Divine Office Office of Readings

Dec 09, Invitatory for Tuesday of the 2nd week of Advent

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

Dec 09, Office of Readings for Tuesday of the 2nd week of Advent

Ribbon Placement: Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I: Ordinary: 649 Proper of Seasons: 218 Psalter: Tuesday, Week II, 833 Christian Prayer: Does not contain Office of Readings. Office of Readings for Tuesday of the 2nd Week in Advent 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 Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, your salvation is very near. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and clothe yourselves in light. Christ Jesus our Wisdom. Christ Jesus our Holiness. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and clothe yourselves in light. 𝄞"Put On the Lord Jesus Christ" by Briege O'Hare And Marie Cox • Available on iTunes [https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lord-teach-us-to-pray/id444178914] • Available for Purchase [https://www.poorclaresireland.org/Hermitage_Arts.html] • Title: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ; Composed and arranged by: Briege O'Hare, OSC; Sung by: Marie Cox,RSM; (c) 1966 Briege O'Hare; Used by permission • Albums that contain this Hymn: Lord, Teach Us To Pray PSALMODY Ant. 1 Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you. Psalm 37 The lot of the wicked and the good Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). I Do not fret because of the wicked; do not envy those who do evil, for they wither quickly like grass and fade like the green of the fields. If you trust in the Lord and do good, then you will live in the land and be secure. If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart’s desire. Commit your life to the Lord, trust in him and he will act, so that your justice breaks forth like the light, your cause like the noon-day sun. Be still before the Lord and wait in patience; do not fret at the man who prospers; a man who makes evil plots to bring down the needy and the poor. Calm your anger and forget your rage; do not fret, it only leads to evil. For those who do evil shall perish; the patient shall inherit the land. A little longer–and the wicked shall have gone. Look at his place, he is not there. But the humble shall own the land and enjoy the fullness 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. Surrender to God, and he will do everything for you. Ant. 2 Turn away from evil, learn to do God’s will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him. II The wicked man plots against the just and gnashes his teeth against him; but the Lord laughs at the wicked for he sees that his day is at hand. The sword of the wicked is drawn, his bow is bent to slaughter the upright. Their sword shall pierce their own hearts and their bows shall be broken to pieces. The just man’s few possessions are better than the wicked man’s wealth; for the power of the wicked shall be broken and the Lord will support the just. He protects the lives of the upright, their heritage will last for ever. They shall not be put to shame in evil days, in time of famine their food shall not fail. But all the wicked shall perish and all the enemies of the Lord. They are like the beauty of the meadows, they shall vanish, they shall vanish like smoke. The wicked man borrows without repaying, but the just man is generous and gives. Those blessed by the Lord shall own the land, but those he has cursed shall be destroyed. The Lord guides the steps of a man and makes safe the path of one he loves. Though he stumble he shall never fall for the Lord holds him by the hand. I was young and now I am old, but I have never seen the just man forsaken nor his children begging for bread. All the day he is generous and lends and his children become a blessing. Then turn away from evil and do good and you shall have a home for ever; for the Lord loves justice and will never forsake his friends. The unjust shall be wiped out for ever and the children of the wicked destroyed. The just shall inherit the land; there they shall live 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. Turn away from evil, learn to do God’s will; the Lord will strengthen you if you obey him. Ant. 3 Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way. III The just man’s mouth utters wisdom and his lips speak what is right; the law of his God is in his heart, his steps shall be saved from stumbling. The wicked man watches for the just and seeks occasion to kill him. The Lord will not leave him in his power nor let him be condemned when he is judged. Then wait for the Lord, keep to his way. It is he who will free you from the wicked, raise you up to possess the land and see the wicked destroyed. I have seen the wicked triumphant, towering like a cedar of Lebanon. I passed by again; he was gone. I searched; he was nowhere to be found. See the just man, mark the upright, for the peaceful man a future lies in store, but sinners shall all be destroyed. No future lies in store for the wicked. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord, their stronghold in time of distress. The Lord helps them and delivers them and saves them: for their refuge is in him. 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 You proclaimed the poor to be blessed, Lord Jesus, for the kingdom of heaven is given to them. Fill us generously with your gifts. Teach us to put our trust in the Father and to seek his kingdom first of all rather than imitate the powerful and envy the rich. Ant. Wait for the Lord to lead, then follow in his way. 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. A voice is heard, crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord. — Make straight the path of our God. READINGS First reading From the book of the prophet Isaiah  24:19—25:5 The kingdom of God. Thanksgiving On that day the earth will burst asunder, the earth will be shaken apart, the earth will be convulsed. The earth will reel like a drunkard, and it will sway like a hut; Its rebellion will weigh it down, until it falls, never to rise again.” On that day the Lord will punish the host of the heavens in the heavens, and the kings of the earth on the earth. They will be gathered together like prisoners into a pit; They will be shut up in a dungeon, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will blush and the sun grow pale, For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious in the sight of his elders. O Lord, you are my God, I will extol you and praise your name; For you have fulfilled your wonderful plans of old, faithful and true. For you have made the city a heap, the fortified city a ruin; The castle of the insolent is a city no more, nor ever to be rebuilt. Therefore a strong people will honor you, fierce nations will fear you. For you are a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in distress; Shelter from the rain, shade from the heat. As with the cold rain, as with the desert heat, even so you quell the uproar of the wanton. RESPONSORY Isaiah 25:1, 4 O Lord, you are my God; I will extol you and praise your name, — because you fulfilled your wondrous plans. For you are a refuge for the poor man, and a shelter for the needy man in his distress. — Because you fulfilled your wondrous plans. Second reading From the dogmatic constitution on the Church of the Second Vatican Council The eschatological character of the pilgrim Church The Church, to which we are all called in Christ Jesus and in which we acquire holiness through the grace of God, will reach its perfection only in the glory of heaven, when the time comes for the renewal of all things, and the whole world, which is intimately bound up with man and reaches its perfection through him, will, along with the human race, be perfectly restored in Christ. Lifted above the earth, Christ drew all things to himself. Rising from the dead, he sent his life-giving Spirit upon his disciples, and through the Spirit established his Body, which is the Church, as the universal sacrament of salvation. Seated at the right hand of the Father, he works unceasingly in the world, to draw men into the Church and through it to join them more closely to himself, nourishing them with his own body and blood, and so making them share in his life of glory. The promised renewal that we look for has already begun in Christ. It is continued in the mission of the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit it goes on developing in the Church: there we are taught by faith about the meaning also of our life on earth as we bring to fulfilment – with hope in the blessings that are to come – the work that has been entrusted to us in the world by the Father, and so work out our salvation. The end of the ages is already with us. The renewal of the world has been established, and cannot be revoked. In our era it is in a true sense anticipated: the Church on earth is already sealed by genuine, if imperfect, holiness. Yet, until a new heaven and a new earth are built as the dwelling place of justice, the pilgrim Church, in its sacraments and institutions belonging to this world of time, bears the likeness of this passing world. It lives in the midst of a creation still groaning and in travail as it waits for the sons of God to be revealed in glory. RESPONSORY Philippians 3:20-21 We eagerly await the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ — he will renew our lowly bodies and make them like his own glorified body. Sober, just and godly we live in this world, as we wait in blessed hope for the glorious coming of the almighty God. — He will renew our lowly bodies and make them like his own glorified body. CONCLUDING PRAYER O God, who have shown forth your salvation to all the ends of the earth, grant, we pray, that we may look forward in joy to the glorious Nativity of Christ. 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.

Dec 10, Office of Readings for Wednesday of the 2nd week of Advent

Ribbon Placement: Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I: Ordinary: 649 Proper of Seasons: 225 Psalter: Wednesday, Week II, 851 Christian Prayer: Does not contain Office of Readings. Office of Readings for Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Advent 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 1. O Lord, I am not worthy That Thou should'st come to me, But speak the words of comfort, My spirit healed shall be. 2. Oh, come, all you who labor In sorrow and in pain, Come, eat This Bread from heaven; Thy peace and strength regain. 3. O Jesus, we adore Thee, Our Victim and our Priest, Whose precious Blood and Body Become our sacred Feast. 4. O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine! All praise and all thanksgiving Be ev'ry moment Thine. 𝄞"O Lord, I Am Not Worthy" by Rebecca Hincke • Title: O Lord, I Am Not Worthy; Author: Unknown; Tune: NON DIGNUS; Artist: Rebecca Hincke; Recording copyright 2024 by Surgeworks, Inc. PSALMODY Ant. 1 We groan in pain as we await the redemption of our bodies. Psalm 39 Urgent prayer of a sick person Creation is made subject to futility… by him who subjected it, but it is not without hope. (Romans 8:20) I I said: “I will be watchful of my ways for fear I should sin with my tongue. I will put a curb on my lips when the wicked man stands before me.” I was dumb, silent and still. His prosperity stirred my grief. My heart was burning within me. At the thought of it, the fire blazed up and my tongue burst into speech: “O Lord, you have shown me my end, how short is the length of my days. Now I know how fleeting is my life. You have given me a short span of days; my life is as nothing in your sight. A mere breath, the man who stood so firm, a mere shadow, the man passing by; a mere breath the riches he hoards, not knowing who will have them.” 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. We groan in pain as we await the redemption of our bodies. Ant. 2 Hear and answer my prayer, O Lord, let me not weep in vain. II And now, Lord, what is there to wait for? In you rests all my hope. Set me free from all my sins, do not make me the taunt of the fool. I was silent, not opening my lips, because this was all your doing. Take away your scourge from me. I am crushed by the blows of your hand. You punish man’s sins and correct him; like the moth you devour all he treasures. Mortal man is no more than a breath; O Lord, hear my prayer. O Lord, turn your ear to my cry. Do not be deaf to my tears. In your house I am a passing guest, a pilgrim, like all my fathers. Look away that I may breathe again before I depart to be no more. 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 Through your Son you taught us, Father, not to be fearful of tomorrow but to commit our lives to your care. Do not withhold your Spirit from us but help us find a life of peace after these days of trouble. Ant. Hear and answer my prayer, O Lord, let me not weep in vain. Ant. 3 I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy. Psalm 52 Against a calumniator If anyone would boast, let him boast in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:31) Why do you boast of your wickedness, you champion of evil, planning ruin all day long, your tongue like a sharpened razor, you master of deceit? You love evil more than good; lies more than truth. You love the destructive word, you tongue of deceit. For this God will destroy you and remove you for ever. He will snatch you from your tent and uproot you from the land of the living. The just shall see and fear. They shall laugh and say: “So this is the man who refused to take God as his stronghold, but trusted in the greatness of his wealth and grew powerful by his crimes.” But I am like a growing olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the goodness of God for ever and ever I will thank you for evermore; for this is your doing. I will proclaim that your name is good, in the presence of your friends. 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 Father, you cut down the unfruitful branch for burning and prune the fertile to make it bear more fruit. Make us grow like laden olive trees in your domain, firmly rooted in the power and mercy of your Son, so that you may gather from us fruit worthy of eternal life. Ant. I have put all my trust in God’s never-failing mercy. 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. Turn back to us, O Lord our God. — Show us your face and we shall be saved. READINGS First reading From the book of the prophet Isaiah 25:6-26:6 The banquet of God. The song of the redeemed. On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, The web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces; The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the Lord has spoken. On that day it will be said: “Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!” For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, but Moab will be trodden down as a straw is trodden down in the mire. He will stretch forth his hands in Moab as a swimmer extends his hands to swim; He will bring low their pride as his hands sweep over them. The high-walled fortress he will raze, and strike it down level with the earth, with the very dust. On that day they will sing this song in the land of Judah: “A strong city have we; he sets up walls and ramparts to protect us. Open up the gates to let in a nation that is just, one that keeps faith. A nation of firm purpose you keep in peace; in peace, for its trust in you.” Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal Rock. He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust. It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor. RESPONSORY Revelation 21:3; Isaiah 25:8 I heard a voice proclaiming from the throne: Now God has a dwelling place among men and he will live with them; — they will be his people and he, their God, will be with them. The Lord will cast down death for ever and wipe the tears from every face. — They will be his people and he, their God, will be with them. Second reading From a discourse on the psalms by Saint Augustine, bishop God’s promises are held out to us by his Son God established a time for his promises and a time for their fulfillment. The time for promises was in the time of the prophets, until John the Baptist; from John until the end is the time of fulfillment. God, who is faithful, put himself in our debt, not by receiving anything but by promising so much. A promise was not sufficient for him; he chose to commit himself in writing as well, as it were making a contract of his promises. He wanted us to be able to see the way in which his promises were redeemed when he began to discharge them. And so the time of the prophets was, as we have often said, the foretelling of the promises. He promised eternal salvation, everlasting happiness with the angels, an immortal inheritance, endless glory, and after resurrection from the dead no further fear of dying. This is as it were his final promise, the goal of our striving. When we reach it, we shall ask for nothing more. But as to the way in which we are to arrive at our final goal, he has revealed this also, by promise and prophecy. He has promised men divinity, mortals immortality, sinners justification, the poor a rising to glory. But, brethren, because God’s promises seemed impossible to men – equality with the angels in exchange for mortality, corruption, poverty, weakness, dust and ashes – God not only made a written contract with men, to win their belief but also established a mediator of his good faith, not a prince or angel or archangel, but his only Son. He wanted, through his Son, to show us and give us the way he would lead us to the goal he has promised. It was not enough for God to make his Son our guide to the way; he made him the way itself, that you might travel with him as leader, and by him as the way. Therefore, the only Son of God was to come among men, to take the nature of men, and in this nature to be born as a man. He was to die, to rise again, to ascend into heaven, to sit at the right hand of the Father, and to fulfill his promises among the nations, and after that to come again, to exact now what he had asked for before, to separate those deserving his anger from those deserving his mercy, to execute his threats against the wicked, and to reward the just as he had promised. All this had therefore to be prophesied, foretold, and impressed on us as an event in the future, in order that we might wait for it in faith, not find it a sudden and dreadful reality. RESPONSORY Micah 7:19; Acts 10:43 Our God will again have compassion on us; — he will put aside our wickedness, and bury our sins in the depth of the sea. All the prophets testify to him, saying: Everyone who believes in him has forgiveness of sins through his name. — He will put aside our wickedness, and bury our sins in the depth of the sea. CONCLUDING PRAYER Almighty God, who command us to prepare the way for Christ the Lord, grant in your kindness, we pray, that no infirmity may weary us as we long for the comforting presence of our heavenly physician. 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.

Dec 11, Invitatory for Thursday of the 2nd week of Advent

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.

Dec 12, Invitatory for Friday of the 2nd week of Advent

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come. 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. Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.