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 before the Lord, our maker.

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.)

Lord, who once came to bring,
On your redeeming wing,
Healing and sight,
Health to the sick in mind,
Sight to the inly blind:
Oh, now to humankind
Let there be light!

Spirit of truth and love,
Life giving, holy dove,
Speed forth your flight;
Move on the water’s face,
Bearing the lamp of grace,
And in earth’s darkest place
Let there be light!

Holy and blessed three,
Glorious Trinity,
Wisdom, love, might!
Boundless as ocean’s tide,
Rolling in fullest pride,
Through the earth, far and wide,
Let there be light!
Text: John Marriot; Melody: Italian hymn 664.6664


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Whereever you are, Lord, there is mercy, there is truth.

    I
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

"With my chosen one I have made a covenant;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever
and set up your throne through all ages."

The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord;
the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.
For who in the skies can compare with the Lord
or who is like the Lord among the sons of God?

A God to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and dreadful to all around him.
O Lord God of hosts, who is your equal?
You are mighty, O Lord, and truth is your garment.

It is you who rule the sea in its pride;
it is you who still the surging of its waves.
It is you who trod Rahab underfoot like a corpse,
scattering your foes with your mighty arm.

The heavens are yours, the world is yours.
It is you who founded the earth and all it holds;
it is you who created the North and the South.
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name.

Yours is a mighty arm, O Lord;
your hand is strong, your right hand ready.
Justice and right are the pillars of your throne,
love and truth walk in your presence.

Happy the people who acclaim such a king,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice the source of their bliss.

For you, O Lord, are the glory of their strength;
by your favor it is that our might is exalted;
for our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord;
our king in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.  Glory...

Antiphon 1 Whereever you are, Lord, there is mercy, there is truth..


Antiphon 2 When the Son of God came into this world, he was born of David's line.

                      II
Of old you spoke in a vision.
To your friends the prophets you said:
I have set the crown on a warrior,
I have exalted one chosen from the people.

I have found David my servant
and with my holy oil anointed him.
My hand shall always be with him
and my arm shall make him strong.

The enemy shall never outwit him
nor the evil man oppress him.
I will beat down his foes before him
and smite those who hate him.

My truth and my love shall be with him;
by my name his might shall be exalted.
I will stretch out his hand to the Sea
and his right hand as far as the River.

He will say to me "You are my father,
my God, the rock who saves me."
And I will make him my first-born,
the highest of the kings of the earth.

I will keep my love for him always;
with him my covenant shall last.
I will establish his dynasty for ever,
make his throne endure as the heavens.   Glory...

Antiphon 2 When the Son of God came into this world, he was born of David's line.


Antiphon 3 Once for all I swore to my servant David, his dynasty shall never end.

                    III
If his sons forsake my law
and refuse to walk as I decree
and if ever they violate my statutes,
refusing to keep my commands;

then I will punish their offences with the rod,
then I will scourge them on account of their guilt
but I will never take back my love;
my truth will never fail.

I will never violate my covenant
nor go back on the word I have spoken.
Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness.
"I will never lie to David.

His dynasty shall last for ever.
In my sight his throne is like the sun;
like the moon, it shall endure for ever,
a faithful witness in the skies."  Glory...

Antiphon 3 Once for all I swore to my servant David, his dynasty shall never end.


When we listen to your word, our minds are filled with light.
- It is the lowly heart that understands.


FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Micah           4:1-7

The nations go up to the mountain of the Lord

     Thus says the Lord:
In days to come
  the mount of the Lord's house
Shall be established higher than the mountains;
  it shall rise high above the hills,
And peoples shall stream to it:
  Many nations shall come, and say,
"Come, let us climb the mount of the Lord,
  to the house of the God of Jacob,
That he may instruct us in his ways,
  that 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 many peoples
  and impose terms on strong and distant nations;
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.
Every man shall sit under his own vine
  or under his own fig tree, undisturbed;
  for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.

For all the peoples walk
  each in the name of its god,
But we will walk in the name of the Lord,
  our God, forever and ever.
On that day, says the Lord,
  I will gather the lame,
And I will assemble the outcasts,
  and those whom I have afflicted.
I will make of the lame a remnant,
  and of those driven far off a strong nation;
And the Lord shall be king over them on Mount Zion,
  from now on forever.


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 the Christ, is coming.
When he comes, he will teach us everything.
to the house of the God of Jacob.
- He will teach us his ways,
and we will walk in his paths.


SECOND READING

From a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Ps. 47, 7: CCL 38, 543-545)

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord

As we have heard, so also have we seen. Truly blessed Church! You have both heard and seen. You have heard the promises, and you see their fulfillment; you have heard in prophecy, and you see their fulfillment; you have heard in prophecy, and you see in the Gospel. Yes, all that has now been brought to completion was prophesied in times past. Raise up your eyes, then, and cast your gaze around the world. See God's people, your heritage, spread tothe ends of the earth. See the Scripture now fulfilled: All the kings of the earth will adore him, all the nations will serve him. See fulfilled what has been said: Be exalted above the heavens, O God, and your glory above all the earth. See him whose hands and feet were pierced by nails, whose bones were numbered as they hung upon the wood, and for whose garments they cast lots. See him reigning, whom they saw hanging upon the cross; see him enthroned in heaven, whom they despised when he walked on the earth. See the word fulfilled: All the ends of the earth shall turn to the Lord, and all nations shall worship in his sight. See all this and shout with joy: As we have heard, so also have we seen.

Deservedly then the Church is itself called from among the Gentiles: Hear, O daughter, and see, and forget your people and your father's house. Hear and see. First you hear what you do not see; later you will see what you have heard. For he says: A people I did not know served me, as soon as they heard me they obeyed. If they obeyed as soon as they heard, it follows that they did not see. What then of the passage: Those who were not told of him will see, and they who have not heard will understand? Those to whom the prophets were not sent were the first to hear and understand the prophets, whereas those who at first did not hear them were astonished when they heard them later. Those to whom the prophets were sent remained behind, possessing the books of Scripture but not understanding the truth, possessing the tables of the law but not keeping their inheritance. As we have heard, so also have we seen also applies to us.

In the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, that is where we have heard; there too we have seen. God has made this city firm for ever. No one should say boastfully: See, here is Christ; see, he is there. Such a claim only leads to factions. But God has promised unity. The kings were gathered together in unity, not scattered through schisms. Yet perhaps that city which had gained possession of the world will at some time be overthrown? No, God has made it firm for ever. If God has made its foundation firm for ever, how can you fear that this foundation may collapse?


RESPONSORY          Leviticus 26:11-12; 2 Corinthians 6:16
I shall establish my dwelling place among you
and shall not reject you;
- I shall walk among you;
I shall be your God and you shall be my people.

You are the temple of the living God,
as God himself has said.
- I shall walk among you;
I shall be your God and you shall be my people.


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.