(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: Lord God, be my refuge and my strength.

Psalm 31 (30)
In you, O Lord, I take refuge.
Let me never be put to shame.
In your justice, set me free,
hear me and speedily rescue me.

Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mighty stronghold to save me,
for you are my rock, my stronghold.
For your name's sake, lead me and guide me.

Release me from the snares they have hidden
for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me, Lord.

O God of truth, you detest those who worship false and empty gods.
As for me, I trust in the Lord;
let me be glad and rejoice in your love.

You who have seen my affliction
and taken heed of my soul's distress,
have not handed me over to the enemy,
but set my feet at large.

Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I am in distress.
Tears have wasted my eyes,
my throat and my heart.

For my life is spent with sor-row
and my years with sighs.
Affliction has broken down my strength
and my bones waste away.

In the face of all my foes
I am a reproach,
an object of scorn to my neighbors
and of fear to my friends.

Those who see me in the street
run far away from me.
I am like the dead, forgotten by all,
like a thing thrown away.

I have heard the slander of the crowd,
fear is all around me,
as they plot together against me,
as they plan to take my life.

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;
I say "You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who hate me.

Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love.
Let me not be put to shame for I call you,
let the wicked be shamed!

Let them be silenced in the grave,
let lying lips be mute,
that speak haughtily against the just
with pride and contempt."

How great is the goodness, Lord,
that you keep for those who fear you,
that you show to those who trust you in the sight of all.

You hide them in the shelter of your presence from human plots;
you keep them safe within your tent from disputing tongues.

Blest be the Lord
who has shown me the wonders of his love in a fortified city.

"I am far removed from your sight"
I said in my alarm.
Yet you heard the voice of my plea
when I cried for help.

Love the Lord, all you saints.
He guards his faithful
but the Lord will repay to the full
those who act with pride.

Be strong, let your heart take courage,
all who hope in the Lord.

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

Lord God, be my refuge and my strength.

ANT: The Lord says: "My people will be filled with my blessings."

Canticle 8 (Jeremiah 8)
O Nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it to the far off coasts:
"He who scattered Israel will gather him
and guard him as a shepherd guards his flock."
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
has saved him from an over-powering hand.

They will come and shout for joy on Mount Zion,
they will stream to the blessings of the Lord,
to the corn, the new wine and the oil,
to the flocks of sheep and the herds.
Their life will be like a watered garden.
They will never be weary again.

Then the young girls will rejoice and will dance,
the men, young and old, will be glad.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console them with gladness in place of grief.
Their priests I will again feed with plenty,
and my people shall be filled with my blessings.

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: The Lord says: "My people will be filled with my blessings."

READING (1 Kings 8:51-53)
We are your people and your inheritance.
thus may your eyes be open to the petition of your servant
and to the petition of your people Israel.
Hear us whenever we call upon you,
because you have set us apart among all the peoples of the earth
of your inheritance.

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

ANT: If you, evil as you are, know how to give what is good,
how much more will your Father in heaven
pour out his gifts on all who pray to him.

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: If you, evil as you are, know how to give what is good,
how much more will your Father in heaven
pour out his gifts on all who pray to him.

INTERCESSIONS

Christ our Lord came among us as the light of the world,
that we might walk in his light, and not in the darkness of death.
Let us praise him and pray that his Word be a lamp to guide us.

God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness,
that we who sin may rise again in Christ.

Let your word be a lamp to guide us,
that we may live the truth and grow daily in your love.

Touch our hearts to seek your friendship today
and to make amends for our sins against you and our neighbor.

[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
Father, without you we can do nothing.
By your Spirit help us to know what is right
and to be eager in doing your will.
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