(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: Our eyes will see the Lord in all his radiant beauty, alleluia.

Psalm 88a (89)
I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;
through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,
that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

"With my chosen one I have made a covenant;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will establish your dynasty for ever
and set up your throne through all ages."

The heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord;
the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.
For who in the skies can compare with the Lord
or who is like the Lord among the children of God?

A God to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and dreadful to all around him.
O Lord God of hosts, who is your equal?
You are mighty, O Lord, and truth is your garment.

It is you who rule the sea in its pride;
it is you who still the surging of its waves.
It is you who trod Rahab underfoot like a corpse,
scattering your foes with your mighty arm.

The heavens are yours, the world is yours.
It is you who founded the earth and all it holds;
it is you who created the North and the South.
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at your name.

Yours is a mighty arm, O Lord;
your hand is strong, your right hand ready.
Justice and right are the pillars of your throne,
love and truth walk in your presence.

Happy the people who acclaim such a God,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,
who find their joy every day in your name,
who make your justice the source of their bliss.

For you, O Lord, are the glory of their strength;
by your favor it is that our might is exalted;
for our ruler is in the keeping of the Lord;
our king in the keeping of the Holy One of Israel.

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

Our eyes will see the Lord in all his radiant beauty, alleluia.

ANT: All people will see the saving power of God, alleluia.

Canticle 55 (Isaiah 33:13-16)
Hear this, you who are far off, what I have done;
you who are near, acknowledge my might.

On Zion sinners are in dread,
trembling grips the impious;
"Who of us can live with the consuming fire?
Who of us can live with the everlasting flames?"

Those who practice virtue and speak honestly,
who spurn what is gained by oppression,
brushing their hands free of contact with a bribe,
stopping their ears lest they hear of bloodshed,
closing their eyes lest they look on evil.

They will dwell on the heights,
their stronghold will be a rocky fortress,
their food and drink in steady supply.

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: All people will see the saving power of God, alleluia.

READING (Romans 6:8-11)
If we have died with Christ, we believe that we are also to live with him. We know that Christ, once raised from the dead, will never die again; death has no more power over him. His death was death to sin, once for all; his life is life for God. In the same way you must consider yourselves dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

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

ANT: Whoever sees the Son and believes in him will live for ever, and shall be raised up on the last day, 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: Whoever sees the Son and believes in him will live for ever, and shall be raised up on the last day, alleluia.

INTERCESSIONS
Christ died for our sins and rose again to make us righteous; let us ask him to save us by his victory.

Make this day holy and our lives right by your Holy Spirit.

Let us look forward to our own resurrection, and ask Jesus to have mercy on us and protect us today from every evil.

May our loved ones who have died share in the eternal joys of your Resurrection.

(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
Merciful Lord, hear the prayers of your people. May we who have received your gift of faith share for ever in the new life of Christ. Grant 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