This is the Liturgy of the Hours for September 27. Your local date is .
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:24 — 23.8MB)
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Psalter: Wednesday, Week I, 708
Common of Pastors: 1748 (verse before first reading)
Proper of Seasons: 296 (first reading)
Proper of Saints: 1424 (second reading, concluding prayer)
Office of Readings for Wednesday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, 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 I love you, Lord; you are my strength.
Psalm 18:2-30
Thanksgiving for salvation and victory
At that time there was a violent earthquake (Revelation 11:15).
I
I love you, Lord, my strength,
my rock, my fortress, my savior.
My God is the rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.
The Lord is worthy of all praise;
when I call I am saved from my foes.
The waves of death rose about me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the snares of the grave entangled me;
the traps of death confronted me.
In my anguish I called to the Lord;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
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. I love you, Lord; you are my strength.
Ant. 2 The Lord has saved me; he wanted me for his own.
II
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the mountains were shaken to their base:
they reeled at his terrible anger.
Smoke came forth from his nostrils
and scorching fire from his mouth:
coals were set ablaze by its heat.
He lowered the heavens and came down,
a black cloud under his feet.
He came enthroned on the cherubim,
he flew on the wings of the wind.
He made the darkness his covering,
the dark waters of the clouds, his tent.
A brightness shone out before him
with hailstones and flashes of fire.
The Lord thundered in the heavens;
the Most High let his voice be heard.
He shot his arrows, scattered the foe,
flashed his lightnings and put them to flight.
The bed of the ocean was revealed;
the foundations of the world were laid bare
at the thunder of your threat, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your anger.
From on high he reached down and seized me;
he drew me forth from the mighty waters.
He snatched me from my powerful foe,
from my enemies whose strength I could not match.
They assailed me in the day of my misfortune,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me forth into freedom,
he saved me because he loved 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. The Lord has saved me; he wanted me for his own.
Ant. 3 Lord, kindle a light for my guidance and scatter my darkness.
III
He rewarded me because I was just,
repaid me, for my hands were clean,
for I have kept the way of the Lord
and have not fallen away from my God.
For his judgments are all before me:
I have never neglected his commands.
I have always been upright before him;
I have kept myself from guilt.
He repaid me because I was just
and my hands were clean in his eyes.
You are loving with those who love you:
you show yourself perfect with the perfect.
With the sincere you show yourself sincere,
but the cunning you outdo in cunning.
For you save a humble people
but humble the eyes that are proud.
You, O Lord, are my lamp,
my God who lightens my darkness.
With you I can break through any barrier,
with my God I can scale any wall.
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 God, our strength and salvation, put in us the flame of your love and make our love for you grow to a perfect love which reaches to our neighbor.
Ant. Lord, kindle a light for my guidance and scatter my darkness.
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 Ezekiel
37:1-14
The vision of the resurrection of God’s people
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he led me out in the spirit of the Lord and set me in the center of the plain, which was now filled with bones. He made me walk among them in every direction so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain. How dry they were!
He asked me: Son of man, can these bones come to life? “Lord God,” I answered, “you alone know that.” Then he said to me: Prophesy over these bones, and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life. I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the Lord.
I prophesied as I had been told, and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise; it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone. I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them, and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them. Then he said to me: Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man, and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord God: From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.
Then he said to me: Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They have been saying, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.” Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the Lord. I have promised, and I will do it, says the Lord.
RESPONSORY Ezekiel 37:12, 13, 5; John 11:25
I shall open your graves and raise you up from them.
— Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he die, shall live.
— Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
Second reading
From a writing by Saint Vincent de Paul, priest
Serving the poor is to be our first preference
Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool by the Gentiles and a stumbling block by the Jews, he showed them that his mission was to preach to the poor: He sent me to preach the good news to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause.
Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to understand the poor and weak. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.
It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.
RESPONSORY 1 Corinthians 9:19, 22; Job 29:15-16
Though I am not bound to anyone, I became a slave to all. To the weak I became weak.
— I became all things to all men that I might at least save some.
I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame; I was a father to the poor.
— I became all things to all men that I might at least save some.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
who for the relief of the poor
and the formation of the clergy
endowed the Priest Saint Vincent de Paul
with apostolic virtues,
grant, we pray, that,
afire with that same spirit,
we may love what he loved and
put into practice what he taught.
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.
The Faith Journey of our Community
seanmoylantd on September 27th, 2023 at 6:58
St Vincent de PaulJamesTheElder on September 26th, 2023 at 23:38
Saint of the Day