Divine Office – Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church (Breviary)

October 01

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

Memorial

“Oh! how I love Thee, Jesus! my soul aspires to Thee

And yet for one day only my simple prayer I pray!

Come reign within my heart, smile tenderly on me,

To-day, dear Lord, to-day” [1]

St. Therese of the Child Jesus was born in France in 1873. At age 15, she chose contemplative life, like her two older sisters before her, and entered the Carmel of Lisieux. In addition to religious responsibilities, St. Therese was a writer. She penned an autobiography, poetry, letters, and prayers. Her poems give praise to God for His unfailing love and speak to her desire to model her life after Christ. Also, St. Therese lived this devotion in “little ways,” becoming known as the “Little Flower of Jesus.” She died at the young age of 24, but her writings continue to inspire the faithful. St. Therese was canonized in 1925 by Pius XI and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1997.[2]

Written by Sarah Ciotti

Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD

[1] St. Therese of Lisieux, ‘My Song of Today’ in Poems of St. Therese, 14, www.ccel.org.

[2] Vatican News Services, The Life of St. Therese of Lisieux, October 19, 1997.

Lord, open my lips.

— And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

Psalm 95

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. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

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. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

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. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

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. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

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. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

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. The holy virgins praise their Lord and King; come, let us join in their worship, alleluia.

Ribbon Placement:

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:

Ordinary: 615

Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 880

Common of Virgins: 1791 (verse before first reading)

Proper of Seasons: 329 (first reading)

Proper of Saints: 1450 (second reading, concluding prayer)

Christian Prayer:

Does not contain Office of Readings.

Office of Readings for Thursday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN
Blest are the pure in heart,

for they shall see our God;

the secret of the Lord is theirs,

their soul is Christ's abode.

The Lord, who left the heavens

our life and peace to bring,

to dwell in lowliness with us,

our pattern and our King;

He to the lowly soul

will still himself impart and

for his dwelling and his throne

will choose the pure in heart.

Lord, we thy presence seek;

may ours this blessing be;

give us a pure and lowly heart,

a temple fit for thee.

𝄞"Blest are the Pure in Heart" by Eva Zlatkovic Ristic • Title: The Christian Life; Words: Sts. 1 and 3, John Keble (1792-1866), alt.; sts. 2 and 4, William John Hall (1793-1861), alt.; Music: Franconia, melody Johann Makhasar Konig (1691-1758); Adapt. and harmony: William Henry Havergal (1793-1870); Artist: Eva Zlatkovic Ristic; Copyright 2016 Surgeworks

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever.

Psalm 44

The misfortunes 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.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

You have shown me how to live.

— You will fill me with joy in your presence.

READINGS

First Reading

From the letter of the apostle Paul to the Philippians

3:1-16

The example of Paul

My brothers, rejoice in the Lord. I find writing you these things no burden, and for you it is a safeguard.

Beware of unbelieving dogs. Watch out for workers of evil. Be on guard against those who mutilate. It is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus rather than putting our trust in the flesh—though I can be confident even there.

If anyone thinks he has a right to put his trust in external evidence, all the more can I! I was circumcised on the eighth day, being of the stock of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew origins; in legal observance I was a Pharisee, and so zealous that I persecuted the church. I was above reproach when it came to justice based on the law.

But those things I used to consider gain I have now reappraised as loss in the light of Christ. I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ. For his sake I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else rubbish so that Christ may be my wealth and I may be in him, not having any justice of my own based on observance of the law. The justice I possess is that which comes through faith in Christ. It has its origin in God and is based on faith. I wish to know Christ and the power flowing from his resurrection; likewise to know how to share in his sufferings by being formed into the pattern of his death. Thus do I hope that I may arrive at resurrection from the dead.

It is not that I have reached it yet, or have already finished my course; but I am racing to grasp the prize if possible, since I have been grasped by Christ [Jesus]. Brothers, I do not think of myself as having reached the finish line. I give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what is ahead. My entire attention is on the finish line as I run toward the prize to which God calls me—life on high in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are spiritually mature must have this attitude. If you see it another way, God will clarify the difficulty for you. It is important that we continue on our course, no matter what stage we have reached.

RESPONSORY Philippians 3:8, 10; Romans 6:8

I have counted all things worthless so that I might gain Christ.

— I wish to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and to be one with him in his sufferings.

We believe that if we die with Christ, we shall also live with him.

— I wish to know Christ and the power of his resurrection, and to be one with him in his sufferings.

Second reading

From the autobiography of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, virgin

In the heart of the Church I will be love

Since my longing for martyrdom was powerful and unsettling, I turned to the epistles of Saint Paul in the hope of finally finding an answer. By chance the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of the first epistle to the Corinthians caught my attention, and in the first section I read that not everyone can be an apostle, prophet or teacher, that the Church is composed of a variety of members, and that the eye cannot be the hand. Even with such an answer revealed before me, I was not satisfied and did not find peace.

I persevered in the reading and did not let my mind wander until I found this encouraging theme: Set your desires on the greater gifts. And I will show you the way which surpasses all others. For the Apostle insists that the greater gifts are nothing at all without love and that this same love is surely the best path leading directly to God. At length I had found peace of mind.

When I had looked upon the mystical body of the Church, I recognized myself in none of the members which Saint Paul described, and what is more, I desired to distinguish myself more favorably within the whole body. Love appeared to me to be the hinge for my vocation. Indeed I knew that the Church had a body composed of various members, but in this body the necessary and more noble member was not lacking; I knew that the Church had a heart and that such a heart appeared to be aflame with love. I knew that one love drove the members of the Church to action, that if this love were extinguished, the apostles would have proclaimed the Gospel no longer, the martyrs would have shed their blood no more. I saw and realized that love sets off the bounds of all vocations, that love is everything, that this same love embraces every time and every place. In one word, that love is everlasting.

Then, nearly ecstatic with the supreme joy in my soul, I proclaimed: O Jesus, my love, at last I have found my calling: my call is love. Certainly I have found my place in the Church, and you gave me that very place, my God. In the heart of the Church, my mother, I will be love, and thus I will be all things, as my desire finds its direction.

RESPONSORY See Psalm 21:4; Job 31:18; Ephesians 3:18; Psalm 31:20

From the very beginning, O God, you came to me with your love, which has grown since my childhood.

— Its depths I cannot fully grasp.

O Lord, how great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you.

— Its depths I cannot fully grasp.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,

who open your Kingdom

to those who are humble and to little ones,

lead us to follow trustingly

in the little way of Saint Theresa,

so that through her intercession

we may see your eternal glory revealed.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.

— And give him thanks.

Ribbon Placement:

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. IV:

Ordinary: 618

Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 884

Common of Virgins: 1800 (reading, responsory, intercessions)

Proper of Saints: 1452 (concluding prayer)

Christian Prayer:

Ordinary: 689

Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 824

Common of Virgins: 1441 (reading, responsory, intercessions)

Proper of Saints: 1276 (concluding prayer)

Morning Prayer for Thursday in Ordinary Time, the Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN
Your lamp of virtue, work and prayer,

O virgin, pleasing to the King,

Has won you favor in his sight,

Whose glory all the angels sing.

As chosen bride of Spouse divine,

The saints rejoice your face to see,

His love has kept you for his own,

By treasured grace of chastity.

Teach us to live true Christian lives

And help us with your fervent prayers

That we may val’antly resist

The wicked tempter’s evil snares.

True model of a virgin’s life,

May holy Mary beg her Son

To help us exiles here below

Until our course on earth is run.

All glory be to God on high,

Beyond the realms of time and space,

Who added to the bliss above

This virgin’s triumph won by grace. Amen.

𝄞"Your Lamp of Virtue, Work and Prayer" by Kathleen Lundquist, Sara Faux • Title: Your Lamp of Virtue, Work and Prayer; Text: Aptata, virgo, lampade 14th c.; Tr. St. Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, UK; Tune: Chant, Mode VIII; Liber Hymnarius; Artist: Kathleen Lundquist; Accompaniment: Sara Faux; Recording copyright 2017 by Surgeworks, Inc.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Stir up your mighty power, Lord; come to our aid.

Psalm 80

Lord, come, take care of your vineyard

Come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

O shepherd of Israel, hear us,

you who lead Joseph’s flock,

shine forth from your cherubim throne

upon Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh.

O Lord, rouse up your might,

O Lord, come to our help.

God of hosts, bring us back;

let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Lord God of hosts, how long

will you frown on your people’s plea?

You have fed them with tears for their bread,

an abundance of tears for their drink.

You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,

our enemies laugh us to scorn.

God of hosts, bring us back;

let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

You brought a vine out of Egypt;

to plant it you drove out the nations.

Before it you cleared the ground;

it took root and spread through the land.

The mountains were covered with its shadow,

the cedars of God with its boughs.

It stretched out its branches to the sea,

to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.

Then why have you broken down its walls?

It is plucked by all who pass by.

It is ravaged by the boar of the forest,

devoured by the beasts of the field.

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,

look down from heaven and see.

Visit this vine and protect it,

the vine your right hand has planted.

Men have burnt it with fire and destroyed it.

May they perish at the frown of your face.

May your hand be on the man you have chosen,

the man you have given your strength.

And we shall never forsake you again:

give us life that we may call upon your name.

God of hosts, bring us back;

let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

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 God, eternal shepherd, you so tend the vineyard you planted that now it extends its branches even to the farthest coast. Look down on your Church and come to us. Help us remain in your Son as branches on the vine, that, planted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere.

Ant. Stir up your mighty power, Lord; come to our aid.

Ant. 2 The Lord has worked marvels for us; make it known to the ends of the world.

Canticle — Isaiah 12:1-6

Joy of God’s ransomed people

If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink (John 7:37).

I give you thanks, O Lord;

though you have been angry with me,

your anger has abated, and you have consoled me.

God indeed is my savior;

I am confident and unafraid.

My strength and my courage is the Lord,

and he has been my savior.

With joy you will draw water

at the fountain of salvation, and say on that day:

Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name;

among the nations make known his deeds,

proclaim how exalted is his name.

Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement;

let this be known throughout all the earth.

Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,

for great in your midst

is the Holy One of Israel!

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. The Lord has worked marvels for us; make it known to the ends of the world.

Ant. 3 Ring out your joy to God our strength.

Psalm 81

Solemn renewal of the Covenant

See that no one among you has a faithless heart (Hebrews 3:12).

Ring out your joy to God our strength,

shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.

Raise a song and sound the timbrel,

the sweet-sounding harp and the lute,

blow the trumpet at the new moon,

when the moon is full, on our feast.

For this is Israel’s law,

a command of the God of Jacob.

He imposed it as a rule on Joseph,

when he went out against the land of Egypt.

A voice I did not know said to me:

“I freed your shoulder from the burden;

your hands were freed from the load.

You called in distress and I saved you.

I answered, concealed in the storm cloud,

at the waters of Meribah I tested you.

Listen, my people, to my warning,

O Israel, if only you would heed!

Let there be no foreign god among you,

no worship of an alien god.

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you from the land of Egypt.

Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

But my people did not heed my voice

and Israel would not obey,

so I left them in their stubbornness of heart

to follow their own designs.

O that my people would heed me,

that Israel would walk in my ways!

At once I would subdue their foes,

turn my hand against their enemies.

The Lord’s enemies would cringe at their feet

and their subjection would last forever.

But Israel I would feed with finest wheat

and fill them with honey from the rock.”

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 God, open our mouths to proclaim your glory. Help us to leave sin behind and to rejoice in professing your name.

Ant. Ring out your joy to God our strength.

READING Song of Songs 8:7

Deep waters cannot quench love,

nor floods sweep it away.

Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love,

he would be roundly mocked.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

My heart is ever pleading, show me your face.

— My heart is ever pleading, show me your face.

I long to gaze upon you, Lord.

— Show me your face.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

— My heart is ever pleading, show me your face.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. Truly I say to you, unless you change your lives and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 1:68-79

The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

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:

as it was in the beginning, is now,

and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Truly I say to you, unless you change your lives and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

INTERCESSIONS

Christ is the spouse and crowning glory of virgins. Let us praise him with joy in our voices and pray to him with sincerity in our hearts:

Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.

Christ, the holy virgins loved you as their one true spouse,

— grant that nothing may separate us from your love.

Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.

You crowned Mary, your mother, queen of virgins,

— through her intercession, let us continually serve you with pure hearts.

Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.

Your handmaids were always careful to love you with whole and

undivided attention, that they might be holy in body and spirit,

— through their intercession grant that the lure of this passing world may not distract our attention from you.

Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.

Lord Jesus, you are the spouse whose coming was anticipated by the wise virgins,

— grant that we may wait for you in hope and expectation.

Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.

Through the intercession of this saint and virgin we commemorate today,

who was one of the wise and prudent virgins,

— grant us wisdom and innocence of life.

Jesus, crown of virgins, hear us.

Our Father 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

O God,

who open your Kingdom

to those who are humble and to little ones,

lead us to follow trustingly

in the little way of Saint Theresa,

so that through her intercession

we may see your eternal glory revealed.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

— Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,

protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.

— Amen.

Ribbon Placement:

Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:

Ordinary: 659

Complementary Psalmody: 1291 (Midmorning)

Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 930 (Midmorning)

Midmorning Prayer for Thursday in Ordinary Time using the Complementary Psalmody

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 for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN
New every morning is the love

our wakening and uprising prove;

through sleep and darkness safely brought,

restored to life and power and thought.

New mercies, each returning day,

hover around us while we pray;

new perils past, new sins forgiven,

new thoughts of God, new hopes above.

If on our daily course our mind

be set to hallow all we find,

new treasures still, of countless price,

God will provide for sacrifice.

Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be,

as more of heaven in each we see;

some softening gleam of love and prayer

shall dawn on every cross and care.

The trivial round, the common task,

will furnish all we ought to ask:

room to deny ourselves; a road

to bring us daily nearer God.

Only, O Lord, in thy dear love,

fit us for perfect rest above;

and help us, this and every day,

to live more nearly as we pray.

𝄞"New Every Morning Is The Love" by Johanna Montealto • Musical Score • Title: New every morning is the love; Words: John Keble, 1822; Music: Melcombe, Kedron; Recording copyright 2016 Surgeworks • Albums that contain this Hymn: Divine Office

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 I cried out, and the Lord heard me.

Psalm 120

Longing for peace

To the Lord in the hour of my distress

I call and he answers me.

“O Lord, save my soul from lying lips,

from the tongue of the deceitful.”

What shall he pay you in return,

O treacherous tongue?

The warrior’s arrows sharpened

and coals, red-hot, blazing.

Alas, that I abide a stranger in Meshech,

dwell among the tents of Kedar!

Long enough have I been dwelling

with those who hate peace.

I am for peace, but when I speak,

they are for fighting.

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. I cried out, and the Lord heard me.

Ant. 2 May the Lord watch over you as you come and as you go.

Psalm 121

Guardian of his people

Never again will they hunger and thirst, never again know scorching heat (Revelation 7:16)

I lift up my eyes to the mountains;

from where shall come my help?

My help shall come from the Lord

who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble!

Let him sleep not, your guard.

No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,

Israel’s guard.

The Lord is your guard and your shade;

at your right side he stands.

By day the sun shall not smite you

nor the moon in the night.

The Lord will guard you from evil,

he will guard your soul.

The Lord will guard your going and coming

both now and for ever.

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. May the Lord watch over you as you come and as you go.

Ant. 3 I rejoiced in the good news they told me.

Psalm 122

The holy city, Jerusalem

You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22)

I rejoiced when I heard them say:

Let us go to God’s house.

And now our feet are standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built as a city

strongly compact.

It is there that the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord.

For Israel’s law it is,

there to praise the Lord’s name.

There were set the thrones of judgment

of the house of David.

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:

“Peace be to your homes!

May peace reign in your walls,

in your palaces, peace!”

For love of my brethren and friends

I say: Peace upon you.

For love of the house of the Lord

I will ask for your good.

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. I rejoiced in the good news they told me.

READING Galatians 5:13-14

My brothers remember that you have been called to live in freedom – but not a freedom that gives free rein to the flesh. Out of love, place yourselves at one another’s service. The whole law has found its fulfillment in this one saying: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)

A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Lightly I run in the way that you have shown.

— For my heart is filled with joy.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Lord,

in midmorning you gave your Holy Spirit

to the apostles gathered in prayer.

Give us a share in the life and love

that your Spirit brings.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.

— And give him thanks.