WEEK C
O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: Be joyful in God, all you lands;*
Sing the glory of his name!
Opening – From Psalms 66 and 92
All the earth bows down before you,*
sings to you, sings out your name.
Bless our God, you peoples;*
make the voice of his praise to be heard.
It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,*
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning*
and of your faithfulness in the night season.
Glory to the Father…
Psalm 107:1-32
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,*
and his mercy endures for ever.
Let all those whom the Lord has redeemed proclaim*
that he redeemed them from the hand of the foe.
He gathered them out of the lands;*
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Some wandered in desert wastes;*
they found no way to a city where they might dwell.
They were hungry and thirsty;*
their spirits languished within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
He put their feet on a straight path*
to go to a city where they might dwell.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
For he satisfies the thirsty*
and fills the hungry with good things.
Some sat in darkness and deep gloom,*
bound fast in misery and iron;
Because they rebelled against the words of God*
and despised the counsel of the Most High.
So he humbled their spirits with hard labour;*
they stumbled, and there was none to help.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them out of darkness and deep gloom*
and broke their bonds asunder.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
For he shatters the doors of bronze*
and breaks in two the iron bars.
Some were fools and took to rebellious ways;*
they were afflicted because of their sins.
They abhorred all manner of food*
and drew near to death’s door.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
He sent forth his word and healed them*
and saved them from the grave.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
Let them offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving*
and tell of his acts with shouts of joy.
Some went down to the sea in ships*
and plied their trade in deep waters;
They beheld the works of the Lord*
and his wonders in the deep.
Then he spoke, and a stormy wind arose,*
which tossed high the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to the heavens and fell back to the depths;*
their hearts melted because of their peril.
They reeled and staggered like drunkards*
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,*
and he delivered them from their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper*
and quieted the waves of the sea.
Then were they glad because of the calm,*
and he brought them to the harbour they were bound for.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy*
and the wonders he does for his children.
Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people*
and praise him in the council of the elders.
Glory to the Father . . .
Conclusion (from Isaiah 12)
Behold God is my salvation;*
I will trust and not be afraid;
the Lord God is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water*
from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name;*
make known his deeds among the nations.
Sing to the Lord for he has done gloriously;*
let this be known in all the earth.
Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Sion,*
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Be joyful in God, all you lands;*
Sing the glory of his name!
READINGS
Genesis 16.15-17.14
Hagar bore Abram a son; and Abram named his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.’ Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, ‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.’
God said to Abraham, ‘As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.’
Hebrews 10.1-10
Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who approach. Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since the worshippers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sin? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt-offerings and sin-offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, “See, God, I have come to do your will, O God”
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).’
When he said above, ‘You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt-offerings and sin-offerings’ (these are offered according to the law), then he added, ‘See, I have come to do your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Silence
Response (Ps. 63:4)
V. I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
R. I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
V. And lift up my hands in your name.
R. As long as I live.
V. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: God has come to us * and set us free
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,*
for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,*
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 that hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our forebears,*
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 all 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.
Benedictus Antiphon: God has come to us * and set us free
PRAYERS
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
Collects
Almighty God, by grace alone you call us and accept us in your service. Strengthen us by your Spirit, and make us worthy of your call; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!
The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal. Amen.
