WEEK B
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: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;*
your dominion endures throughout all ages.
Opening – From Psalm 145
I will exalt you, O God my king,*
and bless your name forever and ever.
All your works praise you, O Lord,*
and your faithful servants bless you.
They make known the glory of your kingdom*
and speak of your power;
that the peoples may know of your power*
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
Glory to the Father…
Psalm 135
Hallelujah!
Praise the name of the Lord;*
give praise, you servants of the Lord,
You who stand in the house of the Lord,*
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;*
sing praises to his name, for it is lovely.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself*
and Israel for his own possession.
For I know that the Lord is great,*
and that our Lord is above all gods.
The Lord does whatever pleases him, in heaven and on earth,*
in the seas and all the deeps.
He brings up rain clouds from the ends of the earth;*
he sends out lightning with the rain,
and brings the winds out of his storehouse.
It was he who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,*
the firstborn both of man and beast.
He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,*
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
He overthrew many nations*
and put mighty kings to death:
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, the king of Bashan,*
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He gave their land to be an inheritance,*
an inheritance for Israel his people.
O Lord, your name is everlasting;*
your renown, O Lord, endures from age to age.
For the Lord gives his people justice*
and shows compassion to his servants.
The idols of the heathen are silver and gold,*
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but they cannot speak;*
eyes have they, but they cannot see.
They have ears, but they cannot hear;*
neither is there any breath in their mouth.
Those who make them are like them,*
and so are all who put their trust in them.
Bless the Lord, O house of Israel;*
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord.
Bless the Lord, O house of Levi;*
you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.
Blessed be the Lord out of Zion,*
who dwells in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
Glory to the Father . . .
God of freedom, you brought your people out of slavery with a mighty hand and gave them a law of love and justice. Deliver us from every temptation to be satisfied with false imitations of your will: with talk of peace that masks the face of war, and thanks for plenty that leaves the poor unfed. We pray for the coming of your kingdom, founded in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Conclusion (from Isaiah 40)
The Lord is the everlasting God,*
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
who does not faint nor grow weary,*
whose understanding is unsearchable,
who gives power to the faint,*
increase of strength to those who have no might.
Even youth shall faint and be weary;*
the young shall fall exhausted.
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;*
they shall mount up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary,*
they shall walk and not faint.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;*
your dominion endures throughout all ages.
READINGS
Jeremiah 11.1-14
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not heed the words of this covenant, which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron-smelter, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. Then I answered, ‘So be it, Lord.’
And the Lord said to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of an evil will. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.
And the Lord said to me: Conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old, who refused to heed my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors. Therefore, thus says the Lord, assuredly I am going to bring disaster upon them that they cannot escape; though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they will never save them in the time of their trouble. For your gods have become as many as your towns, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars to shame that you have set up, altars to make offerings to Baal.
As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.
Acts of the Apostles 27.33-44
Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, ‘Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.’ After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. (We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons in the ship.) After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.
In the morning they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, on which they planned to run the ship ashore, if they could. So they cast off the anchors and left them in the sea. At the same time they loosened the ropes that tied the steering-oars; then hoisting the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. But striking a reef, they ran the ship aground; the bow stuck and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none might swim away and escape; but the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land.
Silence
Response (Ps. 86:12)
V. I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
R. I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
V. I will glorify your name for evermore.
R. With all my heart.
V. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: God has raised up for us* a mighty saviour.
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 raised up for us* a mighty saviour.
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, you have taught us through you Son that love fulfils the law. May we love you with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, and may we love our neighbour as ourselves; 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.
