Morning Prayer for

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Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1049
Proper of Seasons: 179
Psalter: Wednesday, Week II, 1282

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Proper of Seasons: 302
Psalter: Wednesday, Week II, 812

Morning Prayer for Wednesday of the 2nd 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 O God, all your ways are holy; what god can compare with our God?

Psalm 77
Recalling God’s works
We suffer all kinds of afflictions and yet are not overcome (2 Corinthians 4:8).

I cry aloud to God,
cry aloud to God that he may hear me.

In the day of my distress I sought the Lord.
My hands were raised at night without ceasing;
my soul refused to be consoled.
I remembered my God and I groaned.
I pondered and my spirit fainted.

You withheld sleep from my eyes.
I was troubled, I could not speak.
I thought of the days of long ago
and remembered the years long past.
At night I mused within my heart.
I pondered and my spirit questioned.

“Will the Lord reject us for ever?
Will he show us his favor no more?
Has his love vanished for ever?
Has his promise come to an end?
Does God forget his mercy
or in anger withhold his compassion?”

I said: “This is what causes my grief;
that the way of the Most High has changed.”
I remember the deeds of the Lord,
I remember your wonders of old,
I muse on all your works
and ponder your mighty deeds.

Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders.
You showed your power among the peoples.
Your strong arm redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled;
the depths were moved with terror.
The clouds poured down rain,
the skies sent forth their voice;
your arrows flashed to and fro.

Your thunder rolled round the sky,
your flashes lighted up the world.
The earth was moved and trembled
when your way led through the sea,
your path through the mighty waters
and no one saw your footprints.

You guided your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

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, you established your ancient covenant by signs and wonders, but more wondrously you confirmed the new one through the sacrifice of your Son. Guide your Church through the pathways of life, that we may be led to the land of promise and celebrate your name with lasting praise.

Ant. O God, all your ways are holy; what god can compare with our God?

Ant. 2 My heart leaps up with joy to the Lord, for he humbles only to exalt us.

Canticle — 1 Samuel 2:1-10
The humble find joy in God
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things (Luke 1:52-53).

My heart exults in the Lord,
my horn is exalted in my God.

I have swallowed up my enemies;
I rejoice in my victory.
There is no Holy One like the Lord;
there is no Rock like our God.

Speak boastfully no longer,
nor let arrogance issue from your mouths.
For an all-knowing God is the Lord,
a God who judges deeds.

The bows of the mighty are broken,
while the tottering gird on strength.
The well-fed hire themselves out for bread,
while the hungry batten on spoil.
The barren wife bears seven sons,
while the mother of many languishes.

The Lord puts to death and gives life;
he casts down to the nether world;
he raises up again.
The Lord makes poor and makes rich,
he humbles, he also exalts.

He raises the needy from the dust;
from the ash heap he lifts up the poor,
to seat them with nobles
and make a glorious throne their heritage.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
and he has set the world upon them.
He will guard the footsteps of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall perish in the darkness.
For not by strength does man prevail;
the Lord’s foes shall be shattered.

The Most High in heaven thunders;
the Lord judges the ends of the earth.
Now may he give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed!

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 heart leaps up with joy to the Lord, for he humbles only to exalt us.

Ant. 3 The Lord is king, let the earth rejoice.

Psalm 97
The glory of the Lord in his decrees for the world
This psalm foretells a world-wide salvation and that peoples of all nations will believe in Christ (St. Athanasius).

The Lord is king, let earth rejoice,
let all the coastlands be glad.
Cloud and darkness are his raiment;
his throne, justice and right.

A fire prepares his path;
it burns up his foes on every side.
His lightnings light up the world,
the earth trembles at the sight.

The mountains melt like wax
before the Lord of all the earth.
The skies proclaim his justice;
all peoples see his glory.

Let those who serve idols be ashamed,
those who boast of their worthless gods.
All you spirits, worship him.

Zion hears and is glad;
the people of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments, O Lord.

For you indeed are the Lord
most high above all the earth,
exalted far above all spirits.

The Lord loves those who hate evil;
he guards the souls of his saints;
he sets them free from the wicked.

Light shines forth for the just
and joy for the upright of heart.
Rejoice, you just, in the Lord;
give glory to his holy name.

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, you clothe the sky with light and the depths of the ocean with darkness. Among the sons of men you work wonders, and rain terror upon the enemy. Look upon your servants. Do not try us by fire but bring us rejoicing to the shelter of your home.

Ant. The Lord is king, let the earth rejoice.

READING Deuteronomy 7:6, 8-9

The Lord, your God, has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth to be a people peculiarly his own. It was because the Lord loved you and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn to your fathers, that he brought you out with his strong hand from the place of slavery, and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, then, that the Lord, your God, is God indeed, the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant to the thousandth generation toward those who love him and keep his commandments.

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. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

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 Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us give thanks to God our Father; through the power of the Spirit he purifies our hearts and strengthens us in love. Let us humbly ask him:
Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.

Help us to receive good things from your bounty with a deep sense of gratitude,
— and to accept with patience the evil that comes to us.
Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.

Teach us to be loving not only in great and exceptional moments,
— but above all in the ordinary events of daily life.
Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.

May we abstain from what we do not really need,
— and help our brothers and sisters in distress.
Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.

May we bear the wounds of your Son,
— for through his body he gave us life.
Lord, give us your Holy Spirit.

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

Keep your family, O Lord,
schooled always in good works,
and so comfort them with your protection here
as to lead them graciously to gifts on high.
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.