Psalmody
Psalm 43
Ant. He knows our needs, let us therefore have a bit more confidences in God’s goodness. (1843 letter to Fr. Vincens)
Give me justice, O God, and plead my cause
against a nation that is faithless.
From those who are deceitful and cunning
rescue me, O God.
You, O God, are my strength;
why have you rejected me?
Why do I go mourning,
oppressed by the foe?
O send forth your light and your truth;
they will guide me on.
They will bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
And I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and gladness.
To you will I give thanks on the harp,
O God, my 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. He knows our needs, let us therefore have a bit more confidences in God’s goodness.
Canticle (Isa 38:10-14, 17-20)
Ant. Devote yourself more than ever to the service of the Good Master. (1850 letter to Fr. Eymere)
Once I said,
“in the noontime of life, I must depart!
I am consigned to the gates of death for the rest of my years.”
I said, “I shall not see God
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I see my companions
among the dwellers of this world.”
My dwelling is plucked up
and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent;
like a weaver I have rolled up my life;
being cut off from the loom.
Day and night you give me over to torment;
I cry for help until daybreak;
like a lion you break all my bones;
day and night you give me over to torment.
Like a swallow or crane, I clamour,
I moan like a dove.
My eyes grow weary gazing upward.
I am oppressed; be my security!
Restore me to health, make me live!
It was for my welfare that I had great bitterness;
you have held back my life from
the pit of destruction,
you have cast all my sins behind your back.
For the nether world cannot thank you,
death cannot praise you;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
The living, the living give you thanks, as I do this day;
Parents make known to their children,
O God, your faithfulness.
You, O God, will save us;
we will sing to stringed instruments
all the days of our lives,
in your holy dwelling.
Glory to the Father…
Ant. Devote yourself more than ever to the service of the Good Master.
Psalm 65
Ant. May the good God heap on you his most abundant graces. For my part, I bless you in God’s name. (1828 letter to Fr. Honorat)
Praise is due to you in Zion, O God.
To you we pay our vows in Jerusalem,
you who hear our prayer.
To you all flesh will come.
Our evil deeds are too heavy for us,
but only you can pardon our transgressions.
Blessed the one whom you choose and call
to dwell in your courts.
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.
With wondrous deliverance you answer us,
O God our saviour.
You are the hope of all the earth,
and of far distant seas.
You establish the mountains with your strength;
you are girded with power.
You still the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the tumult of the peoples.
Distant peoples stand in awe
at your wondrous deeds.
The lands of sunrise and sunset
you fill with your joy.
You visit the earth, give it water;
you fill it with riches.
God’s ever-flowing river brims over
to prepare the grain.
And thus it is you who prepare it:
you drench its furrows;
you level it, soften it with showers;
you bless its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty,
and abundance flows in your pathways.
The pastures of the desert overflow,
and the hills are girded with joy,
The meadows are clothed with flocks,
and the valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy, and even sing!
Glory to the Father…
Ant. May the good God heap on you his most abundant graces. For my part, I bless you in God’s name.
Reading
We must not forget that the cry of the earth is the cry of the poor, to whom we are to give preference. In each Oblate Unit, we should constantly discern the presence of each of the faces of the poor, to carry out our missionary work based on the spirituality of listening, dialogue and proclamation.
(Acts of the 37th General Chapter)
Responsory
Whoever wishes to be one of us must have an ardent desire for his own perfection and be enflamed with love
-Whoever wishes to be one of us must have an ardent desire for his own perfection and be enflamed with love
for our Lord Jesus Christ and his Church and a burning zeal for the salvation of souls
-and be enflamed with love
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
-Whoever wishes to be one of us must have an ardent desire for his own perfection and be enflamed with love
Canticle of Zachariah
Ant. We announce the liberating presence of Jesus Christ and the new world born in his resurrection. (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 announce the liberating presence of Jesus Christ and the new world born in his resurrection. (Constitution 9)
Intercessions
As the darkness of night makes way for the light of day, we pray
Help us bring your word to birth in everything we do this day, we pray
Help us to be faithful stewards of your generous gifts, we pray
Strengthen all the Oblates especially those in difficult missions as they strive to bring Christ to the world and be a light to the nations. we pray
Lord’s Prayer
Concluding Prayer
May the Peace which passes all understanding, which has its source within the very nature of God, be with us today to still our souls and join our hearts as one. May the gentle whisper of the God of peace speak to us today through our prayer and encounter with people. Help us to be open to recognize your face in the events of the day. This we ask through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Novitiate Liturgy of the Hours 