Divine Office Office of Readings

Jan 14, Invitatory for Wednesday of the 1st week of Ordinary Time

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Come, let us worship before the Lord, our maker. 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 before the Lord, our maker. 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 before the Lord, our maker. 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 before the Lord, our maker. 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 before the Lord, our maker. 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 before the Lord, our maker. 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 before the Lord, our maker.

Jan 14, Office of Readings for Wednesday of the 1st week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement: Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III: Ordinary: 651 Proper of Seasons: 60 Psalter: Wednesday, Week I, 744 Office of Readings for Wednesday in Ordinary Time 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 Brightness of the Father's glory Springing from eternal light, Source of light by light engendered. Day enlightening every day. In your ever-lasting radiance Shine upon us, Christ, true sun, Bringing life to mind and body Through the Holy Spirit's pow'r. Father of unfading glory. Rich in grace and Strong to save. Hear our prayers and come to save us, Keep us far from sinful ways. Dawn is drawing ever nearer, Dawn that brings us all we seek, Son who dwells within the Father, Father uttering one Word. Glory be to God the Father. Glory to his Only Son, Glory now and through all ages To the Spirit Advocate. 𝄞"Brightness of the Father's Glory" by Gabe Bouck, Rebecca Hincke • Available for Purchase [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NTMZS39/ref=dm_ws_tlw_trk1] • Musical Score [https://divineoffice.org/wp-content/uploads/Brightness-of-the-Fathers-glory.pdf] • Title: Brightness of the Father's Glory; Text: Mount Saint Bernard Abbey; Tune: SHARON by William Boyce, 1710-1799; Artists: Gabe Bouck and Rebecca Hincke; (c) 2016 Surgeworks, Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: Hymns and Chants of Divine Office, Vol. 4 PSALMODY Ant. 1 I love you, Lord; you are my strength. Psalm 18 Thanksgiving for salvation and victory At that time there was a violent earthquake (Revelation 11:13). I I love you, Lord, my strength, my rock, my fortress, my savior. My God is the rock where I take refuge; my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold. The Lord is worthy of all praise; when I call I am saved from my foes. The waves of death rose about me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the snares of the grave entangled me; the traps of death confronted me. In my anguish I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. 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 love you, Lord; you are my strength. Ant. 2 The Lord has saved me; he wanted me for his own. II Then the earth reeled and rocked; the mountains were shaken to their base: they reeled at his terrible anger. Smoke came forth from his nostrils and scorching fire from his mouth: coals were set ablaze by its heat. He lowered the heavens and came down, a black cloud under his feet. He came enthroned on the cherubim, he flew on the wings of the wind. He made the darkness his covering, the dark waters of the clouds, his tent. A brightness shone out before him with hailstones and flashes of fire. The Lord thundered in the heavens; the Most High let his voice be heard. He shot his arrows, scattered the foe, flashed his lightnings and put them to flight. The bed of the ocean was revealed; the foundations of the world were laid bare at the thunder of your threat, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your anger. From on high he reached down and seized me; he drew me forth from the mighty waters. He snatched me from my powerful foe, from my enemies whose strength I could not match. They assailed me in the day of my misfortune, but the Lord was my support. He brought me forth into freedom, he saved me because he loved 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. Ant. The Lord has saved me; he wanted me for his own. Ant. 3 Lord, kindle a light for my guidance and scatter my darkness. III He rewarded me because I was just, repaid me, for my hands were clean, for I have kept the way of the Lord and have not fallen away from my God. For his judgments are all before me: I have never neglected his commands. I have always been upright before him; I have kept myself from guilt. He repaid me because I was just and my hands were clean in his eyes. You are loving with those who love you: you show yourself perfect with the perfect. With the sincere you show yourself sincere, but the cunning you outdo in cunning. For you save a humble people but humble the eyes that are proud. You, O Lord, are my lamp, my God who lightens my darkness. With you I can break through any barrier, with my God I can scale any wall. 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, our strength and salvation, put in us the flame of your love and make our love for you grow to a perfect love which reaches to our neighbor. Ant. Lord, kindle a light for my guidance and scatter my darkness. 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. All wondered at the words of grace. — Which came from the mouth of the Lord. READINGS First reading From the book of Sirach 24:1-22 Wisdom in creation and in the history of Israel Wisdom sings her own praises, before her own people she proclaims her glory; In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, in the presence of his hosts she declares her worth: “From the mouth of the Most High I came forth, and mistlike covered the earth. In the highest heavens did I dwell, my throne on a pillar of cloud. The vault of heaven I compassed alone, through the deep abyss I wandered. Over waves of the sea, over all the land, over every people and nation I held sway. Among all these I sought a resting place; in whose inheritance should I abide? “Then the Creator of all gave me his command, and he who formed me chose the spot for my tent, Saying, ‘In Jacob make your dwelling, in Israel your inheritance.’ “Before all ages, in the beginning, he created me, and through all ages I shall not cease to be. In the holy tent I ministered before him, and in Zion I fixed my abode. Thus in the chosen city he has given me rest, in Jerusalem is my domain. I have struck root among the glorious people, in the portion of the Lord, his heritage. “Like a cedar on Lebanon I am raised aloft, like a cypress on Mount Hermon, Like a palm tree in Engedi, like a rosebush in Jericho, Like a fair olive tree in the field, like a plane tree growing beside the water. Like cinnamon, or fragrant balm, or precious myrrh, I give forth perfume; Like galbanum and onycha and sweet spices, like the odor of incense in the holy place. “I spread out my branches like a terebinth, my branches so bright and so graceful. I bud forth delights like the vine, my blossoms become fruit fair and rich. “Come to me, all you that yearn for me, and be filled with my fruits; You will remember me as sweeter than honey, better to have than the honeycomb. He who eats of me will hunger still, he who drinks of me will thirst for more; He who obeys me will not be put to shame, he who serves me will never fail.” All this is true of the book of the Most High’s covenant, the law which Moses commanded us as an inheritance for the community of Jacob. RESPONSORY John 14:6; Sirach 24:9 I am the way, the truth, and the life, — no one can come to the Father except through me. In the beginning before time began, he created me, and through all eternity I shall not cease to be. — No one can come to the Father except through me. Second reading From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop Knowledge of the Father consists in the self-revelation of the Son No one can know the Father apart from God’s Word, that is, unless the Son reveals him, and no one can know the Son unless the Father so wills. Now the Son fulfils the Father’s good pleasure: the Father sends, the Son is sent, and he comes. The Father is beyond our sight and comprehension; but he is known by his Word, who tells us of him who surpasses all telling. In turn, the Father alone has knowledge of his Word. And the Lord has revealed both truths. Therefore, the Son reveals the knowledge of the Father by his revelation of himself. Knowledge of the Father consists in the self-revelation of the Son, for all is revealed through the Word. The Father’s purpose in revealing the Son was to make himself known to us all and so to welcome into eternal rest those who believe in him, establishing them in justice, preserving them from death. To believe in him means to do his will. Through creation itself the Word reveals God the Creator. Through the world he reveals the Lord who made the world. Through all that is fashioned he reveals the craftsman who fashioned it all. Through the Son the Word reveals the Father who begot him as Son. All speak of these things in the same language, but they do not believe them in the same way. Through the law and the prophets the Word revealed himself and his Father in the same way, and though all the people equally heard the message not all equally believed it. Through the Word, made visible and palpable, the Father was revealed, though not all equally believed in him. But all saw the Father in the Son, for the Father of the Son cannot be seen, but the Son of the Father can be seen. The Son performs everything as a ministry to the Father, from beginning to end, and without the Son no one can know God. The way to know the Father is the Son. Knowledge of the Son is in the Father, and is revealed through the Son. For this reason the Lord said: No one knows the Son except the Father; and no one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son has revealed him. The word “revealed” refers not only to the future — as though the Word began to reveal the Father only when he was born of Mary; it refers equally to all time. From the beginning the Son is present to creation, reveals the Father to all, to those the Father chooses, when the Father chooses, and as the Father chooses. So, there is in all and through all one God the Father, one Word and Son, and one Spirit, and one salvation for all who believe in him. RESPONSORY John 1:18; Matthew 11:27 No one has ever seen God; — the only Son, nearest the Father’s heart, has made him known. No one knows the Father except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. — The only Son, nearest the Father’s heart, has made him known. CONCLUDING PRAYER Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. 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.

Jan 15, Invitatory for Thursday of the 1st week of Ordinary Time

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the Lord is our God. Psalm 67 O God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us. So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the Lord is our God. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the Lord is our God. Let the nations be glad and exult for you rule the world with justice. With fairness you rule the peoples, you guide the nations on earth. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the Lord is our God. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the Lord is our God. The earth has yielded its fruit for God, our God, has blessed us. May God still give us his blessing till the ends of the earth revere him. Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, the Lord is our God. 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 Lord is our God.

Jan 15, Office of Readings for Thursday of the 1st week of Ordinary Time

Ribbon Placement: Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III: Ordinary: 651 Proper of Seasons: 65 Psalter: Thursday, Week I, 765 Office of Readings for Thursday in Ordinary Time 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 Be thou my vision, through night and come day Light on me always, thy spirit to stay Thou, eternal father, the great and the last The wise and true sov’reign of all that shall pass. Be thou my wisdom, my staff and my stay, Shine through the darkness, give light to my way! Be thou the true source of all I enjoy So, let carnal pleasures no longer annoy. Be thou my guardian my sword in the fight Be thou my dignity thou my delight Thou my soul’s shelter, and thou my high tow’r Wilt thou raise me heaven ward, o pow’r of my pow’r. Riches I heed not, or man’s empty praise Thou my inheritance, now and always Thou and thou only, still first in my heart The high king of heaven my treasure thou art. High king of heaven, my victory won May I reach heaven’s joys, o bright heaven’s sun! Heart of my own heart, whatever befall Still be thou my vision, o ruler of all. 𝄞"Be Thou My Vision" by Rebecca Hincke • Available for Purchase [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NQ34YZ4/ref=dm_ws_tlw_trk10] • Musical Score [https://divineoffice.org/wp-content/uploads/Be-Thou-My-Vision.pdf] • Title: Be Thou My Vision; Text: from Mark Hamilton Dewey's SSATBB arrangement; Tune: SLANE; Copyright: Public Domain; Artist: Rebecca Hincke; (c) 2017 Surgeworks, Inc. • Albums that contain this Hymn: The Hymns and Chants of Divine Office, Vol. 1 PSALMODY Ant. 1 The word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him. Psalm 18:31-51 Hymn of thanksgiving If God is on our side who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). IV As for God, his ways are perfect; the word of the Lord, purest gold. He indeed is the shield of all who make him their refuge. For who is God but the Lord? Who is a rock but our God? The God who girds me with strength and makes the path safe before me. My feet you made swift as the deer’s; you have made me stand firm on the heights. You have trained my hands for battle and my arms to bend the heavy bow. 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 word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him. Ant. 2 Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord. V You gave me your saving shield; you upheld me, trained me with care. You gave me freedom for my steps; my feet have never slipped. I pursued and overtook my foes, never turning back till they were slain. I smote them so they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You girded me with strength for battle; you made my enemies fall beneath me, you made my foes take flight; those who hated me I destroyed. They cried, but there was no one to save them; they cried to the Lord, but in vain. I crushed them fine as dust before the wind; trod them down like dirt in the streets. You saved me from the feuds of the people and put me at the head of the nations. People unknown to me served me: when they heard of me they obeyed me. Foreign nations came to me cringing: foreign nations faded away. They came trembling out of their strongholds. 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. Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord. Ant. 3 May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever. VI Long life to the Lord, my rock! Praised be the God who saves me, the God who gives me redress and subdues people under me. You saved me from my furious foes. You set me above my assailants. You saved me from violent men, so I will praise you, Lord, among the nations: I will sing a psalm to your name. He has given great victories to his king and shown his love for his anointed, for David and his sons 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. Psalm-prayer Lord God, our strength and salvation, put in us the flame of your love and make our love for you grow to a perfect love which reaches to our neighbor. Ant. May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever. 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. Open my eyes, Lord, that I may see. — The wonders of your law. READINGS First reading From the book of Sirach 42:15 – 43:12 All creation gives praise to God Now will I recall God’s works; what I have seen, I will describe. At God’s word were his works brought into being; they do his will as he has ordained for them. As the rising sun is clear to all, so the glory of the Lord fills all his works; Yet even God’s holy ones must fail in recounting the wonders of the Lord, Though God has given these, his hosts, the strength to stand firm before his glory. He plumbs the depths and penetrates the heart; their innermost being he understands. The Most High possesses all knowledge, and sees from of old the things that are to come: He makes known the past and the future, and reveals the deepest secrets. No understanding does he lack; no single thing escapes him. Perennial is his almighty wisdom; he is from all eternity one and the same, With nothing added, nothing taken away; no need of a counselor for him! How beautiful are all his works! even to the spark and the fleeting vision! The universe lives and abides forever; to meet each need, each creature is preserved. All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has he made in vain, For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor? The clear vault of the sky shines forth like heaven itself, a vision of glory. The orb of the sun, resplendent at its rising: what a wonderful work of the Most High! At noon it seethes the surface of the earth, and who can bear its fiery heat? Like a blazing furnace of solid metal, it sets the mountains aflame with its rays; By its fiery darts the land is consumed; the eyes are dazzled by its light. Great indeed is the Lord who made it, at whose orders it urges on its steeds. The moon, too, that marks the changing times, governing the seasons, their lasting sign, By which we know the feast days and fixed dates, this light-giver which wanes in its course: As its name says, each month it renews itself; how wondrous in this change! The beauty, the glory, of the heavens are the stars that adorn with their sparkling the heights of God, At whose command they keep their place and never relax in their vigils. A weapon against the flood waters stored on high, lighting up the firmament by its brilliance, Behold the rainbow! Then bless its Maker, for majestic indeed is its splendor; It spans the heavens with its glory, this bow bent by the mighty hand of God. RESPONSORY Revelation 4:11; see Esther 13:10-11 You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, — for you created all things, and only through your will they were created and have being. You created everything that is, heaven and earth, and all that the heavens hold within their span; — For you created all things, and only through your will they were created and have being. Second reading From a Discourse Against the Pagans by Saint Athanasius, bishop The Word of the Father gives order, direction and unity to creation By his own wisdom and Word, who is our Lord and Savior Christ, the all-holy Father (whose excellence far exceeds that of any creature), like a skillful steersman guides to safety all creation, regulating and keeping it in being, as he judges right. It is right that creation should exist as he has made it and as we see it happening, because this is his will, which no one would deny. For if the movement of the universe were irrational, and the world rolled on in random fashion, one would be justified in disbelieving what we say. But if the world is founded on reason, wisdom and science, and is filled with orderly beauty, then it must owe its origin and order to none other than the Word of God. He is God, the living and creative God of the universe, the Word of the good God, who is God in his own right. The Word is different from all created things: he is the unique Word belonging only to the good Father. This is the Word that created this whole world and enlightens it by his loving wisdom. He who is the good Word of the good Father produced the order in all creation, joining opposites together, and forming from them one harmonious sound. He is God, one and only-begotten, who proceeds in goodness from the Father as from the fountain of goodness, and gives order, direction and unity to creation. By his eternal Word the Father created all things and implanted a nature in his creatures. He did not want to see them tossed about at the mercy of their own natures, and so be reduced to nothingness. But in his goodness he governs and sustains the whole of nature by his Word (who is himself also God), so that under the guidance, providence and ordering of that Word, the whole of nature might remain stable and coherent in his light. Nature was to share in the Father’s Word, whose reality is true, and be helped by him to exist, for without him it would cease to be. For unless the Word, who is the very image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, kept it in existence it could not exist. For whatever exists, whether visible or invisible, remains in existence through him and in him, and he is also the head of the Church, as we are taught by the ministers of truth in their sacred writings. The almighty and most holy Word of the Father pervades the whole of reality, everywhere unfolding his power and shining on all things visible and invisible. He sustains it all and binds it together in himself. He leaves nothing devoid of his power but gives life and keeps it in being throughout all of creation and in each individual creature. RESPONSORY See Proverbs 8:22-30 In the beginning, before he made the earth, before he hollowed out the deep, before he touched the waters and made them flow, — before the mountains were settled into place, the Lord created me. When he established the heavens, I was there like a master craftsman working at his side. — Before the mountains were settled into place, the Lord created me. CONCLUDING PRAYER Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. 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.

Jan 16, Invitatory for Friday of the 1st week of Ordinary Time

Lord, open my lips. — And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Ant. Come, let us give thanks to the Lord for his great love is without end. 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 give thanks to the Lord for his great love is without end. 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 give thanks to the Lord for his great love is without end. 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 give thanks to the Lord for his great love is without end. 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 give thanks to the Lord for his great love is without end. 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 give thanks to the Lord for his great love is without end. 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 give thanks to the Lord for his great love is without end.