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Morning Prayer (Lauds)

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

I am the holy vine,

Which God my Father tends.

Each branch that yields no fruit

My Father cuts away.

Each fruitful branch

He prunes with care

To make it yield

Abundant fruit.

If you abide in me,

I will in you abide.

Each branch to yield its fruit

Must with the vine be one.

So you shall fail

To yield your fruit

If you are not

With me one vine.

I am the fruitful vine,

And you my branches are.

He who abides in me

I will in him abide.

So shall you yield

Much fruit, but none

If you remain

Apart from me.

James Quinn SJ

Psalm 50 (51)
God, have mercy on me

O God, you will not spurn a humbled, contrite heart.

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.

O God, you will not spurn a humbled, contrite heart.

How to listen

Canticle	Habakkuk 3

The Lord will appear in judgement

In spite of your anger, Lord, have compassion.

Lord, I heard what you gave me to hear,

and I was struck with awe of your work.

In the midst of the years, bring it to life;

in the midst of the years you will make it known.

When you are angry, you will remember your mercy.

God will come from Theman,

the holy one from the mountain of Pharan.

His glory has covered the heavens

and the earth is full of his praise.

His brightness shall be like light itself,

rays shining from his hands –

there is his strength hidden.

You went forth for the salvation of the people,

for salvation with your anointed one.

You made a way through the sea for your horses,

in the silt of many waters.

I have heard you, Lord,

and my stomach churns within me;

at the sound of your voice my lips tremble.

My bones rot away, my steps stumble.

I will rest and be quiet on the day of tribulation

and let it overtake those who have invaded us.

For the fig will not flower,

the vines will not fruit,

the work of the olive will be lost.

The fields will yield no food,

the flocks will be cut off from the sheepfold,

there will be no cattle in the stalls.

But I will rejoice in the Lord, take joy in God my saviour.

The Lord God is my strength.

He will make me as sure-footed as the deer.

He will lead me up to the heights.

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.

In spite of your anger, Lord, have compassion.

Psalm 147 (147B)
God, the foundation of Jerusalem

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem.†

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem

— Zion, praise your God.

For he has strengthened the bars of your gates,

he has blessed your children.

He keeps your borders in peace,

he fills you with the richest wheat.

He sends out his command over the earth,

and swiftly runs his word.

He sends down snow that is like wool,

frost that is like ashes.

He sends hailstones like crumbs

— who can withstand his cold?

He will send out his word, and all will be melted;

his spirit will breathe, and the waters will flow.

He proclaims his word to Jacob,

his laws and judgements to Israel.

He has not done this for other nations:

he has not shown them his judgements.

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.

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Scripture Reading
Ephesians 2:13-16

Now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God: in his own person he killed the hostility.

Short Responsory

I call to the Lord, the Most High, for he has been my help.

– I call to the Lord, the Most High, for he has been my help.

May he send from heaven and save me.

– I call to the Lord, the Most High, for he has been my help.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– I call to the Lord, the Most High, for he has been my help.

Canticle	Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

Through the loving mercy of our God, the Rising Sun has come to visit us.

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.

Through the loving mercy of our God, the Rising Sun has come to visit us.

Prayers and intercessions

Father, we praise you for your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; through the Holy Spirit he offered himself in sacrifice to you, that we might be delivered from death and selfishness, and be free to live in your peace.