Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Psalter: Friday, Week IV, 1194
Proper of Seasons: 140
Proper of Saints: 1338
Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 1632

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings.

Office of Readings for Friday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin 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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 My God, do not reject my cry for help, assailed as I am by the wicked.

Psalm 55
Against a friend proved traitor
Jesus was seized with fear and distress (Mark 14:33).

I

O God, listen to my prayer,
do not hide from my pleading,
attend to me and reply;
with my cares, I cannot rest.

I tremble at the shouts of the foe,
at the cries of the wicked;
for they bring down evil upon me.
They assail me with fury.

My heart is stricken within me,
death’s terror is on me,
trembling and fear fall upon me
and horror overwhelms me.

O that I had wings like a dove
to fly away and be at rest.
So I would escape far away
and take refuge in the desert.

I would hasten to find a shelter
from the raging wind,
from the destructive storm, O Lord,
and from their plotting tongues.

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. My God, do not reject my cry for help, assailed as I am by the wicked.

Ant. 2 The Lord himself will free us from hostile and treacherous hands.

II

For I can see nothing but violence
and strife in the city.
Night and day they patrol
high on the city walls.

It is full of wickedness and evil;
it is full of sin.
Its streets are never free
from tyranny and deceit.

If this had been done by an enemy
I could bear his taunts.
If a rival had risen against me,
I could hide from him.

But it is you, my own companion,
my intimate friend!
How close was the friendship between us.
We walked together in harmony
in the house of God.

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 himself will free us from hostile and treacherous hands.

Ant. 3 Entrust your cares to the Lord; he will sustain you.

III

As for me, I will cry to God
and the Lord will save me.
Evening, morning and at noon
I will cry and lament.

He will deliver my soul in peace
in the attack against me:
for those who fight me are many,
but he hears my voice.

God will hear and will humble them,
the eternal judge:
for they will not amend their ways.
They have no fear of God.

The traitor has turned against his friends;
he has broken his word.
His speech is softer than butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are smoother than oil,
but they are naked swords.

Entrust your cares to the Lord
and he will support you.
He will never allow
the just man to stumble.

But you, O God, will bring them down
to the pit of death.
Deceitful and bloodthirsty men
shall not live half their days.
O Lord, I will trust in 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.

Psalm-prayer

Lord Jesus, you were rejected by your people, betrayed by the kiss of a friend, and deserted by your disciples. Give us the confidence that you had in the Father, and our salvation will be assured.

Ant. Entrust your cares to the Lord; he will sustain you.

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.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God.
— And cherish it in their hearts.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Isaiah
30:1-18
The futility of entering into pacts with foreign peoples

Woe to the rebellious children,
says the Lord,
Who carry out plans that are not mine,
who weave webs that are not inspired by me,
adding sin upon sin.
They go down to Egypt,
but my counsel they do not seek.
They find their strength in Pharaoh’s protection
and take refuge in Egypt’s shadow;
Pharaoh’s protection shall be your shame,
and refuge in Egypt’s shadow your disgrace.
When their princes are at Zoan
and their messengers reach Hanes,
All shall be ashamed
of a people that gain them nothing,
Neither help nor benefit,
but only shame and reproach.

[Oracle on the Beasts of the Negeb]
Through the distressed and troubled land
of the lioness and roaring lion,
of the viper and flying saraph,
They carry their riches on the backs of asses
and their treasures on the humps of camels
To a people good for nothing,
to Egypt whose help is futile and vain.
Therefore I call her
“Rahab quelled.”

Now come, write it on a tablet they can keep,
inscribe it in a record;
That it may be in future days
an eternal witness:
This is a rebellious people,
deceitful children,
Children who refuse
to obey the law of the Lord.
They say to the seers, “Have no visions”;
to the prophets, “Do not descry for us what is right;
speak flatteries to us, conjure up illusions.
Out of the way! Out of our path!
Let us hear no more
of the Holy One of Israel.”

Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel:
Because you reject this word,
And put your trust in what is crooked and devious,
and depend on it,
This guilt of yours shall be
like a descending rift
Bulging out in a high wall
whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant.
It crashes like a potter’s jar
smashed beyond rescue,
And among its fragments cannot be found
a sherd to scoop fire from the hearth
or dip water from the cistern.

For thus said the Lord God,
the Holy One of Israel:
By waiting and by calm you shall be saved,
in quiet and in trust your strength lies.
But this you did not wish.
“No,” you said,
“Upon horses we will flee.”
Very well, flee!
“Upon swift steeds we will ride.”
Not so swift as your pursuers.
A thousand shall tremble at the threat of one;
if five threaten you, you shall flee,
Until you are left like a flagstaff on the mountaintop,
like a flag on the hill.
Yet the Lord is waiting to show you favor,
and he rises to pity you;
For the Lord is a God of justice:
blessed are all who wait for him!

RESPONSORY Isaiah 30:15, 18

Turn back, be at peace,
and you shall be saved.
— Your strength shall lie in quiet and in trust.

The Lord is waiting to show you his favor.
Happy are all who trust in him.
— Your strength shall lie in quiet and in trust.

Second reading
From a homily by Saint Amadeus of Lausanne, bishop
Queen of the world and of peace

Observe how fitting it was that even before her assumption the name of Mary shone forth wondrously throughout the world. Her fame spread everywhere even before she was raised above the heavens in her magnificence. Because of the honor due her Son, it was indeed fitting for the Virgin Mother to have first ruled upon earth and then be raised up to heaven in glory. It was fitting that her fame be spread in this world below, so that she might enter the heights of heaven in overwhelming blessedness. Just as she was borne from virtue to virtue by the Spirit of the Lord, she was transported from earthly renown to heavenly brightness.

So it was that she began to taste the fruits of her future reign while still in the flesh. At one moment she withdrew to God in ecstasy; at the next she would bend down to her neighbors with indescribable love. In heaven angels served her, while here on earth she was venerated by the service of men. Gabriel and the angels waited upon her in heaven. The virgin John, rejoicing that the Virgin Mother was entrusted to him at the cross, cared for her with the other apostles here below. The angels rejoiced to see their queen; the apostles rejoiced to see their lady, and both obeyed her with loving devotion.

Dwelling in the loftiest citadel of virtue, like a sea of divine grace or an unfathomable source of love that has everywhere overflowed its banks, she poured forth her bountiful waters on trusting and thirsting souls. Able to preserve both flesh and spirit from death she bestowed health-giving salve on bodies and souls. Has anyone ever come away from her troubled or saddened or ignorant of the heavenly mysteries? Who has not returned to everyday life gladdened and joyful because his request had been granted by the Mother of God?

She is a bride, so gentle and affectionate, and the mother of the only true bridegroom. In her abundant goodness she has channeled the spring of reason’s garden, the well of living and life-giving waters that pour forth in a rushing stream from divine Lebanon and flow down from Mount Zion until they surround the shores of every far-flung nation. With divine assistance she has redirected these waters and made them into streams of peace and pools of grace. Therefore, when the Virgin of virgins was led forth by God and her Son, the King of kings, amid the company of exulting angels and rejoicing archangels, with the heavens ringing with praise, the prophecy of the psalmist was fulfilled, in which he said to the Lord: At your right hand stands the queen, clothed in gold of Ophir.

RESPONSORY

A great sign appeared in the heavens: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
— and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

The queen clothed in cloth of gold, stood on your right hand.
— And upon her head a crown of twelve stars.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who made the Mother of your Son
to be our Mother and our Queen,
graciously grant that, sustained by her intercession,
we may attain in the heavenly Kingdom
the glory promised to your children.
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.