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: Let us approach the Lord with praise and thanksgiving.

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

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: Our God will be made manifest; he will not come in silence.

           I
The God of gods, the Lord,
has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion's perfect beauty he shines.

Our God comes, he keeps silence no longer.

Before him fire devours,
around him tempest rages.
He calls on the heavens and the earth
to witness his judgment of his people.

"Summon before me my people
who made covenant with me by sacrifice."
The heavens proclaim his justice,
for he, God, is the judge. Glory...

Antiphon 1: Our God will be made manifest; he will not come in silence.


Antiphon 2: Offer to God the sacrifice of praise.

                      II
"Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you,
for I am God, your God.
I accuse you, lay the charge before you.

I find no fault with your sacrifices,
your offerings are always before me.
I do not ask more bullocks from your farms,
nor goats from among your herds.

For I own all the beasts of the forest,
beasts in their thousands on my hills.
I know all the birds in the sky,
all that moves in the field belongs to me.

Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for I own the world and all it holds.
Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?

Pay your sacrifice of thanksgiving to God
and render him your votive offerings.
Call on me in the day of distress.
I will free and you shall honor me." Glory...

Antiphon 2: Offer to God the sacrifice of praise.


Antiphon 3: I want a loving heart more than sacrifice, knowledge of my ways more than holocausts.

                   III

But God says to the wicked:

"But how can you recite my commandments
and take my covenant on your lips,
you who despise my law
and throw my words to the winds,

you who see a thief and go with him;
who throw in your lot with adulterers,
who unbridle your mouth for evil
and whose tongue is plotting crime,

you who sit and malign your brother
and slander your own mother's son.
You do this, and should I keep silence?
Do you think that I am like you?

Mark this, you who never think of God,
lest I seize you and you cannot escape;
a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me
and I will show God's salvation to the upright." Glory....

Antiphon 3: I want a loving heart more than sacrifice, knowledge of my ways more than holocausts.


Listen my people and I will speak.
- I am the Lord, your God.


FIRST READING

From the book of the prophet Jeremiah           42:1-16; 43:4-7

Jeremiah and the people after the fall of the city

All the army leaders, Johanan, son of Kareah, Azariah, son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, high and low, approached the prophet Jeremiah and said, "Grant our petition; pray for us to the Lord, your God, for all this remnant. We are now few who once were many, as you well see. Let the Lord, your God, show us what way we should take and what we should do."

Very well! the prophet Jeremiah answered them: I will pray to the Lord, your God, as you desire; whatever the Lord answers you, I will tell you; I will withhold nothing from you. And they said to Jeremiah, "May the Lord be our witness: we will truly and faithfully follow all the instructions the Lord, your God, will send us. Whether it is pleasant or difficult, we will obey the command of the Lord, our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us for obeying the command of the Lord, our God."

Ten days passed before the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah. Then he called Johanan, son of Kareah, his army leaders, and all the people, high and low, and said to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to offer your prayer: If you remain quietly in this land I will build you up, and not tear you down; I will plant you, not uproot you; for I regret the evil I have done you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, before whom you are now afraid; do not fear him, says the Lord, for I am with you to save you, to rescue you from his power. I will grant you mercy, so that he will be sorry for you and let you return to your land.

But if you disobey the voice of the Lord, your God, and decide not to remain in this land, saying, "No, we will go to Egypt, where we will see no more of war, hear the trumpet alarm no longer, nor hunger for bread; there we will live"; then listen to the word of the Lord, remnant of Judah: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If you are determined to go to Egypt, when you arrive there to stay, the sword you fear shall reach you in the land of Egypt; the hunger you dread shall cling to you no less in Egypt, and there you shall die.
 
Johanan, son of Kareah, and the rest of the leaders and the people did not obey the Lord'S command to stay in the land of Judah. Instead, Johanan, son of Kareah, and all the army leaders took along the whole remnant of Judah that had been dispersed among the nations and had returned thence to dwell again in the land of Judah: men, women, and children, the princesses and everyone whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard, had entrusted to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan; also Jeremiah, the prophet, and Baruch, son of Neriah. Against the Lord'S command they went to Egypt, and arrived at Tahpanhes.


RESPONSORY          Jeremiah 42:2; Lamentations 5:3
Pray to the Lord your God for us and for all this remnant.
- Few of us now remain though once we were many.

We have become orphans and are fatherless.
Our mothers are like widows.
- Few of us now remain though once we were many.


SECOND READING

From a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope
(Sermo 95, 8-9: PL 54, 465-466)

Those who love your law shall have abundant peace

The blessedness of seeing God is justly promised to the pure of heart. For the eye that is unclean would not be able to see the brightness of the true light, and what would be happiness to clear minds would be a torment to those that are defiled. Therefore, let the mists of worldly vanities be dispelled, and the inner eye be cleansed of all the filth of wickedness, so that the soul’s gaze may feast serenely upon the great vision of God.

It is to the attainment of this goal that the next words refer: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. This blessedness, dearly beloved, does not derive from any casual agreement or from any and every kind of harmony, but it pertains to what the Apostle says: Be at peace before the Lord, and to the words of the prophet: Those who love your law shall enjoy abundant peace; for them it is no stumbling block. Even the most intimate bonds of friendship and the closest affinity of minds cannot truly lay claim to this peace if they are not in agreement with the will of God. Alliances based on evil desires, covenants of crime and pacts of vice – all lie outside the scope of this peace. Love of the world cannot be reconciled with love of God, and the man who does not separate himself from the children of this generation cannot join the company of the sons of God. But those who keep God ever in their hearts, and are anxious to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, never dissent from the eternal law as they speak the prayer of faith. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

These then are the peacemakers; they are bound together in holy harmony and are rightly given the heavenly title of sons of God, co-heirs with Christ. And this is the reward they will receive for their love of God and neighbour: when their struggle with all temptation is finally over, there will be no further adversities to suffer or scandal to fear; but they will rest in the peace of God undisturbed, through our Lord who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.


RESPONSORY          See Isaiah 38:3; 1 John 2:6; 5:3; 2:5
Let us live in the presence of the Lord our God with a sincere heart,
- that we may walk in his ways
and keep his commandments.

God perfected his love in us.
- That we may walk in his ways
and keep his commandments.


COLLECT
O God, by whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,
look graciously upon your beloved sons and daughters,
that those who believe in Christ
may receive true freedom
and an everlasting inheritance.
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.