Universalis
Saturday 14 June 2025    (other days)
Saturday of week 10 in Ordinary Time 
 or Saturday memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Using calendar: Canada. You can change this.

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
INTRODUCTION
O God, come to our aid.
  O Lord, make haste to help us.
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. Alleluia.

Hymn
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,
Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
’Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

Psalm 135 (136)
A paschal hymn

The Lord alone has wrought marvellous works, for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
  for his love is for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
  for his love is for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
  for his love is for ever.
He alone works wonders,
  for his love is for ever.
In his wisdom he made the heavens,
  for his love is for ever.
He set the Earth upon the waters,
  for his love is for ever.
He created the great lights,
  for his love is for ever.
The sun, to rule over the day,
  for his love is for ever.
The moon and stars, to rule over the night,
  for his love is for ever.
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.
The Lord alone has wrought marvellous works, for his love endures for ever.

Psalm 135 (136)

He brought Israel out from Egypt, with arm outstretched, with power in his hand.
He struck down the first-born of Egypt,
  for his love is for ever.
He led Israel out from their midst,
  for his love is for ever.
With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
  for his love is for ever.
He divided the Red Sea in two,
  for his love is for ever.
He led Israel out through the sea,
  for his love is for ever.
He overthrew Pharaoh and his army,
  for his love is for ever.
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.
He brought Israel out from Egypt, with arm outstretched, with power in his hand.

Psalm 135 (136)

To the Lord of heaven give thanks: he set us free from our foes.
He led his people through the wilderness,
  for his love is for ever.
He struck down great kings,
  for his love is for ever.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
  for his love is for ever.
And Og, the king of Bashan,
  for his love is for ever.
He gave their land to his people,
  for his love is for ever.
A heritage for Israel his servant,
  for his love is for ever.
He remembered us in our affliction,
  for his love is for ever.
He rescued us from our enemies,
  for his love is for ever.
He gives food to all creatures that live,
  for his love is for ever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
  for his love is for ever.
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.
To the Lord of heaven give thanks: he set us free from our foes.

℣. Lord, let me know your ways.
℟. Teach me your paths.

First Reading
Joshua 24:1-7,13-28

The Covenant is renewed in the Promised Land

Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; then he called the elders, leaders, judges and scribes of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Then Joshua said to all the people:
  ‘The Lord the God of Israel says this, “In ancient days your ancestors lived beyond the River – such was Terah the father of Abraham and of Nahor – and they served other gods. Then I brought your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan. I increased his descendants and gave him Isaac. To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountain country of Seir as his possession. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. Then I sent Moses and Aaron and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there. So I brought you out of it. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea; the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen as far as the Sea of Reeds. There they called to the Lord, and he spread a thick fog between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea go back on them and cover them. You saw with your own eyes the things I did in Egypt. Then for a long time you lived in the wilderness.
  ‘“I gave you a land where you never toiled, you live in towns you never built; you eat now from vineyards and olive-groves you never planted.”
  ‘So now, fear the Lord and serve him perfectly and sincerely; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if you will not serve the Lord, choose today whom you wish to serve, whether the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living. As for me and my House, we will serve the Lord.’
  The people answered, ‘We have no intention of deserting the Lord and serving other gods! Was it not the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and preserved us all along the way we travelled and among all the peoples through whom we journeyed? What is more, the Lord drove all those peoples out before us, as well as the Amorites who used to live in this country. We too will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’
  Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You cannot serve the Lord, because he is a holy God, he is a jealous God who will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you desert the Lord to follow alien gods he in turn will afflict and destroy you after the goodness he has shown you.’ The people answered Joshua, ‘No; it is the Lord we wish to serve.’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.’ They answered, ‘We are witnesses.’ ‘Then cast away the alien gods among you and give your hearts to the Lord the God of Israel!’ The people answered Joshua, ‘It is the Lord our God we choose to serve; it is his voice that we will obey.’
  That day, Joshua made a covenant for the people; he laid down a statute and ordinance for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a great stone and set it up there, under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord, and Joshua said to all the people, ‘See! This stone shall be a witness against us because it has heard all the words that the Lord has spoken to us: it shall be a witness against you in case you deny your God.’ Then Joshua sent the people away, and each returned to his own inheritance.
Responsory
Jos 24:16,24; 1 Co 8:5-6
℟. Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods.* The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.
℣. Whatever gods may be spoken of as existing in heaven or on earth, for us there is only one God.* The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.

Second Reading
The Explanations of the Psalms by Saint Ambrose: Psalm 1

I shall sing in spirit, and with understanding

What is more pleasing than a psalm? David expresses it well: Praise the Lord, for a song of praise is good: let there be praise of our God with gladness and grace. Yes, a psalm is a blessing on the lips of the people, a hymn in praise of God, the assembly’s homage, a general acclamation, a word that speaks for all, the voice of the Church, a confession of faith in song. It is the voice of complete assent, the joy of freedom, a cry of happiness, the echo of gladness. It soothes the temper, distracts from care, lightens the burden of sorrow. It is a source of security at night, a lesson in wisdom by day. It is a shield when we are afraid, a celebration of holiness, a vision of serenity, a promise of peace and harmony. It is like a lyre, evoking harmony from a blend of notes. Day begins to the music of a psalm. Day closes to the echo of a psalm.
  In a psalm, instruction vies with beauty. We sing for pleasure. We learn for our profit. What experience is not covered by a reading of the psalms? I come across the words: A song for the beloved, and I am aflame with desire for God’s love. I go through God’s revelation in all its beauty, the intimations of resurrection, the gifts of his promise. I learn to avoid sin. I see my mistake in feeling ashamed of repentance for my sins.
  What is a psalm but a musical instrument to give expression to all the virtues? The psalmist of old used it, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to make earth re-echo the music of heaven. He used the dead gut of strings to create harmony from a variety of notes, in order to send up to heaven the song of God’s praise. In doing so he taught us that we must first die to sin, and then create in our lives on earth a harmony through virtuous deeds, if the grace of our devotion is to reach up to the Lord.
  David thus taught us that we must sing an interior song of praise, like Saint Paul, who tells us: I shall pray in spirit, and also with understanding; I shall sing in spirit, and also with understanding. We must fashion our lives and shape our actions in the light of the things that are above. We must not allow pleasure to awaken bodily passions, which weigh our soul down instead of freeing it. The holy prophet told us that his songs of praise were to celebrate the freeing of his soul, when he said: I shall sing to you, God, on the Lyre, holy one of Israel; my lips will rejoice when I have sung to you, and my soul also, which you have set free.
Responsory
℟. It is good to give thanks to the Lord,* to make music to your name, O Most High.
℣. It is good to give thanks to you on the ten-stringed lyre and the lute, with the murmuring sound of the harp,* to make music to your name, O Most High.

Let us pray.
Lord God, source of all good,
  hear our prayer:
inspire us with good intentions,
  and help us to fulfil them.
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.

Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.

The psalms and canticles here are our own translation from the Latin. The Grail translation of the psalms, which is used liturgically in most of the English-speaking world, cannot be displayed on the Web for copyright reasons. The Universalis apps and programs do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.

You can also view this page in Latin and English.


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