This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 651
Psalter: Friday, Week IV, 1230
Proper of Seasons: 405
Proper of Saints: 1498
Common of One Martyr: 1707
Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings
Office of Readings for Friday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop 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
Lo! round the throne, a glorious band,
The saints in countless myriads stand;
Of every tongue redeemed to God,
Arrayed in garments washed in blood,
Alleluia.
Through tribulation great they came;
They bore the cross, despised the shame;
From all their labors now they rest,
In God’s eternal glory blest,
Alleluia.
They see their Savior face to face;
And sing the triumphs of His grace;
Him day and night, they ceaseless praise,
To Him their loud thanksgiving raise,
Alleluia.
“Worthy the Lamb, for sinners slain,
Through endless years to live and reign;
Thou hast redeemed us by Thy blood,
And made us kings and priests to God.”
Alleluia.
O may we tread the sacred road
That saints and holy martyrs trod;
Wage to the end the glorious strife,
And win, like them, a crown of life,
Alleluia.
𝄞 | "Lo! Round The Throne, A Glorious Band" by Rebecca Hincke • Available for Purchase • Musical Score • Title: Lo! Round The Throne, A Glorious Band; Text: Rowland Hill, 1783; Music: "Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" by Nikolaus Herman 1560; Artist: Rebecca Hincke; (c) 2017 Surgeworks, Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: The Hymns and Chants of Divine Office, Vol. 1 |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 My God, do not reject my cry for help, assailed as I am by the wicked.
Psalm 55:2-15, 17-24
Against a friend proved traitor
Jesus was seized with fear and distress (Mark 14:33).
I
O God, listen to my prayer,
do not hide from my pleading,
attend to me and reply;
with my cares, I cannot rest.
I tremble at the shouts of the foe,
at the cries of the wicked;
for they bring down evil upon me.
They assail me with fury.
My heart is stricken within me,
death’s terror is on me,
trembling and fear fall upon me
and horror overwhelms me.
O that I had wings like a dove
to fly away and be at rest.
So I would escape far away
and take refuge in the desert.
I would hasten to find a shelter
from the raging wind,
from the destructive storm, O Lord,
and from their plotting tongues.
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. My God, do not reject my cry for help, assailed as I am by the wicked.
Ant. 2 The Lord himself will free us from hostile and treacherous hands.
II
For I can see nothing but violence
and strife in the city.
Night and day they patrol
high on the city walls.
It is full of wickedness and evil;
it is full of sin.
Its streets are never free
from tyranny and deceit.
If this had been done by an enemy
I could bear his taunts.
If a rival had risen against me,
I could hide from him.
But it is you, my own companion,
my intimate friend!
How close was the friendship between us.
We walked together in harmony
in the house of 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.
Ant. The Lord himself will free us from hostile and treacherous hands.
Ant. 3 Entrust your cares to the Lord; he will sustain you.
III
As for me, I will cry to God
and the Lord will save me.
Evening, morning and at noon
I will cry and lament.
He will deliver my soul in peace
in the attack against me:
for those who fight me are many,
but he hears my voice.
God will hear and will humble them,
the eternal judge:
for they will not amend their ways.
They have no fear of God.
The traitor has turned against his friends;
he has broken his word.
His speech is softer than butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are smoother than oil,
but they are naked swords.
Entrust your cares to the Lord
and he will support you.
He will never allow
the just man to stumble.
But you, O God, will bring them down
to the pit of death.
Deceitful and bloodthirsty men
shall not live half their days.
O Lord, I will trust in you.
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 Jesus, you were rejected by your people, betrayed by the kiss of a friend, and deserted by your disciples. Give us the confidence that you had in the Father, and our salvation will be assured.
Ant. Entrust your cares to the Lord; he will sustain you.
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.
I have known tribulation and distress.
— But in your commands I have found consolation.
READINGS
First reading
From the first book of Samuel
19:8-10; 20:1-17
The friendship of David and Jonathan
When war broke out again, David went out to fight against the Philistines and inflicted a great defeat upon them, putting them to flight. Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he was sitting in his house with spear in hand and David was playing the harp nearby. Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but David eluded Saul, so that the spear struck only the wall, and David got away safe.
David fled from the sheds near Ramah, and went to Jonathan. “What have I done?” he asked him. “What crime or what offense does your father hold against me that he seeks my life?” Jonathan answered him: “Heaven forbid that you should die! My father does nothing, great or small, without disclosing it to me. Why, then, should my father conceal this from me? This cannot be so!” But David replied: “Your father is well aware that I am favored with your friendship, so he has decided, ‘Jonathan must not know of this lest he be grieved.’ Nevertheless, as the Lord lives and as you live, there is but a step between me and death.”
Jonathan then said to David, “I will do whatever you wish.” David answered: “Tomorrow is the new moon, when I should in fact dine with the king. Let me go and hide in the open country until evening. If it turns out that your father misses me, say, ‘David urged me to let him go on short notice to his city Bethlehem, because his whole clan is holding its seasonal sacrifice there.’ If he says, ‘Very well,’ your servant is safe. But if he becomes quite angry, you can be sure he has planned some harm. Do this kindness for your servant because of the Lord’s bond between us, into which you brought me: if I am guilty, kill me yourself ! Why should you give me up to your father?”
But Jonathan answered: “Not I! If ever I find out that my father is determined to inflict injury upon you, I will certainly let you know.” David then asked Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father gives you a harsh answer?”
[Jonathan replied to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” When they were out in the open country together, Jonathan said to David: “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, I will sound out my father about this time tomorrow. Whether he is well disposed toward David or not, I will send you the information. Should it please my father to bring any injury upon you, may the Lord do thus and so to Jonathan if I do not apprise you of it and send you on your way in peace. May the Lord be with you even as he was with my father. Only this: if I am still alive, may you show me the kindness of the Lord. But if I die, never withdraw your kindness from my house. And when the Lord exterminates all the enemies of David from the surface of the earth, the name of Jonathan must never be allowed by the family of David to die out from among you, or the Lord will make you answer for it.”]
[And in his love for David, Jonathan renewed his oath to him, because he loved him as his very self.]
RESPONSORY Proverbs 17:17; 1 John 4:7
A true friend loves you at all times,
— and a brother proves himself in adversity.
Everyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.
— And a brother proves himself in adversity.
Second reading
From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop
Life in man is the glory of God; the life of man is the vision of God
The glory of God gives life; those who see God receive life. For this reason God, who cannot be grasped, comprehended or seen, allows himself to be seen, comprehended and grasped by men, that he may give life to those who see and receive him. It is impossible to live without life, and the actualization of life comes from participation in God, while participation in God is to see God and enjoy his goodness.
Men will therefore see God if they are to live; through the vision of God they will become immortal and attain to God himself. As I have said, this was shown in symbols by the prophets: God will be seen by men who bear his Spirit and are always waiting for his coming. As Moses said in the Book of Deuteronomy: On that day we shall see, for God will speak to man, and man will live.
God is the source of all activity throughout creation. He cannot be seen or described in his own nature and in all his greatness by any of his creatures. Yet he is certainly not unknown. Through his Word the whole creation learns that there is one God the Father, who holds all things together and gives them their being. As it is written in the Gospel: No man has ever seen God, except the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father; he has revealed him.
From the beginning the Son is the one who teaches us about the Father; he is with the Father from the beginning. He was to reveal to the human race visions of prophecy, the diversity of spiritual gifts, his own ways of ministry, the glorification of the Father, all in due order and harmony, at the appointed time and for our instruction. Where there is order, there is also harmony; where there is harmony, there is also correct timing; where there is correct timing, there is also advantage.
The Word became the steward of the Father’s grace for the advantage of men, for whose benefit he made such wonderful arrangements. He revealed God to men and presented men to God. He safeguarded the invisibility of the Father to prevent man from treating God with contempt and to set before him a constant goal toward which to make progress. On the other hand, he revealed God to men and made him visible in many ways to prevent man from being totally separated from God and so cease to be. Life in man is the glory of God; the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation gives life to all who live upon the earth, much more does the manifestation of the Father through the Word give life to those who see God.
RESPONSORY Malachi 2:6; Psalm 89:22
True teaching was in his mouth; no evil was ever found on his lips.
— He walked with me in goodness and in peace.
My hand will be a steady help to him; my arm will give him strength.
— He walked with me in goodness and in peace.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
who called the Bishop Saint Irenaeus
to confirm true doctrine and the peace of the Church,
grant, we pray, through his intercession, that,
being renewed in faith and charity,
we may always be intent on fostering unity and concord.
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.
The Faith Journey of our Community
Milambo Gaudence on June 28th, 2023 at 10:38
FRIENDSHIPJamesTheElder on June 27th, 2023 at 22:39
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