Divine Office – Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church (Breviary)

Office of Readings

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Liturgy of the Hours Vol. III:
Ordinary: 651
Proper of Seasons: 222
Psalter: Saturday, Week II, 958

Office of Readings for Saturday in Ordinary Time

God, come to my assistance.

— Lord, make haste to help me.

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

— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

Ave Maria, gratia plena

Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei

Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae

Amen.

English Translation:

Hail Mary, full of grace

The Lord is with thee
Blessed are thou among women
Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus

Holy Mary, Mother of God

Pray for us sinners
Now, and at the hour of our death

Amen.

𝄞"Ave Maria" by Gretchen Harris • Musical Score • Title: Ave Maria (Chant); Album: Sing of Mary; Music; Plainsong mode I; vocal: Gretchen Harris; Used with permission; Visit and thank Gretch at http://www.gretchen-harris.com;

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever.

Psalm 136

Paschal hymn
We praise God by recalling his marvelous deeds (Cassiodorus).

I

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good,

for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his love endures for ever;

who alone has wrought marvellous works,

for his love endures for ever;
whose wisdom it was made the skies,
for his love endures for ever;
who fixed the earth firmly on the seas,
for his love endures for ever.

It was he who made the great lights,

for his love endures for ever,
the sun to rule in the day,
for his love endures for ever,
the moon and stars in the night,
for his love endures for ever.

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

— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. None but the Lord has done such marvels; his love endures for ever.

Ant. 2 He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched.

II

The first-born of the Egyptians he smote,

for his love endures for ever.
He brought Israel out from their midst,
for his love endures for ever;
arm outstretched, with power in his hand,
for his love endures for ever.

He divided the Red Sea in two,

for his love endures for ever;
he made Israel pass through the midst,
for his love endures for ever;
he flung Pharaoh and his force in the sea,
for his love endures for ever.

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

— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. He brought Israel out of Egypt with powerful hand and arm outstretched.

Ant. 3 Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies.

III

Through the desert his people he led,

for his love endures for ever.
Nations in their greatness he struck,
for his love endures for ever.
Kings in their splendor he slew,
for his love endures for ever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his love endures for ever;
and Og, the king of Bashan,
for his love endures for ever.

He let Israel inherit their land,

for his love endures for ever.
On his servant their land he bestowed,
for his love endures for ever.
He remembered us in our distress,
for his love endures for ever.

And he snatched us away from our foes,

for his love endures for ever.
He gives food to all living things,
for his love endures for ever.
To the God of heaven give thanks,
for his love endures for ever.

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

— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

God, our Creator, how wonderfully you made us. You transformed dust into your own image and gave it a share in your own nature; yet you are more wonderful in pardoning the one who had rebelled against you. Grant that where sin has abounded, grace may more abound, so that we can become holier through forgiveness and be more grateful to you.

Ant. Give praise to the God of heaven; he has ransomed us from our enemies.

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.

Lord, show me your ways.

— Teach me to walk in your footsteps.

READINGS

First reading

From the book of Proverbs
31:10-31
In praise of the perfect wife

When one finds a worthy wife,

her value is far beyond pearls.
Her husband, entrusting his heart to her,
has an unfailing prize.
She brings him good, and not evil,
all the days of her life.

She obtains wool and flax

and makes cloth with skillful hands.
Like merchant ships,
she secures her provisions from afar.
She rises while it is still night,
and distributes food to her household.

She picks out a field to purchase;

out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She is girt about with strength,
and sturdy are her arms.
She enjoys the success of her dealings;
at night her lamp is undimmed.

She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her fingers ply the spindle.
She stretches out her hands to the poor,
and extends her arms to the needy.
She fears not the snow for her household;
all her charges are doubly clothed.

She makes her own coverlets;

fine linen and purple are her clothing.
Her husband is prominent at the city gates
as he sits with the elders of the land.
She makes garments and sells them,
and stocks the merchants with belts.

She is clothed with strength and dignity,

and she laughs at the days to come.
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
and on her tongue is kindly counsel.
She watches the conduct of her household,
and eats not her food in idleness.

Her children rise up and praise her;

her husband, too, extols her:
“Many are the women of proven worth,
but you have excelled them all.”

Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;

the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her a reward of her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates.

RESPONSORY See Proverbs 31:17, 18; Psalm 46:6

She set herself to work with courage; she put forth all her strength;

— therefore her lamp will never go out.

The Lord will help her at daybreak; his loving presence will be with her.

He dwells in her; she will not falter.
— Therefore her lamp will never go out.

Second reading

From the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world of the Second Vatican Council
The sanctity of marriage and the family

Husband and wife, by the covenant of marriage, are no longer two, but one flesh. By their intimate union of persons and of actions they give mutual help and service to each other, experience the meaning of their unity, and gain an ever deeper understanding of it day by day.

This intimate union in the mutual self-giving of two persons, as well as the good of the children, demands full fidelity from both, and an indissoluble unity between them.

Christ the Lord has abundantly blessed this richly complex love, which springs from the divine source of love and is founded on the model of his union with the church.

In earlier times God met his people in a covenant of love and fidelity. So now the Savior of mankind, the Bridegroom of the Church, meets Christian husbands and wives in the sacrament of matrimony. Further, he remains with them in order that, as he loved the Church and gave himself up for her, so husband and wife may, in mutual self-giving, love each other with perpetual fidelity.

True married love is caught up into God’s love; it is guided and enriched by the redeeming power of Christ and the saving action of the Church, in order that the partners may be effectively led to God, and receive help and strength in the sublime responsibility of parenthood.

Christian partners are therefore strengthened, and as it were consecrated, by a special sacrament for the duties and the dignity of their state. By the power of this sacrament they fulfill their obligations to each other and to their family, and are filled with the spirit of Christ. This spirit pervades their whole lives with faith, hope and love. Thus they promote their own perfection and each other’s sanctification, and so contribute together to the greater glory of God.

Hence, with parents leading the way by example and family prayer, their children—indeed, all within the family circle—will find it easier to make progress in natural virtues, in salvation and in holiness. Husband and wife, raised to the dignity and the responsibility of parenthood, will be zealous in fulfilling their task as educators, especially in the sphere of religious education, a task that is primarily their own.

Children, as active members of the family, contribute in their own way to the holiness of their parents. With the love of grateful hearts, with loving respect and trust, they will return the generosity of their parents, and will stand by them as true sons and daughters when their parents meet with hardship and the loneliness of old age.

RESPONSORY Ephesians 5:32, 25, 33

This is a great mystery, but I am saying it of Christ and of his Church.

— Christ loved the Church, and gave himself up for her.

A man must love his wife as he loves himself, and a woman must respect her husband.

— Christ loved the Church, and gave himself up for her.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,

who teach us that you abide
in hearts that are just and true,
grant that we may be so fashioned
by your grace as to become a dwelling pleasing to you.
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.

ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)

Let us praise the Lord.

— And give him thanks.

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Divine Office – Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church (Breviary)By Divine Office (DivineOffice.org)