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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.

Based on the liturgy for the Common of Popes.

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

Who are these like stars appearing,

these, before God’s throne who stand?

Each a golden crown is wearing;

who are all this glorious band?

Alleluia! Hark, they sing,

praising loud their heavenly King.

Who are these of dazzling brightness,

clothed in God’s own righteousness?

These, whose robes of purest whiteness,

shall their lustre still possess,

still untouched by time’s rude hand?

Whence came all this glorious band?

These are they who have contended

for their Saviour’s honour long,

wrestling on till life was ended,

following not the sinful throng;

these who well the fight sustained,

triumph through the Lamb have gained.

These are they whose hearts were riven,

sore with woe and anguish tried,

who in prayer full oft have striven

with the God they glorified;

now, their painful conflict o’er,

God has bid them weep no more.

These, the Almighty contemplating,

did as priests before him stand,

soul and body always waiting

day and night at his command:

now in God’s most holy place

blest they stand before his face.

Psalm 89 (90)
Let the Lord's glory shine upon us

In the morning, Lord, you fill us with your love.

Lord, you have been our refuge

from generation to generation.

Before the mountains were born,

before earth and heaven were conceived,

from all time to all time, you are God.

You turn men into dust,

you say to them “go back, children of men.”

A thousand years in your sight

are like yesterday, that has passed;

like a short watch in the night.

When you take them away, they will be nothing but a dream;

like the grass that sprouts in the morning:

in the morning it grows and flowers,

in the evening it withers and dries.

For we are made weak by your anger,

thrown into confusion by your wrath.

You have gazed upon our transgressions;

the light of your face illuminates our secrets.

All our days vanish in your anger,

we use up our years in a single breath.

Seventy years are what we have,

or eighty for the stronger ones;

and most of that is labour and sadness –

quickly they pass, and we are gone.

Who can comprehend the power of your wrath?

Who can behold the violence of your anger?

Teach us to reckon our days like this,

so that our hearts may be led at last to wisdom.

Turn to us, Lord, how long must we wait?

Let your servants call on you and be answered.

Fill us with your kindness in the morning,

and we shall rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

Give us joy for as long as you afflicted us,

for all the years when we suffered.

Let your servants see your great works,

and let their children see your glory.

Let the glory of the Lord God be upon us:

make firm the work of your hands.

Make firm the work of your hands.

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 the morning, Lord, you fill us with your love.

How to listen

Canticle	Isaiah 42

God, the victor and saviour

Let the praise of the Lord resound from the ends of the earth.

Sing a new song to the Lord:

sing his praise from the ends of the earth.

Praise him, who go down to the sea;

and all that are in the sea,

islands and their inhabitants.

Let the desert rejoice,

and the cities of the desert,

the villages where the people of Kedar live.

Let those who dwell in Petra rejoice,

and cry out from the mountain-tops.

Let them give glory to the Lord,

and proclaim his praise among the islands.

The Lord will go forth like a warrior,

like a man of war he will stir up zeal;

he will shout and cry out;

he will prevail against his foes.

“I have always been silent,

I have kept silence and waited;

but now I shall cry out like a woman in labour,

I shall groan and tremble.

I shall lay waste the mountains and hills,

I shall wither their grass,

I shall turn rivers into deserts,

I shall dry up the marshes.

I shall lead the blind along a way they do not know;

in paths unknown to them I shall make them walk.

I shall make the darkness that is around them into light.

I shall make crooked things straight.”

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.

Let the praise of the Lord resound from the ends of the earth.

Psalm 134 (135)
Praise the Lord, the wonder-worker

Praise the name of the Lord, you who stand in the house of the Lord.

Praise the name of the Lord:

praise it, servants of the Lord,

you who stand in the house of the Lord,

in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

sing to his name, for it brings happiness.

For the Lord chose Jacob for his own,

he chose Israel for his possession.

I know how great is the Lord,

how great is our God above all gods.

The Lord accomplishes all that he wills,

in the heavens and on the earth,

in the sea and the depths of the oceans.

He brings in clouds from the ends of the earth,

makes lightning for the rain-clouds,

from his storehouse he calls forth the winds.

He struck down the first-born of Egypt,

of man and of beast alike.

He sent signs and wonders among them,

to Pharaoh and all his servants.

He shattered nation after nation,

killed powerful kings:

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

Og, the king of Bashan,

all the kingdoms of Canaan.

He gave their lands as a birthright,

as a birthright for Israel his people.

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 name of the Lord, you who stand in the house of the Lord.

Scripture Reading	Hebrews 13:7-9

Remember your leaders, who preached the word of God to you, and as you reflect on the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and as he will be for ever. Do not let yourselves be led astray by all sorts of strange doctrines.

Short Responsory

I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.

– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.

They will never cease to tell of the name of the Lord, by day and by night.

– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.

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

– I placed watchmen on your towers, Jerusalem.

Canticle	Benedictus

The Messiah and his forerunner

Peter, firm as the rock in the strength given him by Christ, has not ceased to guide the Church.

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.

Peter, firm as the rock in the strength given him by Christ, has not ceased to guide the Church.

Prayers and intercessions

Christ, the good shepherd, laid down his life for his sheep. Let us praise him with grateful hearts, as we pray: