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. II:
Ordinary: 1045
Proper of Seasons: 965
Psalter: Monday, Week III, 1379
Office of Readings for Monday in Week 7 of Easter
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
Most ancient of all mysteries,
before your throne we lie;
have mercy now, most merciful,
most Holy Trinity.
When heaven and earth were still unmade,
when time was yet unknown,
you in your radiant majesty
did live and love alone.
You were not born; there was no source
from which your being flowed;
there is no end which you can reach:
for you are simply God.
How wonderful creation is,
the work which you did bless!
what then must you be like dear God,
eternal Loveliness!
Most ancient of all mysteries,
before your throne we lie;
have mercy now and ever more,
most Holy Trinity.
| 𝄞 | "Most Ancient of all Mysteries" by Rebecca Hincke • Words: Frederick William Faber, 1849; Music: St. Flavian; Artist: Rebecca Hincke; Copyright 2016 Surgeworks • Albums that contain this Hymn: Divine Office |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Our God will be made manifest; he will not come in silence, alleluia.
Psalm 50
Genuine love of God
I have come not to abolish the law but to bring it to perfection (see Matthew 5:17)
I
The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion’s perfect beauty he shines.
Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer.
Before him fire devours,
around him tempest rages.
He calls on the heavens and the earth
to witness his judgment of his people.
“Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice.”
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for God himself is the judge.
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. Our God will be made manifest; he will not come in silence, alleluia.
Ant. 2 Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, alleluia.
II
“Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.
I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.
For I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.
Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it holds.
Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
Call on me in the day of distress.
I will free you and you shall honor 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.
Ant. Offer to God the sacrifice of praise, alleluia.
Ant. 3 I want a loving heart more than sacrifice, knowledge of my ways more than holocausts, alleluia.
III
But God says to the wicked:
“But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,
you who see a thief and go with him;
who throw in your lot with adulterers,
who unbridle your mouth for evil
and whose tongue is plotting crime,
you who sit and malign your brother
and slander your own mother’s son.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?
Mark this, you who never think of God,
lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me
and I will show God’s salvation to the upright.”
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, accept us as a sacrifice of praise, so that we may go through life unburdened by sin, walking in the way of salvation, and always giving thanks to you.
Ant. I want a loving heart more than sacrifice, knowledge of my ways more than holocausts, alleluia.
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.
My heart and my flesh, alleluia.
— Rejoice in the living God, alleluia.
READINGS
First reading
From the first letter of the apostle John
4:1-10
God has loved us first
Beloved,
do not trust every spirit,
but put the spirits to a test
to see if they belong to God,
because many false prophets have appeared in the world.
This is how you can recognize God’s Spirit:
every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh
belongs to God,
while every spirit that fails to acknowledge him
does not belong to God.
Such is the spirit of the antichrist
which, as you have heard, is to come;
in fact, it is in the world already.
You are of God, you little ones,
and thus you have conquered the false prophets.
For there is One greater in you
than there is in the world.
Those others belong to the world;
that is why theirs is the language of the world
and why the world listens to them.
We belong to God
and anyone who has knowledge of God gives us a hearing,
while anyone who is not of God refuses to hear us.
Thus do we distinguish the spirit of truth
from the spirit of deception.
Beloved,
let us love one another
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten of God
and has knowledge of God.
The man without love has known nothing of God,
for God is love.
God’s love was revealed in our midst in this way:
he sent his only Son to the world
that we might have life through him.
Love, then, consists in this:
not that we have loved God
but that he has loved us
and has sent his Son as an offering for our sins.
RESPONSORY 1 John 4:9; John 3:16
God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world
— so that all who believe in him may have eternal life, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son.
— So that all who believe in him may have eternal life, alleluia.
Second reading
From a catechetical instruction by Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, bishop
The living water of the Holy Spirit
The water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of living water, welling up into eternal life. This is a new kind of water, a living, leaping water, welling up for those who are worthy. But why did Christ call the grace of the Spirit water? Because all things are dependent on water; plants and animals have their origin in water. Water comes down from heaven as rain, and although it is always the same in itself, it produces many different effects, one in the palm tree, another in the vine, and so on throughout the whole of creation. It does not come down, now as one thing, now as another, but while remaining essentially the same, it adapts itself to the needs of every creature that receives it.
In the same way the Holy Spirit, whose nature is always the same, simple and indivisible, apportions grace to each man as he wills. Like a dry tree which puts forth shoots when watered, the soul bears the fruit of holiness when repentance has made it worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit. Although the Spirit never changes, the effects of this action, by the will of God and in the name of Christ, are both many and marvelous. The Spirit makes one man a teacher of divine truth, inspires another to prophesy, gives another the power of casting out devils, enables another to interpret holy Scripture. The Spirit strengthens one man’s self-control, shows another how to help the poor, teaches another to fast and lead a life of asceticism, makes another oblivious to the needs of the body, trains another for martyrdom. His action is different in different people, but the Spirit himself is always the same. In each person, Scripture says, the Spirit reveals his presence in a particular way for the common good.
The Spirit comes gently and makes himself known by his fragrance. He is not felt as a burden, for he is light, very light. Rays of light and knowledge stream before him as he approaches. The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console. The Spirit comes to enlighten the mind first of the one who receives him, and then, through him, the minds of others as well.
As light strikes the eyes of a man who comes out of darkness into the sunshine and enables him to see clearly things he could not discern before, so light floods the soul of the man counted worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit and enables him to see things beyond the range of human vision, things hitherto undreamed of.
RESPONSORY 1 Corinthians 12:6-7, 27
There are different ministries but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone.
— The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one in a singular way for the good of all, alleluia.
You are the body of Christ and all of you are members of it.
— The manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one in a singular way for the good of all, alleluia.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
May the power of the Holy Spirit
come to us, we pray, O Lord,
that we may keep your will faithfully in mind
and express it in a devout way of life.
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.