the cause of sedition, conflict and schisms, then I shall depart; I shall go away wherever you wish, and I shall do what the community wants, if only the flock of Christ live in peace with the presbyters who are set over them. Whoever acts thus would win great glory for himself in Christ, and he would be received everywhere, for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. Thus have they acted in the past and will continue to act in the future who live without regret as citizens in the city of God.

Concluding Prayer
O God, the world had fallen flat in the dust but your Son’s humility stood it upright once more. Fill your faithful people with a holy joy: take those whom you have torn away from slavery to sin and make them rejoice eternally. 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.