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Ribbon Placement:
Office of Readings for Thursday in Week 5 of Easter
God, come to my assistance.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
HYMN
Brightness of the Father's glory
In your ever-lasting radiance
Father of unfading glory.
Dawn is drawing ever nearer,
Glory be to God the Father.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 The word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him, alleluia.
Psalm 18
IV
As for God, his ways are perfect;
For who is God but the Lord?
My feet you made swift as the deer’s;
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. The word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him, alleluia.
Ant. 2 Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord, alleluia.
V
You gave me your saving shield;
I pursued and overtook my foes,
You girded me with strength for battle;
They cried, but there was no one to save them;
You saved me from the feuds of the people
Foreign nations came to me cringing:
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord., alleluia.
Ant. 3 May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever, alleluia.
VI
Long life to the Lord, my rock!
You saved me from my furious foes.
He has given great victories to his king
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Psalm Prayer
Lord God, our strength and salvation, put in us the flame of your love and make our love for you grow to a perfect love which reaches to our neighbor.
Ant. May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever, alleluia.
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.
God has raised the Lord to life, alleluia.
READINGS
First reading
One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb.”
He carried me away in spirit to the top of a very high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. The city had the radiance of a precious jewel that sparkled like a diamond. Its wall, massive and high, had twelve gates at which twelve angels were stationed. Twelve names were written on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The one who spoke to me held a rod of gold for measuring the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is perfectly square, its length and its width being the same. He measured the city with the rod and found it twelve thousand furlongs in length, in width, and in height.
Its wall measured a hundred and forty-four cubits in height by the unit of measurement the angel used. The wall was constructed of jasper; the city was of pure gold, crystal-clear.
The foundation of the city wall was ornate with precious stones of every sort: the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each made of a single pearl; and the streets of the city were of pure gold, transparent as glass.
I saw no temple in the city. The Lord, God the Almighty, is its temple—he and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. The nations shall walk by its light; to it the kings of the earth shall bring their treasures. During the day its gates shall never be shut, and there shall be no night.
The treasures and wealth of the nations shall be brought there, but nothing profane shall enter it, nor anyone who is a liar or has done a detestable act. Only those shall enter whose names are inscribed in the book of the living kept by the Lamb.
RESPONSORY See Revelation 21:21; Tobit 13:21, 22, 13
Your streets of gold, Jerusalem, will ring with happy song,
You will shine in splendor like the sun; all men on earth will pay you homage.
Second Reading
One man has died for all, and now in every church in the mystery of bread and wine he heals those for whom he is offered in sacrifice, giving life to those who believe and holiness to those who consecrate the offering. This is the flesh of the Lamb; this is his blood. The bread that came down from heaven declared: The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. It is significant, too, that his blood should be given to us in the form of wine, for his own words in the gospel, I am the true vine, imply clearly enough that whenever wine is offered as a representation of Christ’s passion, it is offered as his blood. This means that it was of Christ that the blessed patriarch Jacob prophesied when he said: He will wash his tunic in wine and his cloak in the blood of the grape. The tunic was our flesh, which Christ was to put on like a garment and which he was to wash in his own blood.
Creator and Lord of all things, whatever their nature, he brought forth bread from the earth and changed it into his own body. Not only had he the power to do this, but he had promised it; and, as he had changed water into wine, he also changed wine into his own blood. It is the Lord’s passover, Scripture tells us, that is, the Lord’s passing. We are no longer to look upon the bread and wine as earthly substances. They have become heavenly, because Christ has passed into them and changed them into his body and blood. What you receive is the body of him who is the heavenly bread, and the blood of him who is the sacred vine; for when he offered his disciples the consecrated bread and wine, he said: This is my body, this is my blood. We have put our trust in him. I urge you to have faith in him; truth can never deceive.
When Christ told the crowds that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, they were horrified and began to murmur among themselves: This teaching is too hard; who can be expected to listen to it? As I have already told you, thoughts such as these must be banished. The Lord himself used heavenly fire to drive them away by going on to declare: It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
RESPONSORY John 6:58; Luke 22:19
The living Father sent me, and I have life because of the Father;
This is my body which will be given up for you.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)
Let us praise the Lord.
Ribbon Placement:
Office of Readings for Thursday in Week 5 of Easter
God, come to my assistance.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
HYMN
Brightness of the Father's glory
In your ever-lasting radiance
Father of unfading glory.
Dawn is drawing ever nearer,
Glory be to God the Father.
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 The word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him, alleluia.
Psalm 18
IV
As for God, his ways are perfect;
For who is God but the Lord?
My feet you made swift as the deer’s;
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. The word of the Lord is a strong shield for all who put their trust in him, alleluia.
Ant. 2 Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord, alleluia.
V
You gave me your saving shield;
I pursued and overtook my foes,
You girded me with strength for battle;
They cried, but there was no one to save them;
You saved me from the feuds of the people
Foreign nations came to me cringing:
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. Your strong right hand has upheld me, Lord., alleluia.
Ant. 3 May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever, alleluia.
VI
Long life to the Lord, my rock!
You saved me from my furious foes.
He has given great victories to his king
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Psalm Prayer
Lord God, our strength and salvation, put in us the flame of your love and make our love for you grow to a perfect love which reaches to our neighbor.
Ant. May the living God, my Savior, be praised for ever, alleluia.
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.
God has raised the Lord to life, alleluia.
READINGS
First reading
One of the seven angels who held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the woman who is the bride of the Lamb.”
He carried me away in spirit to the top of a very high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. It gleamed with the splendor of God. The city had the radiance of a precious jewel that sparkled like a diamond. Its wall, massive and high, had twelve gates at which twelve angels were stationed. Twelve names were written on the gates, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates facing east, three north, three south, and three west. The wall of the city had twelve courses of stones as its foundation, on which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The one who spoke to me held a rod of gold for measuring the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is perfectly square, its length and its width being the same. He measured the city with the rod and found it twelve thousand furlongs in length, in width, and in height.
Its wall measured a hundred and forty-four cubits in height by the unit of measurement the angel used. The wall was constructed of jasper; the city was of pure gold, crystal-clear.
The foundation of the city wall was ornate with precious stones of every sort: the first course of stones was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.
The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each made of a single pearl; and the streets of the city were of pure gold, transparent as glass.
I saw no temple in the city. The Lord, God the Almighty, is its temple—he and the Lamb. The city had no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. The nations shall walk by its light; to it the kings of the earth shall bring their treasures. During the day its gates shall never be shut, and there shall be no night.
The treasures and wealth of the nations shall be brought there, but nothing profane shall enter it, nor anyone who is a liar or has done a detestable act. Only those shall enter whose names are inscribed in the book of the living kept by the Lamb.
RESPONSORY See Revelation 21:21; Tobit 13:21, 22, 13
Your streets of gold, Jerusalem, will ring with happy song,
You will shine in splendor like the sun; all men on earth will pay you homage.
Second Reading
One man has died for all, and now in every church in the mystery of bread and wine he heals those for whom he is offered in sacrifice, giving life to those who believe and holiness to those who consecrate the offering. This is the flesh of the Lamb; this is his blood. The bread that came down from heaven declared: The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. It is significant, too, that his blood should be given to us in the form of wine, for his own words in the gospel, I am the true vine, imply clearly enough that whenever wine is offered as a representation of Christ’s passion, it is offered as his blood. This means that it was of Christ that the blessed patriarch Jacob prophesied when he said: He will wash his tunic in wine and his cloak in the blood of the grape. The tunic was our flesh, which Christ was to put on like a garment and which he was to wash in his own blood.
Creator and Lord of all things, whatever their nature, he brought forth bread from the earth and changed it into his own body. Not only had he the power to do this, but he had promised it; and, as he had changed water into wine, he also changed wine into his own blood. It is the Lord’s passover, Scripture tells us, that is, the Lord’s passing. We are no longer to look upon the bread and wine as earthly substances. They have become heavenly, because Christ has passed into them and changed them into his body and blood. What you receive is the body of him who is the heavenly bread, and the blood of him who is the sacred vine; for when he offered his disciples the consecrated bread and wine, he said: This is my body, this is my blood. We have put our trust in him. I urge you to have faith in him; truth can never deceive.
When Christ told the crowds that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood, they were horrified and began to murmur among themselves: This teaching is too hard; who can be expected to listen to it? As I have already told you, thoughts such as these must be banished. The Lord himself used heavenly fire to drive them away by going on to declare: It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
RESPONSORY John 6:58; Luke 22:19
The living Father sent me, and I have life because of the Father;
This is my body which will be given up for you.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)
Let us praise the Lord.