Liturgy of the Hours for December 22
Morning Prayer for Fourth Sunday of Advent
Please Note
This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 654
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 874
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:
Ordinary: 618
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 838
Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
All from the Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 802
Morning Prayer for Tuesday in Ordinary Time
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
Eternal Maker of the light,
True Light itself, surpassing day,
No gloom or darkness can you know,
In your own light which has no end.
Pale shades of night are yielding fast,
Before the bold advance of day;
Resplendent shines the morning star
While other constellations fade.
We gladly rise to sing your praise,
And thank you with renewed delight,
That rising sun brings back the day,
To conquer night's obscurity.
Most Holy One, we beg of you
Let not our souls be led astray,
By nature's pleasures and desires
Or by the world's deceiving glare.
Let no contention raise disputes,
Nor greed disgrace a Christian's name,
Nor greed for riches be a snare,
Nor evil thoughts corrupt our minds.
But let us show well-governed souls,
Within a body chaste and pure,
To spend this day in work and prayer,
For Christ our Leader and our Lord.
O Father, this we ask be done
Through Jesus Christ your only Son,
Whom with the Spirit we adore:
One God who reigns for evermore. Amen.
𝄞 | "Eternal Maker of the Light" by Kathleen Lundquist • Available for Purchase • Title: Eternal Maker of the Light; Text: Aeterne lucis conditor, 5th-6th c.; Translation: St. Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde, Isle of Wight, UK; Tune: Chant, Mode IV; Lumen Christi Hymnal; Artist: Kathleen Lundquist; Recording copyright 2016 by Surgeworks, Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: Hymns and Chants of Divine Office, Vol. 1 |
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, send forth your light and your truth.
Psalm 43
Longing for the temple
I have come into the world to be its light (John 12:46).
Defend me, O God, and plead my cause
against a godless nation.
From deceitful and cunning men
rescue me, O God.
Since you, O God, are my stronghold,
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning,
oppressed by the foe?
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, my soul,
why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise him still,
my savior and my God.
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
Almighty Father, source of everlasting light, send forth your truth into our hearts and pour over us the brightness of your light.
Ant. Lord, send forth your light and your truth.
Ant. 2 Lord, keep us safe all the days of our life.
Canticle – Isaiah 38:10-14, 17-20
Anguish of a dying man and joy in his restoration
I am living, I was dead… and I hold the keys of death (Revelation 1:17-18).
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:
O 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. Lord, keep us safe all the days of our life.
Ant. 3 To you, O God, our praise is due in Zion.
Psalm 65
Solemn thanksgiving
Zion represents heaven (Origen).
To you our praise is due
in Zion, O God.
To you we pay our vows,
you who hear our prayer.
To you all flesh will come
with its burden of sin.
Too heavy for us, our offenses,
but you wipe them away.
Blessed is he whom you choose and call
to dwell in your courts.
We are filled with the blessings of your house,
of your holy temple.
You keep your pledge with wonders,
O God our savior,
the hope of all the earth
and of far distant isles.
You uphold the mountains with your strength,
you are girded with power.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves
and the tumult of the peoples.
The ends of the earth stand in awe
at the sight of your wonders.
The lands of sunrise and sunset
you fill with your joy.
You care for the earth, give it water,
you fill it with riches.
Your river in heaven brims over
to provide its grain.
And thus you provide for the earth;
you drench its furrows,
you level it, soften it with showers,
you bless its growth.
You crown the year with your goodness.
Abundance flows in your steps,
in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows covered with flocks,
the valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
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 God, hope of all the earth, hear the humble prayer of your children as we sing your praises. Pour out your Spirit on us so that our lives may bear fruit abundantly.
Ant. To you, O God, our praise is due in Zion.
READING 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5
You are not in the dark, brothers, that the day should catch you off guard, like a thief. No, all of you are children of light and of the day. We belong neither to darkness nor to night.
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
Lord, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
— Lord, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
Dawn finds me watching, crying out for you,
— all my trust is in your promise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
— Lord, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Ant. Lord, save us from the hands of all who hate 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. Lord, save us from the hands of all who hate us.
INTERCESSIONS
Let us bless our Savior who enlightens the world by his resurrection. Let us humbly beg him:
Keep us, Lord, on your path.
Lord Jesus, we honor your resurrection in our morning prayer,
— the hope of your glory enlightens our day.
Keep us, Lord, on your path.
Accept, Lord, our prayers and petitions,
— as the firstfruits of our day.
Keep us, Lord, on your path.
Grant that we may progress today in your love,
— and that all things may work together for our good and the good of all.
Keep us, Lord, on your path.
Make our light shine so brightly before men,
— that seeing our good works they may give glory to the Father.
Keep us, Lord, on your path.
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 Jesus Christ,
true light of the world,
you guide all mankind to salvation.
Give us the courage, strength and grace
to build a world of justice and peace,
ready for the coming of that kingdom.
You live and reign for ever and ever.
— Amen.
DISMISSAL
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.
Personal Reflections
The Faith Journey of our Community
DT on November 25th, 2024 at 18:31
Teach me to prayDT on October 28th, 2024 at 20:40
In Your state of libertyonette de vera on July 9th, 2024 at 5:09
"Grant that we may progress today in your love, — and that all things may work together for our good and the good of all. Keep us, Lord, on your path."Mary Zore on February 13th, 2024 at 9:28
You are not in the dark, brothers, that the day should catch you off guard, like a thief.Christine Gunter on February 13th, 2024 at 9:16
ConfessionGirlie Lactao on February 13th, 2024 at 4:34
The Light and Bread of Lifeonette de vera on January 16th, 2024 at 5:46
"all of you are children of light and of the day. We belong neither to darkness nor to night"Leticias Yap on November 28th, 2023 at 8:51
O Lord God be our safe guard against the wickedness and snarl of the devil who prowl the world seeking to ruin the soulgabigale on November 28th, 2023 at 8:07
We belong to the light and the day...gabigale on November 28th, 2023 at 8:07
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