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 57
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in you;*
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.
I will call upon the Most High God,*
the God who maintains my cause.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will confound those who trample upon me;*
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.
I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people;*
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp sword.
They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low;*
they have dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it themselves.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,*
and your glory over all the earth.
My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed;*
I will sing and make melody.
Wake up, my spirit; awake, lute and harp;*
I myself will waken the dawn.
I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord;*
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens,*
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God,*
and your glory over all the earth.
Glory to the Father . . .
God our help and strength, look with mercy on all who are oppressed in mind, body, or human dignity. Shield and protect them, and give them that wholeness which is your will for all your children. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen
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
Numbers 22.41-23.12
On the next day Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal; and from there he could see part of the people of Israel. Then Balaam said to Balak, ‘Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.’ Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Then Balaam said to Balak, ‘Stay here beside your burnt-offerings while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.’ And he went to a bare height.
Then God met Balaam; and Balaam said to him, ‘I have arranged the seven altars, and have offered a bull and a ram on each altar.’ The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, ‘Return to Balak, and this is what you must say.’ So he returned to Balak, who was standing beside his burnt-offerings with all the officials of Moab. Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
‘Balak has brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:
“Come, curse Jacob for me;
Come, denounce Israel!”
How can I curse whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?
For from the top of the crags I see him,
from the hills I behold him;
Here is a people living alone,
and not reckoning itself among the nations!
Who can count the dust of Jacob,
or number the dust-cloud of Israel?
Let me die the death of the upright,
and let my end be like his!’
Then Balak said to Balaam, ‘What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but now you have done nothing but bless them.’ He answered, ‘Must I not take care to say what the Lord puts into my mouth?’
Romans 7.13-25
Did what is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
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 promised of old* to save us.
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 promised of old* to save us.
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.
