Liturgy of the Hours for December 03
Morning Prayer - Memorial for Saint Francis Xavier, Priest
Please Note
This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 618
Psalter: Tuesday, Week IV, 1132
Common of One Martyr: 1731 (reading, responsory, canticle ant, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1558 (concluding prayer)
Christian Prayer (single volume):
Ordinary: 689
Psalter: Tuesday, Week IV, 947
Common of One Martyr: 1414 (reading, responsory, canticle ant, intercessions)
Proper of Saints: 1317 (concluding prayer)
Morning Prayer for Tuesday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Josaphat, 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
This prudent leader, father to his people,
Whose final triumph we rejoice to honor
Rich in true merits, endless joy attaining
Now reigns in heaven.
He held the office, sacred and exalted
Of chosen pastor to confirm and strengthen
Teaching as master by his own example
Virtue and learning.
Now let us ask him for his intercession
That his compassion may win us forgiveness
Leading us sinners, penitent and contrite
Home to the Father.
Glory and honor be to God almighty,
Praise in the highest, power and dominion
Who in his wisdom rules and governs all things
His love created. Amen.
𝄞 | "This Prudent Leader, Father to His People - for a Bishop" by Kathleen Lundquist, Sara Faux • Title: This Prudent Leader, Father to His People; Text: from Latin; Tr. St. Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK; Tune: Chant, Mode VIII; Liber Hymnarius; Artist: Kathleen Lundquist; Accompaniment: Sara Faux; Recording copyright 2017 by Surgeworks, Inc. |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 I will sing to you, O Lord; I will learn from you the way of perfection.
Psalm 101
Avowal of a good ruler
If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15).
My song is of mercy and justice;
I sing to you, O Lord.
I will walk in the way of perfection.
O when, Lord, will you come?
I will walk with blameless heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
whatever is base.
I will hate the ways of the crooked;
they shall not be my friends.
The false-hearted must keep far away;
the wicked I disown.
The man who slanders his neighbor in secret
I will bring to silence.
The man of proud looks and haughty heart
I will never endure.
I look to the faithful in the land
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of perfection
shall be my friend.
No man who practices deceit
shall live within my house.
No man who utters lies shall stand
before my eyes.
Morning by morning I will silence
all the wicked in the land,
uprooting from the city of the Lord
all who do evil.
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
So that your people may walk in innocence, you came to us, Lord Jesus, and told us to be holy as your Father is holy. Help your children to love what is truly perfect, so that we may neither speak what is evil nor do what is wrong. Let us stand in your sight and celebrate with you the Father’s love and justice.
Ant. I will sing to you, O Lord; I will learn from you the way of perfection.
Ant. 2 Lord, do not withhold your compassion from us.
Canticle: Daniel 3:26, 27, 29, 34-41
Azariah’s prayer in the furnace.
With your whole hearts turn to God and he will blot out all your sins (Acts 3:19).
Blessed are you, and praiseworthy,
O Lord, the God of our fathers,
and glorious forever is your name.
For you are just in all you have done;
all your deeds are faultless, all your ways right,
and all your judgments proper.
For we have sinned and transgressed
by departing from you,
and we have done every kind of evil.
For your name’s sake, do not deliver us up forever,
or make void your covenant.
Do not take away your mercy from us,
for the sake of Abraham, your beloved,
Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one,
to whom you promised to multiply their offspring
like the stars of heaven,
or the sand on the shore of the sea.
For we are reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation,
brought low everywhere in the world this day
because of our sins.
We have in our day no prince, prophet, or leader,
no holocaust, sacrifice, oblation, or incense,
no place to offer first fruits, to find favor with you.
But with contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
as though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
so let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.
And now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to 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.
Ant. Lord, do not withhold your compassion from us.
Ant. 3 O God, I will sing to you a new song.
Psalm 144
Prayer for victory and peace
I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).
Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.
He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my savior
my shield, my place of refuge.
He brings peoples under my rule.
Lord, what is man that you care for him,
mortal man, that you keep him in mind;
man, who is merely a breath
whose life fades like a passing shadow?
Lower your heavens and come down;
touch the mountains; wreathe them in smoke.
Flash your lightnings; rout the foe,
shoot your arrows and put them to flight.
Reach down from heaven and save me;
draw me out from the mighty waters,
from the hands of alien foes
whose mouths are filled with lies,
whose hands are raised in perjury.
To you, O God, will I sing a new song;
I will play on the ten-stringed harp
to you who give kings their victory,
who set David your servant free.
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 of strength, you gave your Son victory over death. Direct your Church’s fight against evil in the world. Clothe us with the weapons of light and unite us under the one banner of love, that we may receive our eternal reward after the battle of earthly life.
Ant. O God, I will sing to you a new song.
READING 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Praised be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all consolation! He comforts us in all our afflictions and thus enables us to comfort those who are in trouble, with the same consolation we have received from him. As we have shared much in the sufferings of Christ, so through Christ do we share abundantly in his consolation.
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
The Lord is my strength, and I shall sing his praise.
— The Lord is my strength, and I shall sing his praise.
The Lord is my savior,
— and I shall sing his praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— The Lord is my strength, and I shall sing his praise.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Ant. Whoever hates his life in this world keeps it safe for life everlasting.
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. Whoever hates his life in this world keeps it safe for life everlasting.
INTERCESSIONS
Our Savior’s faithfulness is mirrored in the fidelity of his witnesses who shed their blood for the word of God. Let us praise him in remembrance of them:
You redeemed us by your blood.
Your martyrs freely embraced death in bearing witness to the faith,
— give us the true freedom of the Spirit, O Lord.
You redeemed us by your blood.
Your martyrs professed their faith by shedding their blood,
— give us a faith, O Lord, that is constant and pure.
You redeemed us by your blood.
Your martyrs followed in your footsteps by carrying the cross,
— help us to endure courageously the misfortunes of life.
You redeemed us by your blood.
Your martyrs washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb,
— help us to avoid the weaknesses of the flesh and worldly allurements.
You redeemed us by your blood.
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
Stir up in your Church,
we pray, O Lord,
the Spirit that filled Saint Josaphat
as he laid down his life for the sheep,
so that through his intercession we, too,
may be strengthened by the same Spirit
and not be afraid to lay down our life for others.
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.
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