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: The Lord is risen, alleluia.

Psalm 95

Psalm 24

Psalm 67

Psalm 100

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

Christ the Lord is Risen Today
The Day of Resurrection

Or:


With hearts renewed by living faith,
We lift our thoughts in grateful prayer
To God our gracious father,
Whose plan it was to make us sons
Through his own Son’s redemptive death,
That rescued us from darkness.
Lord, God, Savior,
Give us strength to mold our hearts in your true likeness.
Sons and servants of our Father.

So rich God’s grace in Jesus Christ,
That we are called as sons of light
To bear the pledge of glory.
Through him in whom all fullness dwells,
We offer God our gift of self
In union with the Spirit.
Lord, God, Savior,
Give us strength to mold our hearts in your true likeness.
Sons and servants of our Father.
Melody: Frankfort 887.887.48.48; Music: Philip Nicolai, 1599, arr. by J. S. Bach, 1730; Text: Jack May, S. J.


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you, alleluia.

Psalm 37
The lot of the wicked and the good
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)

       I
Do not fret because of the wicked;
do not envy those who do evil,
for they wither quickly like grass
and fade like the green of the fields.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart's desire.

Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.

Be still before the Lord and wait in patience;
do not fret at the man who prospers;
a man who makes evil plots
to bring down the needy and the poor.

Calm your anger and forget your rage;
do not fret, it only leads to evil.
For those who do evil shall perish;
the patient shall inherit the land.

A little longer--and the wicked shall have gone.
Look at his place, he is not there.
But the humble shall own the land
and enjoy the fullness of peace.  Glory...

Antiphon 1 Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you, alleluia.


Antiphon 2 Turn away from evil, learn to do God's will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him, alleluia.

                   II
The wicked man plots against the just
and gnashes his teeth against him;
but the Lord laughs at the wicked
for he sees that his day is at hand.

The sword of the wicked is drawn,
his bow is bent to slaughter the upright.
Their sword shall pierce their own hearts
and their bows shall be broken to pieces.

The just man's few possessions
are better than the wicked man's wealth;
for the power of the wicked shall be broken
and the Lord will support the just.

He protects the lives of the upright,
their heritage will last for ever.
They shall not be put to shame in evil days,
in time of famine their food shall not fail.

But all the wicked shall perish
and all the enemies of the Lord.
They are like the beauty of the meadows,
they shall vanish, they shall vanish like smoke.

The wicked man borrows without repaying,
but the just man is generous and gives.
Those blessed by the Lord shall own the land,
but those he has cursed shall be destroyed.

The Lord guides the steps of a man
and makes safe the path of one he loves.
Though he stumble he shall never fall
for the Lord holds him by the hand.

I was young and now I am old,
but I have never seen the just man forsaken
nor his children begging for bread.
All the day he is generous and lends
and his children become a blessing.

Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.

The unjust shall be wiped out for ever
and the children of the wicked destroyed.
The just shall inherit the land;
there they shall live for ever.  Glory...

Antiphon 2 Turn away from evil, learn to do God's will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him, alleluia.


Antiphon 3 Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way, alleluia.

                    III
The just man's mouth utters wisdom
and his lips speak what is right;
the law of his God is in his heart,
his steps shall be saved from stumbling.

The wicked man watches for the just
and seeks occasion to kill him.
The Lord will not leave him in his power
nor let him be condemned when he is judged.

Then wait for the Lord, keep to his way.
It is he who will free you from the wicked,
raise you up to possess the land
and see the wicked destroyed.

I have seen the wicked triumphant,
towering like a cedar of Lebanon.
I passed by again; he was gone.
I searched; he was nowhere to be found.

See the just man, mark the upright,
for the peaceful man a future lies in store,
but sinners shall all be destroyed.
No future lies in store for the wicked.

The salvation of the just comes from the Lord,
their stronghold in time of distress.
The Lord helps them and delivers them
and saves them: for their refuge is in him.  Glory...

Antiphon 3 Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way, alleluia.


Christ risen from the dead will never die again, alleluia.
- Death no longer has power over him, alleluia.


FIRST READING

From the book of Revelation       2:1-11

To the churches Ephesus and Smyrna

"To the angel of the church  in Ephesus, write this:

" 'The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands says this:

"I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and discovered that they are impostors.   Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first. Realize how far you have fallen. Repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. But you have this in your favor: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans,  which I also hate. "

'"Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the victor  I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God."'  


"To the angel of the church in Smyrna,  write this:

" 'The first and the last, who once died but came to life, says this:

"I know your tribulation and poverty, but you are rich.  I know the slander of those who claim to be Jews and are not, but rather are members of the assembly of Satan. Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer. Indeed, the devil will throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. "

'"Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The victor shall not be harmed by the second death."'  


RESPONSORY          Revelation 2:10,11; Sirach 4:33
Be faithful even unto death,
and I will give you the crown of life.
 - Those who have been victorious need not fear the second death, alleluia.

Fight to the death for truth,
and the Lord God will do battle for you.
 - Those who have been victorious need not fear the second death, alleluia.


SECOND READING

From a book addressed to Monimus by Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe, bishop
(Lib. 2, 11-12: CCL 91, 46-48)

The sacrament of unity and love

We are right to pray that this may be brought about in us through the gift of the one Spirit of the Father and the Son. The holy Trinity, the one true God, is of its nature unity, equality and love, and by one divine activity sanctifies its adopted sons. That is why Scripture says that God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit he has given us. The Holy Spirit, who is the one Spirit of the Father and the Son, produces in those to whom he gives the grace of divine adoption the same effect as he produced among those whom the Acts of the Apostles describes as having received the Holy Spirit. We are told that the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, because the one Spirit of the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is one God, had created a single heart and soul in all those who believed.

This is why Saint Paul in his exhortation to the Ephesians says that this spiritual unity in the bond of peace must be carefully preserved. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, he writes, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, with all humility and meekness and with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit.

God makes the Church itself a sacrifice pleasing in his sight by preserving within it the love which his Holy Spirit has poured out. Thus the grace of that spiritual love is always available to us, enabling us continually to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to him for ever.


RESPONSORY          John 17:20,21,22,18
I pray for them,
that they may all be one,
as you, Father, are in me and I in you.
I have given them the glory you gave to me.
 - that they may be one as we are one, alleluia.

As you have sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
 - That they may be one as we are one, alleluia


COLLECT
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that we, who have been renewed by paschal remedies,
transcending the likeness of our earthly parentage,
may be transformed in the image of our heavenly maker.
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.


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