O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 23 (24)
Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.
– Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all who live in it.
He himself founded it upon the seas
and set it firm over the waters.
– Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.
Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord
and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
– Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of might and power.
The Lord, strong in battle.
– Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of hosts
– he is the king of glory.
– Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.
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.
– Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.
Hymn
Hail, day! whereon the One in Three
First formed the earth by sure decree,
The day its Maker rose again,
And vanquished death, and burst our chain.
Away with sleep and slothful ease!
We raise our hearts and bend our knees,
And early seek the Lord of all,
Obedient to the Prophet’s call:
That he may hearken to our prayer,
Stretch forth his strong right arm to spare,
And, every past offense forgiven,
Restore us to our home in heaven.
Assembled here this holy day,
This holiest hour we raise the lay;
And, O, that he to whom we sing,
May now reward our offering!
Most Holy Father, hear our cry,
Through Jesus Christ our Lord most High
Who, with the Holy Ghost and thee
Doth live and reign eternally.
The two paths
Psalm 1
The cross of the Lord is the tree of life for us.
Blessed the man who does not follow the counsels of the wicked,
or stand in the paths that sinners use,
or sit in the gatherings of those who mock:
his delight is the law of the Lord,
he ponders his law day and night.
He is like a tree planted by flowing waters,
that will give its fruit in due time,
whose leaves will not fade.
All that he does will prosper.
Not thus are the wicked, not thus.
They are like the dust blown by the wind.
At the time of judgement the wicked will not stand,
nor sinners in the council of the just.
For the Lord knows the path of the just;
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
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 cross of the Lord is the tree of life for us.
Psalm 2
The Messiah, king and victor
I have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain.
Why are the nations in a ferment?
Why do the people make their vain plans?
The kings of the earth have risen up;
the leaders have united against the Lord,
against his anointed.
“Let us break their chains, that bind us;
let us throw off their yoke from our shoulders!”
The Lord laughs at them,
he who lives in the heavens derides them.
Then he speaks to them in his anger;
in his fury he throws them into confusion:
“But I – I have set up my king on Zion,
my holy mountain.”
I will proclaim the Lord’s decrees.
The Lord has said to me: “You are my son: today I have begotten you.
Ask me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance,
the ends of the earth for you to possess.
You will rule them with a rod of iron,
break them in pieces like an earthen pot.”
So now, kings, listen: understand, you who rule the land.
Serve the Lord in fear, tremble even as you praise him.
Learn his teaching, lest he take anger,
lest you perish when his anger bursts into flame.
Blessed are all who put their trust in the Lord.
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.
I have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain.
Psalm 3
The Lord is my protector
O my God, you have come to my help.
Lord, how many they are, my attackers!
So many rise up against me, so many of them say:
“He can hope for no help from the Lord.”
But you, Lord, are my protector, my glory:
you raise up my head.
I called to the Lord,
and from his holy mountain he heard my voice.
I fell asleep, and slept;
but I rose, for the Lord raised me up.
I will not fear when the people surround me in their thousands.
Rise up, O Lord;
bring me to safety, my God.
Those who attacked me – you struck them on the jaw,
you shattered their teeth.
Salvation comes from the Lord:
Lord, your blessing is upon your people.
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.
O my God, you have come to my help.
May the word of the Lord find a true home in you.
– Teach and advise one another in all wisdom.
Reading 1
Samuel 28:3-25
Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him at Ramah, his own town. Saul had expelled the necromancers and wizards from the country.
Meanwhile the Philistines had mustered and pitched camp at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the Philistine camp he was afraid and there was a great trembling in his heart. Saul consulted the Lord, but the Lord gave him no answer, either by dream or oracle or prophet. ‘Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Find a woman who is a necromancer for me to go and consult her.’ His servants replied, There is a necromancer at En-dor.’
And so Saul, disguising himself and changing his clothes, set out accompanied by two men; their visit to the woman took place at night. ‘Disclose the future to me’ he said ‘by means of a ghost. Conjure up the one I shall name to you.’ The woman answered, ‘Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has swept the necromancers and wizards out of the country; why are you setting a trap for my life, then, to have me killed?’ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, ‘As the Lord lives,’ he said ‘no blame shall attach to you for this business.’ Then the woman asked, ‘Whom shall I conjure up for you?’ He replied, ‘Conjure up Samuel.’
Then the woman saw Samuel and, giving a great cry, she said to Saul, ‘Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.’ The king said, ‘Do not be afraid! What do you see?’ The woman answered Saul, ‘I see a ghost rising up from the earth.’ ‘What is he like?’ he asked. She answered, ‘It is an old man coming up; he is wrapped in a cloak.’ Then Saul knew it was Samuel and he bowed down his face to the ground and did homage.
Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed my rest, conjuring me up?’ Saul replied, ‘I am in great distress; the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has abandoned me and no longer answers me either by prophet or dream; and so I have summoned you to tell me what I must do.’ Samuel said, ‘And why do you consult me, when the Lord has abandoned you and is with your neighbour?” the Lord has done to you as he foretold through me; he has snatched the sovereignty from your hand and given it to your neighbour, David, because you disobeyed the voice of the Lord and did not execute his fierce anger against Amalek. That is why the Lord treats you like this now. What is more, the Lord will deliver Israel and you, too, into the power of the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me; and Israel’s army, too, for the Lord will deliver it into the power of the Philistines.’
Saul was overcome and fell full-length on the ground. He was terrified by what Samuel had said and, besides this, he was weakened by having eaten nothing at all that day and all that night. The woman then came to Saul, and seeing his terror said, ‘Look, your servant has obeyed your voice; I have taken my life in my hands, and have obeyed the command you gave me. So now you in your turn listen to what your servant says. Let me set a little food before you for you to eat and get some strength for your journey.’ But he refused. ‘I will not eat’ he said. His servants however pressed him, and so did the woman. Allowing himself to be persuaded by them, he rose from the ground and sat on the divan. The woman owned a fattened calf which she quickly slaughtered, and she took some flour and kneaded it and with it baked cakes of unleavened bread; she put these before Saul and his servants; and after they had eaten they set off and left the same night.
Responsory
Saul paid with his life for his unfaithfulness: he disobeyed the word of the Lord, who therefore transferred the kingdom to David.
He resorted to ghosts for guidance and did not seek guidance from the Lord, who therefore transferred the kingdom to David.
Reading
From a homily by Pope Paul VI
We proclaim Christ to the whole world
Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead.
All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfilment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity.
I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother.
He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers.
The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it. He is the mediator – the bridge, if you will – between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body.
Remember: it is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and re-echo for all time even to the ends of the earth.
Responsory
Our Saviour Jesus Christ has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, and out of his full store we have all received grace upon grace.
The whole universe has been created through him and for him. He exists before everything, and all things are held together in him, and out of his full store we have all received grace upon grace.
Hymn
Te Deum
God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you!
You, the Father, the eternal –
all the earth venerates you.
All the angels, all the heavens, every power –
The cherubim, the seraphim –
unceasingly, they cry:
“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts:
heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!”
The glorious choir of Apostles –
The noble ranks of prophets –
The shining army of martyrs –
all praise you.
Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you.
– Father of immeasurable majesty,
– True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship,
– Holy Spirit, our Advocate.
You, Christ:
– You are the king of glory.
– You are the Father’s eternal Son.
– You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb.
– You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you.
– You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father.
– You will come, so we believe, as our Judge.
And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood.
Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory.
The final part of the hymn may be omitted:
Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance.
Rule them and lift them high for ever.
Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever.
Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today.
Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you.
In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame.
O God, by your grace you adopted us and chose us to be children of light.
Grant that we may not become entangled in error and shadow
but always shine with the glory of truth.
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.
