Morning Prayer

STAND

Invitatory

Leader: Lord, + open my lips.
All: And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Leader: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

Psalm 95
A call to praise God

Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).

Leader: Come, let us sing to the Lord 
All: 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.

All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

All: 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.

All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

All: 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.

All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

All: 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.

All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

All: 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.”

All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

All: 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.

All: Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
ake haste to help me.

All: 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.

Hymn

Now Christ, O Sun of righteousness,
Let dawn our darkened spirits bless:
The light of grace to us restore
While day to earth returns once more.

To us you give the accepted time,
Give, too, a heart that mourns for crime,
Let those by mercy now be cured
Whom loving-kindness long endured.

Spare not, we pray, to send us here
Some penance kindly but severe,
So let your gift of pardoning grace
Our grievous sinfulness efface.

Soon will that day, your day, appear
And all things with its brightness cheer:
We will rejoice in it, as we
Return thereby to grace, and thee.

Let all the world from shore to shore
O gracious Trinity, adore;
Right soon your loving pardon grant,
That we our new-made song may chant. Amen.

Tune: Beatus Vir L.M.
Music: Slovak Hymn
Text: Iam, Christe, sol iustitiae, tenth century or possibly Ambrosian
Translation: The Primer of 1706, attributed to John Dryden, 1631-1701

Psalmody

Leader: 1 Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.

Psalm 87
Jerusalem is mother of us all

The heavenly Jerusalem is a free woman; she is our mother (Galatians 4:26).

Leader: On the holy mountain is his city 
Side 1: cherished by the Lord.
The Lord prefers the gates of Zion 
to all Jacob’s dwellings.
Of you are told glorious things, 
O city of God!

Side 2: “Babylon and Egypt I will count 
among those who know me;
Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia, 
these will be her children
and Zion shall be called ‘Mother’ 
for all shall be her children.”

Side 1: It is he, the Lord Most High, 
who gives each his place.
In his register of peoples he writes: 
“These are her children,”
and while they dance they will sing: 
“In you all find their home.”

Side 2: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, 
and to the Holy Spirit:
All as it was in the beginning, is now, 
and will be for ever. Amen.

Leader: Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.

Leader: The Lord, the mighty conqueror, will come; he will bring with him the prize of victory.

Canticle: Isaiah 40:10-17
The Good Shepherd: God most high and most wise

See, I come quickly; I have my reward in hand (Revelation 22:12).

Leader: Here comes with power 
Side 1: the Lord God, 
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him, 
his recompense before him.

Side 2: Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; 
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom, 
and leading the ewes with care.

Side 1: Who has cupped in his hand the waters of the sea, 
and marked off the heavens with a span?
Who has held in a measure the dust of the earth, 
weighed the mountains in scales 
and the hills in a balance?

Side 2: Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, 
or has instructed him as his counselor?
Whom did he consult to gain knowledge? 
Who taught him the path of judgment, 
or showed him the way of understanding?

Side 1: Behold, the nations count as a drop of the bucket, 
as rust on the scales; 
the coastlands weigh no more than powder.

Side 2: Lebanon would not suffice for fuel, 
nor its animals be enough for holocausts.
Before him all the nations are as nought, 
as nothing and void he accounts them.

Side 1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, 
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now, 
and will be for ever. Amen.

Leader: The Lord, the mighty conqueror, will come; he will bring with him the prize of victory.

Leader: Give praise to the Lord our God, bow down before his holy mountain.

Psalm 99
Holy is the Lord our God

Christ, higher than the Cherubim, when you took our lowly nature you transformed our sinful world (Saint Athanasius).

Leader: The Lord is king; the peoples tremble. 
Side 1: He is throned on the cherubim; the earth quakes. 
The Lord is great in Zion.

Side 2: He is supreme over all the peoples. 
Let them praise his name, so terrible and great. 
He is holy, full of power.

Side 1: You are a king who loves what is right; 
you have established equity, justice and right; 
you have established them in Jacob.

Side 2: Exalt the Lord our God; 
bow down before Zion, his footstool. 
He the Lord is holy.

Side 1: Among his priests were Aaron and Moses, 
among those who invoked his name was Samuel. 
They invoked the Lord and he answered.

Side 2: To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud. 
They did his will; they kept the law, 
which he, the Lord, had given.

Side 1: O Lord our God, you answered them. 
For them you were a God who forgives; 
yet you punished all their offenses.

Side 2: Exalt the Lord our God; 
bow down before his holy mountain 
for the Lord our God is holy.

Side 1: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, 
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now, 
and will be for ever. Amen.

Leader: Give praise All: to the Lord our God, bow down before his holy mountain.

Reading

See 1 Kings 8:51-53a

Lector: We are your people and your inheritance. Thus may your eyes be open to the petition of your servant and to the petition of your people Israel. Hear us whenever we call upon you, because you have set us apart from all the peoples of the earth for your inheritance.

Responsory

Lector: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
All: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

Lector: From those who would trap me with lying words
All: and from the hunter’s snare.

Lector: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
All: God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.

Gospel Canticle

Leader: If it is by the power of God that I cast out devils, says the Lord, then the kingdom of God has come to you already.

Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner

Leader: Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel; 
All: he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, 
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old 
  that he would save us from our enemies, 
  from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers 
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, 
holy and righteous in his sight
   all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; 
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation 
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God 
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, 
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, 
and to the Holy Spirit:
All: as it was in the beginning, is now, 
and will be for ever. Amen.

Leader: If it is All: by the power of God that I cast out devils, says the Lord, then the kingdom of God has come to you already.

Intercessions

Leader: Christ our Lord came among us as the light of the world, that we might walk in his light, and not in the darkness of death. Let us praise him and cry out to him:
All: Let your word be a lamp to guide us.

Leader: God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness,
All: that we who sinned in Adam may rise again in Christ.

Leader: Let your word be a lamp to guide us,
All: that we may live the truth and grow always in your love.

Leader: Teach us to be faithful in seeking the common good for your sake,
All: that your light may shine on the whole human family by means of your Church.

Leader: Touch our hearts to seek your friendship more and more,
All: and to make amends for our sins against your wisdom and goodness.

The Lord's Prayer

Leader: Remember us, Lord, when you come to your kingdom and teach us how to pray:

Leader: Our Father, All: who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

Leader: Father,
help us to be ready to celebrate the great paschal mystery.
Make our love grow each day
as we approach the feast of our salvation.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
All: Amen.

Dismissal

If a priest or deacon presides, he dismisses the people:

Leader: The Lord be with you.
All: And with your spirit.

Leader: May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

Leader: Go in peace.
All: Thanks be to God.

In the absence of a priest or deacon and in individual recitation, Morning Prayer concludes:

Leader: May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
All: Amen.