April 22, 2021 – lauds

monk INVITATORY
The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.
Psalm 95
Come, let us sing to the LORD; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!
Harden not your hearts,
as your forebears did in the wilderness, *
at Meribah, and on that day at Massah,
when they tempted me.
They put me to the test, *
though they had seen my works.
Forty years long I detested that generation and said, *
“This people are wayward in their hearts;
they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my wrath, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
INTRODUCTION
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
HYMN – The Strife is O’er
PSALMODY
Ant. 1. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.
Psalm 87
On the holy mountain stands the city he has founded; *
the LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Glorious things are spoken of you, *
O city of our God.
I count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me; *
behold Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia:
in Zion were they born.
Of Zion it shall be said, “Everyone was born in her, *
and the Most High himself shall sustain her.”
The LORD will record as he enrolls the peoples, *
“These also were born there.”
The singers and the dancers will say, *
“All my fresh springs are in you.”

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.

Psalm Prayer
Lord God, your only Son wept over ancient Jerusalem, soon to be destroyed for its lack of faith. He established the new Jerusalem firmly upon rock and made it the mother of the faithful. Make us rejoice in your Church and grant that all people may be reborn into the freedom of your Spirit.
Ant. 1. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.
Ant. 2. The Lord, the mighty conqueror, will come; he will bring with him the prize of victory.
Canticle: Isaiah 40:10-17
Behold, the Lord God will arrive in strength, and his arm will rule.
Behold, his reward is with him, and his work is before him.

He will pasture his flock like a shepherd.
He will gather together the lambs with his arm, and he will lift them up to his bosom, and he himself will carry the very young.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and who has weighed the heavens with his palm?

Who has suspended the mass of the earth with three fingers,
and who has weighed the mountains on a balance and the hills on a scale?

Who has assisted the Spirit of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor and has revealed things to him?

With whom has he consulted?
And who has instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and guided him to knowledge, and revealed the way of understanding to him?

Behold, the nations are like a drop of water in a bucket, and they are considered as the smallest grain on a balance.

Behold, the islands are like a little dust.

And Lebanon will not be sufficient to start a fire,
and its animals will not be sufficient for a burnt offering.

All the nations in his sight are as if they did not exist,
and they are considered by him as if they were nothingness and emptiness.
Ant. 2. The Lord, the mighty conqueror, will come; he will bring with him the prize of victory.
Ant. 3. Give praise to the Lord our God, bow down before his holy mountain.
Psalm 99
The LORD is King; let the people tremble; *
he is enthroned upon the cherubim;
let the earth shake.
The LORD is great in Zion; *
he is high above all peoples.
Let them confess his Name, which is great and awesome; *
he is the Holy One.
“O mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity; *
you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.”
Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God
and fall down before his footstool; *
he is the Holy One.
Moses and Aaron among his priests,
and Samuel among those who call upon his Name, *
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
He spoke to them out of the pillar of cloud; *
they kept his testimonies and the decree that he gave them.
O LORD our God, you answered them indeed; *
you were a God who forgave them,
yet punished them for their evil deeds.
Proclaim the greatness of the LORD our God
and worship him upon his holy hill; *
for the LORD our God is the Holy One.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
God, you are the source of all holiness. Though no one can see you and live, you give life most generously, and in an even greater way restore it. Sanctify your priests through your life-giving Word, and consecrate your people in his blood until our eyes see your face.
Ant. 3. Give praise to the Lord our God, bow down before his holy mountain.
READING
Romans 8:10-11
God, you are the source of all holiness. Though no one can see you and live, you give life most generously, and in an even greater way restore it. Sanctify your priests through your life-giving Word, and consecrate your people in his blood until our eyes see your face.
Ant. 4. Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes in me will live for ever, alleluia.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Luke 1:68-79
The Messiah and his forerunner.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people;
And hath raised up a mighty salvation for us, in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy Prophets, which have been since the world began;
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us.
To perform the mercy promised to our forefathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
To perform the oath which he swore to our forefather Abraham, that he would give us;
That we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear;
In holiness and righteousness before him, in all the days of our life.
And thou, child shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
To give knowledge of salvation unto his people for the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us;
To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and ever shall be world without end. Amen.
Ant. 4. Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes in me will live for ever, alleluia.
INTERCESSIONS
Let us joyfully cry out in thanks to God the Father whose love guides and nourishes his people:
May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

Most merciful Father, we praise you for your love,
– for you wondrously created us and even more wondrously restored us to grace.
May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

At the beginning of this day fill our hearts with zeal for serving you,
– so that our thoughts and actions may redound to your glory.
May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

Purify our hearts of every evil desire,
– make us intent on doing your will.
May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.

Open our hearts to the needs of all men,
– fill us with brotherly love.
May you be glorified, Lord, for all ages.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(And now let us pray as the Lord told 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
Lord our God, help us to prepare for the coming of Christ your Son.
May he find us waiting, eager in joyful prayer.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen
DISMISSAL
May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.
Advertisement