Universalis
Friday 5 December 2025    (other days)
Saint John Almond, Priest, Martyr 
 on Friday of the 1st week of Advent

Using calendar: England - Liverpool. You can change this.

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
Based on the liturgy for the Common of One Male Martyr.
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
All hail the power of Jesus’ name;
  Let Angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem
  To crown him Lord of all.
Crown him, ye Martyrs of your God,
  Who from his altar call;
Praise him whose way of pain ye trod,
  And crown him Lord of all.
Hail him, ye heirs of David’s line,
  Whom David Lord did call;
The God Incarnate, Man Divine,
  And crown him Lord of all.
Let every tribe and every tongue
  To him their hearts enthral,
Lift high the universal song,
  And crown him Lord of all.

Psalm 50 (51)
God, have mercy on me

Lord, you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice offered on your altar.
Take pity on me, Lord, in your mercy;
  in your abundance of mercy wipe out my guilt.
Wash me ever more from my guilt
  and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know how guilty I am:
  my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone have I sinned,
  and I have done evil in your sight.
Know this, so that you may give just sentence
  and an unbiased judgement.
See, I was conceived in guilt,
  in sin my mother conceived me;
but you love truth in the heart,
  and deep within me you have shown me your wisdom.
You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be made clean;
  you will wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
You will make me hear the sound of joy and gladness;
  the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
Turn your face away from my sins
  and wipe out all my transgressions;
create a pure heart in me, God,
  put a steadfast spirit into me.
Do not send me away from your presence,
  or withdraw your holy spirit from me;
give me again the joy of your salvation,
  and be ready to strengthen me with your spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways,
  and the impious will return to you.
Free me from the guilt of bloodshed, God, God my saviour,
  and my voice will glory in your justice.
Open my lips, Lord,
  and my mouth will proclaim your praise;
for you do not delight in sacrifices:
  if I offered you a burnt offering, it would not please you.
The true sacrifice is a broken spirit:
  a contrite and humble heart, O God, you will not refuse.
Be pleased, Lord, to look kindly on Zion,
  so that the walls of Jerusalem can be rebuilt,
Then indeed you will accept the proper sacrifices, gifts and burnt offerings;
  then indeed will bullocks be laid upon your altar.
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.
Lord, you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice offered on your altar.

How to listen
CanticleIsaiah 45

All peoples, turn to the Lord

All the descendants of Israel shall glory in victory through the Lord.
In truth you are a hidden God,
  the God and Saviour of Israel.
They were dismayed and ashamed, all the makers of idols,
  all of them fled in dismay.
Israel has been saved by the Lord, saved for ever;
  you will not be dismayed or ashamed,
  to the end of time.
For thus says the Lord, the God
  who made the heavens,
  who made the earth, shaped it, set it firm –
he did not make it to be empty,
  but to be full of life –
“I am the Lord, there is no other.
  I have not spoken secretly,
  in some dark corner of the earth.
I have not said to the children of Jacob, ‘seek me in vain.’
  I am the Lord who speaks justice, who proclaims uprightness.
“Gather together, come, approach me
  all you who have been rescued from the Gentiles.
They were ignorant, who raised up wooden idols
  and begged favours of a god without power.
Announce it – come, ponder it together –
  who was saying this from the beginning, who foretold this from the start?
Am I not the Lord?
  Is there any other God but me?
  Do you seek a just God who will save you? There is no other.
“Turn to me and you will be saved, all you ends of the earth;
  for I am God, there is no other.
“I have sworn by my own being,
  I have decreed a judgement that will not be revoked;
for every knee will bend to me,
  every tongue swear by my name.”
“Only in the Lord,” they will say,
  “are there justice and strength!”
All who resisted him will come to him, and be dismayed;
  but in the Lord all descendants of Israel
  will receive justice and glory.
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.
All the descendants of Israel shall glory in victory through the Lord.

Psalm 99 (100)
Enter the Temple with joy

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.
Rejoice in the Lord, all the earth,
  and serve him with joy.
Exult as you enter his presence.
Know that the Lord is God.
He made us and we are his
  – his people, the sheep of his flock.
Cry out his praises as you enter his gates,
  fill his courtyards with songs.
Proclaim him and bless his name;
  for the Lord is our delight.
His mercy lasts for ever,
  his faithfulness through all the ages.
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.
Come before the Lord, singing for joy.
Scripture Reading
2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, a gentle Father and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrows, so that we can offer others, in their sorrows, the consolation that we have received from God ourselves. Indeed, as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so, through Christ, does our consolation overflow.
Short Responsory
The Lord is my strength. I will sing praise to him.
– The Lord is my strength. I will sing praise to him.
He is my salvation.
– The Lord is my strength. I will sing praise to him.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
– The Lord is my strength. I will sing praise to him.
CanticleBenedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

Anyone who hates his soul in this world will save it for the eternal life.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
  for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation
  in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,
  his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies
  and all who hate us,
to take pity on our fathers,
  to remember his holy covenant
and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
  that he would give himself to us,
that we could serve him without fear
  – freed from the hands of our enemies –
in uprightness and holiness before him,
  for all of our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:
  for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation,
  so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God,
  one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness,
  who live in the shadow of death;
  to lead our feet in the path 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.
Anyone who hates his soul in this world will save it for the eternal life.
Prayers and intercessions
Through the martyrs who were slain for God’s word, let us give glory to our Saviour, the faithful and true witness.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who bore witness to your love,
  set us free to live for you.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who proclaimed your saving death,
  give us a deep and constant faith.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, who took up your cross,
  grant us courage for every trial.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
Through the martyrs, washed in the blood of the Lamb,
  give us grace to conquer our weakness.
– You redeemed us by your precious blood.
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 who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from evil.
God of power and mercy, you gave Saint N.
  the grace to overcome the sufferings of martyrdom.
Grant to us who celebrate his victory
  that the power of your protecting hand
  may keep us unshaken in the face of our ancient enemy
  and all his hidden snares.
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.
The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
  Amen.

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.

Universalis podcast: The week ahead – from 7 to 13 December

More Isaiah. Rejoicing. Joy and pleasure and the true meaning of Christmas. Church liturgy and family liturgy. The story of the flaming Christmas pudding. How the Gospels this week explain Isaiah. The Immaculate Conception. Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. (23 minutes)
Episode notes.

You can also view this page in Latin and English.

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