Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 653
Psalter: Saturday, Week I, 786
Common of Doctors: 1465 (reading, ant. canticle)
Common of Pastors: 1446 (intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1220 (concluding prayer)

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Psalter: Saturday, Week I, 770
Common of Doctors: 1434 (reading)
Proper of Saints: 1331 (concluding prayer)

Morning Prayer for Saturday in Advent, the Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

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 Dawn finds me ready to welcome you, my God.

Psalm 119
XIX (Koph)

I call with all my heart; Lord, hear me,
I will keep your statutes.
I call upon you, save me
and I will do your will.

I rise before dawn and cry for help,
I hope in your word.
My eyes watch through the night
to ponder your promise.

In your love hear my voice, O Lord;
give me life by your decrees.
Those who harm me unjustly draw near;
they are far from your law.

But you, O Lord, are close,
your commands are truth.
Long have I known that your will
is established for ever.

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

Save us by the power of your hand, Father, for our enemies have ignored your words. May the fire of your word consume our sins and its brightness illumine our hearts.

Ant. Dawn finds me ready to welcome you, my God.

Ant.2 The Lord is my strength, and I shall sing his praise, for he has become my Savior.

Canticle – Exodus 15:1-4a, 8-13, 17-18
Hymn of victory after the crossing of the Red Sea
Those who had conquered the beast were singing the song of Moses, God’s servant (see Revelation 15:2-3).

I will sing to the Lord, for he is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

My strength and my courage is the Lord,
and he has been my savior.
He is my God, I praise him;
the God of my father, I extol him.

The Lord is a warrior,
Lord is his name!
Pharaoh’s chariots and army he hurled into the sea.
At a breath of your anger the waters piled up,
the flowing waters stood like a mound,
the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea.

The enemy boasted, “I will pursue and overtake them;
I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them;
I will draw my sword;
my hand shall despoil them!”
When your wind blew, the sea covered them;
like lead they sank in the mighty waters.

Who is like to you among the gods, O Lord?
Who is like to you, magnificent in holiness?
O terrible in renown, worker of wonders,
when you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!

In your mercy you led the people you redeemed;
in your strength you guided them to your holy dwelling.

And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance-
the place where you made your seat, O Lord,
the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands established.
The Lord shall reign forever and ever.

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 is my strength, and I shall sing his praise, for he has become my Savior.

Ant. 3 O praise the Lord, all you nations.

Psalm 117
Praise for God’s loving compassion
I affirm that… the Gentile peoples are to praise God because of his mercy (Romans 15:8-9).

O praise the Lord, all you nations,
acclaim him all you peoples!

Strong is his love for us;
he is faithful for ever.

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

God, our Father, may all nations and peoples praise you. May Jesus, who is called faithful and true and who lives with you eternally, possess our hearts forever.

Ant. O praise the Lord, all you nations.

READING Wisdom 7:13-14

Simply I learned about Wisdom, and ungrudgingly do I share —
her riches I do not hide away;
For to men she is an unfailing treasure;
those who gain this treasure win the friendship of God,
to whom the gifts they have from discipline commend them.

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

Let the peoples proclaim the wisdom of the saints.
— Let the peoples proclaim the wisdom of the saints.

With joyful praise let the Church tell forth
— the wisdom of the saints.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— Let the peoples proclaim the wisdom of the saints.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. Those who are learned will be as radiant as the sky in all its beauty; those who instruct the people in goodness will shine like the stars for all eternity.

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. Those who are learned will be as radiant as the sky in all its beauty; those who instruct the people in goodness will shine like the stars for all eternity.

INTERCESSIONS

Christ is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep. Let us praise and thank him as we pray:
Nourish your people, Lord.

Christ, you decided to show your merciful love through your holy shepherds,
— let your mercy always reach us through them.
Nourish your people, Lord.

Through your vicars you continue to perform the ministry of shepherd of souls,
— direct us always through our leaders.
Nourish your people, Lord.

Through your holy ones, the leaders of your people, you served as physician of our bodies and our spirits,
— continue to fulfill your ministry of life and holiness in us.
Nourish your people, Lord.

You taught your flock through the prudence and love of your saints,
— grant us continual growth in holiness under the direction of our pastors.
Nourish your people, Lord.

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 made the Bishop Saint Ambrose
a teacher of the Catholic faith
and a model of apostolic courage,
raise up in your Church men after your own heart
to govern her with courage and wisdom.
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.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.