This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
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Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 615
Psalter: Saturday, Week II, 922
Proper of Seasons: 336 (first reading)
Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary: 1628 (verse before first reading)
Proper of Saints: 1470 (second reading, concluding prayer)
Office of Readings for Saturday in Ordinary Time, for the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary
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
Ave Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Maria, gratia plena
Ave, ave dominus
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Ventris tui, Jesus
Ave Maria!
Ave Maria Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Ora, ora pro nobis
Ora ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc et in hora mortis
In hora mortis, nostrae
In hora mortis mortis nostrae
In hora mortis, nostrae
Ave Maria!
English Translation
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou amongst women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
𝄞 | "Ave Maria" by Melinda Kirigin-Voss • Musical Score • Title: Ave Maria; Composer: Franz Schubert; Artist: Melinda Kirigin-Voss; Used with permission • Albums that contain this Hymn: Yesterday, Today, and Forever |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever.
Psalm 136
Paschal hymn
We praise God by recalling his marvelous deeds (Cassiodorus).
I
O give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
for his love endures for ever
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his love endures for ever;
who alone has wrought marvelous works,
for his love endures for ever;
whose wisdom it was made the skies,
for his love endures for ever;
who fixed the earth firmly on the seas,
for his love endures for ever.
It was he who made the great lights,
for his love endures for ever,
the sun to rule in the day,
for his love endures for ever,
the moon and the stars in the night,
for his love endures 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.
Ant. None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever.
Ant. 2 He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched.
II
The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,
for his love endures for ever.
He brought Israel out from the midst,
for his love endures for ever;
arm outstretched, with power in his hand,
for his love endures for ever.
He divided the Red Sea in two,
for his love endures for ever;
he made Israel pass through the midst,
for his love endures for ever;
he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea,
for his love endures 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.
Ant. He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched.
Ant. 3 Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies.
III
Through the desert his people he led,
for his love endures for ever.
Nations in their greatness he struck,
for his love endures for ever.
Kings in their splendor he slew,
for his love endures for ever.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his love endures for ever,
and Og, the king of Bashan,
for his love endures for ever.
He let Israel inherit their land,
for his love endures for ever.
On his servant their land he bestowed,
for his love endures for ever.
He remembered us in our distress,
for his love endures for ever.
And he snatched us away from our foes,
for his love endures for ever.
He gives food to all living things,
for his love endures for ever.
To the God of heaven give thanks,
for his love endures 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 Creator, how wonderfully you made us. You transformed dust into your own image and gave it a share in your own nature; yet you are more wonderful in pardoning the one who had rebelled against you. Grant that where sin has abounded, grace may more abound, so that we can become holier through forgiveness and be more grateful to you.
Ant. Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies.
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.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God.
— And cherish it in their hearts.
READINGS
First reading
From the letter of the apostle Paul to the Philippians
4:10-23
The generosity of the Philippians toward Paul
It gave me great joy in the Lord that your concern for me bore fruit once more. You had been concerned all along, of course, but lacked the opportunity to show it. I do not say this because I am in want, for whatever the situation I find myself in I have learned to be self-sufficient. I am experienced in being brought low, yet I know what it is to have an abundance. I have learned how to cope with every circumstance — how to eat well or go hungry, to be well provided for or do without. In him who is the source of my strength I have strength for everything.
Nonetheless, it was kind of you to want to share in my hardships. You yourselves know, my dear Philippians, that at the start of my evangelizing, when I left Macedonia, not a single congregation except yourselves shared with me by giving me something for what it had received. Even when I was at Thessalonica you sent something for my needs, not once but twice. It is not that I am eager for the gift; rather, my concern is for the ever-growing balance in your account.
Herewith is my receipt, which says that I have been fully paid and more. I am well supplied because of what I received from you through Epaphroditus, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
My God in turn will supply your needs fully, in a way worthy of his magnificent riches in Christ Jesus. All glory to our God and Father for unending ages! Amen.
Give my greetings in Christ Jesus to every member of the church. My brothers here send you theirs, as do all those who believe, particularly those in Caesar’s service. May the favor of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
RESPONSORY Philippians 4:12-13; 2 Corinthians 12:10
I know what it is like to be rich and what it is like to be poor. I have eaten well and gone hungry, have experienced poverty and plenty.
— With Christ’s help I can do all things.
For the sake of Christ I am content with my weaknesses and frustrations.
— With Christ’s help I can do all things.
Second reading
From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot
We should meditate on the mysteries of salvation
The child to be born of you will be called holy, the Son of God, the fountain of wisdom, the Word of the Father on high. Through you, blessed Virgin, this Word will become flesh, so that even though, as he says: I am in the Father and the Father is in me, it is still true for him to say: “I came forth from God and am here.”
In the beginning was the Word. The spring was gushing forth, yet still within himself. Indeed, the Word was with God, truly dwelling in inaccessible light. And the Lord said from the beginning: I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. Yet your thought was locked within you, and whatever you thought, we did not know; for who knew the mind of the Lord, or who was his counselor?
And so the idea of peace came down to do the work of peace: The Word was made flesh and even now dwells among us. It is by faith that he dwells in our hearts, in our memory, our intellect and penetrates even into our imagination. What concept could man have of God if he did not first fashion an image of him in his heart? By nature incomprehensible and inaccessible, he was invisible and unthinkable, but now he wished to be understood, to be seen and thought of.
But how, you ask, was this done? He lay in a manger and rested on a virgin’s breast, preached on a mountain, and spent the night in prayer. He hung on a cross, grew pale in death, and roamed free among the dead and ruled over those in hell. He rose again on the third day, and showed the apostles the wounds of the nails, the signs of victory; and finally in their presence he ascended to the sanctuary of heaven.
How can we not contemplate this story in truth, piety and holiness? Whatever of all this I consider, it is God I am considering; in all this he is my God. I have said it is wise to meditate on these truths, and I have thought it right to recall the abundant sweetness, given by the fruits of this priestly root; and Mary, drawing abundantly from heaven, has caused this sweetness to overflow for us.
RESPONSORY
O Virgin Mary, no other daughter of Jerusalem is your equal, for you are the mother of the King of kings, you are the Queen of heaven and of angels.
— Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you.
— Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Pour forth,
we beseech you, O Lord,
your grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection.
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.
The Faith Journey of our Community
JamesTheElder on October 6th, 2023 at 22:45
Prayer for this day