Ribbon Placement:

Office of Readings for Monday in Holy Week

God, come to my assistance.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

HYMN

Most ancient of all mysteries,

When heaven and earth were still unmade,

You were not born; there was no source

How wonderful creation is,

Most ancient of all mysteries,

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Bow down and hear me, Lord; come to my rescue.

Psalm 31:1-17, 20-25

I

In you, O Lord, I take refuge.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

Release me from the snares they have hidden

O God of truth, you detest

You have seen my affliction

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

Ant. Bow down and hear me, Lord; come to my rescue.

Ant. 2 Lord, let the light of your countenance shine on your servant.

II

Have mercy on me, O Lord,

For my life is spent with sorrow

In the face of all my foes

Those who see me in the street

I have heard the slander of the crowd,

But as for me, I trust in you, Lord,

Let your face shine on your servant.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

Ant. Lord, let the light of your countenance shine on your servant.

Ant. 3 Blessed be the Lord, for he has poured out his mercy upon me.

III

How great is the goodness, Lord,

You hide them in the shelter of your presence

Blessed be the Lord who has shown me

“I am far removed from your sight,”

Love the Lord, all you saints.

Be strong, let your heart take courage,

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

Psalm-prayer

God of kindness and truth, you saved your Chosen One, Jesus Christ, and you gave your martyrs strength. Watch over your people who come to you here and strengthen the hearts of those who hope in you, that they may proclaim your saving acts of kindness in the eternal city.

Ant. Blessed be the Lord, for he has poured out his mercy upon me.

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.

When I am lifted up from the earth.

READINGS

First reading

Brothers, since the blood of Jesus assures our entrance into the sanctuary by the new and living path he has opened up for us through the veil (the “veil” meaning his flesh), and since we have a great priest who is over the house of God, let us draw near in utter sincerity and absolute confidence, our hearts sprinkled clean from the evil which lay on our conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to our profession which gives us hope, for he who made the promise deserves our trust. We must consider how to rouse each other to love and good deeds. We should not absent ourselves from the assembly, as some do, but encourage one another; and this all the more because you see that the Day draws near.

If we sin willfully after receiving the truth, there remains for us no further sacrifice for sin – only a fearful expectation of judgment and a flaming fire to consume the adversaries of God. Anyone who rejects the law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Do you not suppose that a much worse punishment is due the man who disdains the Son of God, thinks the covenant-blood by which he was sanctified to be ordinary, and insults the Spirit of grace? We know who said,

“Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Recall the days gone by when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great contest of suffering. At times you were publicly exposed to insult and trial; at other times you associated yourselves with those who were being so dealt with. You even joined in the sufferings of those who were in prison and joyfully assented to the confiscation of your goods, knowing that you had better and more permanent possessions. Do not, then, surrender your confidence; it will have great reward. You need patience to do God’s will and receive what he has promised.

For just a brief moment,

We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and live.

RESPONSORY Hebrews 10:35-36; Luke 21:19

Never lose heart. If you wish to receive what God has promised,

Stand firm and you will be saved.

Second reading

The passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and a lesson in patience.

What may not the hearts of believers promise themselves as the gift of God’s grace, when for their sake God’s only Son, co-eternal with the Father, was not content only to be born as man from human stock but even died at the hands of the men he had created?

It is a great thing that we are promised by the Lord, but far greater is what has already been done for us, and which we now commemorate. Where were the sinners, what were they, when Christ died for them? When Christ has already given us the gift of his death, who is to doubt that he will give the saints the gift of his own life? Why does our human frailty hesitate to believe that mankind will one day live with God?

Who is Christ if not the Word of God: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God? This Word of God was made flesh and dwelt among us. He had no power of himself to die for us: he had to take from us our mortal flesh. This was the way in which, though immortal, he was able to die; the way in which he chose to give life to mortal men: he would first share with us, and then enable us to share with him. Of ourselves we had no power to live, nor did he of himself have the power to die.

Accordingly, he effected a wonderful exchange with us, through mutual sharing: we gave him the power to die, he will give us the power to live.

The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.

He loved us so much that, sinless himself, he suffered for us sinners the punishment we deserved for our sins. How then can he fail to give us the reward we deserve for our righteousness, for he is the source of righteousness? How can he, whose promises are true, fail to reward the saints when he bore the punishment of sinners, though without sin himself?

Brethren, let us then fearlessly acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us; let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory.

The apostle Paul saw Christ, and extolled his claim to glory. He had many great and inspired things to say about Christ, but he did not say that he boasted in Christ’s wonderful works: in creating the world, since he was God with the Father, or in ruling the world, though he was also a man like us. Rather, he said: Let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

RESPONSORY

We worship your cross, O Lord; we recall your glorious passion.

You have redeemed us with your precious blood; hear the prayer of your servants and come to help.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Grant,

Acclamation (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.