Please load this Link to access a Screen Reader Optimised Version of This Website Skip Navigation
Nasa earth light
Pray Always and Everywhere
Go to Prayers Support us - Donate Now
Chevron Down

Liturgy of the Hours for May 29

Office of Readings for

Please Note

This is the Liturgy of the Hours for May 29. Your local date is .

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Proper of Seasons: 256
Psalter: Monday, Week IV, 1107

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings.

Office of Readings for Monday in Ordinary Time

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

Most ancient of all mysteries,
before your throne we lie;
have mercy now, most merciful,
most Holy Trinity.

When heaven and earth were still unmade,
when time was yet unknown,
you in your radiant majesty
did live and love alone.

You were not born; there was no source
from which your being flowed;
there is no end which you can reach:
for you are simply God.

How wonderful creation is,
the work which you did bless!
what then must you be like dear God,
eternal Loveliness!

Most ancient of all mysteries,
before your throne we lie;
have mercy now and ever more,
most Holy Trinity.

𝄞"Most Ancient of all Mysteries" by Rebecca Hincke • Words: Frederick William Faber, 1849; Music: St. Flavian; Artist: Rebecca Hincke; Copyright 2016 Surgeworks • Albums that contain this Hymn: Divine Office

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!

Psalm 73
Why is it that the good have many troubles?

Blessed is the man who does not lose faith in me (Matthew 11:6).

I

How good God is to Israel,
to those who are pure of heart.
Yet my feet came close to stumbling,
my steps had almost slipped
for I was filled with envy of the proud
when I saw how the wicked prosper.

For them there are no pains;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
They have no share in men’s sorrows;
they are not stricken like others.

So they wear their pride like a necklace,
they clothe themselves with violence.
Their hearts overflow with malice,
their minds seethe with plots.

They scoff; they speak with malice;
from on high they plan oppression.
They have set their mouths in the heavens
and their tongues dictate to the earth.

So the people turn to follow them
and drink in all their words.
They say: “How can God know?
Does the Most High take any notice?”
Look at them, such are the wicked,
but untroubled, they grow in wealth.

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. How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!

Ant. 2 Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.

II

How useless to keep my heart pure
and wash my hands in innocence,
when I was stricken all day long,
suffered punishment day after day.

Then I said: “If I should speak like that,
I should abandon the faith of your people.”

I strove to fathom this problem,
too hard for my mind to understand,
until I pierced the mysteries of God
and understood what becomes of the wicked.

How slippery the paths on which you set them;
you make them slide to destruction.
How suddenly they come to their ruin,
wiped out, destroyed by terrors.
Like a dream one wakes from, O Lord,
when you wake you dismiss them as phantoms.

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. Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.

Ant. 3 Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.

III

And so when my heart grew embittered
and when I was cut to the quick,
I was stupid and did not understand,
no better than a beast in your sight.

Yet I was always in your presence;
you were holding me by my right hand.
You will guide me by your counsel
and so you will lead me to glory.

What else have I in heaven but you?
Apart from you I want nothing on earth.
My body and my heart faint for joy;
God is my possession for ever.

All those who abandon you shall perish;
you will destroy all those who are faithless.
To be near God is my happiness.
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of all your works
at the gates of the city of Zion.

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

It is good to be with you, Father; in you is fullness of life for your faithful people; in you all hope resides. May you lead us to everlasting happiness.

Ant. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.

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.

To savor your words is my delight, O Lord,
Honey itself is not sweeter.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Ezekiel
2:8-3:11,17-21
The Shepherds who feed themselves

The Lord spoke to me and said: As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you: be not rebellious like this house of rebellion, but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.

It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me, in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me. It was covered with writing front and back, and written on it was: Lamentation and wailing and woe!

He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat. Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.

Not to a people with difficult speech and barbarous language am I sending you, nor to the many peoples (with difficult speech and barbarous language) whose words you cannot understand. If I were to send you to these, they would listen to you; but the house of Israel will refuse to listen to you, since they will not listen to me. For the whole house of Israel is stubborn of brow and obstinate in heart. But I will make your face as hard as theirs, and your brow as stubborn as theirs, like diamond, harder than flint. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.

Son of man, he said to me, take into your heart all my words that I speak to you; hear them well. Now go to the exiles, to your countrymen, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God!–whether they heed or resist!

Thus the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, you shall warn them for me.

If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life.

If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him. When, on the other hand, you have warned a virtuous man not to sin, and he has in fact not sinned, he shall surely live because of the warning, and you shall save your own life.

RESPONSORY Ezekiel 3:17; 2:6,8;3:8

I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel.
Listen to what I say to you
and speak to them in my name.
Neither be afraid of them nor rebellious like them.

I will make your face as hard as theirs
and your forehead as stubborn and as obstinate.
Neither be afraid of them nor rebellious like them.

Second reading
From a sermon On Pastors by Saint Augustine, bishop
The shepherds who feed themselves

Let us consider the unflattering words of God which Scripture addresses to shepherds who feed themselves and not the sheep. You consume their milk and cover yourselves with their wool; you kill the fatlings, but my sheep you do not pasture. You have failed to strengthen what was weak, to heal what was sick, and to bind up what was injured. You did not call back what went astray, nor seek out what was lost. What was strong you have destroyed, and my sheep have been scattered because there is no shepherd.

This is spoken to the shepherds who feed themselves and not the sheep; it speaks of their concern and their neglect. What is their concern? You consume their milk and cover yourselves with their wool. And so the Apostle asks: Who plants a vineyard and does not eat from its fruit? Who pastures a flock and does not drink from the milk of the flock? Thus we learn that the milk of the flock is whatever temporal support and sustenance God’s people give to those who are placed over them. It is of this that the Apostle was speaking in the passage just quoted.

Although he chose to support himself by the labor of his own hands and not to ask for milk from the sheep, the Apostle did say that he had the right to receive the milk, for the Lord had established that they who preach the Gospel should live from the Gospel. Paul also says that other of his fellow apostles made use of this right, a right granted them, and not unlawfully usurped. But Paul went further by not taking what was rightfully his. He forgave the debt, whereas the others did not demand what was not due them. Therefore Paul went further. Perhaps his action was foreshadowed by the Good Samaritan who, when he brought the sick man to the inn, said: If you spend any more, I will repay you on my way back.

What more can I say concerning those shepherds who do not need the milk of the flock? They are more merciful; or rather, they carry out a more abundant ministry of mercy. They are able to do so, and they do it. Let them receive praise, but do not condemn the others. The Apostle himself did not seek what was given. However, he wanted the sheep to be fruitful, not sterile and unable to give milk.

RESPONSORY Ezekiel 34:15-16

I myself shall pasture my sheep
and I myself shall give them rest, says the Lord God.
I shall look for the lost sheep and bring back the stray.

I shall strengthen the weak
and protect the healthy and strong.
I shall look for the lost sheep and bring back the stray.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Look upon us,
O God, Creator and ruler of all things,
and, that we may feel the working of your mercy,
grant that we may serve you with all our heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.
And give him thanks.

↑ to top

Personal Reflections

The Faith Journey of our Community

No Image

JamesTheElder on September 17th, 2023 at 22:38

Saint of the Day
Saint Joseph of Cupertino, simple and holy soul, teach us the power of simple belief in the words of our Lord God, Jesus the Christ.
Please support DivineOffice.orf -- Illustration by Elisa D. created for DivineOffice.org Please support DivineOffice.orf -- Illustration by Elisa D. created for DivineOffice.org

Contribute to DivineOffice.org

Your contribution ensures this site will be around to serve thousands who use it daily to pray.

Contribute Monthly

A monthly recurring payment is not required, but your support ensures this site will be around to serve thousands who use it daily to pray. You can select the amount of your monthly contribution below, or you can select "custom amount" and set it in the next page.

Contribute One-Time

If you prefer not to commit to a monthly contribution right now, please consider a one-time contribution. You will be able to set any amount in the next page.

Having trouble with this form?

You can also contribute through PayPal from this page, or you can mail a check.

Divine Office Blog

News and Updates from our ministry

New email notifications for our community members

Monica on May 29th, 2023at 6:25

Dear community, In an effort to encourage and promote among our community members more interaction, communication and spiritual support for one another, Divine Office has been working on a new email notification system where members... Continue reading

Update on the Liturgy of the Hours, Second Edition

Monica on May 10th, 2023at 3:35

Dear Community, Adoremus.org had published a fragment from the January 2022 Bishop’s Committee on Divine Worship Newsletter concerning the progress ICEL and USCCB made on the new edition of the Liturgy of the Hours. The... Continue reading

Divine Office New Website Design

Monica on December 30th, 2022at 11:07

Dear Community, At the start of the New Year, our gift to you is a new website design with a different architecture. We meant it to be fresh and beautiful, to promote our members’ interactions... Continue reading

Divine Office is available with Alexa

Monica on August 5th, 2022at 5:31

Dear community, Those of you in the United States can now pray the Liturgy of the Hours with Alexa. It’s yet another simple and convenient way to pray the hours and we hope it will... Continue reading

VISIT OUR BLOG

Get the DivineOffice App!

No Image

Pray always and everywhere with our Award-Winning Liturgy of the Hours app for iPhone, iPad, Android and Kindle Fire. NOW FREE!

No Image
No Image No Image

Ratings and Reviews

Our DivineOffice app is rated 4.9 out of 5, based on over 2,400 ratings and won the About.com Best Catholic App Award for 3 years in a row.

No Image No Image No Image No Image No Image

Pray anywhere
I have prayed the Divine Office for many years. [...] When I discovered this app, all of my concerns of ribbon placement were gone. Having the Divine Office on my phone is absolutely the best thing ever! The sense of community is so wonderful as I see how many others are praying at the same time as myself. [...] Now I don’t need to turn a lamp on as I use to when I used the Office printed volumes. It is such a blessing to have the Divine Office in my pocket. Many times I’ve been sitting in a doctor’s waiting room at the time of Mid Morning prayer. It is so calming of any worries to pull out my phone, open the app, and be able to connect with Our Lord at those times I need Him most. I don’t use the audio version much but the few times I’ve traveled, it is so comforting to not have to skip the Office in order to keep my hands on the steering wheel and my eyes in the road. I recommend this app to friends all the time, especially to those who’d like to pray the Office but feel intimidated by the size of the printed version and getting the ribbons placed properly. Thank you for developing this app. It is my constant companion.

SheezyOCon October 13, 2021

No Image No Image No Image No Image No Image

Super helpful
I have only been introduced to the divine office prayers two times before I downloaded this app. It is laid out in a way that is very easy to understand, and there is an audio option that will say all of the prayers. There is an option to set reminders throughout the day. I got this because, I didn’t really know how to say the divine office, and I didn’t know what prayer books I needed to purchase to begin. During the shutting down of churches for covid :( this has been a wonderful resource. One cool feature is that you can tap on the “in prayer” link and see little specks of light around the globe lighting up in the area that someone else is praying. It’s so cool to see everyone praying with you and is a powerful reminder that we are all connected and unified in Christ’s mystical body.

tori6543588on May 5, 2020

No Image No Image No Image No Image No Image

Praying with the whole Church
I love this app! Since it is now free and no longer for sale, I made sure to donate the price of buying it, and then some. I have loved the Liturgy of the Hours for 25 years. But I always felt alone when I prayed it. With this app, I am connected to others! I use it in conjunction with my printed Christian Prayer volume. On other days, I cannot get to my book but with the app, I always have the prayers available. I have the printed calendar with my book, but I actually rely on this more for placing my ribbons. The audio is wonderful!! I often read out loud with it. I love that I can change the speed of the audio! I have found that 1.3 is good for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you for this app. Thank you for still supporting it. Thank you for updating the “one God,” to just “God” change in the prayers. My book still throws me off but your app is right! Highly recommend this. Many friends have it. THANK YOU!!

MommytoNFP2on June 12, 2022

 
No Image

Recommended Books

Support us by starting your amazon shopping by clicking on this link.

MORE PRODUCTS
Book
Christian Prayer
This handy one-volume edition simplifies praying the Liturgy of the Hours.
Book
Liturgy of the Hours
Complete 4 Volumes Set
Book
Liturgy of the Hours Volume II
Lent and Easter
MORE PRODUCTS
Share
1X Speed
100%  Zoom
Moon Icon Light Mode
Minimize Icon EXIT

Where are you from?

Due to our licensing agreements, this website can only be accessed and used from the United States of America. By clicking on the button below and using this website you confirm you are eligible to use this website and accept our privacy policy, as well as the technical, statistical and marketing cookies we use on DivineOffice.org.

To avoid seeing this warning in the future, we recommend you register for an account and . Registering will also allow you to comment and post prayer requests.

Accept and Continue