Morning Prayer of the Church.

In the name of the Father…………..

O God, come to our aid.

    O Lord, make haste to help us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

    and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

    is now, and ever shall be,

    world without end.

Amen.

Hymn

The Father’s glory, Christ our light,

With love and mercy comes to span

The vast abyss of sin between

The God of holiness and man.

Christ yesterday and Christ today

For all eternity the same,

The image of our hidden God;

Eternal Wisdom is his name.

He keeps his word from age to age,

Is with us to the end of days,

A cloud by day, a flame by night,

To go before us on his ways.

We bless you, Father, fount of light,

And Christ, your well-beloved Son,

Who with the Spirit dwell in us:

Immortal Trinity in One.

Psalm 56 (57)

Awake, lyre and harp: I will awaken the dawn.

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy

    for in you my soul has taken refuge.

In the shadow of your wings I take refuge

    till the storms of destruction pass by.

I call to God the Most High,

    to God who has always been my help.

May he send from heaven and save me

    and shame those who assail me.

May God send his truth and his love.

My soul lies down among lions,

    who would devour the sons of men.

Their teeth are spears and arrows,

    their tongue a sharpened sword.

O God, arise above the heavens;

    may your glory shine on earth!

They laid a snare for my steps,

    my soul was bowed down.

They dug a pit in my path

    but fell in it themselves.

My heart is ready, O God,

    my heart is ready.

I will sing, I will sing your praise.

    Awake, my soul,

awake, lyre and harp,

    I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,

    among the nations I will praise you

for your love reaches to the heavens

    and your truth to the skies.

O God, arise above the heavens;

    may your glory shine on earth!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

    and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

    is now, and ever shall be,

    world without end.

Amen.

Awake, lyre and harp: I will awaken the dawn.

Canticle – Jeremiah 31

Thus says the Lord: my people shall be filled with my good things.

O nations, hear the word of the Lord,

    proclaim it to the far-off coasts.

Say: ‘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 overpowering hand.

They will come and shout for joy on Mount Sion,

    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, give gladness for grief.

The 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 ever shall be,

    world without end.

Amen.

Thus says the Lord: my people shall be filled with my good things.

Psalm 47 (48)

The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.

The Lord is great and worthy to be praised

    in the city of our God.

His holy mountain rises in beauty,

    the joy of all the earth.

Mount Sion, true pole of the earth,

    the Great King’s city!

God, in the midst of its citadels,

    has shown himself its stronghold.

For the kings assembled together,

    together they advanced.

They saw; at once they were astounded;

    dismayed, they fled in fear.

A trembling seized them there,

    like the pangs of birth.

By the east wind you have destroyed

    the ships of Tarshish.

As we have heard, so we have seen

    in the city of our God,

in the city of the Lord of hosts

    which God upholds for ever.

O God, we ponder your love

    within your temple.

Your praise, O God, like your name

    reaches the ends of the earth.

With justice your right hand is filled.

    Mount Sion rejoices;

the people of Judah rejoice

    at the sight of your judgements.

Walk through Sion, walk all round it;

    count the number of its towers.

Review all its ramparts,

    examine its castles,

that you may tell the next generation

    that such is our God,

our God for ever and always.

    It is he who leads us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son

    and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning,

    is now, and ever shall be,

    world without end.

Amen.

The Lord is great and worthy to be praised in the city of our God.

Scripture Reading Isaiah 66:1-2

Thus says the Lord:

With heaven my throne

and earth my footstool,

what house could you build me,

what place could you make for my rest?

All of this was made by my hand

and all this is mine – it is the Lord who speaks.

But my eyes are drawn to the man

of humbled and contrite spirit,

who trembles at my word.

Short Responsory

I called with all my heart: Lord, hear me.

– I called with all my heart: Lord, hear me.

I will keep your commandments.

– I called with all my heart: Lord, hear me.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

– I called with all my heart: Lord, hear me.

Canticle – Benedictus

Let us serve the Lord in holiness, and he will deliver us from the hands of our enemies.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel!

    He has visited his people and redeemed them.

He has raised up for us a mighty saviour

    in the house of David his servant,

as he promised by the lips of holy men,

    those who were his prophets from of old.

A saviour who would free us from our foes,

    from the hands of all who hate us.

So his love for our fathers is fulfilled

    and his holy covenant remembered.

He swore to Abraham our father to grant us,

    that free from fear, and saved from the hands of our foes,

we might serve him in holiness and justice

    all the days of our life in his presence.

As for you, little child,

    you shall be called a prophet of God, the Most High.

You shall go ahead of the Lord

    to prepare his ways before him,

To make known to his people their salvation

    through forgiveness of all their sins,

the loving-kindness of the heart of our God

    who visits us like the dawn from on high.

He will give light to those in darkness,

    those who dwell in the shadow of death,

    and guide us 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 ever shall be,

    world without end.

Amen.

Let us serve the Lord in holiness, and he will deliver us from the hands of our enemies.

Prayers and intercessions

Let us begin this new day with Christ, thanking him for all he has brought to us, and asking him to bless us.

– Lord, accept and bless our work today.

You offered yourself to the Father on our behalf:

    join our offering with yours.

– Lord, accept and bless our work today.

You are gentle and humble of heart:

    teach us to receive others as you did.

– Lord, accept and bless our work today.

As each day begins, may your light rise in our hearts;

    may it shine forth in charity to the world.

– Lord, accept and bless our work today.

Show your mercy to those who are sick:

    may each new day increase their trust in you.

– Lord, accept and bless our work today.

________

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.

Almighty, ever-living God, we make our prayer to you at morning, noon and evening:

dispel from our hearts the darkness of sin, and bring us to the true light, Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

The Lord bless us, and keep us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

    Amen.