Week 1 Monday - Morning Prayer

Advent

WEEK I - MONDAY

Office of Readings

Invitatory
The Invitatory opens the first Office of the day. If Morning Prayer is the first Office of the day, begin below.

Lord, open my lips.
- And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Psalm 95 is the traditional Invitatory Psalm. Psalm 24, 67, or 100 may be substituted.

Antiphon: Come let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

Psalm 95

Psalm 24

Psalm 67

Psalm 100

Office of Readings

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

On Jordan's Bank the Baptist's Cry

Or:

O God of truth, prepare our minds
to hear and heed your holy word.
Fill every heart that longs for You
with your mysterious presence, Lord.

Almighty Father, with your Son
and blessed Spirit, hear our prayer.
Teach us to love eternal truth
and seek its freedom everywhere.
Melody: Warrington LM, R. Harrison, 1810; Text: Stanbrook Abbey; Midi:Cyberhymnal

PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe, alleluia.

Psalm 6
A suffering man cries to God for mercy
I am filled with dismay...Father, save me from this hour. (John 12:27)

Lord, do not reprove me in your anger;
punish me not in your rage.
Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength;
Lord, heal me, my body is racked;
my soul is racked with pain.

But you, O Lord...how long?
Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me in your merciful love;
for in death no one remembers you;
from the grave, who can give you praise?

I am exhausted with my groaning;
every night I drench my pillow with tears;
I bedew my bed with weeping.
My eye wastes away with grief;
I have grown old surrounded by my foes.

Leave me, all you who do evil;
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
The Lord will accept my prayer.
All my foes will retire in confusion,
foiled and suddenly confounded. Glory...

Psalm Prayer: Lord God, you love mercy and tenderness; you give life and overcome death. Look upon the many wounds of your church; restore it to health by your risen Son, so that it may sing a new song in your praise.

Antiphon 1 Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe, alleluia.

Antiphon 2 The poor are not alone in their distress. God is here to help them (alleluia).

Psalm 9
The Messiah, king and conqueror
The rulers of the earth joined forces to overthrow Jesus, your anointed Son (Acts 4:27)

I
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad,
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.

See how my enemies turn back,
how they stumble and perish before you.
You upheld the justice of my cause;
you sat enthroned, judging with justice.

You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked;
you have wiped out their name for ever and ever.
The foe is destroyed, eternally ruined.
You uprooted their cities; their memory has perished.

But the Lord sits enthroned for ever.
He has set up his throne for judgment;
he will judge the world with justice,
he will judge the peoples with his truth.

For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you;
you will never forsake those who seek you. Glory...

Antiphon 2 The poor are not alone in their distress. God is here to help them (alleluia).

Antiphon 3 I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather (alleuia).

II
Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion.
Proclaim his mighty works among the peoples,
for the Avenger of blood has remembered them,
has not forgotten the cry of the poor.

Have pity on me, Lord, see my sufferings,
you who save me from the gates of death;
that I may recount all your praise
at the gates of the city of Zion
and rejoice in your saving help.

The nations have fallen in the pit which they made,
their feet caught in the snare they laid.
The Lord has revealed himself, and given judgment.
The wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

Let the wicked go down among the dead,
all the nations forgetful of God;
for the needy shall not always be forgotten
nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.

Arise, Lord, let men not prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
Lord, strike them with terror,
let the nations know they are but men. Glory....

Psalm Prayer: Lord God, when you judge, do not be deaf to the shouts of the poor; bring havoc to the madness of oppressors. Look at our wounds and save us from the gates of death, so that we may always rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion.

Antiphon 3 I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather (alleuia).

Lord, show us you mercy and love
- And grant us your salvation.

FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Isaiah          1:21-27; 2:1-5

The judgment and deliverance of Zion. The gathering of the nation.

How has she turned adulteress,
  the faithful city, so upright!
Justice used to lodge within her,
  but now, murderers.
Your silver is turned to dross,
  your wine is mixed with water.
Your princes are rebels
  and comrades of thieves;
Each one of them loves a bribe
  and looks for gifts.
The fatherless they defend not,
  and the widow's plea does not reach them.

Now, therefore, says the Lord,
  the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel:
Ah! I will take vengeance on my foes
  and fully repay my enemies!
I will turn my hand against you,
  and refine your dross in the furnace,
  removing all your alloy.
I will restore your judges as at first,
  and your counselors as in the beginning;
After that you shall be called
  city of justice, faithful city.
Zion shall be redeemed by judgment,
  and her repentant ones by justice.

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

  In days to come,
The mountain of the Lord's house
  shall be established as the highest mountain
  and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
  many peoples shall come and say:

"Come, let us climb the Lord's mountain,
  to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
  and we may walk in his paths."
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
  and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between the nations,
  and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
  and their spears into pruning hooks;
One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
  nor shall they train for war again.

O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!

RESPONSORY Micah 4:2; John 4:25
Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
- He will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.

The Messiah, who is called Christ, is coming.
When he comes, he will teach us everything.
- He will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.

SECOND READING

From a pastoral letter by St Charles Borromeo, bishop
(Acta Ecclesiae Mediolanensis, t. 2, Lugduni, 1683, 916-917)

The season of Advent

Beloved, now is the acceptable time spoken of by the Spirit, the day of salvation, peace and reconciliation: the great season of Advent. This is the time eagerly awaited by the patriarchs and prophets, the time that holy Simeon rejoiced at last to see. This is the season that the Church has always celebrated with special solemnity. We too should always observe it with faith and love, offering praise and thanksgiving to the Father for the mercy and love he has shown us in this mystery. In his infinite love for us, though we were sinners, he sent his only Son to free us from the tyranny of Satan, to summon us to heaven, to welcome us into its innermost recesses, to show us truth itself, to train us in right conduct, to plant within us the seeds of virtue, to enrich us with the treasures of his grace, and to make us children of God and heirs of eternal life.

Each year, as the Church recalls this mystery, she urges us to renew the memory of the great love God has shown us. This holy season teaches us that Christ's coming was not only for the benefit of his contemporaries; his power has still to be communicated to us all. We shall share his power, if, through holy faith and the sacraments, we willingly accept the grace Christ earned for us, and live by that grace and in obedience to Christ.

The Church asks us to understand that Christ, who came once in the flesh, is prepared to come again. When we remove all obstacles to his presence he will come, at any hour and moment, to dwell spiritually in our hearts, bringing with him the riches of his grace.

In her concern for our salvation, our loving mother the Church uses this holy season to teach us through hymns, canticles and other forms of expression, of voice or ritual, used by the Holy Spirit. She shows us how grateful we should be for so great a blessing, and how to gain its benefit: our hearts should be as much prepared for the coming of Christ as if he were still to come into this world. The same lesson is given us for our imitation by the words and example of the holy men of the Old Testament.

RESPONSORY See Jl 2:15; Is 62:11; Jer 4:5
Sound the trumpets in Zion, summon the nations;
Call the people together and tell them the good news.
- Our God and our Savior is coming.

Proclaim the good news, let it be heard;
tell it to everyone, shout it aloud.
- Our God and our Savior is coming.

COLLECT
Keep us alert, we pray, O Lord our God,
as we await the advent of Christ your Son,
so that, when he comes and knocks,
he may find us watchful in prayer
and exultant in his praise.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Let us praise the Lord.
- And give him thanks.

The English translation of Psalm Responses, Alleluia Verses, Gospel Verses from Lectionary for Mass © 1969, 1981, 1997, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation (ICEL); the English translation of Antiphons, Invitatories, Responsories, Intercessions, Psalm 95, the Canticle of the Lamb, Psalm Prayers, Non-Biblical Readings from The Liturgy of the Hours © 1973, 1974, 1975, ICEL; excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 2010, ICEL. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

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