This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
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Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 833
Common of Pastors: 1748
Proper of Seasons: 63
Proper of Saints: 1301
Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings
Office of Readings for Tuesday in Ordinary Time, for the Memorial of Saint Dominic, 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 Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you.
Psalm 37
The lot of the wicked and the good
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5).
I
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not envy those who do evil:
for they wither quickly like grass
and fade like the green of the fields.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.
Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait in patience;
do not fret at the man who prospers;
a man who makes evil plots
to bring down the needy and the poor.
Calm your anger and forget your rage;
do not fret, it only leads to evil.
For those who do evil shall perish;
the patient shall inherit the land.
A little longer — and the wicked shall have gone.
Look at his place, he is not there.
But the humble shall own the land
and enjoy the fullness of peace.
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. Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you.
Ant. 2 Turn away from evil, learn to do God’s will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him.
II
The wicked man plots against the just
and gnashes his teeth against him;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked
for he sees that his day is at hand.
The sword of the wicked is drawn,
his bow is bent to slaughter the upright.
Their sword shall pierce their own hearts
and their bows shall be broken to pieces.
The just man’s few possessions
are better than the wicked man’s wealth;
for the power of the wicked shall be broken
and the Lord will support the just.
He protects the lives of the upright,
their heritage will last for ever.
They shall not be put to shame in evil days,
in time of famine their food shall not fail.
But the wicked shall perish
and all the enemies of the Lord.
They are like the beauty of the meadows,
they shall vanish, they shall vanish like smoke.
The wicked man borrows without repaying,
but the just man is generous and gives.
Those blessed by the Lord shall own the land,
but those he has cursed shall be destroyed.
The Lord guides the steps of a man
and makes safe the path of the one he loves.
Though he stumble he shall never fall
for the Lord holds him by the hand.
I was young and now I am old,
but I have never seen the just man forsaken
nor his children begging for bread.
All the day he is generous and lends
and his children become a blessing.
Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.
The unjust shall be wiped out for ever
and the children of the wicked destroyed.
The just shall inherit the land;
there they shall live forever.
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. Turn away from evil, learn to do God’s will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him.
Ant. 3 Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way.
III
The just man’s mouth utters wisdom
and his lips speak what is right;
the law of his God is in his heart,
his steps shall be saved from stumbling.
The wicked man watches for the just
and seeks occasion to kill him.
The Lord will not leave him in his power
nor let him be condemned when he is judged.
Then wait for the Lord, keep to his way.
It is he who will free you from the wicked,
raise you up to possess the land
and see the wicked destroyed.
I have seen the wicked triumphant,
towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
I passed by again; he was gone.
I searched; he was nowhere to be found.
See the just man, mark the upright,
for the peaceful man a future lies in store,
but sinners shall all be destroyed.
No future lies in store for the wicked.
The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.
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 proclaimed the poor to be blessed, Lord Jesus, for the kingdom of heaven is given to them. Fill us generously with your gifts. Teach us to put our trust in the Father and to seek his kingdom first of all rather than imitate the powerful and envy the rich.
Ant. Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way.
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 book of the Prophet Amos
7:1-17
Visions of destruction
This is what the Lord God showed me: He was forming a locust swarm when the late growth began to come up (the late growth after the king’s mowing). While they were eating all the grass in the land, I said:
Forgive, O Lord God!
How can Jacob stand?
He is so small!
And the Lord repented of this. “It shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Then the Lord God showed me this: he called for a judgment by fire. It had devoured the great abyss, and was consuming the land, when I said:
Cease, O Lord God!
How can Jacob stand?
He is so small!
The Lord repented of this. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Then the Lord God showed me this: he was standing by a wall, plummet in hand. The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” And when I answered, “A plummet,” the Lord said:
See, I will lay the plummet
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will forgive them no longer.
The high places of Isaac shall be laid waste,
and the sanctuaries of Israel made desolate;
I will attack the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words. For this is what Amos says:
Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.”
To Amos, Amaziah said: “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The Lord took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel. Now hear the word of the Lord!”
You say: prophesy not against Israel,
preach not against the house of Isaac.
Now thus says the Lord:
Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
Israel shall be exiled far from its land.
RESPONSORY Amos 3:7, 8; 7:15
The Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets.
— The Lord has spoken; who will not prophesy?
The Lord took me as I was following the flock, and said to me: Go, prophesy to my people.
— The Lord has spoken; who will not prophesy?
Second reading
From various writings on the history of the Order of Preachers
He spoke with God or about God
Dominic possessed such great integrity and was so strongly motivated by divine love, that without a doubt he proved to be a bearer of honor and grace. He was a man of great equanimity, except when moved to compassion and mercy. And since a joyful heart animates the face, he displayed the peaceful composure of a spiritual man in the kindness he manifested outwardly and by the cheerfulness of his countenance.
Wherever he went he showed himself in word and deed to be a man of the Gospel. During the day no one was more community-minded or pleasant toward his brothers and associates. During the night hours no one was more persistent in every kind of vigil and supplication. He seldom spoke unless it was with God, that is, in prayer, or about God, and in this matter he instructed his brothers.
Frequently he made a special personal petition that God would deign to grant him a genuine charity, effective in caring for and obtaining the salvation of men. For he believed that only then would he be truly a member of Christ, when he had given himself totally for the salvation of men, just as the Lord Jesus, the Savior of all, had offered himself completely for our salvation. So, for this work, after a lengthy period of careful and provident planning, he founded the Order of Friars Preachers.
In his conversations and letters he often urged the brothers of the Order to study constantly the Old and New Testaments. He always carried with him the gospel according to Matthew and the epistles of Paul, and so well did he study them that he almost knew them from memory.
Two or three times he was chosen bishop, but he always refused, preferring to live with his brothers in poverty. Throughout his life, he preserved the honor of his virginity. He desired to be scourged and cut to pieces, and so die for the faith of Christ. Of him Pope Gregory IX declared: “I knew him as a steadfast follower of the apostolic way of life. There is no doubt that he is in heaven, sharing in the glory of the apostles themselves.”
RESPONSORY See Sirach 48:1; Malachi 2:6
This preacher of the new salvation leaped up like a flame.
— His words burned like a torch.
True teaching was in his mouth; no evil was ever found on his lips.
— His words burned like a torch.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
May Saint Dominic
come to the help of your Church
by his merits and teaching,
O Lord, and may he,
who was an outstanding preacher of your truth,
be a devoted intercessor on our behalf.
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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