Jan 02, Midmorning Prayer for Thursday of the 1st week of Christmas

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

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 658
Proper of Seasons: 530 (reading, concluding prayer)
Complementary Psalter: 1191 (Series I, Midmorning)

Midmorning Prayer for Thursday before Epiphany, 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

Father, Lord of earth and heaven,
King to whom all gifts belong,
Give your greatest Gift, your Spirit,
God the holy, God the strong.

Son of God, enthroned in glory,
Send your promised Gift of grace,
Make your Church your holy Temple,
God the Spirit’s dwelling place.

Spirit, come, in peace descending
As at Jordan, heav’nly Dove,
Seal your Church as God’s anointed,
Set our hearts on fire with love.

Stay among us, God the Father,
Stay among us, God the Son,
Stay among us, Holy Spirit:
Dwell within us, make us one.

𝄞	"Father Lord of Earth and Heaven" by Erika Provinzano • Title: Father Lord of Earth and Heaven; Text: James Quinn, S.J.; Music: S. P. Waddington; Artist: Erika Provinzano; Used with permission from Erika Provinzano.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph were filled with wonder at all that was said of the child.

Psalm 120
Longing for peace
Be patient in suffering, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12)

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.

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.

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. Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph were filled with wonder at all that was said of the child.

READING Ezekiel 20:41-42a

As a pleasing odor I will accept you, when I have brought you from among the nations and gathered you out of the countries over which you were scattered; and by means of you I will manifest my holiness in the sight of the nations. Thus you shall know that I am the Lord.

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.

The Lord has remembered his gracious promise, alleluia.
— He has kept faith with his people, Israel, alleluia.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God, who by the Nativity of your Only Begotten Son
wondrously began for your people the work of redemption,
grant, we pray, to your servants such firmness of faith,
that by his guidance they may attain the glorious prize you have promised.
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 (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.