Office of Readings
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
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.
Bright as fire in darkness,
Sharper than a sword,
Lives throughout the ages
God’s eternal word.
Father, Son and Spirit,
Trinity of might,
Compassed in your glory,
Give the world your light.
Psalm 20 (21)
Thanksgiving for victory
If anyone wishes to be first, he must make himself the last of all and servant of all. Alleluia.
Lord, the king will rejoice in your strength,
he will triumph in your saving power.
You have granted him his heart’s desire,
you have not denied the wish that he spoke.
For you showered him with blessings
even before he asked for them.
You have placed a crown of purest gold upon his head.
He asked you for life,
and you granted it to him,
length of days for ever and for ever.
Great is his glory through your help:
you cover him with splendour and majesty.
You lay a blessing upon him that will last for ever,
you make him rejoice in joy before you.
For the king hopes in the Lord,
and through the kindness of the Most High he will not be shaken.
Stand high above us, Lord, in your power;
and we will sing and celebrate your might.
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 anyone wishes to be first, he must make himself the last of all and servant of all. Alleluia.
Psalm 91 (92)
Praise of God, the Creator
When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the crown of unfading glory. Alleluia.
It is good to praise the Lord,
and to sing psalms to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your mercy in the morning
and your faithfulness by night;
on the ten-stringed lyre and the harp,
with songs upon the lyre.
For you give me joy, Lord, in your creation:
I rejoice in the work of your hands.
How great are your works, O Lord,
how immeasurably deep your thoughts.
The fool does not hear,
the slow-witted do not understand.
When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and the doers of evil are in full bloom,
it will come to nothing, for they will perish for ever and ever;
but you, Lord, are the Highest eternally.
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.
When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the crown of unfading glory. Alleluia.
Psalm 91 (92)
Well done, good and faithful servant: come and join in your Master’s joy. Alleluia.
For behold, Lord, your enemies,
how your enemies will perish,
how wrongdoers will be scattered.
You will give me strength as the wild oxen have;
I have been anointed with the purest oil.
I will look down upon my enemies,
and hear the plans of those who plot evil against me.
The just will flourish like the palm tree,
grow tall like the cedar of Lebanon.
They will be planted in the house of the Lord;
in the courts of our God they will flourish.
They will bear fruit even when old,
fresh and luxuriant through all their days.
They will proclaim how just is the Lord, my refuge,
for in him there is no unrighteousness.
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.
Well done, good and faithful servant: come and join in your Master’s joy. Alleluia.
℣. You will hear the word from my mouth, alleluia.
℟. You will speak to them in my name. Alleluia.
| First Reading | Acts 20:17-36 © |
|---|
From Miletus Paul sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus. When they arrived he addressed these words to them:
‘You know what my way of life has been ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia, how I have served the Lord in all humility, with all the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpful to you; I have preached to you, and instructed you both in public and in your homes, urging both Jews and Greeks to turn to God and to believe in our Lord Jesus.
‘And now you see me a prisoner already in spirit; I am on my way to Jerusalem, but have no idea what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit, in town after town, has made it clear enough that imprisonment and persecution await me. But life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me – and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God’s grace.
‘I now feel sure that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will ever see my face again. And so here and now I swear that my conscience is clear as far as all of you are concerned, for I have without faltering put before you the whole of God’s purpose.
Paul addressed these words to the elders of the church of Ephesus:
‘Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you the overseers, to feed the Church of God which he bought with his own blood. I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves will invade you and will have no mercy on the flock. Even from your own ranks there will be men coming forward with a travesty of the truth on their lips to induce the disciples to follow them. So be on your guard, remembering how night and day for three years I never failed to keep you right, shedding tears over each one of you. And now I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace that has power to build you up and to give you your inheritance among all the sanctified.
‘I have never asked anyone for money or clothes; you know for yourselves that the work I did earned enough to meet my needs and those of my companions. I did this to show you that this is how we must exert ourselves to support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, who himself said, “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”’
When he had finished speaking he knelt down with them all and prayed.
℟. Keep watch over the flock of which the Holy Spirit has given you charge,* as shepherds of the Church of God, which he won for himself by the blood of his own Son, alleluia.
℣. Stewards are expected to show themselves trustworthy,* as shepherds of the Church of God, which he won for himself by the blood of his own Son, alleluia.
| Second Reading |
|---|
| A letter by Pope St Gregory the Great |
|---|
The nation of angels was bathed with the light of holy faith
Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth, because the grain of wheat has fallen into the earth and has died. Christ has died in order to reign in heaven. Not only that: by his death we live; by his weakness we are strengthened; by his passion we are freed from suffering; impelled by his love, we are seeking in Britain brothers whom we do not know; through his help we have found those for whom we were searching, although we were not acquainted with them.
Who, dear brother, is capable of describing the great joy of believers when they have learned what the grace of Almighty God and your own cooperation achieved among the Angles? They abandoned the errors of darkness and were bathed with the light of holy faith. With full awareness they trampled on the idols which they had previously adored with savage fear. They are now committed to Almighty God. The guidelines given them for their preaching restrain them from falling into evil ways. In their minds they are submissive to the divine precepts and consequently feel uplifted. They bow down to the ground in prayer lest their minds cling too closely to earthly things. Whose achievement is this? It is the achievement of him who said: My Father is at work until now and I am at work as well.
God chose illiterate preachers and sent them into the world in order to show the world that conversion is brought about not by men’s wisdom but rather by his own power. So in like manner God worked through weak instruments and wrought great things among the Angles. Dear brother, in this heavenly gift there is something which should inspire us with great fear and great joy.
For I know through your love for that people, specially chosen for you, that Almighty God has performed great miracles. But it is necessary that the same heavenly gift should cause you to rejoice with fear and to fear with gladness. You should be glad because by means of external miracles the souls of the Angles have been led to interior grace. But you should tremble, lest on account of these signs, the preacher’s own weak soul be puffed up with presumption; lest, while seeming externally raised aloft in honour, it fall internally as a result of vainglory.
We should remember that when the disciples on their joyous return from their preaching mission said to their heavenly master: Lord, in your name even devils were subjected to us, he immediately retorted: Do not rejoice about this but rather that your names are inscribed in heaven.
℟. My friends, join in imitating me. You have us for a model: watch those whose way of life conforms to it.* The lessons I taught you, the tradition I passed on, all that you heard me say or saw me do – put into practice, and the God of peace will be with you, alleluia.
℣. I appeal to you, my brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, agree among yourselves.* The lessons I taught you, the tradition I passed on, all that you heard me say or saw me do – put into practice, and the God of peace will be with you, alleluia.
God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!
You, the Father, the eternal –
all the earth venerates you.
All the angels, all the heavens, every power –
The cherubim, the seraphim –
unceasingly, they cry:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!”
The glorious choir of Apostles –
The noble ranks of prophets –
The shining army of martyrs –
all praise you.
Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you.
– Father of immeasurable majesty,
– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,
– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.
You, Christ:
– You are the king of glory.
– You are the Father’s eternal Son.
– You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb.
– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.
– You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father.
– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.
And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.
Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory.
The final part of the hymn may be omitted:
Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance.
Rule them and lift them high for ever.
Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever.
Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you.
In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you led the English people to the gospel
by the preaching of Saint Augustine of Canterbury.
Grant that his work may last on in the Church
and bear fruit in every generation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
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 Universalis apps and programs do contain the Grail translation of the psalms.
You can also view this page in Latin and English.