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.
SPECIAL FOR TODAY: If you are celebrating Midday Prayer (Sext) today, use the psalms of the day then, and the complementary psalms for the other Hours.
PSALMS OF THE DAY
The fulness of the Law is love.
Lord, how I love your law!
I ponder it all day long.
Your teachings have made me wise,
far above my enemies:
your law is mine for ever.
I am wiser than all my teachers,
because I ponder your teachings.
I am wiser than the elders
because I have followed your precepts.
I have kept my feet away from evil paths
to obey your commandments.
I have not fallen away from your decrees,
for you have given me a law to live by.
Sweet to the taste are your promises,
sweeter than honey in my mouth.
Your precepts have given me wisdom
and I hate the path of deception.
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 fulness of the Law is love.
Psalm 73 (74)
Lament over the ruined Temple |
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Remember those you have gathered, O Lord: they were yours from the beginning.
Why, God, have you rejected us so finally?
Why this rage against the sheep of your flock?
Remember those you have gathered,
those who were yours from the beginning.
The stock you redeemed to be your own possession;
the mountain of Zion, where you chose to dwell.
Turn your steps towards the final devastation:
the enemy has laid waste the sanctuary.
Those who hate you have roared
in the midst of of your flock.
They have set up their emblems,
taking the place of your own.
They have raised their axes high,
hewing the wood.
With hatchets and axes
they have hewn down the doors.
They set fire to the sanctuary,
profaned and trampled your tabernacle.
They said to themselves, ‘Let us crush them
once and for all.’
They burned to the ground
every shrine of God in the land.
Our emblems have vanished,
our prophets are gone,
and none of us knows any more.
How long, O God, will the enemy deride?
Will he insult your name forever?
Why do you keep your hand away?
Why do you fold your arms?
God is our king since the beginning,
he has given us help throughout the 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.
Remember those you have gathered, O Lord: they were yours from the beginning.
Rise up, O God, and judge your own cause!
You divided the sea with your power,
you smashed the heads of dragons in the water.
You smashed the head of Leviathan
and fed him to the sea-monsters.
You opened up springs and torrents
but dried up rivers that had flowed for ever.
Yours is the day and the night:
you made the sun and the other lights.
You fixed the bounds of the earth,
you created both summer and winter.
Remember all this:
and now the enemy mocks you
and a foolish people despises your name.
Do not give to the beasts
the lives of those who proclaim you.
Do not forget forever
the lives of your poor.
Think of your covenant –
every cave in the land is a refuge for the violent.
Let the humble not return ashamed:
the poor and the destitute will praise your name.
Rise up, O God, and judge your own cause!
Remember the insults you have received
all day long, from fools.
Do not forget the sound of your enemies’ voices:
their noise, growing louder.
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.
Rise up, O God, and judge your own cause!
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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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 |
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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 | Proverbs 22:22-23 © |
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Because a man is poor, do not therefore cheat him, nor, at the city gate, oppress anybody in affliction; for the Lord takes up their cause, and extorts the life of their extortioners.
The Lord will given freedom to the poor, whom no-one will hear.
– He will rescue the lives of the needy.
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
