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. Alleluia.
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
If you know these things, act accordingly and you will be blessed.
Lord, you are just
and your judgements are right.
You have made your decrees with justice
and absolute truth.
I am consumed by zeal
because my enemies have forgotten your words.
Your promises have been tested in the fire,
and your servant delights in them.
I am not yet strong, no-one respects me,
but I have not forgotten your precepts.
Your justice is justice forever,
and your law is truth.
Trouble and suffering are my lot,
but your commandments are my delight.
Your decrees are righteous for ever.
Give me understanding, and I shall live.
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.
If you know these things, act accordingly and you will be blessed.
Psalm 87 (88)
The prayer of one gravely ill |
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Lord, let my prayer come before you.
Lord God, my saviour,
I have cried out to you by day and by night.
Let my prayer come before you:
turn your ear to my request.
For my soul is full of evils,
my life has come close to its end.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit:
I am left without help.
I am one of the dead,
like the murdered who sleep in their tombs,
who lie there forgotten,
cut off from your care.
You have thrust me down into the pit,
to the gloom and the shadow of death.
Your anger weighs heavy upon me;
you have drowned me under your waves.
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, let my prayer come before you.
I am calling out to you, Lord: do not hide your face from me.
You have taken my friends away from me:
you have made me hateful in their sight,
I am shut in, I may not go out.
My eyes are weak from my sufferings.
I have called to you, Lord, all the day;
I have stretched out my hands to you.
Is it for the dead that you perform your wonders?
Will the ghosts rise up and proclaim you?
In the tomb, will they tell of your kindness?
Will they tell of your faithfulness in the place of the lost?
Will your wonders be known in the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
And so I have called out to you, Lord,
and in the morning my prayer will come before you.
With what purpose, Lord, do you reject my soul?
Why do you hide your face from me?
I am poor; from my youth I have been dying;
I have borne the terrors you sent, I am lost in confusion.
Your anger has overrun me, your terrors have broken me:
they have flowed round me like water,
they have besieged me all the day long.
You have taken my friends and those close to me:
all I have left is shadows.
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.
I am calling out to you, Lord: do not hide your face from me.
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 |
|---|
The Lord’s deeds showed his greatness and filled us with rejoicing.
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.
The Lord’s deeds showed his greatness and filled us with rejoicing.
Psalm 126 (127)
Without the Lord, we labour in vain |
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The Lord will build a house for us and watch over the city.
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.
The Lord will build a house for us and watch over the city.
Psalm 127 (128)
Peaceful life in the Lord |
|---|
Blessed are all who fear the Lord.
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.
Blessed are all who fear the Lord.
CONCLUSION
| Short reading | Isaiah 55:10-11 © |
|---|
Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’
The Lord sends out his command over the earth,
– and swiftly runs his word.
O God, you sent your angel to Cornelius the centurion to show him the way of salvation.
Give us the gift of working more eagerly for the salvation of all,
so that with them and in the Church we may come at last to you.
Through Christ our Lord,
A M E N
