Dec 20, Office of Readings for Saturday of the 3rd week of Advent

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 649
Proper of Seasons: 343
Psalter: Saturday, Week III, 1030

Office of Readings for December 20, Saturday in the 3rd Week of Advent

God, come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory 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. Alleluia.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Let us praise the Lord for his mercy and for the wonderful things he has done for men.

Psalm 107
Thanksgiving for deliverance
This is God’s message to the sons of Israel; the good news of peace proclaimed through Jesus Christ (Acts 10:36).

I

“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;
for his love endures for ever.”

Let them say this, the Lord’s redeemed,
whom he redeemed from the hand of the foe
and gathered from far-off lands,
from east and west, north and south.

Some wandered in the desert, in the wilderness,
finding no way to a city they could dwell in.
Hungry they were and thirsty;
their soul was fainting within them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress
and he led them along the right way,
to reach a city they could dwell in.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men:
for he satisfies the thirsty soul;
he fills the hungry with good things.

Some lay in darkness and in gloom,
prisoners in misery and chains,
having defied the words of God
and spurned the counsels of the Most High.
He crushed their spirit with toil;
they stumbled; there was no one to help.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
He led them forth from darkness and gloom
and broke their chains to pieces.

Let them thank the Lord for his goodness,
for the wonders he does for men:
for he bursts the gates of bronze
and shatters the iron bars.

Glory 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. Let us praise the Lord for his mercy and for the wonderful things he has done for men.

Ant. 2 Men have seen the works of God, the marvels he has done.

II

Some were sick on account of their sins
and afflicted on account of their guilt.
They had a loathing for every food;
they came close to the gates of death.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.
He sent forth his word to heal them
and saved their life from the grave.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men.
Let them offer a sacrifice of thanks
and tell of his deeds with rejoicing.

Some sailed to the sea in ships
to trade on the mighty waters.
These men have seen the Lord’s deeds,
the wonders he does in the deep.

For he spoke; he summoned the gale,
raising up the waves of the sea.
Tossed up to heaven, then into the deep;
their soul melted away in their distress.

They staggered, reeled like drunken men,
for all their skill was gone.
Then they cried to the Lord in their need
and he rescued them from their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper:
all the waves of the sea were hushed.
They rejoiced because of the calm
and he led them to the haven they desired.

Let them thank the Lord for his love,
for the wonders he does for men.
Let them exalt him in the gathering of the people
and praise him in the meeting of the elders.

Glory 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. Men have seen the works of God, the marvels he has done.

Ant. 3 Those who love the Lord will see and rejoice; they will understand his loving kindness.

III

He changes streams into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
fruitful land into a salty waste,
for the wickedness of those who live there.

But he changes desert into streams,
thirsty ground into springs of water.
There he settles the hungry
and they build a city to dwell in.

They sow fields and plant their vines;
these yield crops for the harvest.
He blesses them; they grow in numbers.
He does not let their herds decrease.

He pours contempt upon princes,
makes them wander in trackless wastes.
They diminish, are reduced to nothing
by oppression, evil and sorrow.

But he raises the needy from distress;
makes families numerous as a flock.
The upright see it and rejoice
but all who do wrong are silenced.

Whoever is wise, let him heed these things
and consider the love of the Lord.

Glory 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.

Psalm-prayer

You fill the hungry with good things, Lord God, and break the sinner’s chains. Hear your people who call to you in their need and lead your Church from the shadows of death. Gather us from sunrise to sunset that we may grow together in faith and love and give lasting thanks for your kindness.

Ant. Those who love the Lord will see and rejoice; they will understand his loving kindness.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

A voice is heard, crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord.
— Make straight the path of our God.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Isaiah
48:1-11
God alone is the Lord of the future

Hear this, O house of Jacob
called by the name Israel,
sprung from the stock of Judah,
You who swear by the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel
without sincerity or justice,
Though you are named after the holy city
and rely on the God of Israel,
whose name is the Lord of hosts.

Things of the past I foretold long ago,
they went forth from my mouth,
I let you hear of them;
then suddenly I took action
and they came to be.
Because I know that you are stubborn
and that your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead bronze,
I foretold them to you of old;
before they took place I let you hear of them,
That you might not say, “My idol did them,
my statue, my molten image commanded them.”
Now that you have heard, look at all this;
must you not admit it?

From now on I announce new things to you,
hidden events of which you knew not.
Now, not long ago, they are brought into being,
and beforetime you did not hear of them,
so that you cannot claim to have known them;
You neither heard nor knew,
they did not reach your ears beforehand.
Yes, I know you are utterly treacherous,
a rebel you were called from birth.

For the sake of my name I restrain my anger,
for the sake of my renown I hold it back from you,
lest I should destroy you.
See, I have refined you like silver,
tested you in the furnace of affliction.
For my sake, for my own sake, I do this;
why should I suffer profanation?
My glory I will not give to another.

RESPONSORY Isaiah 48:10, 11; 54:8

I have tried you in the furnace of distress.
For me, for my own sake, I do this, that I be not blasphemed.
— I will not give my glory to another.

In a moment of indignation I hid my face from you for a little while,
then suddenly I took action and they came to be;
but in my everlasting mercy I had compassion on you.
— I will not give my glory to another.

Second reading
From a homily In Praise of the Virgin Mother by Saint Bernard, abbot
The whole world awaits Mary’s reply

You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.

The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.

Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.

Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.

Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word.

RESPONSORY See Luke 1:31,42

Receive, O Virgin Mary, the word
which the Lord has made known to you by the message of the angel:
You will conceive and give birth to a son, both God and man,
— and you will be called blessed among women.

A virgin, you will indeed bear a son;
ever chaste and holy, you will be the mother of our Savior.
— And you will be called blessed among women.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
eternal majesty, whose ineffable Word
the immaculate Virgin received
through the message of an Angel,
and so became the dwelling-place of divinity,
filled with the light of the Holy Spirit,
grant, we pray, that by her example,
we may in humility hold fast to your will.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.