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Liturgy of the Hours for July 31

Office of Readings - Memorial for

Please Note

This is the Liturgy of the Hours for July 31. Your local date is .

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 651
Psalter: Monday, Week I, 702
Proper of Saints: 1565
Proper of Seasons: 545
Common of Pastors: 1737

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings.

Office of Readings for Monday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

The King of love my shepherd is,
Whose goodness fails me never.
I nothing lack if I am His,
and He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow,
my ransomed soul He's leading;
and where the verdant pastures grow,
with food celestial feeding.

Perverse and foolish, oft I strayed,
but yet in love He sought me;
and on His shoulder gently laid,
and home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death's dark vale I fear no ill,
with You, dear Lord, beside me;
Your rod and staff my comfort still,
Your cross before to guide me.

You spread a table in my sight;
Your unction grace bestowing;
and oh, what transport of delight
from Your pure chalice flowing!

And so through all the length of days,
Your goodness fails me never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Your praise
within Your house forever.

𝄞"The King of Love My Shepherd Is" by Johanna Montealto • Title: The King of love my Shepherd is Author: H. W. Baker (1868) Tune: ST. COLUMBA, Ancient Irish melody; Recording copyright 2016 Surgeworks

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe.

Psalm 6
A suffering man cries to God for mercy

I am filled with dismay…. Father, save me from this hour ( John 12:27).

Lord, do not reprove me in your anger:
punish me not in your rage.
Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength;
Lord, heal me, my body is racked;
my soul is racked with pain.

But you, O Lord… how long?
Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me in your merciful love,
for in death no one remembers you;
from the grave, who can give you praise?

I am exhausted with my groaning;
every night I drench my pillow with tears;
I bedew my bed with weeping.
My eye wastes away with grief;
I have grown old surrounded by my foes.

Leave me, all who do evil;
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
The Lord will accept my prayer.
All my foes will retire in confusion,
foiled and suddenly confounded.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, you love mercy and tenderness; you give life and overcome death. Look upon the many wounds of your Church; restore it to health by your risen Son, so that it may sing a new song in your praise.

Ant. Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe.

Ant. 2 The poor are not alone in their distress; God is here to help them.

Psalm 9A
Thanksgiving for victory

You will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad,
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.

See how my enemies turn back,
how they stumble and perish before you.
You upheld the justice of my cause;
you sat enthroned, judging with justice.

You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked;
you have wiped out their name for ever and ever.
The foe is destroyed, eternally ruined.
You uprooted their cities: their memory has perished.

But the Lord sits enthroned for ever.
He has set up his throne for judgment;
he will judge the world with justice,
he will judge the people with his truth.

For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you:
you will never forsake those who seek you.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The poor are not alone in their distress; God is here to help them.

Ant. 3 I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather.

II

Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion.
Proclaim his mighty works among the peoples;
for the Avenger of blood has remembered them,
has not forgotten the cry of the poor.

Have pity on me, Lord, see my sufferings,
you who save me from the gates of death;
that I may recount all your praise
at the gates of the city of Zion
and rejoice in your saving help.

The nations have fallen in the pit which they made,
their feet caught in the snare they laid.
The Lord has revealed himself, and given judgment.
The wicked are snared in the works of their own hands.

Let the wicked go down among the dead,
all the nations forgetful of God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten
nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.

Arise, Lord, let men not prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
Lord, strike them with terror,
let the nations know they are but men.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, when you judge, do not be deaf to the shouts of the poor, bring havoc to the madness of oppressors. Look at our wounds and save us from the gates of death, so that we may always rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion.

Ant. I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

You will hear the word from my mouth.
You will tell others what I have said.

READINGS

First reading
From the second letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians
Paul requests a collection for the relief of Jerusalem

Brothers, I should like you to know of the grace of God conferred on the churches of Macedonia. In the midst of severe trial their overflowing joy and deep poverty have produced an abundant generosity. According to their means—indeed I can testify even beyond their means—and voluntarily, they begged us insistently for the favor of sharing in this service to members of the church. Beyond our hopes they first gave themselves to God and then to us by the will of God. That is why I have exhorted Titus, who had already begun this work of charity among you, to bring it to successful completion: that just as you are rich in every respect, in faith and discourse, in knowledge, in total concern, and in the love we bear you, so may you abound in this charity.

I am not giving an order but simply testing your generous love against the concern which others show. You are well acquainted with the favor shown you by our Lord Jesus Christ: how for your sake he made himself poor though he was rich, so that you might become rich by his poverty. I am about to give you some advice on this matter of rich and poor. It will help you who began this good work last year, not only to carry it through, but to do so willingly. Carry it through now to a successful completion, so that your ready resolve may be matched by giving according to your means.

The willingness to give should accord with one’s means, not go beyond them. The relief of others ought not to impoverish you: there should be a certain equality. Your plenty at the present time should supply their need so that their surplus may one day supply your need, with equality as a result. It is written, “He who gathered much had no excess and he who gathered little had no lack.”

Thanks be to God, who has put an equal zeal for you in the heart of Titus! Not only did he welcome our appeal, but being very eager he has gone to you freely. We have sent along with him that brother whom all the churches praise for his preaching of the gospel. He has been appointed our traveling companion by the churches, as we willingly carry on this work of charity for the glory of the Lord. There is one thing I wish to avoid, namely any blame over my handling of this generous collection. We are concerned not only for God’s approval but also for the good esteem of men.

We have sent along that brother whose eagerness has been proved to us in many ways. He is now more eager than ever for this work because of his great trust in you. As for Titus, he is my companion and fellow worker in your behalf; our brothers too are apostles of the churches, the glory of Christ. Therefore, show these men the proof of your love, and why we boast about you, for all the churches to see.

RESPONSORY 2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:7

You are well aware of the generosity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, he became poor for your sake,
so that through his poverty you might become rich.

He emptied himself, assuming the condition of a slave.
So that through his poverty you might become rich.

Second reading
From the life of Saint Ignatius from his own words by Luis Gonzalez
Put inward experiences to the test to see if they come from God

Ignatius was passionately fond of reading worldly books of fiction and tales of knight-errantry. When he felt he was getting better, he asked for some of these books to pass the time. But no book of that sort could be found in the house; instead they gave him a life of Christ and a collection of the lives of saints written in Spanish.

By constantly reading these books he began to be attracted to what he found narrated there. Sometimes in the midst of his reading he would reflect on what he had read. Yet at other times he would dwell on many of the things which he had been accustomed to dwell on previously. But at this point our Lord came to his assistance, insuring that these thoughts were followed by others which arose from his current reading.

While reading the life of Christ our Lord or the lives of the saints, he would reflect and reason with himself: “What if I should do what Saint Francis or Saint Dominic did?” In this way he let his mind dwell on many thoughts; they lasted a while until other things took their place. Then those vain and worldly images would come into his mind and remain a long time. This sequence of thoughts persisted with him for a long time.

But there was a difference. When Ignatius reflected on worldly thoughts, he felt intense pleasure; but when he gave them up out of weariness, he felt dry and depressed. Yet when he thought of living the rigorous sort of life he knew the saints had lived, he not only experienced pleasure when he actually thought about it, but even after he dismissed these thoughts, he still experienced great joy. Yet he did not pay attention to this, nor did he appreciate it until one day, in a moment of insight, he began to marvel at the difference. Then he understood his experience: thoughts of one kind left him sad, the others full of joy. And this was the first time he applied a process of reasoning to his religious experience. Later on, when he began to formulate his spiritual exercises, he used this experience as an illustration to explain the doctrine he taught his disciples on the discernment of spirits.

RESPONSORY 1 Peter 4:11, 8

Whoever speaks should proclaim God’s message;
whoever ministers should serve by the power that God gives,
so that in all of you God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Before all else be constant in your love for one another.
So that in all of you God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who raised up Saint Ignatius of Loyola
in your Church to further the greater glory of your name,
grant that by his help we may imitate him in fighting
the good fight on earth and merit to receive with him a crown in heaven.
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.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.
And give him thanks.

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Personal Reflections

The Faith Journey of our Community

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JamesTheElder on July 30th, 2023 at 22:39

Saint of the Day
Saint Ignatius of Loyola, please pray for us that we may read and be inspired by the lives of the saints, and, as you have done, follow their example.
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