Midafternoon Prayer for Guardian Angels
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 623
Proper of Saints: 1459
Complementary Psalmody: 1259 (Midafternoon)
Midafternoon Prayer for the Memorial of Guardian Angels, using the Complementary Psalmody
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
O great creator of the world,
Your Hand divine has fashioned all,
And with an equal providence
You guard us lest we fail and fall.
Be present with us while we pray,
Poor sinners, but your children too,
From dawn to dusk, most loving Lord,
enrich our souls with light anew.
Each angel whom you have assigned
To help and guide us night and day,
Be present, also, pure and strong,
To keep all harm and sin away.
May he be ever at our side
To bid the hostile fiend depart,
Lest he ensnare with his deceits
The heedless and unwary heart.
And may he shield us from the fear
Of enemies and constant strife,
Averting pestilence and woe
That peace may truly bless our life.
All glory to the Father be,
Who by his angels fear dispels,
From souls whom God the Son redeemed,
In whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Amen.
| 𝄞 | "O Great Creator of the World" by Kathleen Lundquist, Sara Faux • Title: O Great Creator of the World; Text: Orbis patrator optime; 16th-17th c.; Tr. St. Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK; Tune: Chant, Mode III; Liber Hymnarius; Artist: Kathleen Lundquist; Accompaniment: Sara Faux; Recording copyright 2017 by Surgeworks, Inc. |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 The Lord has done great things for us; he is the source of all our joy.
Psalm 126
Joyful hope in God
Companions with him in suffering, you will share his over-flowing happiness (2 Corinthians 1:7)
When the Lord delivered Zion from bondage,
it seemed like a dream.
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
on our lips there were songs.
The heathens themselves said: “What marvels
the Lord worked for them!”
What marvels the Lord worked for us!
Indeed we were glad.
Deliver us, O Lord, from our bondage
as streams in dry land.
Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves
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 done great things for us; he is the source of all our joy.
Ant. 2 May the Lord build our house and watch over our city.
Psalm 127
Apart from God our labors are worthless
You are God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:9)
If the Lord does not build the house,
in vain do its builders labor;
if the Lord does not watch over the city,
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat,
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.
Truly sons are a gift from the Lord,
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons of youth
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
O the happiness of the man
who has filled his quiver with these arrows!
He will have no cause for shame
when he disputes with his foes in the gateways.
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. May the Lord build our house and watch over our city.
Ant. 3 Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Psalm 128
Happiness of family life rooted in God
“May the Lord bless you from Zion,” that is, from the Church (Arnobius)
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!
By the labor of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper;
the wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
Your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children
in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, 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. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
READING Acts 10:3-5
One afternoon at about three Cornelius had a vision in which he clearly saw a messenger of God coming toward him and calling, “Cornelius!” He stared at the sight and said in fear, “What is it, sir?” The answer came: “Your prayers and your generosity have risen in God’s sight, and because of them he has remembered you. Send some men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, known as Peter.”
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.
The prayers of the saints rose like incense.
— It went forth from the angel’s hand in the presence of God.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
who in your unfathomable providence
are pleased to send your holy Angels to guard us,
hear our supplication as we cry to you,
that we may always be defended by their protection
and rejoice eternally in their company.
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 (only added when praying in community)
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.