This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 07. Your local date is .
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Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 649
Psalter: Thursday, Week I, 749
Common of Pastors: 1431 (verse before first reading)
Proper of Seasons: 175 (first reading)
Proper of Saints: 1218 (second reading, concluding prayer)
Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings.
Office of Readings for Thursday in Advent, for the Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor
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 God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.
Beneath the shadow of Your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure.
Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.
A thousand ages in your sight
Are like an evening gone;
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.
Time, like an ever rolling stream,
Bears all our lives away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be now our guard while troubles last,
And our eternal home.
| 𝄞 | "O God, Our Help in Ages Past" by Melinda Kirigin-Voss, Vince Clark • Title: O God, Our Help in Ages Past; Text: Based on Psalm 90; Isaac Watts, 1674-1748, Psalms of David..., 1719, alt.; Tune: ST. ANNE, CM; later form of melody (rhythm adapted), attr. to William Croft, 1678-1727, A Supplement to the New Version of Psalms, 1708; Artist: Melinda Kirigin-Voss, Vince Clark; Copyright 2016 Surgeworks Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: Divine Office |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 The word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him.
Psalm 18:31-15
Hymn of thanksgiving
If God is on our side who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).
IV
As for God, his ways are perfect;
the word of the Lord, purest gold.
He indeed is the shield
of all who make him their refuge.
For who is God but the Lord?
Who is a rock but our God?
the God who girds me with strength
and makes the path safe before me.
My feet you made swift as the deer’s;
you have made me stand firm on the heights.
You have trained my hands for battle
and my arms to bend the heavy bow.
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 word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him.
Ant. 2 Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord.
V
You gave me your saving shield;
you upheld me, trained me with care.
You gave me freedom for my steps;
my feet have never slipped.
I pursued and overtook my foes,
never turning back till they were slain.
I smote them so they could not rise;
they fell beneath my feet.
You girded me with strength for battle;
you made my enemies fall beneath me,
you made my foes take flight;
those who hated me I destroyed.
They cried, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the Lord, but in vain.
I crushed them fine as dust before the wind;
trod them down like dirt in the streets.
You saved me from the feuds of the people
and put me at the head of the nations.
People unknown to me served me:
when they heard of me they obeyed me.
Foreign nations came to me cringing:
foreign nations faded away.
They came trembling out of their strongholds.
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. Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord.
Ant. 3 May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever.
VI
Long life to the Lord, my rock!
Praised be the God who saves me,
the God who gives me redress
and subdues people under me.
You saved me from my furious foes.
You set me above my assailants.
You saved me from violent men,
so I will praise you, Lord, among the nations:
I will sing a psalm to your name.
He has given great victories to his king
and shown his love for his anointed,
for David and his sons 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
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. May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever.
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 Isaiah
16:1-5; 17:4-8
Zion, refuge of the Moabites. The conversion of Ephraim
Send them forth, hugging the earth like reptiles,
from Sela across the desert,
to the mount of daughter Zion.
Like flushed birds,
like startled nestlings,
Are the daughters of Moab
at the fords of the Arnon.
Offer counsel, take their part:
at high noon let your shadow be like the night,
To hide the outcasts,
to conceal the fugitives.
Let the outcasts of Moab live with you,
be their shelter from the destroyer.
When the struggle is ended, the ruin complete,
and they have done with trampling the land,
A throne shall be set up in mercy,
and on it shall sit in fidelity
[in David’s tent]
A judge upholding right
and prompt to do justice.
On that day
The glory of Jacob shall fade,
and his full body grow thin,
Like the reaper’s mere armful of stalks
when he gathers the standing grain;
Or as when one gleans the ears
in the Valley of Rephaim.
Only a scattering of grapes shall be left!
As when an olive tree has been beaten,
Two or three olives remain at the very top,
four or five on its fruitful branches,
says the Lord, the God of Israel.
On that day man shall look to his maker,
his eyes turned toward the Holy One of Israel.
He shall not look to the altars, his handiwork,
nor shall he regard what his fingers have made:
the sacred poles or the incense stands.
RESPONSORY Jeremiah 33:15, 16; Isaiah 16:5
I shall raise up an heir for David,
one who is just;
he will make fair judgment prevail on earth,
— and this is the name they will give him:
the Lord is our righteousness.
A throne of mercy will be set up;
there a true judge will sit,
one who seeks justice and is swift to do right.
— And this is the name they will give him:
the Lord is our righteousness.
Second reading
From a letter by Saint Ambrose, bishop
By the grace of your words win over your people
You have entered upon the office of bishop. Sitting at the helm of the Church, you pilot the ship against the waves. Take firm hold of the rudder of faith so that the severe storms of this world cannot disturb you. The sea is mighty and vast, but do not be afraid, for as Scripture says: he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.
The Church of the Lord is built upon the rock of the apostles among so many dangers in the world; it therefore remains unmoved. The Church’s foundation is unshakeable and firm against the assaults of the raging sea. Waves lash at the Church but do not shatter it. Although the elements of this world constantly beat upon the Church with crashing sounds, the Church possesses the safest harbor of salvation for all in distress. Although the Church is tossed about on the sea, it rides easily on rivers, especially those rivers that Scripture speaks of: The rivers have lifted up their voice. These are the rivers flowing from the heart of the man who is given drink by Christ and who receives from the Spirit of God. When these rivers overflow with the grace of the Spirit, they lift up their voice.
There is also a stream which flows down on God’s saints like a torrent. There is also a rushing river giving joy to the heart that is at peace and makes for peace. Whoever has received from the fullness of this river, like John the Evangelist, like Peter and Paul, lifts up his voice. Just as the apostles lifted up their voices and preached the Gospel throughout the world, so those who drink these waters begin to preach the good news of the Lord Jesus.
Drink, then, from Christ, so that your voice may also be heard. Store up in your mind the water that is Christ, the water that praises the Lord. Store up water from many sources, the water that rains down from the clouds of prophecy.
Whoever gathers water from the mountains and leads it to himself or draws it from springs, is himself a source of dew like the clouds. Fill your soul, then, with this water, so that your land may not be dry, but watered by your own springs.
He who reads much and understands much, receives his fill. He who is full, refreshes others. So Scripture says: If the clouds are full, they will pour rain upon the earth.
Therefore, let your words be rivers, clean and limpid, so that in your exhortations you may charm the ears of your people. And by the grace of your words win them over to follow your leadership. Let your sermons be full of understanding. Solomon says: The weapons of the understanding are the lips of the wise; and in another place he says: Let your lips be bound with wisdom. That is, let the meaning of your words shine forth, let understanding blaze out. See that your addresses and expositions do not need to invoke the authority of others, but let your words be their own defense. Let no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning.
RESPONSORY 2 Timothy 4:2; Sirach 48:4, 8
Proclaim the message, in season and out of season;
— refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience.
Who is able to boast as you can? You have anointed kings as champions of righteousness.
— Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience.
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.
ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.