Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 651
Proper of Seasons: 131
Psalter: Friday, Week III, 1082

Office of Readings for Friday 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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 I am worn out with crying, with longing for my God.

Psalm 69:2-22; 30-37
I am consumed with zeal for your house
They offered him a mixture of wine and gall (Matthew 27:34).

I

Save me, O God,
for the waters have risen to my neck.

I have sunk into the mud of the deep
and there is no foothold.
I have entered the waters of the deep
and the waves overwhelm me.

I am wearied with all my crying,
my throat is parched.
My eyes are wasted away
from looking for my God.

More numerous than the hairs on my head
are those who hate me without cause.
Those who attack me with lies
are too much for my strength.

How can I restore
what I have never stolen?
O God, you know my sinful folly;
my sins you can see.

Let those who hope in you not be put to shame
through me, Lord of hosts:
let not those who seek you be dismayed
through me, God of Israel.

It is for you that I suffer taunts,
that shame covers my face,
that I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my own mother’s sons.
I burn with zeal for your house
and taunts against you fall on me.

When I afflict my soul with fasting
they make it a taunt against me.
When I put on sackcloth in mourning
then they make me a byword,
the gossip of men at the gates,
the subject of drunkards’ songs.

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. I am worn out with crying, with longing for my God.

Ant. 2 I needed food and they gave me gall; I was parched with thirst and they gave me vinegar.

II

This is my prayer to you,
my prayer for your favor.
In your great love, answer me, O God,
with your help that never fails:
rescue me from sinking in the mud;
save me from my foes.

Save me from the waters of the deep
lest the waves overwhelm me.
Do not let the deep engulf me
nor death close its mouth on me.

Lord, answer, for your love is kind;
in your compassion, turn towards me.
Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer quickly for I am in distress.
Come close to my soul and redeem me;
ransom me pressed by my foes.

You know how they taunt and deride me;
my oppressors are all before you.
Taunts have broken my heart;
I have reached the end of my strength.

I looked in vain for compassion,
for consolers; not one could I find.
For food they gave me poison;
in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

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. I needed food and they gave me gall; I was parched with thirst and they gave me vinegar.

Ant. 3 Seek the Lord and you will live.

III

As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.

I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving,
a gift pleasing God more than oxen,
more than beasts prepared for sacrifice.

The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
Let the heavens and the earth give him praise,
the sea and all its living creatures.

For God will bring help to Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah
and men shall dwell there in possession.
The sons of his servants shall inherit it;
those who love his name shall dwell there.

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

God our Father, to show the way of salvation, you chose that the standard of the cross should go before us, and you fulfilled the ancient prophecies in Christ’s Passover from death to life. Do not let us rouse your burning indignation by sin, but rather, through the contemplation of his wounds, make us burn with zeal for the honor of your Church and with grateful love for you.

Ant. Seek the Lord and you will live.

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.

The Lord will teach us his ways.
— And we will follow in his footsteps.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of Deuteronomy
31:1-15, 23
The last words of Moses

When Moses had finished speaking these words to all Israel, he said to them,

“I am now one hundred and twenty years old and am no longer able to move about freely; besides, the Lord has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan. It is the Lord, your God, who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before you, that you may supplant them. (It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the Lord promised.) The Lord will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom he destroyed, and with their country. When, therefore, the Lord delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have ordered you. Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of them, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you or forsake you.”

Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel said to him, “Be brave and steadfast, for you must bring this people into the land which the Lord swore to their fathers he would give them; you must put them in possession of their heritage. It is the Lord who marches before you; he will be with you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be dismayed.”

When Moses had written down this law, he entrusted it to the levitical priests who carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel, giving them this order: “On the feast of Booths, at the prescribed time in the year of relaxation which comes at the end of every seven-year period, when all Israel goes to appear before the Lord, your God, in the place which he chooses, you shall read this law aloud in the presence of all Israel. Assemble the people—men, women and children, as well as the aliens who live in your communities—that they may hear it and learn it, and so fear the Lord, your God, and carefully observe all the words of this law. Their children also, who do not know it yet, must hear it and learn it, that they too may fear the Lord, your God, as long as you live on the land which you will cross the Jordan to occupy.”

The Lord said to Moses, “The time is now approaching for you to die. Summon Joshua, and present yourselves at the meeting tent that I may give him his commission.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the meeting tent. And the Lord appeared at the tent in a column of cloud, which stood still at the entrance of the tent.

Then the Lord commissioned Joshua, son of Nun, and said to him, “Be brave and steadfast, for it is you who must bring the Israelites into the land which I promised them on oath. I myself will be with you.”

RESPONSORY Deuteronomy 31:23, 6; Proverbs 3:26

Be strong and steadfast, for the Lord your God is going with you.
— He goes before you; there is nothing you need fear.

The Lord will be at your side to keep your foot from stumbling.
— He goes before you; there is nothing you need fear.

Second reading
From a commentary on the psalms by John Fisher, bishop and martyr
The wonderful works of God

First God freed Israel from the bondage of Egypt by performing many signs and wonders. He permitted them to cross the Red Sea dry-shod. He fed them in the desert with food from heaven in the form of manna and quail. When they were suffering from thirst he produced an everflowing spring of water from the hardest rock. He gave them victory over all the enemies who made war against them. He forced the river to flow backward for a time. He divided the promised land and distributed it among them according to the number of their tribes and families.

Yet even though he treated them so lovingly and generously, the Israelites were ungrateful and seemed forgetful to all of this. They abandoned the worship of God and more than once they were guilty of the abominable sin of idolatry.

Then he also took pity on us, when we were pagans who went off to mute idols wherever we were led. He severed us from the wild olive tree of paganism and, breaking our natural branches, he grafted us onto the true olive tree of Judaism and made us share in the root of his grace and its richness. Finally, he did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, an offering and a sacrifice to God in a fragrant odor, that he might redeem us from all our iniquity and cleanse for himself an acceptable people.

Now all these things are not merely certain arguments but also clear proof of his deep love and kindness for us. And yet we are the most ungrateful of men. Indeed, we have gone beyond the bounds of ingratitude: we give no thought to his love, nor do we recognize the extent of his kindnesses to us. Rather we reject the one who lavishes so many favors and even appear to despise him; and the remarkable mercy that he has continually shown to sinners does not move us to form our lives and conduct according to his most holy command.

Clearly these things are worthy to be written down in the second generation so as to preserve their memory for ever. Thus all who are still to be counted among Christians will know the great kindness of God toward us and never cease singing his divine praises.

RESPONSORY Psalm 68:26; 96:1

In your assemblies bless God;
— praise the Lord, all you sons of Israel.

Sing to the Lord a new song; let all the earth sing to the Lord.
— Praise the Lord, all you sons of Israel.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Almighty ever-living God,
direct our actions according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
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.