Psalmody
Psalm 92
Ant. I shall always rejoice over all the good you accomplish and all the blessings that come to you. (1821 letter to M. Rauzan)
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your faithful love in the morning,
and your truth in the watches of the night,
on the ten-stringed lute and the harp,
with the sound of song on the lyre.
You have gladdened me, O LORD, by your deeds;
for the work of your hands I shout with joy.
O LORD, how great are your works!
How deep are your designs!
The senseless cannot know this,
and the fool cannot understand.
Though the wicked spring up like grass,
and all who do evil thrive,
they are doomed to be eternally destroyed.
But you, O LORD, are eternally on high.
See, your enemies, O LORD,
see, your enemies will perish;
all who do evil will be scattered.
You give me the strength of a wild ox;
you have poured out on me purest oil.
My eyes looked in triumph on my foes;
my ears have heard of their fall.
The righteous will flourish like the palm tree,
and grow like a Lebanon cedar.
Planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
still full of sap, still green,
to proclaim that the LORD is upright.
In God, my rock, there is no wrong.
Glory to the Father…
Ant. I shall always rejoice over all the good you accomplish and all the blessings that come to you.
Canticle (Deut 32:1-12)
Ant. Let us declare the holy greatness of our God.
Give ear, O Heavens, while I speak,
let the earth hear the words of my mouths.
May my teaching soak in like rain,
and my speech permeate like the dew,
like a gentle rain upon the tender grass,
like a shower upon the herbs.
For I will proclaim your name, O God.
Declare your holy greatness!
My rock, your work is faultless; all your ways are justice.
A faithful God, without deceit, how just and right you are!
Yet basely have you been dealt with by your sinful children,
a perverse and crooked generation.
Is God to be thus requited,
you foolish and senseless people?
Is God not your source, who created you,
who made you and established you?
Remember the days of old,
consider the years of many generations.
Ask your parents and they will inform you,
ask your elders and they will tell you.
When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,
separating the children of the earth,
the most high fixed the boundaries of the peoples
according to the number of those in your court.
But your portion, O God is your people,
Jacob, your allotted heritage.
You found them in a desert land,
in the howling waste of the wilderness,
encircling them and caring for them,
guarding them as the apple of your eye.
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
that flutters over its young,
so you spread your wings to catch them,
and bear them on your pinions.
You alone were their leader,
no strange god was with our God.
Glory to the Father…
Ant. Let us declare the holy greatness of our God.
Psalm 8
Ant. I give thanks to God each time I think of you. Go then forth upon your journey with a light and willing heart. May God guide your steps. (1841 letter to Fr. Jean-Baptiste Honorat)
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic
is your name through all the earth!
Your majesty is set above the heavens.
From the mouths of children and of babes
you fashioned praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the foe and the rebel.
When I see the heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you arranged,
what are human beings that you keep them in mind,
mortal creatures that you care for them?
Yet you have made them little lower than the angels;
with glory and honour you crowned them,
gave them power over the works of your hands:
you put all things under their feet,
All of them, sheep and oxen,
yes, even the cattle of the fields,
birds of the air, and fish of the sea
that make their way through the seas.
O LORD, our Sovereign, how majestic
is your name through all the earth!
Glory to the Father…
Ant. I give thanks to God each time I think of you. Go then forth upon your journey with a light and willing heart. May God guide your steps.
Reading
My intention in dedicating myself to the ministry of the missions, working especially for the instruction and conversion of the most abandoned souls, was to follow the example of the apostles in their life of devotedness and self-denial. I became convinced that, in order to obtain the same results from our preaching, we would have to walk in their footsteps and, as far as we could, practice the same virtues as they. Hence, I considered it indispensable that we opt for the evangelical counsels, to which they had been so faithful, lest our words be no more than… sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. I always thought that our little family should consecrate itself to God and to the service of the Church through the vows of religion.
(Rambert, Vol. I, p. 187; Selected Texts, p. 39, n. 16)
Responsory
Like the Apostle, we preach Jesus Christ
-Like the Apostle, we preach Jesus Christ
and him crucified
-Jesus Christ
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
-Like the Apostle, we preach Jesus Christ
Canticle of Zachariah
Ant. We are your children, O merciful and liberating God.
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 your children, O merciful and liberating God.
Intercessions
Let us celebrate the kindness and wisdom of Christ. He offers his love and understanding to all people, especially to the suffering. Let us earnestly pray to him: perfect us in love, Lord.
Grant that we bear witness to you today, Lord, and offer an acceptable gift to God through you.
Lord Jesus, you are the true vine and we are the branches, allow us to remain in you, to bear much fruit, and to give glory to God.
Lord’s Prayer
Concluding Prayer
God of our history, women and men of every era tell the story of your call and your care for us. You nourish and challenge, call and direct, forgive and comfort – sheltering us in your presence every moment of our lives. Enkindle in us the faith of your prophets, the courage of your martyrs, and the love that led your Son, Jesus, to live and die for us. Let our lives continue the revelation of your goodness, you who are God forever and ever. Amen.
Novitiate Liturgy of the Hours 