Mar 22, Office of Readings for Monday of the 5th week of Lent

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1045
Proper of Seasons: 348
Psalter: Monday, Week I, 1102

Office of Readings for Monday of the 5th week of Lent

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.

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe.

Psalm 6
A suffering man cries to God for mercy
I am filled with dismay… Father, save me from this hour (John 12:27).

Lord, do not reprove me in your anger:
punish me not in your rage.
Have mercy on me, Lord, I have no strength;
Lord, heal me, my body is racked;
my soul is racked with pain.

But you, O Lord… how long?
Return, Lord, rescue my soul.
Save me in your merciful love,
for in death no one remembers you;
from the grave, who can give you praise?

I am exhausted with my groaning;
every night I drench my pillow with tears;
I bedew my bed with weeping.
My eye wastes away with grief;
I have grown old surrounded by my foes.

Leave me, all who do evil;
for the Lord has heard my weeping.
The Lord has heard my plea;
The Lord will accept my prayer.
All my foes will retire in confusion,
foiled and suddenly confounded.

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

Lord God, you love mercy and tenderness; you give life and overcome death. Look upon the many wounds of your church; restore it to health by your risen Son, so that it may sing a new song in your praise.

Ant. Show me your mercy, Lord, and keep me safe.

Ant. 2 The poor are not alone in their distress; God is there to help them.

Psalm 9A
Thanksgiving for victory
You will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad,
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.

See how my enemies turn back,
how they stumble and perish before you.
You upheld the justice of my cause;
you sat enthroned, judging with justice.

You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked;
you have wiped out their name for ever and ever.
The foe is destroyed, eternally ruined.
You uprooted their cities: their memory has perished.

But the Lord sits enthroned for ever.
He has set up his throne for judgment;
he will judge the world with justice,
he will judge the people with his truth.

For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,
a stronghold in times of distress.
Those who know your name will trust you:
you will never forsake those who seek you.

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. The poor are not alone in their distress; God is there to help them.

Ant. 3 I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather.

II

Sing psalms to the Lord who dwells in Zion.
Proclaim his mighty works among the peoples;
for the Avenger of blood has remembered them,
has not forgotten the cry of the poor.

Have pity on me, Lord, see my sufferings,
you who save me from the gates of death;
that I may recount all your praise
at the gates of the city of Zion
and rejoice in your saving help.

The nations have fallen in the pit which they made,
their feet caught in the snare they laid.
The Lord has revealed himself, and given judgment.
The wicked are snared in the works of their own hands.

Let the wicked go down among the dead,
all the nations forgetful of God.
For the needy shall not always be forgotten
nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.

Arise, Lord, let men not prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
Lord, strike them with terror,
let the nations know they are but men.

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

Lord God, when you judge, do not be deaf to the shouts of the poor; bring havoc to the madness of oppressors. Look at our wounds and save us from the gates of death, so that we may always rejoice in your help and speak your praise in the gates of Zion.

Ant. I will be the herald of your praises, Lord, where the people of Zion gather.

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.

Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
— The kingdom of God is at hand.

READINGS

First reading
From the letter to the Hebrews
2:5-18
Jesus, the author of salvation, has become like us in every way

God did not make the world to come—that world of which we speak—subject to angels. Somewhere this is testified to, in the passage that says:

“What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor,
and put all things under his feet.”

In subjecting all things to him, God left nothing unsubjected. At present we do not see all things thus subject, but we do see Jesus crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death: Jesus, who was made for a little while lower than the angels, that through God’s gracious will he might taste death for the sake of all men.

Indeed, it was fitting that when bringing many sons to glory God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make their leader in the work of salvation perfect through suffering. He who consecrates and those who are consecrated have one and the same Father. Therefore he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

“I will announce your name to my brothers,

I will sing your praise in the midst of the assembly”;
and,
“I will put my trust in him”;
and again,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me!”

Now, since the children are men of blood and flesh, Jesus likewise had a full share in ours, that by his death he might rob the devil, the prince of death, of his power, and free those who through fear of death had been slaves their whole life long. Surely he did not come to help angels, but rather the children of Abraham; therefore he had to become like his brothers in every way, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest before God on their behalf, to expiate the sins of the people. Since he was himself tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are tempted.

RESPONSORY Hebrews 2:11, 17; Baruch 3:38

Christ who sanctifies men, and the men who are sanctified, are of the same stock. He had to become like his brothers in every respect,
— in order to be their compassionate and faithful high priest.

God was seen on earth, he lived among men.
— In order to be their compassionate and faithful high priest.

Second reading
From the commentary on the psalms by Saint John Fisher, bishop and martyr
If anyone has sinned, we have an advocate with the Father

Our high priest is Christ Jesus, our sacrifice is his precious body which he immolated on the altar of the cross for the salvation of all men.

The blood that was poured out for our redemption was not that of goats and calves (as in the old law) but that of the most innocent lamb, Christ Jesus our Savior.

The temple in which our high priest offered sacrifice was not one made by hands but built by the power of God alone. For he shed his blood in the sight of the world, a temple fashioned by the hand of God alone.

This temple, however, has two parts. The first is the earth, which we now inhabit. The second is as yet unknown to us mortals.

Christ first offered sacrifice here on earth, when he underwent his most bitter death. Then, clothed in the new garment of immortality, with his own blood he entered into the holy of holies, that is, into heaven. There he also displayed before the throne of the heavenly Father that blood of immeasurable price which he had poured out seven times on behalf of all men subject to sin.

This sacrifice is so pleasing and acceptable to God that as soon as he has seen it he must immediately have pity on us and extend clemency to all who are truly repentant.

Moreover, it is eternal. It is offered not only each year (as with the Jews) but also each day for our consolation, and indeed at every hour and moment as well, so that we may have the strongest reason for comfort. That is why the Apostle adds: He has secured an eternal redemption.

All who have embarked on true contrition and penance for the sins they have committed, and are firmly resolved not to commit sins again for the future but to persevere constantly in that pursuit of virtues which they have now begun, all these become sharers in this holy and eternal sacrifice.

Saint John sets this before us in these words: My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for those of the whole world.

RESPONSORY Romans 5:10, 8, 9

If, when we were his enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
— now that we are his friends we can be even more sure that we shall be saved by the life of his Son.

When we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
— Now that we are his friends we can be even more sure that we shall be saved by the life of his Son.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
by whose wondrous grace
we are enriched with every blessing,
grant us so to pass from former ways to newness of life,
that we may be made ready for the glory of the heavenly Kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

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