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 to the Lord, and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.

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.)

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew
what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen
sound from His people again,
Now as we worship before him.
Words: J. Neander; trans. Catherine Winkworth; Melody: Lobe Den Herren 14.14.4.7.8


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Day by day I shall bless you, Lord.

                        I
I will give you glory, O God my king,
I will bless your name for ever.

I will bless you day after day
and praise your name for ever.
The Lord is great, highly to be praised,
his greatness cannot be measured.

Age to age shall proclaim your works,
shall declare your mighty deeds,
shall speak of your splendor and glory,
tell the tale of your wonderful works.
They will speak of your terrible deeds,
recount your greatness and might.
They will recall your abundant goodness;
age to age shall ring out your justice.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures. Glory...

Antiphon 1 Day by day I shall bless you, Lord.


Antiphon 2 Your kingdom, Lord, is an everlasting kingdom.

                          II
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,

to make known to all your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendor of your reign.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age. Glory...

Antiphon 2 Your kingdom, Lord, is an everlasting kingdom.


Antiphon 3 The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds.

                          III
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all creatures look to you
and you give them their food in due time.
You open wide your hand,
grant the desires of all who live.

The Lord is just in all his ways
and loving in all his deeds.
He is close to all who call him,
who call on him from their hearts.

He grants the desires of those who fear him,
he hears their cry and he saves them.
The Lord protects all who love him ;
the wicked he will utterly destroy.

Let me speak the praise of the Lord,
let all peoples bless his holy name
for ever, for ages unending. Glory....

Psalm Prayer: Lord, be near to all who call upon you in truth and increase the dedication of those who revere you. Hear their prayers and save them that we may always love and praise your holy name.

Antiphon 3 The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds.


Listen to my words
- Give ear to my precepts.


FIRST READING

The beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes      1:1-18

All is vanity

The words of David's son, Qoheleth,
  king in Jerusalem:
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
  vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!
What profit has man from all the labor
  which he toils at under the sun?

One generation passes and another comes,
  but the world forever stays.
The sun rises and the sun goes down;
  then it presses on to the place where it rises.
Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north,
  the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds.
All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full.
  To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going.

All speech is labored;
  there is nothing man can say.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing
  nor is the ear filled with hearing.

What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say, "See, this is new!" has already existed in the ages that preceded us. There is no remembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them.

I, Qoheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem, and I applied my mind to search and investigate in wisdom all things that are done under the sun.

  A thankless task God has appointed
    for men to be busied about.

I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after wind.

  What is crooked cannot be made straight,
    and what is missing cannot be supplied.

Though I said to myself, "Behold, I have become great and stored up wisdom beyond all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has broad experience of wisdom and knowledge"; yet when I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly, I learned that this also is a chase after wind.

  For in much wisdom there is much sorrow,
    and he who stores up knowledge stores up grief.


RESPONSORY          Eccl. 1:14; 5:14; 1 Tim. 6:7
I have seen everything that is done beneath the sun;
what vanity it all is and a chasing after the wind.
- Just as a man comes forth naked from his mother's womb,
so he will go forth naked in the end;
there is nothing which he can take away with him.

We brought nothing with us when we came into the world,
and we can take nothing with us when we go.
- Just as a man comes forth naked from his mother's womb,
so he will go forth naked in the end;
there is nothing which he can take away with him.


SECOND READING

From the chapters On Charity Saint Maximus the Confessor, abbot
(Centuria 1, cap. 1, 4-5.16-17.23-24.26-28.30-40: PG 90, 962-967)

Without love everything is in vain

Charity is a right attitude of mind which prefers nothing to the knowledge of God. If a man possesses any strong attachment to the things of this earth, he cannot possess true charity. For anyone who really loves God prefers to know and experience God rather than his creatures. The whole set and longing of his mind is ever directed toward him.

For God is far superior to all his creation, since everything which exists has been made by God and for him. And so, in deserting God, who is beyond compare, for the inferior works of creation, a man shows that he values God, the author of creation, less than creation itself.

The Lord himself reminds us: Whoever loves me will keep my commandments. And this is my commandments: that you love one another. So the man who does not love his neighbor does not obey God’s command. But one who does not obey his command cannot love God. A man is blessed if he can love all men equally. Moreover, if he truly loves God, he must love his neighbor absolutely. Such a man cannot hoard his wealth. Rather, like God himself, he generously gives from his own resources to each man according to his needs.

Since he imitates God’s generosity, the only distinction he draws is the person’s need. He does not distinguish between a good man and a bad one, a just man and one who is unjust. Yet his own goodness of will makes him prefer the man who strives after virtue to the one who is depraved.

A Charitable mind is not displayed simply in giving money; it is manifested still more by personal service as well as by the communication of God’s word to others. In fact, if a man’s service toward his brothers is genuine and if he really renounces worldly concerns, he is freed from selfish desires. For he now shares in God’s own knowledge and love. Since he does possess God’s love, he does not experience weariness as he follows the Lord his God. Rather, following the prophet Jeremiah, he withstands every type of reproach and hardship without even harboring an evil thought toward any man.

For Jeremiah warns us: “We are the Lord’s temple.” Neither should you say: “Faith alone in our Lord Jesus Christ can save me.” By itself faith accomplishes nothing. For even the devils believe and shudder. No, faith must be joined to an active love of God which is expressed in good works. The charitable man is distinguished by sincere and long-suffering service to his fellow man: it also means using things aright.


RESPONSORY          John 13:34; 1 John 2:10,3
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
- Whoever loves his brother lives in the light.

We can be sure that we know Christ,
only if we keep his commandment.
- Whoever loves his brother lives in the light.


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
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, always pondering spiritual things,
we may carry out in both word and deed
that which is pleasing to you.
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.



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.