Psalmody
Psalm 42
Ant. We count only on the powerful help of God who never abandons those who place their full trust in him. (1821 letter to Madame Roux)
Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God, the living God;
when can I enter and appear before the face of God?
My tears have become my bread,
by day, by night,
as they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things will I remember as I pour out my soul:
for I would go to the place of your wondrous tent,
all the way to the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng keeping joyful festival.
Why are you cast down, my soul;
why groan within me?
Hope in God, whom I will praise yet again,
my saving presence and my God.
My soul is cast down within me,
therefore I remember you
from the land of Jordan and Mount Hermon,
from the Hill of Mizar.
Deep is calling on deep,
in the roar of your torrents;
your billows and all your waves
swept over me.
By day the LORD decrees loving mercy;
by night a song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
oppressed by the foe?”
With a deadly wound in my bones,
my enemies revile me,
saying to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
Why are you cast down, my soul;
why groan within me?
Hope in God, whom I will praise yet again,
my saving presence and my God.
Glory to the Father…
Ant. We count only on the powerful help of God who never abandons those who place their full trust in him.
Canticle (Sir 36:1-5, 10-13)
Ant. It is not enough to do things for a day, you have to keep it up. It is only by perseverance that one succeeds. (1809 letter to Eugenie Boisgelin, his sister)
Come to our aid, O God of the Universe,
And put all the nations in dread of you!
Raise your hand toward the heathen,
That they realize your power.
And you have used us to show them your holiness,
so now use them to show us your glory.
Thus they will know, as we know, there is no God but you.
Give new signs and work new wonders;
Show forth the splendour of the work of your hands.
Gather all the tribes of Jacob,
that they may inherit the land as of old.
Show mercy to the people called by your name;
Israel, whom you named your first born.
Take pity on your holy city,
Jerusalem, your dwelling place.
Fill Zion with your majesty,
Your temple with glory.
Glory to the Father…
Ant. It is not enough to do things for a day, you have to keep it up. It is only by perseverance that one succeeds.
Psalm 19 (2-7)
Ant. Be humble and you will do much good; it is the good God who does all. (1824 letter to Fr. Marcou)
The heavens declare the glory of God,
whose handiwork the firmament proclaims.
Day unto day conveys the message,
and night unto night imparts the knowledge.
No speech, no word, whose voice goes unheeded;
their sound goes forth through all the earth,
their message to the utmost bounds of the world.
There God has placed a tent for the sun;
it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from his tent,
rejoices like a champion to run its course.
At one end of the heavens is the rising of the sun;
to its furthest end it runs its course.
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.
Glory to the Father…
Ant. Be humble and you will do much good; it is the good God who does all.
Reading
When your words came, I devoured them. Your word was my delight and the joy of my heart. For I was called by your Name, God Omnipotent.
(Jeremiah 15:16)
Responsory
They will bear with one another in much patience and meekness
-They will bear with one another in much patience and meekness
and strive to outdo one another
-in much patience and meekness
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
-They will bear with one another in much patience and meekness
Canticle of Zachariah
Ant. We are members of the prophetic Church. (Constitution 9)
O God, you have come and freed your people;
from David’s house you have sent a Saviour.
Through ages the prophets have told us
that we would be saved from hatred.
You have shown to us your great mercy
by the promise to Sarah and Abraham
that we should be freed from all fear
to serve you in justice and holiness.
And you, John, are called prophet of God,
for you will prepare the way
to lead people to salvation
through the awareness and knowledge of God.
Praise to you, God of Israel.
The bright dawn will break upon us.
You give light to those in darkness.
You guide us to ways of peace.
Glory to the Father…
Ant. We are members of the prophetic Church. (Constitution 9)
Intercessions
All powerful God, you ask us to keep your words in our minds and hearts and so we pray: give the grace to hear you in turmoil and in silence.
God of wisdom and source of all that is sacred: help teachers to value and nourish the wisdom and goodness of children.
We are blessed by the word of your Gospel: make us aware of the ways we shield ourselves from its challenge to us.
Lord’s Prayer
Concluding Prayer
May the grace of God uphold us, the peace of God surround us, the love of God flow from us and the strength of God protect us and bring us safely through this day. Amen.
Novitiate Liturgy of the Hours 