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 Habakkuk           2:4b-20

Curses against oppressors

Wealth, too, is treacherous:
  the proud, unstable man--
He who opens wide his throat like the nether world,
  and is insatiable as death,
Who gathers to himself all the nations,
  and rallies to himself all the peoples--
Shall not all these take up a taunt against him,
  satire and epigrams about him, to say:

Woe to him who stores up what is not his:
  how long can it last!
  he loads himself down with debts.
Shall not your creditors rise suddenly?
  Shall not they who make you tremble awake?
  You shall become their spoil!
Because you despoiled many peoples
  all the rest of the nations shall despoil you;
Because of men's blood shed,
  and violence done to the land,
  to the city and to all who dwell in it.

Woe to him who pursues evil gain for his household,
  setting his nest on high
  to escape the reach of misfortune!
You have devised shame for your household,
  cutting off many peoples, forfeiting your own life:
For the stone in the wall shall cry out,
  and the beam in the woodwork shall answer it!

Woe to him who builds a city by bloodshed,
  and establishes a town by wickedness!
Is not this from the Lord of hosts:
  peoples toil for the flames,
  and nations grow weary for nought!
But the earth shall be filled
  with the knowledge of the Lord's glory
  as water covers the sea.

Woe to you who give your neighbors
  a flood of your wrath to drink,
  and make them drunk, till their nakedness is seen!
You are filled with shame instead of glory;
  drink, you too, and stagger!
On you shall revert the cup from the Lord's right hand,
  and utter shame on your glory.
For the violence done to Lebanon shall cover you,
  and the destruction of the beasts shall terrify you;
Because of men's blood shed,
  and violence done to the land,
  to the city and to all who dwell in it.

Woe to him who says to wood, "Awake!"
  to dumb stone, "Arise!"
  Can such a thing give oracles?
See, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
  but there is no life breath in it.
Of what avail is the carved image,
  that its maker should carve it?
Or the molten image and lying oracle,
  that its very maker should trust in it,
  and make dumb idols?
But the Lord is in his holy temple;
  silence before him, all the earth!


RESPONSORY          Romans 2:12; 3:23; 11:32
Sinners who were not under the law
will also perish outside of the law;
sinner subject to the law
will be judged in accordance with it.
- All have sinned
and are deprived of God's glory.

God has imprisoned all in their disobedience,
that he might show mercy to all.
- All have sinned
and are deprived of God's glory.


SECOND READING

From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot
(Sermo 5 de diversis,4-5; Opera omnia. Edit. Cisterc. 6, 1[1970] 103-104)

The stages of contemplation

Let us take our stand on secure ground, leaning with all our strength on Christ, the most solid rock, according to the words: He set my feet on a rock and guided my steps. Thus firmly established, let us begin to contemplate, to see what he is saying to us and what reply we ought to make to his charges.

The first stage of contemplation, my dear brothers, is constantly to consider what God wants, what is pleasing to him, and what is acceptable in his eyes. We all offend in many things; our strength cannot match the rectitude of God's will, being neither one with it nor wholly in accord with it; let us then humble ourselves under the powerful hand of the most high God and be concerned to show ourselves unworthy before his merciful gaze, saying: Heal me, Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved. And again, Lord have mercy on me; heal my soul because I have sinned against you.

Once the eye of the soul has been purified by such considerations we no longer abide within our own spirit in a sense of sorrow, but abide rather in the Spirit of God with great delight. No longer do we consider what is the will of God for us, but rather what it is in itself. For our life is in his will. Thus we are convinced that what is according to his will is in every way more advantageous and fitting for us. And so, concerned as we are to preserve the life of our soul, we should be equally concerned, insofar as we can, not to deviate from his will.

Thus having made some progress in our spiritual exercise under the guidance of the Spirit who searches the deep things of God, let us reflect how sweet is the Lord and how good he is in himself; in the words of the prophet let us pray to see God's will; no longer shall we frequent our own hearts but his temple. At the same time we shall say: My soul is humbled within me, therefore I shall be mindful of you.

The whole of the spiritual life consists of these two elements. When we think of ourselves, we are perturbed and filled with a salutary sadness. And when we think of the Lord, we are revived to find consolation in the joy of the Holy Spirit. From the first we derive fear and humility, from the second hope and love.


RESPONSORY          Psalm 111:10; Wis 6:19; Sir. 19:17
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
prudent are all who practice it.
- His praise shall endure for ever.

Those who love wisdom
keep her law,
for all wisdom is fear of the Lord.
- His praise shall endure for ever.


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.