TODAY’S OFFICE OF READINGS 4 September 2014 Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time Lord, + open my lips. – And my mouth will proclaim your praise. INVITATORY (The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.) Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy. Psalm 95 A call to praise God Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13). Come, let us sing to the Lord * and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us. Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving * and sing joyful songs to the Lord. Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy. The Lord is God, the mighty God, * the great king over all the gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth * and the highest mountains as well. He made the sea; it belongs to him, * the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands. Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy. Come, then, let us bow down and worship, * bending the knee before the Lord, our maker. For he is our God and we are his people, * the flock he shepherds. Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy. Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: † Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did in the wilderness, * when at Meriba and Massah they challenged me and provoked me, * Although they had seen all of my works. Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy. Forty years I endured that generation. * I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray and they do not know my ways.” So I swore in my anger, * “They shall not enter into my rest.” Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be forever. Amen. Ant. Come into the Lord’s presence singing for joy. (If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used ) God, + come to my assistance. – Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: – as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia. HYMN O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Our shelter from the stormy blast And our eternal home. Beneath the shadow of your throne Your saints have dwelt secure; Sufficient is your arm alone, And our defense is sure. Before the hills in order stood, Or earth received her frame, From everlasting you are God, To endless years the same. A thousand ages in your sight Are like an evening gone, Short as the watch that ends the night Before the rising sun. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly forgotten, as a dream Dies at the opening day. O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come, Be now our guide while life shall last, And our eternal home. PSALMODY Ant. 1 Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever. Psalm 44 The misfortune of God’s people We triumph over all these things through him who loved us (Romans 8:37). I We heard with our own ears, O God, * our fathers have told us the story of the things you did in their days, * you yourself, in days long ago. To plant them you uprooted the nations: * to let them spread you laid peoples low. No sword of their own won the land; * no arm of their own brought them victory. It was your right hand, your arm * and the light of your face: for you loved them. It is you, my king, my God, * who granted victories to Jacob. Through you we beat down our foes; * in your name we trampled down our aggressors. For it was not in my bow that I trusted * nor yet was I saved by my sword: it was you who saved us from our foes, * it was you who put our foes to shame. All day long our boast was in God * and we praised your name without ceasing. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever. Ant. 2 Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt. II Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us: * you no longer go forth with our armies. You make us retreat from the foe * and our enemies plunder us at will. You make us like sheep for the slaughter * and scatter us among the nations. You sell your own people for nothing * and make no profit by the sale. You make us the taunt of our neighbors, * the laughing stock of all who are near. Among the nations, you make us a byword, * among the peoples a thing of derision. All day long my disgrace is before me: * my face is covered with shame at the voice of the taunter, the scoffer, * at the sight of the foe and avenger. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be for ever. Amen. Ant. Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt. Ant. 3 Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful. III This befell us though we had not forgotten you; * though we had not been false to your covenant, though we had not withdrawn our hearts; * though our feet had not strayed from your path. Yet you have crushed us in a place of sorrows * and covered us with the shadow of death. Had we forgotten the name of our God * or stretched out our hands to another god would not God have found this out, * he who knows the secrets of the heart? It is for you that we face death all day long * and are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep? * Arise, do not reject us for ever! Why do you hide your face from us * and forget our oppression and misery? For we are brought down low to the dust; * our body lies prostrate on the earth. Stand up and come to our help! * Redeem us because of your love! Glory to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, * and will be for ever. Amen. Psalm Prayer Lord, rise up and come to our aid; with your strong arm lead us to freedom, as you mightily delivered our forefathers. Since you are the king who knows the secrets of our hearts, fill them with the light of truth. Ant. Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful. Lord, to whom shall we go? – You have the words of eternal life. READINGS : FIRST READING From the book of the prophet Jeremiah 29:1-14 Jeremiah’s letter to Israel’s exiles This is the contents of the letter which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, to the priests, the prophets, and all the people who were exiled by Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem to Babylon. This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the courtiers, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans and the skilled workmen had left Jerusalem. Delivered in Babylon by Elasah, son of Shaphan, and by Gemariah, son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to the king of Babylon, the letter read: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses to dwell in; plant gardens, and eat their fruits. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters. There you must increase in number, not decrease. Promote the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you; pray for it to the Lord, for upon its welfare depends your own. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let yourselves be deceived by the prophets and diviners who are among you; do not listen to those among you who dream dreams. For they prophesy lies to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord. Thus says the Lord: Only after seventy years have elapsed for Babylon will I visit you and fulfill for you my promise to bring you back to this place. For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot; I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you, says the Lord, and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you. RESPONSORY Psalm 105:1, 4; Sirach 2:11 Give thanks to the Lord, and call upon his name; – seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence always. Consider this: Has anyone ever trusted in the Lord and been put to shame? – Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence always. SECOND READING From the beginning of a sermon on the beatitudes by Saint Leo the Great, pope (Sermo 95, 1-2: PL 54, 461-462) I shall put my laws within them Dearly beloved, when our Lord Jesus Christ was preaching the Gospel of the kingdom and healing various illnesses throughout the whole of Galilee, the fame of his mighty works spread into all of Syria, and great crowds from all parts of Judea flocked to the heavenly physician. Because human ignorance is slow to believe what it does not see, and equally slow to hope for what it does not know, those who were to be instructed in the divine teaching had first to be aroused by bodily benefits and visible miracles so that, once they had experienced his gracious power, they would no longer doubt the wholesome effect of his doctrine. In order, therefore, to transform outward healings into inward remedies, and to cure men’s souls now that he had healed their bodies, our Lord separated himself from the surrounding crowds, climbed to the solitude of a neighboring mountain, and called the apostles to himself. From the height of this mystical site he then instructed them in the most lofty doctrines, suggesting both by the very nature of the place and by what he was doing that it was he who long ago had honored Moses by speaking to him. At that time, his words showed a terrifying justice, but now they reveal a sacred compassion, in order to fulfill what was promised in the words of the prophet Jeremiah: Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I shall establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. After those days, says the Lord, I shall put my laws within them and write them on their hearts. And so it was that he who had spoken to Moses spoke also to the apostles. Writing in the hearts of his disciples, the swift hand of the Word composed the ordinances of the new covenant. And this was not done as formerly, in the midst of dense clouds, amid terrifying sounds and lightning, so that the people were frightened away from approaching the mountain. Instead, there was a tranquil discourse which clearly reached the ears of all who stood nearby so that the harshness of the law might be softened by the gentleness of grace, and the spirit of adoption might dispel the terror of slavery. Concerning the content of Christ’s teaching, his own sacred words bear witness; thus whoever longs to attain eternal blessedness can now recognize the steps that lead to that high happiness. Blessed, he says, are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It might have been unclear to which poor he was referring, if after the words Blessed are the poor, he had not added anything about the kind of poor he had in mind. For then the poverty that many suffer because of grave and harsh necessity might seem sufficient to merit the kingdom of heaven. But when he says: Blessed are the poor in spirit, he shows that the kingdom of heaven is to be given to those who are distinguished by their humility of soul rather than by their lack of worldly goods. RESPONSORY Psalm 78:1-2 Listen, my people, to my teaching; – pay attention to what I am saying. I will speak to you in a parable; I will unfold for you the mysteries of ages past. – Pay attention to what I am saying. CONCLUDING PRAYER Let us pray. Almighty God, every good thing comes from you. Fill our hearts with love for you, increase our faith, and by your constant care protect the good you have given us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – Amen. Or: God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name, so that, by deepening our sense of reverence, you may nurture in us what is good and, by your watchful care, keep safe what you have nurtured. 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. ACCLAMATION Let us praise the Lord. – And give him thanks.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 09:10:09 +0000
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