(Make the sign of the cross, saying:)

God, come to my assistance,
Lord, make haste to help me.
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 will guard you, if your way is just.

Psalm 1
Happy indeed are those
who follow not the counsel of the wicked,
nor linger in the way of sinners
nor sit in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponder his law day and night.

They are like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that they do shall prosper.
Not so are the wicked, not so!

For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
When the wicked are judged they shall not stand,
nor find room among those who are just;
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

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 will guard you, if your way is just.

ANT: He is the first-born of all creation:
in every way the primacy is his.

Canticle 23 (Colossians 1:12-20)
Let us give thanks to the Father,
who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness
and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation,
for in him all things were created,
in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.
All things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.

He is the head of the body, the Church;
he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things,
whether on earth or in heaven,
making peace by the blood of his cross.

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: He is the first-born of all creation:
in every way the primacy is his.

READING (Philippians 2:12-15)
Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation.
It is God who, in his good will toward you,
begets in you any measure of desire or achievement.
In everything you do, act without grumbling or arguing;
prove yourselves innocent and straightforward,
children of God without reproach.

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

ANT: As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale,
so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

CANTICLE OF MARY (Lk 1:46-55)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed;
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children 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

ANT: As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale,
so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

INTERCESSIONS
God, our Father, knows all our needs but wants us to first ask for them.
Let us cry out our needs to the Lord.

Teach Christians to help the weak with loving care,
and in serving them to serve your Son.

Gather into your Church those who do not yet believe,
and help them to build it up by good deeds done for love of you.

Help us to turn to you at the end of this day for forgiveness,
and, as you forgive us, reconcile us also with your Church and with one another.

May the dead pass from this world to eternal life
to be with you for ever.

[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
Lord, look upon us and hear our prayer.
By the good works you inspire,
help us to discipline our bodies
and to be renewed in spirit.
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