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 God who holds the world and its wonders in his creating hand.

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

Lord Jesus, once you spoke to men
Upon the mountain, in the plain;
O help us listen now as then,
And wonder at your words again.

We all have secret fears to face,
Our minds and motives to amend;
We seek your truth, we need your grace.
Our living Lord and present Friend.

The Gospel speaks, and we receive
Your light, your love, your own command.
O help us live what we believe
In daily work of heart and hand.
Text: H.C.A. Gaunt; Melody: Winchester


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Let us praise the Lord for his mercy and for the wonderful things he has done for us.

                    I
"O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever."

Let them say this, the Lord's redeemed,
whom he redeemed from the hand of the foe
and gathered from far-off lands,
from east and west, north and south.

Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,
finding no way to a city they could dwell in.
Hungry they were and thirsty;
their soul was fainting within them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress
and he led them along the right way,
to reach a city they could dwell in.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men:
for he satisfies the thirsty soul;
he fills the hungry with good things.

Some lay in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and chains,
having defied the words of God
and spurned the counsels of the Most High.
He crushed their spirit with toil;
they stumbled; there was no one to help.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
He led them forth from darkness and gloom
and broke their chains to pieces.

Let them thank the Lord for his goodness,
for the wonders he does for men:
for he bursts the gates of bronze
and shatters the iron bars. Glory...

Antiphon 1 Let us praise the Lord for his mercy and for the wonderful things he has done for us.


Antiphon 2 We have seen the works of God, the marvels he has done.

                     II
Some were sick on account of their sins
and afflicted on account of their guilt.
They had a loathing for every food;
they came close to the gates of death.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
He sent forth his word to heal them
and saved their life from the grave.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men.
Let them offer a sacrifice of thanks
and tell of his deeds with rejoicing.

Some sailed to the sea in ships
to trade on the mighty waters.
These men have seen the Lord's deeds,
the wonders he does in the deep.

For he spoke; he summoned the gale,
tossing the waves of the sea
up to heaven and back into the deep;
their souls melted away in their distress.

They staggered, reeled like drunken men,
for all their skill was gone.
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper:
all the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced because of the calm
and he led them to the haven they desired.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men.
Let them exalt him in the gathering of the people
and praise him in the meeting of the elders. Glory...

Antiphon 2 We have seen the works of God, the marvels he has done.


Antiphon 3 Those who love the Lord will see and rejoice; they will understand his loving kindness.

                    III
He changes streams into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
fruitful land into a salty waste,
for the wickedness of those who live there.

But he changes desert into streams,
thirsty ground into springs of water.
There he settles the hungry
and they build a city to dwell in.

They sow fields and plant their vines;
these yield crops for the harvest.
He blesses them; they grow in numbers.
He does not let their herds decrease.

He pours contempt upon princes,
makes them wander in trackless wastes.
They diminish, are reduced to nothing
by oppression, evil and sorrow.

But he raises the needy from distress;
makes families numerous as a flock.
The upright see it and rejoice
but all who do wrong are silenced.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things.
And consider the love of the Lord. Glory...

Antiphon 3 Those who love the Lord will see and rejoice; they will understand his loving kindness.


Your truth, O God, is high as the clouds.
- Lord, your goodness is deep as the oceans.


FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Micah           7:7-20

The city of God awaits salvation through the forgiveness of sins

As for me, I will look to the Lord,
  I will put my trust in God my savior;
  my God will hear me!

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy!
  though I have fallen, I will arise;
  though I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light.
The wrath of the Lord I will endure
  because I have sinned against him,
Until he takes up my cause,
  and establishes my right.
He will bring me forth to the light;
  I will see his justice.
When my enemy sees this,
  shame shall cover her:
She who said to me,
  "Where is the Lord, thy God?"
My eyes shall see her downfall;
  now shall she be trampled underfoot,
  like the mire in the streets.

It is the day for building your walls;
  on that day the boundary shall be taken away.
It is the day; and they shall come to you
  from Assyria and from Egypt,
From Tyre even to the River,
  from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain;
And the land shall be a waste
  because of its citizens,
  as a result of their deeds.

Shepherd your people with your staff,
  the flock of your inheritance,
That dwells apart in a woodland,
  in the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
  as in the days of old;
As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
  show us wonderful signs.

The nations shall behold and be put to shame,
  in spite of all their strength;
They shall put their hands over their mouths;
  their ears shall become deaf.
They shall lick the dust like the serpent,
  like reptiles on the ground;
They shall come quaking from their fastnesses,
  trembling in fear of you (the Lord, our God).

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
  and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
  but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
  treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea
  all our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
  and grace to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our fathers
  from days of old.


RESPONSORY          Hebrews 10:37; Micah 7:19
He who is to come will come;
he will not delay.
There will be no more fear in our land,
- for he is our savior.

He will wash away our guilt
and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
- For he is our savior.


SECOND READING

From a sermon on Baptism by by Saint Pacian, bishop
(Nn. 6-7: PL 13, 1093-1094)

Who, O God, is like you? you take away guilt

As we have borne the image of the earthly man, so we shall bear the image of him who is from heaven; since the first man who came from the earth, is earthly, but the second man who came from heaven, is heavenly. And so, dearly beloved, we shall not die anymore. Even if we fall asleep in this body, we shall live in Christ, as he said: Whoever believes in me, even if he die, shall live.

As the Lord is our witness, we are certain that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the saints of God are alive. For concerning them the Lord says: They are all alive. For God is a God of the living, and not of the dead. And the Apostle says of himself: For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. I would rather die and be with Christ. and again: But while we are still in this body we are away from God, for we are guided by faith, and not by appearance. This is what we believe, dearest brothers. For the rest: If we place our hope in this world, we are the most miserable of men. Life in this world, whether if be that of beasts, wild animals or birds, as you yourselves see, is either similar to ours or more tedious. What is peculiar to man, and what Christ gives through his Spirit, is eternal life, but only if we sin no more. Thus death is acquired by sin but avoided by right living; life is lost through sin and preserved through good living. The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is Christ who redeemed us, as the Apostle says: Forgiving us all our sins and destroying what was recorded against us by disobedience, he bore our burden in public view, fixed it to the cross, stripped his own flesh, exposed the powers of this world and freely conquered them in himself. He released our shackles and destroyed our chains, as David had said: The Lord lifts up what has been torn down; the Lord frees those in shackles; the Lord gives light to the blind. And again: You have destroyed my chains; I will offer sacrifice to you with praise. And so when we come to the sign of the Lord in the sacrament of baptism we are freed of these chains and liberated by the blood of Christ and by his name.

Therefore beloved, we are washed clean but once; we are freed only once; we are received into the immortal kingdom once and for all. Once and for all are they happy whose sins are forgiven and whose stains are blotted out. Hold fast to what you have received; preserve it joyfully; sin no more. Keep yourselves as children cleansed by that sacrament and made spotless for the day of the Lord.


RESPONSORY          1 Cor. 15:47,49; Col. 3:9-10
The first man was formed from the dust of the earth;
the second man is from heaven.
- Just as we resemble the man of dust,
so we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

You have stripped off your old self and have become a new man,
and you advance toward true knowledge
in the image of your Creator.
- Just as we resemble the man of dust,
so we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.


COLLECT
Almighty ever-living God,
whom, taught by the Holy Spirit,
we dare to call our Father,
bring, we pray, to perfection in our hearts
the spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters,
that we may merit to enter into the inheritance
which you have promised.
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.


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.