None (Afternoon 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
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
I call on you with all my heart –
answer me, Lord.
I will obey your laws.
I call on you –
save me
so that I can keep your decrees.
At first light I cry to you,
I put all my hope in your word.
In the night I keep watch,
pondering your sayings.
In your mercy, Lord, hear my voice;
in your justice, give me life.
My persecutors come to do me harm:
they are far from your law.
But you, Lord, are near to me,
and you are trustworthy in all your precepts.
From the beginning I have known your decrees,
how you have made them to last 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.
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
Psalm 93 (94)
God, the avenger of the just |
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Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
O Lord, O God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, appear!
Rise up, judge of the world,
and give the proud their punishment.
How long will the wicked, O Lord,
how long will the wicked triumph?
They open their mouths and speak boldly
and proudly, those who do evil.
They oppress your people, O Lord,
they trouble your people, your inheritance.
They kill the widow and stranger,
they murder the orphans.
They have said to themselves
‘The Lord will not see.
The God of Jacob will not notice.’
Understand, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
He gave us ears: will he not hear?
He made the eye: will he not see?
He crushed the nations: will he not punish?
He is the teacher of wisdom to mankind.
The Lord knows the thoughts of men
in all their empty vanity.
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.
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
Happy the man whom you instruct, O Lord;
to whom you teach your law.
You give him peace in evil days
while a pit is being dug for the wicked.
The Lord will not reject his people:
he will not abandon his inheritance.
Judgements will be just once more
and the upright of heart will follow them.
Who will rise up with me against the wicked?
Who will stand by my side against those who do evil?
If it were not for the Lord’s help,
I should quickly find myself in the land of silence.
Whenever I said, ‘My feet are slipping,’
your loving kindness, O Lord, held me upright.
In the midst of my heart’s troubles,
your consolations gave me back my happiness.
The unjust tribunal can never be your friend,
whose judges do evil against the law.
They attack the life of the just
and condemn innocent blood.
The Lord is my stronghold,
the rock where I shelter.
He will pay them back for their wickedness,
scatter them in their malice,
the Lord our God will scatter them.
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.
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
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 125 (126)
Gladness and hope in the Lord |
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Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
When the Lord gave Zion back her captives, we became like dreamers.
Our mouths were filled with gladness and our voices cried in exultation.
Among the Gentiles they were saying,
“By his deeds the Lord has shown himself great.”
The Lord’s deeds showed forth his greatness,
and filled us with rejoicing.
Give us back our captives, O Lord,
as you renew the dry streams in the desolate South.
Those who sow in tears will rejoice at the harvest.
They wept as they went, went with seed for the sowing;
but with joy they will come, come bearing the sheaves.
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.
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain |
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Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
If the Lord does not build the house,
its builders labour in vain.
If the Lord does not watch over a city,
its workmen guard it in vain.
It is vain for you to rise before the dawn
and go late to your rest,
eating the bread of toil –
to those he loves, the Lord gives sleep.
The Lord bestows sons as an heirloom,
the fruit of the womb as a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior –
so are the sons of one’s youth.
Happy the man who fills his quiver thus:
when he disputes with his enemies at the gate,
he will not be the loser.
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.
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
Psalm 127 (128)
Peaceful life in the Lord |
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Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
Blessed are all who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways.
The food you have worked for, you will eat:
God’s blessing will bring you good things.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
on the side of your house.
Your children will be like olive shoots,
seated round your table.
See, this is how the man is blessed
who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion:
may you see the wealth of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
May you see your children’s children.
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.
Armed with the righteousness of God’s power, let us prove ourselves with great patience.
CONCLUSION
| Short reading | Daniel 4:24 © |
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By virtuous actions break with your sins, break with your crimes by showing mercy to the poor, and so live long and peacefully.
The true sacrifice is a broken spirit.
– A contrite and humble heart, O God, you will not refuse.
Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms on the cross for the salvation of mankind.
Grant that our actions may be acceptable to you
and serve to proclaim your saving work in the world.
You live and reign for ever and ever.
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.
