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 sing joyful songs to the Lord.

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

Sing praise to God who reigns above,
the God of all creation,
the God of power, the God of love,
the God of our salvation;
with healing balm my soul he fills,
and every faithless murmur stills:
to God all praise and glory.

What God's almighty power hath made,
his gracious mercy keepeth;
by morning glow or evening shade
his watchful eye ne'er sleepeth.
Within the kingdom of his might,
lo! all is just and all is right:
to God all praise and glory.

Then all my gladsome way along
I sing aloud thy praises,
that men may hear the grateful song
my voice unwearied raises:
be joyful in the Lord, my heart!
Both soul and body bear your part!
To God all praise and glory.

O ye who name Christ's holy name
give God all praise and glory;
let all who know his power proclaim
aloud the wondrous story!
Cast each false idol from its throne,
the Lord is God, and he alone:
to God all praise and glory.
Text: Johann J. Schutz; Melody: Mit Freuden Zart 87.87.887


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!

                I
How good God is to Israel,
to those who are pure of heart.
Yet my feet came close to stumbling,
my steps had almost slipped
for I was filled with envy of the proud
when I saw how the wicked prosper.

For them there are no pains;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
They do not share in men's sorrows;
they are not stricken like others.

So they wear their pride like a necklace,
they clothe themselves with violence.
Their hearts overflow with malice,
their minds seethe with plots.

They scoff; they speak with malice;
from on high they plan oppression.
They have set their mouths in the heavens
and their tongues dictate to the earth.

So the people turn to follow them
and drink in all their words.
They say: How can God know?
Does the Most High take any notice?"
Look at them, such are the wicked,
but untroubled, they grow in wealth.  Glory...

Antiphon 1 How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!


Antiphon 2 Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.

 
                    II
How useless to keep my heart pure
and wash my hands in innocence,
when I was stricken all day long,
suffered punishment day after day.

Then I said: If I should speak like that,
I should betray the race of your sons."

I strove to fathom this problem,
too hard for my mind to understand,
until I pierced the mysteries of God
and understood what becomes of the wicked.

How slippery the paths on which you set them;
you make them slide to destruction.
How suddenly they come to their ruin,
wiped out, destroyed by terrors.
Like a dream one wakes from, O Lord,
when you wake you dismiss them as phantoms.  Glory...

Antiphon 2 Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.


Antiphon 3 Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.

                          III
And so when my heart grew embittered
and when I was cut to the quick,
I was stupid and did not understand,
no better than a beast in your sight.

Yet I was always in your presence;
you were holding me by my right hand.
You will guide me by your counsel
and so you will lead me to glory.

What else have I in heaven but you?
Apart from you I want nothing on earth.
My body and my heart faint for joy;
God is my possession for ever.

All those who abandon you shall perish;
you will destroy all those who are faithless.
To be near God is my happiness.
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of your works
at the gates of the city of Zion.  Glory...

And the people shall oppress one another,
  yes, every man his neighbor.
The child shall be bold toward the elder,
  and the base toward the honorable.
When a man seizes his brother
  in his father's house, saying,
"You have clothes! Be our ruler,
  and take in hand this ruin!"--

     Then shall he answer in that day:
"I will not undertake to cure this,
  when in my own house there is no bread or clothing!
  You shall not make me ruler of the people."
Jerusalem is crumbling, Judah is falling;
  for their speech and their deeds are before the Lord,
  a provocation in the sight of his majesty.

Their very look bears witness against them;
  their sin like Sodom they vaunt,
They hide it not. Woe to them!
  they deal out evil to themselves.
Happy the just, for it will be well with them,
  the fruit of their works they will eat.
Woe to the wicked man! All goes ill,
  with the work of his hands he will be repaid.
My people--a babe in arms will be their tyrant,
  and women will rule them!
O my people, your leaders mislead,
  they destroy the paths you should follow.

The Lord rises to accuse,
  standing to try his people.
The Lord enters into judgment
  with his people's elders and princes:
It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
  the loot wrested from the poor is in your houses.
What do you mean by crushing my people,
  and grinding down the poor when they look to you?
  says the Lord, the God of hosts.


RESPONSORY          Isaiah 3:10,11,13
Happy is the just man; all goes well with him,
for he shall enjoy the fruit of his works. - Woe to the wicked man; all goes ill with him;
he shall be repaid for the evil he as done.

The Lord rises from the judgment seat
and stands to judge his people.
- Woe to the wicked man; all goes ill with him;
he shall be repaid for the evil he as done.


SECOND READING

From the Moral Reflections on Job by St. Gregory the Great, pope
(Lib. 3, 39-40: PL 75, 619-620)

Struggles without, fears within

Holy men beset by tribulation must endure the assaults of those who use violence and verbal attacks. The former they resist with the shield of patience, but against the latter they launch the sharp arrows of true doctrine. In both types of fighting they win the day through the wonderful arts that virtue bestows, for within wisdom they teach the wayward while showing a courageous contempt for outward hostility; the straying sheep they set on the right path by their teaching; the attacker they suffer and overcome. For they have nothing but patient scorn for the enemy who moves against them, but they sympathize with their weaker fellows and bring them back to the safe way, opposing the former lest they lead others astray and fearing for the latter lest they completely lose sight of the truly upright life.

Let us see how a soldier in God's camp fights against both types of enemy. Paul says: Struggles without, fears within. He lists the attacks he must endure from without: Dangers from floods, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the pagans, dangers in the city, dangers in the desert, dangers on the seas, dangers from false brothers. He also tells us what weapons he uses against his enemies in this war: Toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, frequent fasts, cold and nakedness.

When beset by so many struggles, he guards the camp, he tells us, with great watchfulness. Immediately he adds: Besides these outward difficulties there is that daily weight upon me: my anxiety for all the churches. Thus he himself fights courageously and devotes himself compassionately to protecting his neighbors. He tells us of the evils he endures but also of the blessings he brings to others.

Let us reflect, then, on how difficult it is simultaneously to endure attacks from without and to protect the weak from within. He endures the attacks without, inasmuch as he suffers flogging and chains; inwardly he experiences fear, since he is afraid that his sufferings may be a stumbling-block not to himself but to his disciples. For this reason he writes to them: Let no one be shaken by these trials, for you know that they are our lot. Amid his own sufferings it was the fall of others he feared, lest the disciples, seeing him flogged for the faith, might refuse to acknowledge their own faith.

What an immensely loving heart! He thinks nothing of what he himself suffers and is concerned only that the disciples may be led astray interiorly. He scorns his own bodily wounds and brings healing to the inner wounds of others. It is characteristic of holy men that their own painful trials do not make them lose their concern for the well-being of others. They are grieved by the adversity they must endure, yet they look out for others and teach them needed lessons; they are like gifted physicians who are themselves stricken and lie ill. They suffer wounds themselves but bring others the medicine that restores health.


RESPONSORY          See Job 13:20-21; Jeremiah 10:24
O Lord, do not hide your face from me;
lift away from me the weight of your hand,
- and let not my fear of you terrify me.

O God, rebuke me with gentleness and not in anger,
for your anger will reduce me to nothing.
- and let not my fear of you terrify me.


COLLECT
O God, who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love,
so that, loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
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.