Lord, open our lips.
And we shall praise your name.
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 94 (95)
The Lord is the king of martyrs:
come, let us adore him.
Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,
let us acclaim God our salvation.
Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks,
let us acclaim him with songs.
The Lord is the king of martyrs:
come, let us adore him.
For the Lord is a great God,
a king above all gods.
For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands,
and the peaks of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his: he made it;
and his hands formed the dry land.
The Lord is the king of martyrs:
come, let us adore him.
Come, let us worship and bow down,
bend the knee before the Lord who made us;
for he himself is our God and we are his flock,
the sheep that follow his hand.
The Lord is the king of martyrs:
come, let us adore him.
If only, today, you would listen to his voice:
“Do not harden your hearts
as you did at Meribah,
on the day of Massah in the desert,
when your fathers tested me –
they put me to the test,
although they had seen my works.”
The Lord is the king of martyrs:
come, let us adore him.
“For forty years they wearied me,
that generation.
I said: their hearts are wandering,
they do not know my paths.
I swore in my anger:
they will never enter my place of rest.”
The Lord is the king of martyrs:
come, let us adore him.
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 is the king of martyrs:
come, let us adore him.
Hymn
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.
Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,
Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;
Thy justice like mountains high soaring above
Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
In all life thou livest, the true life of all;
We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,
Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
All laud we would render: O help us to see
‘Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.
Psalm 49 (50)
True reverence for the Lord
The Lord has summoned heaven and earth
to witness his judgement of his people.
The Lord, the God of gods has spoken:
he has summoned the whole earth, from east to west.
God has shone forth from Zion in her great beauty.
Our God will come, and he will not be silent.
Before him, a devouring fire;
around him, a tempest rages.
He will call upon the heavens above, and on the earth, to judge his people.
“Bring together before me my chosen ones, who have sealed my covenant with sacrifice.”
The heavens will proclaim his justice; for God is the true judge.
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 has summoned heaven and earth
to witness his judgement of his people.
Psalm 49 (50)
Call on me in the day of trouble,
and I will come to free you.
Listen, my people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
I will not reproach you with your sacrifices,
for your burnt offerings are always before me.
But I will not accept calves from your houses,
nor goats from your flocks.
For all the beasts of the forests are mine,
and in the hills, a thousand animals.
All the birds of the air – I know them.
Whatever moves in the fields – it is mine.
If I am hungry, I will not tell you;
for the whole world is mine, and all that is in it.
Am I to eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Offer a sacrifice to God – a sacrifice of praise;
to the Most High, fulfil your vows.
Then you may call upon me in the time of trouble:
I will rescue you, and you will honour me.
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.
Call on me in the day of trouble,
and I will come to free you.
Psalm 49 (50)
A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honor me.
To the sinner, God has said this:
Why do you recite my statutes?
Why do you dare to speak my covenant?
For you hate what I teach you,
and reject what I tell you.
The moment you saw a thief, you joined him;
you threw in your lot with adulterers.
You spoke evil with your mouth,
and your tongue made plans to deceive.
Solemnly seated, you denounced your own brother;
you poured forth hatred against your own mother’s son.
All this you did, and I was silent;
so you thought that I was just like you.
But I will reprove you –
I will confront you with all you have done.
Understand this, you who forget God;
lest I tear you apart, with no-one there to save you.
Whoever offers up a sacrifice of praise gives me true honour;
whoever follows a sinless path in life will be shown the salvation of 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.
A sacrifice of thanksgiving will honor me.
We ceaselessly pray to God for you.
– For you to have the fullest knowledge of God’s will.
First Reading
Job 13:13-14:6
Silence! Now I will do the talking,
whatever may befall me.
I put my flesh between my teeth,
I take my life in my hands.
Let him kill me if he will; I have no other hope
than to justify my conduct in his eyes.
This very boldness gives promise of my release,
since no godless man would dare appear before him.
Listen carefully to my words,
and lend your ears to what I have to say.
You shall see, I will proceed by due form of law,
persuaded, as I am, that I am guiltless.
Who comes against me with an accusation?
Let him come! I am ready to be silenced and to die.
But grant me these two favours:
if not, I shall not dare to confront you.
Take your hand away, which lies so heavy on me,
no longer make me cower from your terror.
Then arraign me, and I will reply;
or rather, I will speak and you shall answer me.
How many faults and crimes have I committed?
What law have I transgressed, or in what have I offended?
Why do you hide your face
and look on me as your enemy?
Will you intimidate a wind-blown leaf,
will you chase the dried-up chaff;
you list bitter accusations against me,
taxing me with the faults of my youth,
after putting my feet in the stocks,
watching my every step,
and measuring my footprints;
while my life is crumbling like rotten wood,
or a moth-eaten garment.
Man, born of woman,
has a short life yet has his fill of sorrow.
He blossoms, and he withers, like a flower;
fleeting as a shadow, transient.
And is this what you deign to turn your gaze on,
him that you would bring before you to be judged?
Who can bring the clean out of the unclean?
No man alive!
Since man’s days are measured out,
since his tale of months depends on you,
since you assign him bounds he cannot pass,
turn your eyes from him, leave him alone,
like a hired drudge, to finish his day.
Responsory
Lord, do not hide me from your face;
take your hand away from me,
and let not the dread of you fill me with terror.
Lord, correct me gently,
not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing;
and let not the dread of you fill me with terror.
Second Reading
From the Acts of the martyrdom of Saint Justin
and his companion saints
I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians
The saints were seized and brought before the prefect of Rome, whose name was Rusticus. As they stood before the judgement seat, Rusticus the prefect said to Justin: “Above all, have faith in the gods and obey the emperors.”
Justin said: “We cannot be accused or condemned for obeying the commands of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
Rusticus said: “What system of teaching do you profess?” Justin said: “I have tried to learn about every system, but I have accepted the true doctrines of the Christians, though these are not approved by those who are held fast by error.”
The prefect Rusticus said: “Are those doctrines approved by you, wretch that you are?” Justin said:
“Yes, for I follow them with their correct teaching.”
The prefect Rusticus said: “What sort of teaching is that?” Justin said: “Worship the God of the Christians. We hold him to be from the beginning the one creator and maker of the whole creation, of things seen and things unseen. We worship also the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was foretold by the prophets as the future herald of salvation for the human race and the teacher of distinguished disciples. For myself, since I am a human being, I consider that what I say is insignificant in comparison with his infinite godhead. I acknowledge the existence of a prophetic power, for the one I have just spoken of as the Son of God was the subject of prophecy.
I know that the prophets were inspired from above when they spoke of his coming among men.”
Rusticus said: “You are a Christian, then?” Justin said: “Yes, I am a Christian.”
The prefect said to Justin: “You are called a learned man and think that you know what is true teaching. Listen: if you were scourged and beheaded, are you convinced that you would go up to heaven?” Justin said:
“I hope that I shall enter God’s house if I suffer that way.
For I know that God’s favor is stored up until the end of the whole world for all who have lived good lives.”
The prefect Rusticus said: “Do you have an idea that you will go up to heaven to receive some suitable rewards?”
Justin said: “It is not an idea that I have; it is something I know well and hold to be most certain.”
The prefect Rusticus said: “Now let us come to the point at issue, which is necessary and urgent. Gather round then and with one accord offer sacrifice to the gods.” Justin said:
“No one who is right thinking stoops from true worship to false worship.”
The prefect Rusticus said: “If you do not do as you are commanded you will be tortured without mercy.” Justin said: “We hope to suffer torment for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, and so be saved. For this will bring us salvation and confidence as we stand before the more terrible and universal judgement-seat of our Lord and Savior.”
In the same way the other martyrs also said: “Do what you will. We are Christians; we do not offer sacrifice to idols.”
The prefect Rusticus pronounced sentence, saying: “Let those who have refused to sacrifice to the gods and to obey the command of the emperor be scourged and led away to suffer capital punishment according to the ruling of the laws.” Glorifying God, the holy martyrs went out to the accustomed place. They were beheaded,
and so fulfilled their witness of martyrdom in confessing their faith in their Savior.
Responsory
I have testified to the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
and now I care nothing for any danger.
I do not count my life precious compared with my work,
which is to finish the course I run,
the task of preaching which the Lord Jesus has given me,
in proclaiming the good news of God’s grace.
I am not ashamed of this gospel.
It is an instrument of God’s power,
that brings salvation to all who believe in it,
Jew first and then Greek.
I do not count my life precious compared with my work,
which is to finish the course I run,
the task of preaching which the Lord Jesus has given me,
in proclaiming the good news of God’s grace.
Let us pray.
Lord God, in a wonderful way, through the folly of the cross,
you taught your martyr Saint Justin the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Heed his prayer for us:
dispel every deceiving error,
and ground us firmly in our faith.
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 praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
