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 June 03

Office of Readings - Memorial for Sts. Charles Lwanga and companions, Mm

Please Note

This is the Liturgy of the Hours for June 03. Your local date is .

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 651
Psalter: Saturday, Week IV, 1250
Common of Several Martyrs: 1684 (verse)
Proper of Seasons: 283 (first reading)
Proper of Saints: 1453 (second reading, concluding prayer)

Office of Readings for Saturday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saints Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs

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

Lo! round the throne, a glorious band,
The saints in countless myriads stand;
Of every tongue redeemed to God,
Arrayed in garments washed in blood,
Alleluia.

Through tribulation great they came;
They bore the cross, despised the shame;
From all their labors now they rest,
In God’s eternal glory blest,
Alleluia.

They see their Savior face to face;
And sing the triumphs of His grace;
Him day and night, they ceaseless praise,
To Him their loud thanksgiving raise,
Alleluia.

“Worthy the Lamb, for sinners slain,
Through endless years to live and reign;
Thou hast redeemed us by Thy blood,
And made us kings and priests to God.”
Alleluia.

O may we tread the sacred road
That saints and holy martyrs trod;
Wage to the end the glorious strife,
And win, like them, a crown of life,
Alleluia.

𝄞"Lo! Round The Throne, A Glorious Band" by Rebecca Hincke • Available for PurchaseMusical Score • Title: Lo! Round The Throne, A Glorious Band; Text: Rowland Hill, 1783; Music: "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" by Nikolaus Herman 1560; Artist: Rebecca Hincke; (c) 2017 Surgeworks, Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: The Hymns and Chants of Divine Office, Vol. 1

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 The Lord summons heaven and earth to witness his judgment on his people.

Psalm 50
Genuine love of God

I have come not to abolish the law but to bring it to perfection (see Matthew 5:17).

I

The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion’s perfect beauty he shines.

Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer.

Before him fire devours,
around him tempest rages.
He calls on the heavens and the earth
to witness his judgment of his people.

“Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.”
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for God himself is the judge.

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 Lord summons heaven and earth to witness his judgment on his people.

Ant. 2 Come to me in your distress, and I will save you.

II

“Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.

I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.

For I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.

Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it holds.
Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
Call on me in the day of distress.
I will free you and you shall honor 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.

Ant. Come to me in your distress, and I will save you.

Ant. 3 A sacrifice of praise will give me glory.

III

But God says to the wicked:

“But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,

you who see a thief and go with him;
who throw in your lot with adulterers,
who unbridle your mouth for evil
and whose tongue is plotting crime,

you who sit and malign your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?

Mark this, you who never think of God,
lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.”

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

Father, because Jesus, your servant, became obedient even unto death, his sacrifice was greater than all holocausts of old. Accept the sacrifice of praise we offer you through him and may we show the effects of it in our lives by striving to do your will until our whole life becomes adoration in Spirit and truth.

Ant. A sacrifice of praise will give me glory.

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.

Our spirits yearn for the Lord.
He is our help and our protector.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of Job
13:13-14:6
Job appeals to God’s judgment

Job replied to his friends and said:
Be silent, let me alone! that I may speak
and give vent to my feelings.
I will carry my flesh between my teeth,
and take my life in my hand.
Slay me though he might, I will wait for him;
I will defend my conduct before him.
And this shall be my salvation,
that no impious man can come into his presence.

Pay careful heed to my speech,
and give my statement a hearing.
Behold, I have prepared my case,
I know that I am in the right.
If anyone can make a case against me,
then I shall be silent and die.

These things only do not use against me,
then from your presence I need not hide:
Withdraw your hand far from me,
and let not the terror of you frighten me.
Then call me, and I will respond;
or let me speak first, and answer me.

What are my faults and my sins?
My misdeeds and my sins make known to me!
Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?
Will you harass a wind-driven leaf,
or pursue a withered straw?
For you draw up bitter indictments against me,
and punish in me the faults of my youth.
You put my feet in the stocks;
you watch all my paths
and trace out all my footsteps.

Man born of woman
is short-lived and full of trouble,
Like a flower that springs up and fades,
swift as a shadow that does not abide.
Upon such a one will you cast your eyes
so as to bring him into judgment before you,
Though he wears out like a leather bottle,
like a garment that the moth has consumed?
Can a man be found who is clean of defilement?
There is none, however short his days.
You know the number of his months;
you have fixed the limit which he cannot pass.
Look away from him and let him be,
while, like a hireling, he completes his day.

RESPONSORY See Job 13:20, 21; see Jeremiah 10:24

O Lord, do not hide your face from me; lift away from me the weight of your hand,
and let not the fear of you terrify me.

O God, rebuke me with gentleness and not in anger, for your anger will reduce me to nothing.
And let not the fear of you terrify me.

Second reading
From the homily at the canonization of the martyrs of Uganda by Pope Paul VI
The glory of the martyrs—a sign of rebirth

The African martyrs add another page to the martyrology — the Church’s roll of honor — an occasion both of mourning and of joy. This is a page worthy in every way to be added to the annals of that Africa of earlier which we, living in this era and being men of little faith, never expected to be repeated.

In earlier times there occurred those famous deeds, so moving to the spirit, of the martyrs of Scilli, of Carthage, and of that “white robed army” of Utica commemorated by Saint Augustine and Prudentius; of the martyrs of Egypt so highly praised by Saint John Chrysostom, and of the martyrs of the Vandal persecution. Who would have thought that in our days we should have witnessed events as heroic and glorious?

Who could have predicted to the famous African confessors and martyrs such as Cyprian, Felicity, Perpetua and—the greatest of all—Augustine, that we would one day add names so dear to us as Charles Lwanga and Matthias Mulumba Kalemba and their twenty companions? Nor must we forget those members of the Anglican Church who also died for the name of Christ.

These African martyrs herald the dawn of a new age. If only the mind of man might be directed not toward persecutions and religious conflicts but toward a rebirth of Christianity and civilization!
Africa has been washed by the blood of these latest martyrs, the first of this new age (and, God willing, let them be the last, although such a holocaust is precious indeed). Africa is reborn free and independent.

The infamous crime by which these young men were put to death was so unspeakable and so expressive of the times. It shows us clearly that a new people needs a moral foundation, needs new spiritual customs firmly planted, to be handed down to posterity. Symbolically, this crime also reveals that a simple and rough way of life—enriched by many fine human qualities yet enslaved by its own weakness and corruption—must give way to a more civilized life wherein the higher expressions of the mind and better social conditions prevail.

RESPONSORY

We are warriors now, fighting on the battlefield of faith,
and God sees all we do; the angels watch and so does Christ.
What honor and glory and joy, to do battle in the presence of God, and to have Christ approve our victory.

Let us arm ourselves in full strength and prepare ourselves for the ultimate struggle with blameless hearts,
true faith and unyielding courage.
What honor and glory and joy, to do battle in the presence of God, and to have Christ approve our victory.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who have made the blood of Martyrs
the seed of Christians,
mercifully grant that the field which is your Church,
watered by the blood shed by Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions,
may be fertile and always yield you an abundant harvest.
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.

↑ to top

Personal Reflections

The Faith Journey of our Community

No Image

JamesTheElder on June 2nd, 2023 at 23:56

Saints of the Day
Saints Charles Lwanga, Matthias Mulumba Kalemba and your twenty companions, please pray for those attracted to the sin of sodomy that they may live chaste lives in the example you have set for us all.
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