O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 23 (24)
Come, let us worship the Lord, the fountain of wisdom.
– Come, let us worship the Lord, the fountain of wisdom.
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 worship the Lord, the fountain of wisdom.
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 worship the Lord, the fountain of wisdom.
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 worship the Lord, the fountain of wisdom.
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 worship the Lord, the fountain of wisdom.
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 worship the Lord, the fountain of wisdom.
Hymn
Great God of boundless mercy, hear!
Thou Ruler of this earthly sphere;
In substance one, in Persons three,
Dread Trinity in Unity!
Do thou in love accept our lays
Of mingled penitence and praise;
And set our hearts from error free,
More fully to rejoice in thee.
Our reins and hearts in pity heal,
And with thy chastening fires anneal;
Gird thou our loins, each passion quell,
And every harmful lust expel.
Now as our anthems, upward borne,
Awake the silence of the morn,
Enrich us with thy gifts of grace,
From heaven, thy blissful dwelling place!
Hear thou our prayer, almighty King;
Hear thou our praises, while we sing,
Adoring with the heavenly host
The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
A paschal hymn
Psalm 135 (136)
The Lord alone has wrought marvellous works, for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his love is for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his love is for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his love is for ever.
He alone works wonders,
for his love is for ever.
In his wisdom he made the heavens,
for his love is for ever.
He set the Earth upon the waters,
for his love is for ever.
He created the great lights,
for his love is for ever.
The sun, to rule over the day,
for his love is for ever.
The moon and stars, to rule over the night,
for his love is for ever.
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 alone has wrought marvellous works, for his love endures for ever.
Psalm 135 (136)
He brought Israel out from Egypt, with arm outstretched, with power in his hand.
He struck down the first-born of Egypt,
for his love is for ever.
He led Israel out from their midst,
for his love is for ever.
With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his love is for ever.
He divided the Red Sea in two,
for his love is for ever.
He led Israel out through the sea,
for his love is for ever.
He overthrew Pharaoh and his army,
for his love is for ever.
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.
He brought Israel out from Egypt, with arm outstretched, with power in his hand.
Psalm 135 (136)
To the Lord of heaven give thanks: he set us free from our foes.
He led his people through the wilderness,
for his love is for ever.
He struck down great kings,
for his love is for ever.
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his love is for ever.
And Og, the king of Bashan,
for his love is for ever.
He gave their land to his people,
for his love is for ever.
A heritage for Israel his servant,
for his love is for ever.
He remembered us in our affliction,
for his love is for ever.
He rescued us from our enemies,
for his love is for ever.
He gives food to all creatures that live,
for his love is for ever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his love is for ever.
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.
To the Lord of heaven give thanks: he set us free from our foes.
Lord, show me your ways,
– and teach me your paths.
Reading
Jeremiah 31:15-22,27-34
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamenting and weeping bitterly:
it is Rachel weeping for her children,
refusing to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more.
The Lord says this:
Stop your weeping,
dry your eyes,
your hardships will be redressed:
they shall come back from the enemy country.
There is hope for your descendants:
your sons will come home to their own lands.
I plainly hear the grieving of Ephraim,
‘You have disciplined me, I accepted the discipline
like a young bull untamed.
Bring me back, let me come back,
for you are the Lord my God!
Yes, I turned away, but have since repented;
I understood, I beat my breast.
I was deeply ashamed, covered with confusion;
yes, I still bore the disgrace of my youth.’
Is Ephraim, then, so dear a son to me,
a child so favoured,
that after each threat of mine
I must still remember him,
still be deeply moved for him,
and let my tenderness yearn over him?
It is the Lord who speaks.
Set up signposts,
raise landmarks;
mark the road well,
the way by which you went.
Come home, virgin of Israel,
come home to these towns of yours.
How long will you hesitate, disloyal daughter?
For the Lord is creating something new on earth:
the Woman sets out to find her Husband again.
See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I am going to sow the seed of men and cattle on the House of Israel and on the House of Judah. And as I once watched them to tear up, to knock down, to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so now I shall watch over them to build and to plant. It is the Lord who speaks.
In those days people will no longer say:
‘The fathers have eaten unripe grapes;
the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
But each is to die for his own sin. Every man who eats unripe grapes is to have his own teeth set on edge.
See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, but not a covenant like the one I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant of mine, so I had to show them who was master. It is the Lord who speaks. No, this is the covenant I will make with the House of Israel when those days arrive – it is the Lord who speaks. Deep within them I will plant my Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I will be their God and they shall be my people. There will be no further need for neighbour to try to teach neighbour, or brother to say to brother, ‘Learn to know the Lord!’ No, they will all know me, the least no less than the greatest – it is the Lord who speaks – since I will forgive their iniquity and never call their sin to mind.
Responsory
Create a pure heart in me, O God, and give me a new and steadfast spirit.
Turn away your face from my sins and blot out all my guilt, and give me a new and steadfast spirit.
Reading
A sermon of St Gregory the Great
For the love of Christ I do not spare myself in preaching him
‘Son of man, I have appointed you as watchman to the house of Israel.’ Note that Ezekiel, whom the Lord sent to preach his word, is described as a watchman. Now a watchman always takes up his position on the heights so that he can see from a distance whatever approaches. Likewise whoever is appointed watchman to a people should live a life on the heights so that he can help them by taking a wide survey.
These words are hard to utter, for when I speak it is myself that I am reproaching. I do not preach as I should nor does my life follow the principles I preach so inadequately.
I do not deny that I am guilty, for I see my torpor and my negligence. Perhaps my very recognition of failure will win me pardon from a sympathetic judge. When I lived in a monastic community I was able to keep my tongue from idle topics and to devote my mind almost continually to the discipline of prayer. Since taking on my shoulders the burden of pastoral care, I have been unable to keep steadily recollected because my mind is distracted by many responsibilities.
I am forced to consider questions affecting churches and monasteries and often I must judge the lives and actions of individuals; at one moment I am forced to take part in certain civil affairs, next I must worry over the incursions of barbarians and fear the wolves who menace the flock entrusted to my care; now I must accept political responsibility in order to give support to those who preserve the rule of law; now I must bear patiently the villainies of brigands, and then I must confront them, yet in all charity.
My mind is sundered and torn to pieces by the many and serious things I have to think about. When I try to concentrate and gather all my intellectual resources for preaching, how can I do justice to the sacred ministry of the word? I am often compelled by the nature of my position to associate with men of the world and sometimes I relax the discipline of my speech. If I preserved the rigorously inflexible mode of utterance that my conscience dictates, I know that the weaker sort of men would recoil from me and that I could never attract them to the goal I desire for them. So I must frequently listen patiently to their aimless chatter. Because I am weak myself I am drawn gradually into idle talk and I find myself saying the kind of thing that I didn’t even care to listen to before. I enjoy lying back where I once was loath to stumble.
Who am I — what kind of watchman am I? I do not stand on the pinnacle of achievement, I languish rather in the depths of my weakness. And yet the creator and redeemer of mankind can give me, unworthy though I be, the grace to see life whole and power to speak effectively of it. It is for love of him that I do not spare myself in preaching him.
Responsory
Gregory’s teaching on morals and on the mystical life sprang from the source of holy scripture; through him the living water of the gospel flowed out to all nations, and he who now is dead still speaks to us.
As an eagle’s glance encompasses the earth beneath it, Gregory’s boundless charity encompasses all men, both great and small, and he who now is dead still speaks to us.
Let us pray.
God our Father, your rule is a rule of love, your providence is full of mercy for your people.
Through the intercession of Saint Gregory grant the spirit of wisdom to those you have placed in authority, so that the spiritual growth of the people may bring eternal joy to the pastors.
We make our prayer 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.
Let us bless the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
