Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
All from Office of the Dead: 2232

Morning Prayer for a Woman

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.

HYMN

Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say: Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high; Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal; Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell: Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids his rise; Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!

Hail, the Lord our earth and heaven! Alleluia!
Praise to thee by both be given; Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now; Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection Thou! Alleluia! Amen.

Melody: Llanfair 7.7.7.7 with Alleluias; Music: Robert Williams, 1781-1821; Text: Charles Wesley, 1707-1788

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 The bones that were crushed shall leap for joy before the Lord.

Psalm 51

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.

Ant. The bones that were crushed shall leap for joy before the Lord.

Ant. 2 At the very threshold of death, rescue me, Lord.

Canticle – Isaiah 38:10-14, 17-20

Once I said,
In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years.”

I said, “I shall see the Lord no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world.”

My dwelling, like a shepherd’s tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
you have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.

Day and night you give me over to torment;
I cry out until the dawn.
Like a lion he breaks all my bones;
day and night you give me over to torment.

Like a swallow I utter shrill cries;
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weak, gazing heaven-ward:
Oh Lord, I am in straits; be my surety!

You have preserved my life
from the pit of destruction,
when you cast behind your back
all my sins.

For it is not the nether world that gives you thanks,
nor death that praises you;
neither do those who go down into the pit
await your kindness.

The living, the living give you thanks,
as I do today.
Fathers declare to their sons,
O God, your faithfulness.

The Lord is our savior;
we shall sing to stringed instruments
in the house of the Lord
all the days of our life.

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. At the very threshold of death, rescue me, Lord.

Ant. 3 I will praise my God all the days of my life.

Psalm 146

My soul, give praise to the Lord;
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live.

Put no trust in princes,
in mortal men in whom there is no help.
Take their breath, they return to clay
and their plans that day come to nothing.

He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who alone made heaven and earth,
the seas and all they contain.

It is he who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,

the Lord, who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.

It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.

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. 3 I will praise my God all the days of my life.

READING 1 Thessalonians 4:14

If we believe that Jesus died and rose, God will bring forth with him from the dead those also who have fallen asleep believing in him.

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

I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
— I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

You turned my sorrow into joy,
— for you have rescued me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. I am the shepherd of the sheep; I am the way, the truth and the life: I know my sheep, and my sheep know me, alleluia.

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 splendor of Christ risen from the dead has shone on the people redeemed by his blood, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray to the all-powerful Father who raised Jesus from the dead and gives new life to our mortal bodies, and say to him:
Lord, give us new life in Christ.

Father, through baptism we have been buried with your Son and have risen with him in his resurrection,
— grant that we may walk in newness of life so that when we die, we may live with Christ for ever.
Lord, give us new life in Christ.

Provident Father, you have given us the living bread that has come down from heaven and which should always be eaten worthily,
— grant that we may eat this bread worthily and be raised up to eternal life on the last day.
Lord, give us new life in Christ.

Lord, you sent an angel to comfort your Son in his agony,
— give us the hope of our consolation when death draws near.
Lord, give us new life in Christ.

You delivered the three youths from the fiery furnace,
— free your faithful ones from the punishment they suffer for their sins.
Lord, give us new life in Christ.

God of the living and the dead, you raised Jesus from the dead,
— raise up those who have died and grant that we may share eternal glory with them.
Lord, give us new life in Christ.

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

Lord of mercy,
hear our prayer, may our sister
whom you called your daughter on earth
enter the kingdom of peace and light,
where your saints live in glory.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and 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.