Midafternoon Prayer for The Immaculate Conception of The Blessed Virgin Mary
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 658
Complementary Psalter: 1095
Proper of Saints: 1234 (reading)
Midafternoon Prayer for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 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
Queen of heaven, blessed may thou be,
For God the Son born He was of thee,
For to make us free.
Gloria Tibi, Domine!
Jesu, God's Son, born He was
In a crib with hay, with hay and grass,
And died for us upon the Cross.
Gloria Tibi, Domine!
To our Lady make our moan,
That she may pray, may pray to her Son,
That we may to His bliss come.
Gloria Tibi, Gloria Tibi, Domine!
| 𝄞 | "To the Queen of Heaven" by Kathleen Lundquist • Title: To the Queen of Heaven; Text: Edith Rickert, Ancient English Christmas Carols: 1400-1700 (London: Chatto & Windus, 1914). |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 God created me in holiness; he took my hand and kept me safe.
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.
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.
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;
your 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. God created me in holiness; he took my hand and kept me safe.
READING Ephesians 5:25-27
Christ loved the church. He gave himself up for her to make her holy, to present to himself a glorious church, holy and immaculate, without stain or wrinkle or anything of the sort.
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.
Your Immaculate Conception, Virgin Mother of God.
— Fills the whole world with joy.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son,
grant, we pray, that, as you preserved her
from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son,
which you foresaw, so, through her intercession,
we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence.
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.