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 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.

Hymn

The wingèd herald of the day

Proclaims the morn’s approaching ray:

And Christ the Lord our souls excites,

And so to endless life invites.

‘Take up thy bed,’ to each he cries

Who sick, or wrapped in slumber lies:

‘And chaste, and just, and sober stand

And watch; my coming is at hand.’

With earnest cry, with tearful care,

Call we the Lord to hear our prayer:

While supplications, pure and deep,

Forbid each chastened heart to sleep.

Do thou, O Christ, our slumbers wake;

Do thou the chains of darkness break:

Purge thou our former sins away,

And in our souls new light display.

All laud to God the Father be;

All praise, eternal Son, to thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To God the Holy Paraclete.

Psalm 94 (95) A call to worship

The man with clean hands and pure heart will climb the mountain of the Lord.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,

let us acclaim God our salvation.

Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks,

let us acclaim him with songs.

For the Lord is a great God,

a king above all gods.

For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands,

and the peaks of the mountains are his.

For the sea is his: he made it;

and his hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

bend the knee before the Lord who made us;

for he himself is our God and we are his flock,

the sheep that follow his hand.

If only, today, you would listen to his voice:

“Do not harden your hearts

as you did at Meribah,

on the day of Massah in the desert,

when your fathers tested me –

they put me to the test,

although they had seen my works.”

“For forty years they wearied me,

that generation.

I said: their hearts are wandering,

they do not know my paths.

I swore in my anger:

they will never enter my place of rest.”

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 man with clean hands and pure heart will climb the mountain of the Lord.

Canticle	Tobit 13

God punishes and God saves

Praise the king of the ages in all your deeds.

Blessed be God who lives for ever,

whose kingdom is eternal:

for he both punishes and takes pity,

he leads down to the underworld,

and rescues from perdition;

no one can escape him.

Give thanks to him before all nations, children of Israel:

he scattered you among them,

and there he has made known his greatness.

Give glory to him before all who live:

he is our Lord, our father,

and our God for ever.

He will punish you for your transgressions;

but he will take pity on all your sufferings,

and gather you together from all the nations

among whom he scattered you.

If you turn back to him

with all your heart and soul

– if you keep faithful to him –

he will turn back to you

and hide his face no longer.

So now look at what he has done with you,

and praise him with all your might.

Bless the Lord of justice,

and glorify the eternal King.

In the land of my captivity I trust in him;

I show his power and majesty to the sinful people.

Turn back, sinners,

and be upright in his presence

– perhaps he will forgive you and show you his favour.

I will rejoice in the Lord with all my soul,

my soul will rejoice as long as it lives.

Bless the Lord, all his chosen ones:

all people, praise his greatness.

Fill your days with joy

and proclaim his glory.

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.

Praise the king of the ages in all your deeds.

Psalm 32 (33) The Lord provides

Praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Rejoice in the Lord, you just:

it is good for the upright to praise him.

Proclaim the Lord on the lyre,

play his song on the ten-stringed harp.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

sing out your cries of triumph,

for the word of the Lord is truly just,

and all his actions are faithful.

The Lord loves justice and right judgement;

the earth is full of his loving kindness.

By the Lord’s word the heavens were made,

and all their array by the breath of his mouth.

He gathered the seas as if in a bag,

he stored up the depths in his treasury.

Let every land fear the Lord,

let all the world be awed at his presence.

For he spoke, and they came into being;

he commanded, and they were made.

The Lord confounds the counsel of the nations,

throws the thoughts of the peoples into confusion.

But the Lord’s own counsel stands firm for ever,

his thoughts last for all generations.

Happy the nation whose lord is God,

the people he has chosen as his inheritance.

The Lord looks down from the heavens

and sees all the children of men.

From his dwelling-place he looks

upon all who inhabit the earth.

He moulded each one of their hearts,

he understands all that they do.

The king will not be saved by his forces;

the abundance of his strength will not set the strong man free.

Do not trust a horse to save you,

whatever its swiftness and strength.

For see, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,

upon those who trust in his mercy,

hoping he will save their souls from death

and their bodies from hunger.

Our souls praise the Lord,

for he is our help and our protector,

for our hearts rejoice in him,

and we trust in his holy name.

Lord, show us your loving kindness,

just as we put our hope in you.

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.

Praise is fitting for loyal hearts.

Short reading	Romans 13:11,12-13 ©

You must wake up now: the night is almost over, it will be daylight soon. Let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime.

Short Responsory

God is my helper and I will put my trust in him.

– God is my helper and I will put my trust in him.

He is my refuge and my liberator.

– God is my helper and I will put my trust in him.

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

– God is my helper and I will put my trust in him.

Canticle	Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

The Lord has raised up the sign of salvation, as he promised through his prophets.

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.

The Lord has raised up the sign of salvation, as he promised through his prophets.

Prayers and Intercessions

We are called to heaven, beloved brethren, so let us bless Jesus, high priest of our faith, and call on him: