(Make the sign of the cross with your right thumb on your lips, saying:)

Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

INVITATORY: The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life, alleluia.

Psalm 119S (118)
I call with all my heart, Lord, hear me,
I will keep your statutes.
I call upon you, save me
and I will do your will.

I rise before dawn and cry for help,
I hope in your word.
My eyes watch through the night
to ponder your promise.

In your love hear my voice, O Lord;
give me life by your decrees.
Those who harm me unjustly draw near;
they are far from your law.

But you, O Lord, are close,
your commands are truth.
Long have I known that your will is established for ever.

Glory be 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

The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life, alleluia.

ANT: I am the way, the truth and the life, alleluia.

Canticle 52 (Jeremiah 14:17-21)
Let my eyes stream with tears
day and night unceasingly.
A crushing blow, a most grievous injury,
has fallen on the virgin daughter of my people.

If I walk out into the field,
look, those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city,
look, those consumed by hunger.

Even the prophet and the priest
forage in a land they know not.
Have you cast Judah off completely?
Is Zion loathsome to you?

Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.

We recognize, O Lord, our wickedness,
the guilt of our fathers;
that we have sinned against you.
For your name's sake spurn us not,
disgrace not the throne of your glory;
remember your covenant with us, and break it not.

Glory be 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 am the way, the truth and the life, alleluia.

READING (Romans 14:7-9)
None of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master. While we live we are responsible to the Lord, and when we die we die as his servants. Both in life and death we are the Lord's. That is why Christ died and came to life again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

[Reflect on the Reading, applying it to your life today.]

ANT: Simon Peter said: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and are convinced that you are the Christ, the Son of God, alleluia.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH (Luke 1:68-79)
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 be 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: Simon Peter said: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and are convinced that you are the Christ, the Son of God, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS
Eternal shepherd feed us with the word of life and the bread from heaven.

You are present to all who preach your Gospel; make us today preachers of your resurrection by our holiness of life.

Keep us safe from all who preach false teachings; make us faithful in listening to your voice alone.

Let us be joyful in your presence with us and reject the sins of the world with its sadness and destruction.

(Pray for your special intentions.)

OUR FATHER
And now we pray to God the Father in the words that Jesus taught 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.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen

PRAYER
God our Father, look upon us with love. You redeem us and make us your children in Christ. Give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance you promised. 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