Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 653
Proper of Seasons: 245
Psalter: Friday, Week II, 893

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Proper of Seasons: 82
Psalter: Friday, Week II, 835

Morning Prayer for Friday of the 2nd 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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 A humble, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.

Psalm 51
O God, have mercy on me
Your inmost being must be renewed, and you must put on the new man. (Ephesians 4:23-24).

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.

That you may be justified when you give sentence
and be without reproach when you judge,
O see, in guilt I was born,
a sinner was I conceived.

Indeed you love truth in the heart;
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean;
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear rejoicing and gladness,
that the bones you have crushed may revive.
From my sins turn away your face
and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help;
with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways
and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper,
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

For in sacrifice you take no delight,
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit,
a humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

In your goodness, show favor to Zion:
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,
holocausts offered on your altar.

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

Father, he who knew no sin was made sin for us, to save us and restore us to your friendship. Look upon our contrite heart and afflicted spirit and heal our troubled conscience, so that in the joy and strength of the Holy Spirit we may proclaim your praise and glory before all the nations.

Ant. A humble, contrite heart, O God, you will not spurn.

Ant.2 Even in your anger, Lord, you will remember compassion.

Canticle – Habakkuk 3:2-4, 13a, 15-19
God comes to judge
Lift up your heads, for your redemption is at hand. (Luke 21:28)

O Lord, I have heard your renown,
and feared, O Lord, your work.
In the course of the years revive it,
in the course of the years make it known;
in your wrath remember compassion!

God comes from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Covered are the heavens with his glory,
and with his praise the earth is filled.

His splendor spreads like the light;
rays shine forth from beside him,
where his power is concealed.
You come forth to save your people,
to save your anointed one.

You tread the sea with your steeds
amid the churning of the deep waters.
I hear, and my body trembles;
at the sound, my lips quiver.

Decay invades my bones,
my legs tremble beneath me.
I await the day of distress
that will come upon the people who attack us.

For though the fig tree blossom not
nor fruit be on the vines,
though the yield of the olive fail
and the terraces produce no nourishment,
though the flocks disappear from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet will I rejoice in the Lord
and exult in my saving God.

God, my Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet swift as those of hinds
and enables me to go upon the heights.

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. Even in your anger, Lord, you will remember compassion.

Ant. 3 O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!

Psalm 147
The restoration of Jerusalem
Come, I will show you the bride of the Lamb (Revelation 21:9)

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Zion, praise your God!

He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
he has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders,
he feeds you with finest wheat.

He sends out his word to the earth
and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool,
he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.

He hurls down hailstones like crumbs.
The waters are frozen at his touch;
he sends forth his word and it melts them:
at the breath of his mouth the waters flow.

He makes his word known to Jacob,
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations;
he has not taught them his decrees.

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 established peace within the borders of Jerusalem. Give the fullness of peace now to your faithful people. May peace rule us in this life and possess us in eternal life. You are about to fill us with the best of wheat: grant that what we see dimly now as in a mirror, we may come to perceive clearly in the brightness of your truth.

Ant. O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!

READING Jeremiah 30:21, 22

Thus says the Lord:
His leader shall be from Jacob,
and his ruler shall come from his kin.
When I summon him,
he shall approach me.
You shall be my people,
and I will be your God.

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. Say to the fainthearted: Take courage! The Lord our God is coming to save us.

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. Say to the fainthearted: Take courage! The Lord our God is coming to save us.

INTERCESSIONS

To Christ our Redeemer, who comes to save us from our sins, let us cry out with joy:
Come, Lord Jesus!

The prophets of old foretold your birth among us,
— now make virtue come to life in us.
Come, Lord Jesus!

We proclaim your saving work,
— now grant us your salvation.
Come, Lord Jesus!

You came to heal the contrite,
— heal the weaknesses of your people.
Come, Lord Jesus!

You came and saw fit to reconcile the world, when you come again in judgment,
— free us from the torments of punishment.
Come, Lord Jesus!

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

Grant that your people,
we pray, almighty God,
may be ever watchful for the coming of your Only Begotten Son,
that as the author of our salvation himself has taught us,
we may hasten alert and with lighted lamps
to meet him when he comes.
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.