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, worship the Lord, for we are his people, the flock he shepherds, alleluia.

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

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity.

Holy, holy, holy! All saints adore thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity.
Words: Reginald Heber; Melody: Nicaea 11.12.12.10, John B Dykes


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Who can climb the Lord's mountain, or stand in his holy place?

The Lord's is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things,
who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor.

He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is the king of glory?
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the Lord, the valiant in war.

O gates, lift high your heads;
grow higher, ancient doors.
Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is he, the king of glory?
He, the Lord of armies,
he is the king of glory. Glory...

Psalm Prayer: When your Son was unjustly condemned, Lord God, and surrounded by the impious, he cried to you, and you set him free. Watch over your people as the treasure of your heart and guide their steps along safe paths that they may see your face.

Antiphon 1: Who can climb the Lord's mountain, or stand in his holy place?

Antiphon 2: Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

                      I
Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: How tremendous are your deeds!

Because of the greatness of your strength
your enemies cringe before you.
Before you all the earth shall bow,
shall sing to you, sing to your name!"

Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
He turned the sea into dry land,
they passed through the river dry-shod.

Let our joy then be in him;
he rules for ever by his might.
His eyes keep watch over the nations:
let rebels not rise against him.

O peoples, bless our God;
let the voice of his praise resound,
of the God who gave life to our souls
and kept our feet from stumbling.

For you, O God, have tested us,
you have tried us as silver is tried;
you led us, God, into the snare;
you laid a heavy burden on our backs.

You let foes ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water
but then you brought us relief. Glory...

Antiphon 2: Bless our God, you nations of the world; he has given us life, alleluia.

Antiphon 3: Listen to me, all who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.

                   II
Burnt offering I bring to your house;
to you I will pay my vows,
the vows which my lips have uttered,
which my mouth spoke in my distress.

I will offer burnt offerings of fatlings
with the smoke of burning rams.
I will offer bullocks and goats.

Come and hear, all who fear God,
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.

If there had been evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But truly God has listened;
he has heeded the voice of my prayer.

Blessed be God who did not reject my prayer
nor withhold his love from me. Glory...

Antiphon 3: Listen to me, all who revere God, let me tell you what great things he has done for me, alleluia.


God's word is alive; it strikes to the heart.
- It pierces more surely than a two-edged sword.


FIRST READING

From the beginning of the book of the prophet Haggai       1:1-2:9

Exhortation to rebuild the temple and it's future glory

On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak:

Thus says the Lord of hosts: This people says: "Not now has the time come to rebuild the house of the Lord." Then this word of the Lord came through Haggai, the prophet:  Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?

Now thus says the Lord of hosts:
  Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have brought in little;
  you have eaten, but have not been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated;
  have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed;
And he who earned wages
  earned them for a bag with holes in it.

    Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Consider your ways! Go up into the hill country;
  bring timber, and build the house
That I may take pleasure in it
  and receive my glory, says the Lord.
You expected much, but it came to little;
  and what you brought home, I blew away.
For what cause? says the Lord of hosts.
  Because my house lies in ruins,
  while each of you hurries to his own house.
Therefore the heavens withheld from you their dew,
  and the earth her crops.
And I called for a drought
  upon the land and upon the mountains;
Upon the grain, and upon the wine, and upon the oil,
  and upon all that the ground brings forth;
Upon men and upon beasts,
  and upon all that is produced by hand.  

Then Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and all the remnant of the people listened to the voice of the Lord, their God, and to the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord, their God, had sent him, and the people feared because of the Lord. And the Lord's messenger, Haggai, proclaimed to the people as the message of the Lord: I am with you, says the Lord.

Then the Lord stirred up the spirit of the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and the spirit of the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, so that they came and set to work on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.

In the second year of King Darius, on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: Tell this to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people:

Who is left among you
  that saw this house in its former glory?
And how do you see it now?
  Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?

But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the Lord,
  and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son of Jehozadak,
And take courage, all you people of the land,
  says the Lord, and work!
  For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.
This is the pact that I made with you
  when you came out of Egypt,
And my spirit continues in your midst;
  do not fear!  

    For thus says the Lord of hosts:
One moment yet, a little while,
  and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
  the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all the nations,
  and the treasures of all the nations will come in,
And I will fill this house with glory,
  says the Lord of hosts.
Mine is the silver and mine the gold,
  says the Lord of hosts.
Greater will be the future glory of this house
  than the former, says the Lord of hosts;
And in this place I will give you peace,
  says the Lord of hosts!


RESPONSORY          Haggai 1:8; Isaiah 56:7
Go up into the hill country and build a house;
- and I will take pleasure in it, says the Lord.

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.
- and I will take pleasure in it, says the Lord.


SECOND READING

From a commentary on Haggai by Saint Cyril of Alexandria, bishop
(Cap. 14: PG 71, 1047-1050)

My name is great among the nations

When our Savior came, he appeared as a divine temple, glorious beyond any comparison, far more splendid and excellent than the older temple. He exceeded the old as much as worship in Christ and the gospels exceeds the cult of the laws, as much as truth exceeds its shadows.

Furthermore, I might point out that originally there was just one temple at Jerusalem, in which one people, the Israelites, offered their sacrifices. Since the only-begotten Son became like us, and as Scripture says, though he was Lord and God, he has shone upon us, the rest of the world has been filled with places of worship.

Now there are countless worshipers who honor the universal God with spiritual offerings and fragrant sacrifices. This surely, is what Malachi foretold, speaking, as if in the person of God: I am a great king, says the Lord; my name is honored among the nations, and everywhere there is offered to my name the fragrance of a pure sacrifice.

With justice, therefore, do we say that the final temple, the Church, will be more glorious. To those who are so solicitous for the Church and labor for its construction, Haggai declares that a gift will be made, a gift from heaven given by the Savior. That gift is Christ himself, the peace of all men: through him we have access in the one Spirit to the Father. The prophet goes on to say: I will give peace to this place and peace of soul to save all who lay the foundation to rebuild the temple. Christ too says somewhere: My peace I give you. Paul will teach how profitable this is for those who love: The peace of Christ, he says, which surpasses all understanding will keep your minds and hearts. Isaiah, the seer, made the same prayer: O Lord our God, give us peace, for you have given us everything. Once a man has been found worthy of Christ's peace, he can easily save his soul and guide his mind to carry out exactingly the demands of virtue.

Haggai, therefore, declares that peace will be given to all who build. One builds the Church either as a teacher of the sacred mysteries, as one set over the house of God, or as one who works for his own good by setting himself forth as a living and spiritual stone in the holy temple, God's dwelling place in the Spirit. The results of these efforts will profit such men so that each will be able to gain his own salvation without difficulty.


RESPONSORY          Psalm 84:5; Zechariah 2:11
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, O Lord;
- they will praise you for ever.

Many nations will join the Lord on that day,
and they will be his people.
- They will praise you for ever.


CANTICLE          TE DEUM

You are God: we praise you;
You are the Lord; we acclaim you;
You are the eternal Father:
All creation worships you.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:
  Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
  heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you;
  Father, of majesty unbounded,
  your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,
  and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you became man to set us free
you did not shun the Virgin's womb.
You overcame the sting of death
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God's right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come and be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.

V.  Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance;
R.  govern and uphold them, now and always.
V.  Day by day we bless you;
R.  we praise your name for ever.
V.  Keep us today, Lord, from all sin;
R.  have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy.
V.  Lord, show us your love and mercy;
R.  for we put our trust in you.
V.  In you, Lord, is our hope;
R.  and we shall never hope in vain.

The concluding part of the hymn may be omitted.


COLLECT
May your grace, O Lord, we pray,
at all times go before us and follow after
and make us always determined
to carry out good works.
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.