Morning Prayer - the Nativity of John the Baptist

Morning Prayer
Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist
June 24
______
Lord open our lips
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One
Have mercy on us (3x)

Know that I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before my day comes, that great and terrible day. He shall turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the hearts of children towards their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a curse.- Malachi 3:23-24

Hymn

The great forerunner of the morn,
The herald of the Word, is born:
And faithful hearts shall never fail
With thanks and praise his light to hail.

With heavenly message Gabriel came,
That John should be that herald's name,
And with prophetic utterance told
His actions great and manifold.

John, still unborn, yet gave aright
His witness to the coming Light;
And Christ, the Sun of all the earth,
Fulfilled that witness at His birth.

Of woman born shall never be
A greater prophet than was he,
Whose mighty deeds exalt his fame
To greater than a prophet's name.

But why should mortal accents raise
The hymn of John the Baptist's praise?
Of whom, or e'er his course was run,
Thus spake the Father to the Son?

“Behold, My herald, who shall go
Before Thy face Thy way to show,
And shine, as with the day-star's gleam,
Before Thine own eternal beam.”

All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee,
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore.

Words: The Venerable Bede (673-735) (Praecursor altus luminis); translated by John M. Neale in The Hymnal Noted, 1854.

Music:;Beccles, C. Gall, 1625.

Antiphon: The Lamb of God proclaimed by John; Come let us adore him.

Venite (Psalm 95:1-7)

Come let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.

For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

Antiphon: The Lamb of God proclaimed by John; Come let us adore him.

The Psalms

Ant. 1: Elizabeth, +the wife of Zechariah, gave birth to a great man, / John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord.

Deus stetit

1: God takes his stand in the council of heaven; *
he gives judgment in the midst of the gods:
2: "How long will you judge unjustly, *
and show favor to the wicked?
3: Save the weak and the orphan; *
defend the humble and needy;
4: Rescue the weak and the poor; *
deliver them from the power of the wicked.
5: They do not know, neither do they understand;
they go about in darkness; *
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6: Now I say to you, 'You are gods, *
and all of you children of the Most High;
7: Nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, *
and fall like any prince.'"
8: Arise, O God, and rule the earth, *
for you shall take all nations for your own.

Ant. 1: Elizabeth, +the wife of Zechariah, gave birth to a great man, / John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the Lord.

Ant. 2: He will go before the Lord +as forerunner, / possessed by the spirit and power of Elijah.

Domine, quis habitabit?

1: LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? *
who may abide upon your holy hill?
2: Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, *
who speaks the truth from his heart.
3: There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend; *
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4: In his sight the wicked is rejected, *
but he honors those who fear the LORD.
5: He has sworn to do no wrong *
and does not take back his word.
6: He does not give his money in hope of gain, *
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7: Whoever does these things *
shall never be overthrown.

Ant. 2: He will go before the Lord +as forerunner, / possessed by the spirit and power of Elijah.

Ant. 3: You, my child,+ shall be called the prophet of the Most High, / for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.

Cantate Domino

1: Sing to the LORD a new song, *
for he has done marvelous things.
2: With his right hand and his holy arm *
has he won for himself the victory.
3: The LORD has made known his victory; *
his righteousness has he openly shown in the sight of the nations.
4: He remembers his mercy and faithfulness to the house of Israel, *
and all the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
5: Shout with joy to the LORD, all you lands; *
lift up your voice, rejoice, and sing.
6: Sing to the LORD with the harp, *
with the harp and the voice of song.
7: With trumpets and the sound of the horn *
shout with joy before the King, the LORD.
8: Let the sea make a noise and all that is in it, *
the lands and those who dwell therein.
9: Let the rivers clap their hands, *
and let the hills ring out with joy before the LORD,
when he comes to judge the earth.
10: In righteousness shall he judge the world *
and the peoples with equity.

Ant. 3: You, my child,+ shall be called the prophet of the Most High, / for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

First Reading

Malachi 3:1-5
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight--indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

Canticle
A Song of God's Herald - Isaiah 40:9-11

Go up to a high mountain, *
herald of good tidings to Zion;

lift up your voice with strength, *
herald of good tidings to Jerusalem.

Lift up your voice, fear not; *
say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'

See, the Lord God comes with might, *
and his arm rules for him.

Behold, his reward is with him, *
and his recompense before him.

God will feed his flock like a shepherd, *
and gather the lambs in his arms;

He will carry them in his breast, *
and gently lead those that are with young.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Second Reading

John 3:22-30
After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized —John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. They came to John and said to him, ‘Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.’ John answered, ‘No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.” He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.’

Second Canticle
Benedictus

Antiphon:The mouth of Zechariah was opened and he spoke this prophecy: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Antiphon:The mouth of Zechariah was opened and he spoke this prophecy: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel.

Responsory
He will be great in the eyes of the Lord and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
He will be great in the eyes of the Lord and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit..
He will go before the Lord to prepare a people worthy for him,
and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
He will be great in the eyes of the Lord and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Collect
Almighty God, by whose providence your servant John the Baptist was wonderfully born, and sent to prepare the way of your Son our Savior by preaching repentance: Make us so to follow his teaching and holy life, that we may truly repent according to his preaching; and, following his example, constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Intercessions

Let us pray to Christ, who sent John as a forerunner to prepare the way for the Lord:
- (R.) Come to us, Dawn from on high.
You caused John to leap for joy in his mother’s womb:
  -  make us rejoice always at your coming into the world.(R.)
You showed us the way of penitence through the Baptist’s life and preaching:
  -  turn our hearts round and make us obedient to your laws.(R.)
You willed that the voice of a man should proclaim your coming:
  -  send preachers of your Gospel to every part of the world.(R.)
You willed that John should baptize you in the Jordan to fulfil the law of righteousness:
  -  make us strive for the righteousness of your kingdom.(R.)

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Closing Prayer:
O God, you raised up the blessed John the Baptist to make ready a perfect people for Christ the Lord.
Give your people the grace of spiritual joy
and guide the minds of all the faithful
onto the path of salvation and peace.

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.
Amen.