This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
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Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 653
Proper of Seasons: 170
Psalter: Wednesday, Week I, 736
Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Proper of Seasons: 53
Psalter: Wednesday, Week I, 738
Morning Prayer for Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
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
Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, come
From thy bright heavenly throne,
Come, take possession of our souls,
And make them all thine own.
Thou who art called the Paraclete,
Best gift of God above,
The living spring, the living fire,
Sweet unction and true love.
Thou who art sev’nfold in thy grace,
Finger of God’s right hand;
His promise, teaching little ones
To speak and understand.
O guide our minds with thy blest light,
With love our hearts inflame;
And with thy strength, which ne’er decays,
Confirm our mortal frame.
Far from us drive our deadly foe;
True peace unto us bring;
And through all perils lead us safe
Beneath thy sacred wing.
Through thee may we the Father know,
Through thee th’eternal Son,
And thee the Spirit of them both,
Thrice-blessed Three in One.
All glory to the Father be,
With his co-equal Son:
The same to thee, great Paraclete,
While endless ages run.
| 𝄞 | "Come Holy Ghost, Creator" by Rebecca Hincke • Available for Purchase • Musical Score • Title: Come, Holy Ghost, Creator, Come; Text: Attributed to Rhabanus Maurus, circa 800 (Veni Creator Spiritus, Mentes tuorum visita); translated from Latin to English by an anonymous author in Hymns for the Year, 1867; Artist: Rebecca Hincke; (c) 2016 Surgeworks, Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: Hymns and Chants of Divine Office, Vol. 3 |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 O Lord, in your light we see light itself.
Psalm 36
The malice of sinners and God’s goodness
No follower of mine wanders in the dark; he shall have the light of life (John 8:12).
Sin speaks to the sinner
in the depths of his heart.
There is no fear of God
before his eyes.
He so flatters himself in his mind
that he knows not his guilt.
In his mouth are mischief and deceit.
All wisdom is gone.
He plots the defeat of goodness
as he lies on his bed.
He has set his foot on evil ways,
he clings to what is evil.
Your love, Lord, reaches to heaven;
your truth to the skies.
Your justice is like God’s mountain,
your judgments like the deep.
To both man and beast you give protection.
O Lord, how precious is your love.
My God, the sons of men
find refuge in the shelter of your wings.
They feast on the riches of your house;
they drink from the stream of your delight.
In you is the source of life
and in your light we see light.
Keep on loving those who know you,
doing justice for upright hearts.
Let the foot of the proud not crush me
nor the hand of the wicked cast me out.
See how the evildoers fall!
Flung down, they shall never arise.
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, you are the source of unfailing light. Give us true knowledge of your mercy so that we may renounce our pride and be filled with the riches of your house.
Ant. O Lord, in your light we see light itself.
Ant.2 O God, you are great and glorious; we marvel at your power.
Canticle – Judith 16:1,13-15
God who created the world takes care of his people
They were singing a new song (Revelation 5:9)
Strike up the instruments,
a song to my God with timbrels,
chant to the Lord with cymbals;
Sing to him a new song,
exalt and acclaim his name.
A new hymn I will sing to my God.
O Lord, great are you and glorious,
wonderful in power and unsurpassable.
Let your every creature serve you;
for you spoke, and they were made,
You sent forth your spirit, and they were created;
no one can resist your word.
The mountains to their bases, and the seas, are shaken;
the rocks, like wax, melt before your glance.
But to those who fear you,
you are very merciful.
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. O God, you are great and glorious; we marvel at your power.
Ant. 3 Exult in God’s presence with hymns of praise.
Psalm 47
The Lord Jesus is king of all
He is seated at the right hand of the Father and his kingdom will have no end.
All peoples, clap your hands,
cry to God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all the earth.
He subdues peoples under us
and nations under our feet.
Our inheritance, our glory, is from him,
given to Jacob out of love.
God goes up with shouts of joy;
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing praise for God, sing praise,
sing praise to our king, sing praise.
God is king of all the earth,
sing praise with all your skill.
God is king over the nations;
God reigns on his holy throne.
The princes of the people are assembled
with the people of Abraham’s God.
The rulers of the earth belong to God,
to God who reigns over all.
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, King of all peoples and all ages, it is your victory we celebrate as we sing with all the skill at our command. Help us always to overcome evil by good, that we may rejoice in your triumph for ever.
Ant. Exult in God’s presence with hymns of praise.
READING Isaiah 7:14b-15
The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall be living on curds and honey by the time he learns to reject the bad and choose the good.
The audio for this hour uses a longer reading taken from the single volume Christian Prayer book, while this abbreviated text is from the 4 volume Liturgy of the Hours.
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
Your light will come, Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty.
— Your light will come, Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty.
You will see his glory within you;
— the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— Your light will come, Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Ant. The One who is coming after me is greater than I; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.
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. The One who is coming after me is greater than I; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals.
INTERCESSIONS
The Word of God humbled himself to dwell with us so that we might see his glory. Rejoicing in hope, let us call upon him:
Emmanuel, be with us.
Ruler, just and righteous,
— bring justice to the poor and the oppressed.
Emmanuel, be with us.
King of peace, you beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks,
— turn hatred into love and our grievances into forgiveness.
Emmanuel, be with us.
You do not judge by appearances,
— recognize those who are your own.
Emmanuel, be with us.
When you come with power and might upon the clouds,
— grant that we may come before you without shame.
Emmanuel, be with us.
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
Prepare our hearts,
we pray, O Lord our God,
by your divine power,
so that at the coming of Christ your Son
we may be found worthy of the banquet of eternal life
and merit to receive heavenly nourishment from his hands.
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.