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 give thanks to the Lord, for his great love is without end.

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

In ancient times God spoke to man
through prophets and in varied ways
But now he speaks through Christ his Son
His radiance through eternal days.

To God the Father of the world
His Son through whom he made all things,
and Holy Spirit, bond of love,
All glad creation glory sings.
Text: Stanbrook Abbey; Melody: Herr Jesu Christ


PSALMODY

Antiphon 1: Rise up Lord, and come to my aid.

                  I
O Lord, plead my cause against my foes;
fight those who fight me.
Take up your buckler and shield;
arise to help me.
O Lord, say to my soul:
I am your salvation.

But my soul shall be joyful in the Lord
and rejoice in his salvation.
My whole being will say:
Lord, who is like you?

Lying witnesses arise
and accuse me unjustly.
They repay me evil for good;
my soul is forlorn. Glory...

Antiphon 1 Rise up Lord, and come to my aid.

Antiphon 2 All powerful Lord, stand by me and defend me.

                  II
When they were sick I went into mourning,
afflicted with fasting.
My prayer was ever on my lips,
as for a brother, a friend.
I went as though mourning a mother,
bowed down with grief.

Now that I am in trouble they gather,
they gather and mock me.
They take me by surprise and strike me
and tear me to pieces.
They provoke me with mockery on mockery
and gnash their teeth. Glory..

Antiphon 2 All powerful Lord, stand by me and defend me.


Antiphon 3 My tongue will speak of your goodness all the day long.

                   III
O Lord, how long will you look on?
Come to my rescue!
Save my life from these raging beasts,
my soul from these lions.
I will thank you in the great assembly,
amid the throng I will praise you.

Do not let my lying foes
rejoice over me.
Do not let those who hate me unjustly
wink eyes at each other.

O Lord, you have seen, do not be silent,
do not stand afar off!
Awake, stir to my defense,
to my cause, O God!

Let there be joy for those who love my cause.
Let them say without end:
Great is the Lord who delights
Then my tongue shall speak of your justice,
and all day long of your praise. Glory..

Antiphon 3 My tongue will speak of your goodness all the day long.


My son, take my words to heart.
- Do as I say and you will live.


FIRST READING

From the book of Job       Job 40:1-14,42:1-6



The Lord said to Job:

Will we have arguing with the Almighty by the critic?
Let him who would correct God give answer!

Then Job answered the Lord and said:

Behold, I am of little account;
  what can I answer you?
  I put my hand over my mouth.
Though I have spoken once,
  I will not do so again;
  though twice, I will do so no more.

Then the Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said:

Gird up your loins now, like a man.
  I will question you, and you tell me the answers!
Would you refuse to acknowledge my right?
  Would you condemn me that you may be justified?
Have you an arm like that of God,
  or can you thunder with a voice like his?
Adorn yourself with grandeur and majesty,
  and array yourself with glory and splendor.
Let loose the fury of your wrath;
  tear down the wicked and shatter them.
Bring down the haughty with a glance;
  bury them in the dust together;
  in the hidden world imprison them.
Then will I too acknowledge
  that your own right hand can save you.

Then Job answered the Lord and said:  
I know that you can do all things,
  and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.
I have dealt with great things
  that I do not understand;
  things too wonderful for me,
  which I cannot know.
I had heard of you by word of mouth,
  but now my eye has seen you.
Therefore I disown what I have said,
  and repent in dust and ashes.


RESPONSORY          Job 42:5-6;40:5,4
I have heard of you by word of mouth, O Lord,
but now that I have seen you for myself
I disown all that I have said,
 - and I repent in dust and ashes.

Though I have spoken once, I will not speak again;
though twice, I will do so no more.
I shall put my finger against my lips.
 - And I repent in dust and ashes.


SECOND READING

A treatise of Bishop Baldwin of Canterbury
(Tract . 6: PL 204, 466-467)

The Lord sees our thoughts and the intentions of our hearts

The Lord knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. Without a doubt, every one of them is known to him, while we know only those which he lets us read by the grace of discernment. The spirit of man does not know all that is in man, nor all of the thoughts which he has, willingly or unwillingly. Man does not always perceive his thoughts as they really are. Having clouded vision, he does not discern them clearly with his mind’s eye.

Often under the guise of devotion a suggestion occurs to our mind – coming from our own thoughts or from another person or from the tempter – and in God’s eyes we do not deserve any reward for our virtue. For there are certain imitations of true virtues as also of vices which play tricks with the heart and bedazzle the mind’s vision. As a result, the appearance of goodness often seems to be in something which is evil, and equally the appearance of evil seems to be in something good. This is part of our wretchedness and ignorance, causing us anguish and anxiety.

It has been written: There are paths which seem to man to be right, but which in the end lead him to hell. To avoid this peril, Saint John gives us these words of advice: Test the spirits to see if they are from God. Now no one can test the spirits to see if they are from God unless God has given him discernment of spirits to enable him to investigate spiritual thoughts, inclinations and intentions with honest and true judgement. Discernment is the mother of all the virtues; everyone needs it either to guide the lives of others or to direct and reform his own life.

In the sphere of action, a right thought is one ruled by the will of God, and intentions are holy when directed single-mindedly toward him. In a word, we could see clearly through any action of ours, or into our entire lives, if we had a simple eye. A simple eye is an eye, and it is simple. This means that we see by right thinking what is to be done, and by our good intention we carry it out with simple honesty, because deceitful action is wrong. Right thinking does not permit mistakes; a good intention rules out pretence. This then is true discernment, a combination of right thinking and good intention.

Therefore, we must do all our actions in the light of discernment as if in God and in his presence.

Trust in the Lord and do good
and you shall possess the land.
 - and this is what the Lord expects of you:
to do what is right, to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

COLLECT
O God, whose providence never fails in its design,
keep from us, we humbly beseech you,
all that might harm us
and grant all that works for our good.
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.