This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
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Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 668
Psalter: Wednesday, Week IV, 1202
Common of Holy Men: 1822
Proper of Saints: 1558
Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Psalter: Wednesday, Week IV, 963
Common of Holy Men: 1455
Proper of Saints: 1203
Evening Prayer for Wednesday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of Mary
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
Accept, O Lord, the hymn of love
Our grateful hearts proclaim this day,
To honor one who undertook
For love of you, the perfect way.
As faithful follower of Christ,
In poverty he chose to live,
All riches and its joys he spurned,
Not seeking what the world can give.
Devoted heart and soul to you,
He strove for true humility,
That imitates in thought and deed
The Spouse of virgin’s purity.
He sought to serve but you alone,
To please you was his one desire,
His inmost soul, each word and act,
Was prompted by love's ardent fire.
Wholeheartedly he served on earth,
Attached to you by bonds of love,
Until his freed, triumphant soul
Attained its great reward above.
Grant us the grace of eagerness
To tread the path he bravely trod,
That with him we may praises sing
To you, the Trinity, our God. Amen.
𝄞 | "Accept, O Lord, the Hymn of Love - for him" by Kathleen Lundquist, Sara Faux • Title: Accept, O Lord, the Hymn of Love; Text: from Latin; Tr. St. Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK; Tune: Chant, Mode II; Liber Hymnarius; Artist: Kathleen Lundquist; Accompaniment: Sara Faux; Recording copyright 2017 by Surgeworks, Inc. |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, how wonderful is your wisdom, so far beyond my understanding.
Psalm 139
God sees all that is
Who has known the mind of God, who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:34).
I
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
Before ever a word is on my tongue
you know it, O Lord, through and through.
Behind and before you besiege me,
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge,
too high, beyond my reach.
O where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.
If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
If I say: “Let the darkness hide me
and the light around me be night,”
even darkness is not dark for you
and the night is as clear as the day.
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. Lord, how wonderful is your wisdom, so far beyond my understanding.
Ant. 2 I am the Lord: I search the mind and probe the heart; I give to each one as his deeds deserve.
II
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
Already you knew my soul,
my body held no secret from you
when I was being fashioned in secret
and molded in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw all my actions,
they were all of them written in your book,
every one of my days was decreed
before one of them came into being.
To me, how mysterious your thoughts,
the sum of them not to be numbered!
If I count them, they are more than the sand;
to finish, I must be eternal, like you.
O search me, God, and know my heart.
O test me and know my thoughts.
See that I follow not the wrong path
and lead me in the path of life eternal.
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
You watch over heaven and earth, Lord Jesus. Your death brought light to the dead; your resurrection gave joy to the saints; your ascension made the angels rejoice. Your power exceeds all power. Lead us to life eternal, and watch over us with your love. May your friends be filled with honour and join you in heaven.
Ant. I am the Lord: I search the mind and probe the heart; I give to each one as his deeds deserve.
Ant. 3 Through him all things were made; he holds all creation together in himself.
Canticle – Colossians 1:12-20
Christ the first-born of all creation and the first-born from the dead
Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints
in light.
He rescued us
from the power of darkness
and brought us
into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.
All were created through him;
all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.
It is he who is head of the body, the church!
he who is the beginning,
the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.
It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross.
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. Through him all things were made; he holds all creation together in himself.
READING Romans 9:4-5
To the Israelites belonged the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the law-giving, the worship, and the promises; theirs were the patriarchs, and from them came the messiah (I speak of his human origins). Blessed forever be God who is over all! Amen.
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.
RESPONSORY
He has come to the help of his servant Israel; he has remembered his promise of mercy.
— He has come to the help of his servant Israel; he has remembered his promise of mercy.
According to the promise he made to our fathers,
— he has remembered his promise of mercy.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— He has come to the help of his servant Israel; he has remembered his promise of mercy.
CANTICLE OF MARY
Ant. From the noble stem of Jesse a branch has sprung, and from this branch a beautiful flower, rich in scent, has blossomed.
Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
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. From the noble stem of Jesse a branch has sprung, and from this branch a beautiful flower, rich in scent, has blossomed.
INTERCESSIONS
Let us pray to the Father, the source of all holiness, and ask him to lead us to holiness of life through the example and intercession of his saints.
May we be holy as you are holy.
Holy Father, you want us to be called your sons and truly to be such,
— grant that your holy Church may proclaim you throughout the world.
May we be holy as you are holy.
Holy Father, you want us to walk worthily and please you in all we do,
— let us abound in doing good works.
May we be holy as you are holy.
Holy Father, you have reconciled us to yourself through Christ,
— preserve us in your name so that all may be one.
May we be holy as you are holy.
Holy Father, you have called us to a heavenly banquet,
— through the bread that came down from heaven make us worthy to grow in perfect love.
May we be holy as you are holy.
Holy Father, forgive the offenses of every sinner,
— let the dead perceive the light of your countenance.
May we be holy as you are holy.
Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Concluding Prayer
O Lord,
God of our Fathers,
who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace,
that of them should be born the Mother of your incarnate Son,
grant, through the prayers of both,
that we may attain the salvation you have promised to your people.
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.
DISMISSAL
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.