This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:21 — 22.6MB)
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 618
Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 838
Common of Virgins: 1802 (reading, responsory, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1578 (canticle antiphon, concluding prayer)
Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 802
Common of Virgins: 1441 (reading, responsory, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1323 (canticle antiphon, concluding prayer)
Morning Prayer for Tuesday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
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
Great leader of the pure of heart,
And every martyr's source of strength,
Of both the highest recompense,
In mercy hear our humble prayer.
We eagerly exalt and praise
This virgin's pure and valiant soul,
Ennobled by the two-fold psalm
Of martyrdom and chastity.
Unflinching, she confessed your name,
And faced all torture's anguish keen,
She bravely bid it do its worst
Until her soul took flight to you.
As earth's attractions she despised;
And spurned its false but fair caress,
So does she teach us faith unmoved,
Resisting even unto death.
By her kind favor, gentle Lord,
Forgive the wrong which we have done;
Restrain our tendency to ill,
Subdue our hearts unto your grace.
All glory, Jesus, be to you,
Once born of Virgin undefiled,
Who, with the Spirit of your Love
And God the Father, ever reign. Amen.
| 𝄞 | "Great Leader of the Pure of Heart" by Kathleen Lundquist, Sara Faux • Available for Purchase • Title: Great Leader of the Pure of Heart; Text: from Latin; Anon; Tr. St. Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK; Tune: Chant, Mode VIII; Liber Hymnarius; Artist: Kathleen Lundquist; Accompaniment: Sara Faux; Recording copyright 2017 by Surgeworks, Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: Hymns and Chants of Divine Office, Vol. 1 |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, send forth your light and your truth.
Psalm 43
Longing for the temple
I have come into the world to be its light (John 12:46).
Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From deceitful and cunning men
rescue me, O God.
Since you, O God, are my stronghold,
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning,
oppressed by the foe?
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my 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.
Psalm-prayer
Almighty Father, source of everlasting light, send forth your truth into our hearts and pour over us the brightness of your light.
Ant. Lord, send forth your light and your truth.
Ant. 2 Lord, keep us safe all the days of our life.
Canticle – Isaiah 38:10-14, 17-20
Anguish of a dying man and joy in his restoration
I am living, I was dead… and I hold the keys of death (Revelation 1:17-18).
Once I said,
“In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years.”
I said, “I shall see the Lord no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world.”
My dwelling, like a shepherd’s tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
you have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
Day and night you give me over to torment;
I cry out until the dawn.
Like a lion he breaks all my bones;
day and night you give me over to torment.
Like a swallow I utter shrill cries;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weak, gazing heaven-ward:
O Lord, I am in straits; be my surety!
You have preserved my life
from the pit of destruction,
when you cast behind your back
all my sins.
For it is not the nether world that gives you thanks,
nor death that praises you;
Neither do those who go down into the pit
await your kindness.
The living, the living give you thanks,
as I do today.
Fathers declare to their sons,
O God, your faithfulness.
The Lord is our savior;
we shall sing to stringed instruments
in the house of the Lord
all the days of our life.
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, keep us safe all the days of our life.
Ant. 3 To you, O God, our praise is due in Zion.
Psalm 65
Solemn thanksgiving
Zion represents heaven (Origen).
To you our praise is due
in Zion, O God.
To you we pay our vows,
you who hear our prayer.
To you all flesh will come
with its burden of sin.
Too heavy for us, our offenses,
but you wipe them away.
Blessed is he whom you choose and call
to dwell in your courts.
We are filled with the blessings of your house,
of your holy temple.
You keep your pledge with wonders,
O God our savior,
the hope of all the earth
and of far distant isles.
You uphold the mountains with your strength,
you are girded with power.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves
and the tumult of the peoples.
The ends of the earth stand in awe
at the sight of your wonders.
The lands of sunrise and sunset
you fill with your joy.
You care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.
And thus you provide for the earth;
you drench its furrows,
you level it, soften it with showers,
you bless its growth.
You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
the valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
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, hope of all the earth, hear the humble prayer of your children as we sing your praises. Pour out your Spirit on us so that our lives may bear fruit abundantly.
Ant. To you, O God, our praise is due in Zion.
READING Song of Songs 8:7
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away.
Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love,
he would be roundly mocked.
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
My heart is ever pleading, show me your face.
— My heart is ever pleading, show me your face.
I long to gaze upon you, Lord.
— Show me your face.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— My heart is ever pleading, show me your face.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Ant. At daybreak, Cecilia cried out: Come, soldiers of Christ, cast off the works of darkness, and clothe yourselves in the armor of light.
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way 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. At daybreak, Cecilia cried out: Come, soldiers of Christ, cast off the works of darkness, and clothe yourselves in the armor of light.
INTERCESSIONS
Christ is the spouse and crowning glory of virgins. Let us praise him with joy in our voices and pray to him with sincerity in our hearts:
Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
Christ, the holy virgins loved you as their one true spouse,
— grant that nothing may separate us from your love.
Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
You crowned Mary, your mother, queen of virgins, through her intercession,
— let us continually serve you with pure hearts.
Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
Your handmaids were always careful to love you with whole and undivided attention, that they might be holy in body and spirit,
— through their intercession grant that the lure of this passing world may not distract our attention from you.
Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
Lord Jesus, you are the spouse whose coming was anticipated by the wise virgins,
— grant that we may wait for you in hope and expectation.
Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
Through the intercession of this saint, who was one of the wise and prudent virgins,
— grant us wisdom and innocence of life.
Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.
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 God,
who gladden us each year
with the feast day of your handmaid Saint Cecilia,
grant, we pray,
that what has been devoutly handed down concerning her
may offer us examples to imitate
and proclaim the wonders worked in his servants by 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.