OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 23 (24)

Come, let us worship the Lord, the great God.

– Come, let us worship the Lord, the great God.

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 great God.

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 great God.

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 great God.

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 great God.

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 great God.

Hymn

O God of truth and Lord of power,

whose word their course to things assigns,

whose splendour lights the morning hour,

whose fiery sun at noonday shines:

Within us quench the flames of strife,

the harmful heat of passion quell;

give health of body to our life

and give true peace of soul as well.

In this, most loving Father, hear,

and Christ, co-equal Son, our prayer:

with Holy Ghost, one Trinity,

you reign for all eternity.

Psalm 101 (102)

Prayers and vows of an exile

Let my cry come to you, Lord:

do not hide your face from me.

Lord, listen to my prayer

and let my cry come to you.

Do not hide your face from me:

whenever I am troubled,

turn to me and hear me.

Whenever I call on you,

hurry to answer me.

For my days vanish like smoke,

and my bones are dry as tinder.

My heart is cut down like grass, it is dry –

I cannot remember to eat.

The sound of my groaning

makes my bones stick to my flesh.

I am lonely as a pelican in the wilderness,

as an owl in the ruins,

as a sparrow alone on a rooftop:

I do not sleep.

All day long my enemies taunt me,

they burn with anger and use my name as a curse.

I make ashes my bread,

I mix tears with my drink,

because of your anger and reproach –

you, who raised me up, have dashed me to the ground.

My days fade away like a shadow:

I wither like grass.

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 my cry come to you, Lord:

do not hide your face from me.

Psalm 101 (102)

Turn, Lord, to the prayers of the helpless.

But you, Lord, remain for ever

and your name lasts from generation to generation.

You will rise up and take pity on Zion,

for it is time that you pitied it,

indeed it is time:

for your servants love its very stones

and pity even its dust.

Then, Lord, the peoples will fear your name.

All the kings of the earth will fear your glory,

when the Lord has rebuilt Zion

and appeared there in his glory;

when he has listened to the prayer of the destitute

and not rejected their pleading.

These things shall be written for the next generation

and a people yet to be born shall praise the Lord:

because he has looked down from his high sanctuary,

– the Lord has looked down from heaven to earth –

and heard the groans of prisoners

and freed the children of death

so that they could proclaim the Lord’s name in Zion

and sing his praises in Jerusalem,

where people and kingdoms gather together

to serve 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.

Turn, Lord, to the prayers of the helpless.

Psalm 101 (102)

You founded the earth, Lord,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

He has brought down my strength in the midst of my journey;

he has shortened my days.

I will say, “My God, do not take me away

half way through the days of my life.

Your years last from generation to generation:

in the beginning you founded the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

They will pass away but you will remain;

all will grow old, like clothing,

and like a cloak you will change them, and they will be changed.

“But you are always the same,

your years will never run out.

The children of your servants shall live in peace,

their descendants will endure in your sight.”

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.

You founded the earth, Lord,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

Listen, my people, to my teaching;

– open your ears to the words of my mouth.

Reading

Zechariah 1:1-2:4

In the second year of Darius, in the eighth month, the word of the Lord was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah), son of Iddo, as follows, ‘Cry out to the remnant of this people and say to them, “The Lord of Hosts says this: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts. Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the prophets in the past cried: the Lord of Hosts says this: Turn back from your evil ways and evil deeds. But – it is the Lord who speaks – they would not listen or pay attention to me. Where are your ancestors now? Are those prophets still alive? Did not my words and my orders, with which I charged my servants the prophets, overtake your ancestors?” the Lord was stirred to anger against your ancestors.”’ This reduced them to such confusion that they said, 
‘The Lord of Hosts has treated us as he resolved to do, and as our ways and deeds deserved.’

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat), in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord was addressed to the prophet Zechariah (son of Berechiah), son of Iddo, as follows, ‘I saw a vision during the night. It was this: a man was standing among the deep-rooted myrtles; behind him were horses, red and sorrel and black and white. I said: What are these, my lord? (And the angel who was talking to me said, “I will explain to you what they are.”) The man standing among the myrtles answered, “They are those whom the Lord has sent to patrol throughout the world.” They then spoke to the angel of the Lord standing among the myrtles; they said, “We have been patrolling the world, and see, the whole world is at peace and rest.” The angel of the Lord then spoke and said, “Lord of Hosts, how long will you wait before taking pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, on which you have inflicted your anger for the past seventy years?” the Lord then replied with very consoling words to the angel who was talking to me. The angel who was talking to me then said to me, “Make this proclamation: the Lord of Hosts says this: I feel most jealous love for Jerusalem and Zion, but very bitter anger against the proud nations; for my part I was only a little angry, but they have overstepped all limits. The Lord, then, says this. I turn again in compassion to Jerusalem; my Temple there shall be rebuilt – it is the Lord of Hosts who speaks – and the measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem. Make this proclamation too: the Lord of Hosts says this: My cities are once more going to be very prosperous. The Lord will again take pity on Zion, again make Jerusalem his very own.”’

Responsory

I turn again in compassion to Jerusalem:

My temple there shall be rebuilt.

The city will have no need of sun or moon for its light;

its lamp will be the Lamb.

My temple there shall be rebuilt.

Reading

From the Instructions of St Columbanus

Perpetual light in the temple of the eternal High Priest

How happy, how lucky are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes! How blessed it is to be wakeful and watching for God, 
who created all things, who fills them with being and exceeds all of them in greatness!

I am a lowly creature but I am still his servant, and I hope that he will choose to wake me from slumber. I hope that he will set me on fire with the flame of his divine love, the flame that burns above the stars, so that I am filled with desire for his love and his fire burns always within me!

I hope that I may deserve this, that my little lamp should burn all night in the temple of the Lord and shine on all who enter the house of God! Lord, I beg you in the name of Jesus Christ, your Son and my God, give me a love that cannot stumble so that my lamp can be lit but can never go out: 
let it burn in me and give light to others.

And you, Christ, our gentle saviour, in your kindness light our lamps so that they shine for ever in your temple and lighten our darkness and dispel the shadows of the world.

I beg you, my Jesus, fill my lamp with your light. By its light let me see the holiest of holy places, your own temple where you enter as the eternal High Priest of the eternal mysteries. Let me see you, watch you, desire you. 
Let me love you as I see you, and before you let my lamp always shine, always burn.

Beloved Saviour, show yourself to us who beg a glimpse of you. Let us know you, let us love you, let us love only you, let us desire you alone, let us spend our days and nights meditating on you alone, let us always be thinking of you. Fill us with love of you, let us love you with all the love that is your right as our God. Let that love fill us and possess us, let it overwhelm our senses until we can love nothing but you, for you are eternal. Give us that love that all the waters of the sea, the earth, the sky cannot extinguish: as it is written, love that no flood can quench, no torrents drown. What is said in the Song of Songs can become true in us (at least in part) if you, our Lord Jesus Christ, give us that grace. 
To you be glory for ever and for ever.  Amen.

Responsory

The sun shall no longer be your light by day,

nor the moon shine on you when evening falls;

the Lord shall be your everlasting light and your God shall be your glory.

For you, no sun shall set again, nor moon withdraw her light:

the Lord shall be your everlasting light and your God shall be your glory.

Let us pray.

Lord God,

open our hearts to your grace.

Let it go before us and be with us,

that we may always be intent upon doing your will.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.