Sext (Midday Prayer)
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
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.
At one of today's daytime hours (Terce, Sext, None), use the psalms of the day. At the others, use the complementary psalms, which are shown further down the page.
PSALMS OF THE DAY
Psalm 117 (118)
A cry of rejoicing and triumph |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his kindness is for ever.
Now let Israel say, he is good
and his kindness is for ever.
Now let the house of Aaron say it too:
that his kindness is for ever.
Now let all who fear the Lord say it too:
that his kindness is for ever.
In my time of trial I called out to the Lord:
he listened, and led me to freedom.
The Lord is with me,
I will fear nothing that man can do.
The Lord, my help, is with me,
and I shall look down upon my enemies.
It is good to seek shelter in the Lord,
better than to trust in men.
It is good to seek shelter in the Lord,
better than to trust in the leaders of men.
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.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
All the nations surrounded me,
and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They crowded in and besieged me,
and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They surrounded me like swarms of bees,
they burned like a fire of dry thorns,
and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They chased and pursued me, to make me fall,
and the Lord came to my help.
The Lord is my strength and my rejoicing:
he has become my saviour.
A cry of joy and salvation
in the dwellings of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has triumphed!
The Lord’s right hand has raised me up;
the Lord’s right hand has triumphed.”
I shall not die, but live,
and tell of the works of the Lord.
The Lord chastised me severely
but did not let me die.
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.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Open the gates of righteousness:
I will go in, and thank the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord;
it is the upright who enter here.
I will thank you, for you listened to me,
and became my saviour.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the corner-stone.
It was the Lord who did this –
it is marvellous to behold.
This is the day that was made by the Lord:
let us rejoice today, and be glad.
Lord, keep me safe;
O Lord, let me prosper!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God: he shines upon us!
Arrange the procession, with close-packed branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, I will give thanks to you;
my God, I will give you praise.
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
and his kindness 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.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
At the daytime hours (Terce, Sext, None) when you don't choose to use the psalms of the day, use the complementary psalms instead.
COMPLEMENTARY PSALMS
Psalm 122 (123)
The Lord guards his people |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
To you I lift up my eyes,
to you who dwell in the heavens.
Like the eyes of a servant watching his master,
like the eyes of a maid on her mistress’s hands,
so we keep our eyes on the Lord our God,
as we wait for his kindness.
Take pity on us, Lord, take pity:
we have had our fill of contempt.
Our souls have had their fill
of the laughter of the rich,
of the contempt of the proud.
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.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Psalm 123 (124)
Our help is in the name of the Lord |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
If the Lord had not been with us
(so let Israel sing),
If the Lord had not been with us
when men rose up against us,
they might have skinned us alive,
such was their anger.
The waters could have drowned us,
the torrent poured over us,
the foaming waters poured over us.
Blessed be the Lord, who saved us
from being torn to pieces by their teeth.
We have escaped, like a bird
from the snare of the fowler.
The snare was broken,
and we escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
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.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Psalm 124 (125)
The Lord guards his people |
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As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
Those who trust in the Lord are like the mountain of Zion:
it cannot be shaken, it will stand firm for ever.
Jerusalem – the mountains stand guard over it,
and the Lord stands guard over his people,
both now and for ever.
The sceptre of the wicked shall not rest
upon the inheritance of the just;
lest the just themselves stretch out their hands
and turn to wickedness.
Be good, O Lord, to the good
and the upright of heart.
As for those who turn away to crooked paths,
the Lord shall treat them like the doers of evil.
Peace be on Israel!
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.
As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but that he should repent and have life.
CONCLUSION
| Short reading | 1 Peter 4:13-14 © |
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Beloved, if you can have some share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you.
Turn your face away from my sins
– and wipe out all my transgressions.
O Lord, our God, your Son’s love for the world was so great
that he gave himself up to death for it.
We ask you that by your aid we may eagerly live that same love.
Through Christ our Lord,
A M E N
The psalms and canticles here are our own translation. 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 downloadable versions of Universalis do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
