Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1049
Proper of Seasons: 124
Psalter: Thursday, Week I, 1161

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Proper of Seasons: 281
Psalter: Thursday, Week I, 748

Morning Prayer for Thursday of the First Week of Lent

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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Awake, lyre and harp, with praise let us awake the dawn.

Psalm 57
Morning prayer in affliction
This psalm tells of our Lord’s passion (Saint Augustine).

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.

I call to you God the Most High,
to you who have always been my help.
May you send from heaven and save me
and shame those who assail me.

May God send his truth and his love.

My soul lies down among lions,
who would devour the sons of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharpened sword.

O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!

They laid a snare for my steps
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path
but fell in it themselves.

My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul;
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
among the nations I will praise you
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.

O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth.

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, send your mercy and your truth to rescue us from the snares of the devil, and we will praise you among the peoples and proclaim you to the nations, happy to be known as companions of your Son.

Ant. Awake, lyre and harp, with praise let us awake the dawn.

Ant. 2 My people, says the Lord, will be filled with my blessings.

Canticle – Jeremiah 31:10-14
The happiness of a people who have been redeemed
Jesus was to die… to gather God’s scattered children into one fold (John 11:51, 52).

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
proclaim it on distant coasts and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.

The Lord shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.

Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings:
the grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen;
they themselves shall be like watered gardens,
never again shall they languish.

Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
I will lavish choice portions upon the priests,
and my people shall be filled with my blessings,
says the Lord.

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 people, says the Lord, will be filled with my blessings.

Ant. 3 The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.

Psalm 48
Thanksgiving for the people’s deliverance
He took me up a high mountain and showed me Jerusalem, God’s holy city (Revelation 21:10).

The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.

Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King’s city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold.

For the kings assembled together,
together they advanced.
They saw; at once they were astounded;
dismayed, they fled in fear.

A trembling seized them there,
like the pangs of birth.
By the east wind you have destroyed
the ships of Tarshish.

As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of our God,
in the city of the Lord of hosts
which God upholds for ever.

O God, we ponder your love
within your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name
reaches the ends of the earth.

With justice your right hand is filled.
Mount Zion rejoices;
the people of Judah rejoice
at the sight of your judgments.

Walk through Zion, walk all round it;
count the number of its towers.
Review all its ramparts,
examine its castles,

that you may tell the next generation
that such is our God,
our God for ever and always.
It is he who leads us.

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, the body of your risen Son is the temple not made by human hands and the defending wall of the new Jerusalem. May this holy city, built of living stones, shine with spiritual radiance and witness to your greatness in the sight of all nations.

Ant. The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.

READING 1 Kings 8:51-53a

We are your people and your inheritance. Thus may your eyes be open to the petition of your servant and to the petition of your people Israel. Hear us whenever we call upon you, because you have set us apart among all the peoples of the earth for your inheritance.

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

God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
— God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

From those who would trap me with lying words,
— and from the hunter’s snare.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. If you, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven pour out his gifts on all who pray to him.

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. If you, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven pour out his gifts on all who pray to him.

INTERCESSIONS

Christ our Lord came among us as the light of the world, that we might walk in his light, and not in the darkness of death. Let us praise him and cry out to him:
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.

God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness,
— that we who sinned in Adam may rise again in Christ.
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.

Let your word be a lamp to guide us,
— that we may live the truth and grow always in your love.
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.

Teach us to be faithful in seeking the common good for your sake,
— that your light may shine on the whole human family by means of your Church.
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.

Touch our hearts to seek your friendship more and more,
— and to make amends for our sins against your wisdom and goodness.
Let your word be a lamp to guide 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

Bestow on us,
we pray, O Lord,
a spirit of always pondering on what is right
and of hastening to carry it out,
and since without you we cannot exist,
may we be enabled to live according to your will.
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.