Office of Readings With Invitiatory - Monday of the 4th Week of Lent
Lord, + open my lips.
— And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.
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. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering..
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.
HYMN
Ave Verum
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!
Psalm 73
I
How good God is to Israel, *
to those who are pure of heart.
Yet my feet came close to stumbling, *
my steps had almost slipped
for I was filled with envy of the proud *
when I saw how the wicked prosper.
For them there are no pains; *
their bodies are sound and sleek.
They have no share in men’s sorrows; *
they are not stricken like others.
So they wear their pride like a necklace, *
they clothe themselves with violence.
Their hearts overflow with malice,
their minds seethe with plots.
They scoff; they speak with malice; *
from on high they plan oppression.
They have set their mouths in the heavens *
and their tongues dictate to the earth.
So the people turn to follow them *
and drink in all their words.
They say: “How can God know? *
Does the Most High take any notice?”
Look at them, such are the wicked, *
but untroubled, they grow in wealth.
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. How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!
Ant. 2 Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.
II
How useless to keep my heart pure *
and wash my hands in innocence,
when I was stricken all day long, *
suffered punishment day after day.
Then I said: “If I should speak like that, *
I should abandon the faith of your people.”
I strove to fathom this problem, *
too hard for my mind to understand,
until I pierced the mysteries of God *
and understood what becomes of the wicked.
How slippery the paths on which you set them; *
you make them slide to destruction.
How suddenly they come to their ruin, *
wiped out, destroyed by terrors.
Like a dream one wakes from, O Lord, *
when you wake you dismiss them as phantoms.
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. Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.
Ant. 3 Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.
III
And so when my heart grew embittered *
and when I was cut to the quick,
I was stupid and did not understand, *
no better than a beast in your sight.
Yet I was always in your presence; *
you were holding me by my right hand.
You will guide me by your counsel *
and so you will lead me to glory.
What else have I in heaven but you? *
Apart from you I want nothing on earth.
My body and my heart faint for joy; *
God is my possession for ever.
All those who abandon you shall perish; *
you will destroy all those who are faithless.
To be near God is my happiness. *
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of all your works *
at the gates of the city of Zion.
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. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.
Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
— The kingdom of God is at hand.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the book of Leviticus
16:2-28
The day of atonement
The Lord said to Moses “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he pleases into the sanctuary, inside the veil, in front of the propitiatory on the ark; otherwise, when I reveal myself in a cloud above the propitiatory, he will die. Only in this way may Aaron enter the sanctuary.
“He shall bring a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a holocaust. He shall wear the sacred linen tunic, with the linen drawers next his flesh, gird himself with the linen sash and put on the linen miter. But since these vestments are sacred, he shall not put them on until he has first bathed his body in water. From the Israelite community he shall receive two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a holocaust.
“Aaron shall bring in the bullock, his sin offering to atone for himself and for his household. Taking the two male goats and setting them before the Lord at the entrance of the meeting tent, he shall cast lots to determine which one is for the Lord and which for Azazel. The goat that is determined by lot for the Lord, Aaron shall bring in and offer up as a sin offering. But the goat determined by lot for Azazel he shall set alive before the Lord, so that with it he may make atonement by sending it off to Azazel in the desert.
“Thus shall Aaron offer up the bullock, his sin offering, to atone for himself and for his family. When he has slaughtered it, he shall take a censer full of glowing embers from the altar before the Lord, as well as a double handful of finely ground fragrant incense, and bringing them inside the veil, there before the Lord he shall put incense on the fire, so that a cloud of incense may cover the propitiatory over the commandments; else he will die. Taking some of the bullock’s blood, he shall sprinkle it with his finger on the fore part of the propitiatory and likewise sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times in front of the propitiatory.
“Then he shall slaughter the people’s sin-offering goat, and bringing its blood inside the veil, he shall do with it as he did with the bullock’s blood, sprinkling it on the propitiatory and before it.
“Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary because of all the sinful defilements and faults of the Israelites. He shall do the same for the meeting tent, which is set up among them in the midst of their uncleanness. No one else may be in the meeting tent from the time he enters the sanctuary to make atonement until he departs. When he has made atonement for himself and his household, as well as for the whole Israelite community, he shall come out to the altar before the Lord and make atonement for it also. Taking some of the bullock’s and the goat’s blood, he shall put it on the horns around the altar, and with his finger sprinkle some of the blood on it seven times. Thus he shall render it clean and holy, purged of the defilements of the Israelites.
“When he has completed the atonement rite for the sanctuary, the meeting tent and the altar, Aaron shall bring forward the live goat. Laying both hands on its head, he shall confess over it all the sinful faults and transgressions of the Israelites, and so put them on the goat’s head. He shall then have it led into the desert by an attendant. Since the goat is to carry off their iniquities to an isolated region, it must be sent away into the desert.
“After Aaron has again gone into the meeting tent, he shall strip off and leave in the sanctuary the linen vestments he had put on when he entered there. After bathing his body with water in a sacred place, he shall put on his vestments, and then come out and offer his own and the people’s holocaust, in atonement for himself and for the people, and also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.
“The man who has led away the goat for Azazel shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water; only then may he enter the camp. The sin-offering bullock and goat whose blood was brought into the sanctuary to make atonement, shall be taken outside the camp, where their hides and flesh and offal shall be burned up in the fire. The one who burns them shall wash his garments and bathe his body in water; only then may he enter the camp.”
RESPONSORY
Hebrews 9:11, 12, 24
Christ came as the high priest of the good things which are to be.
Not with the blood of goats or calves,
but with his own blood
— he entered the holy place once for all,
and won our eternal salvation.
He did not enter a holy place fashioned by man,
he entered heaven itself.
— He entered the holy place once for all,
and won our eternal salvation.
SECOND READING
From a homily on Leviticus by Origen, priest
(Hom 9, 5, 10: PG 12, 515, 523)
Christ the high priest makes atonement for our sins
Once a year the high priest, leaving the people outside, entered that place where no one except the high priest might enter. In it was the mercy-seat, and above the mercy-seat the cherubim, as well as the ark of the covenant and the altar of incense.
Let me turn to my true high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ. In our human nature he spent the whole year in the company of the people, the year that he spoke of when he said: He sent me to bring good news to the poor, to announce the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of forgiveness. Notice how once in that year, on the day of atonement, he enters into the holy of holies. Having fulfilled God’s plan, he passes through the heavens and enters into the presence of the Father to make him turn in mercy to the human race and to pray for all who believe in him.
John the apostle, knowing of the atonement that Christ makes to the Father for all men, says this: Little children, I say these things so that you may not sin. But if we have sinned we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the just one. He is the atonement for our sins. In the same way Paul refers to this atonement when he says of Christ: God appointed him to be the atonement for our sins in his blood, through faith. We have then a day of atonement that remains until the world comes to an end.
God’s word tells us: The high priest shall put incense on the fire in the sight of the Lord. The smoke of the incense shall cover the mercy-seat above the tokens of the covenant, so that he may not die. He shall take some of the blood of the bull-calf and sprinkle it with his finger over the mercy-seat toward the east.
God taught the people of the old covenant how to celebrate the ritual offered to him in atonement for the sins of men. But you have come to Christ, the true high priest. Through his blood he has made God turn to you in mercy and has reconciled you with the Father. You must not think simply of ordinary blood but you must learn to recognize instead the blood of the Word. Listen to him as he tells you: This is my blood, which will be shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
There is a deeper meaning in the fact that the high priest sprinkles the blood toward the east. Atonement comes to you from the east. From the east comes the one whose name is Dayspring, he who is mediator between God and men. You are invited then to look always to the east: it is there that the sun of righteousness rises for you, it is there that the light is always being born for you. You are never to walk in darkness; the great and final day is not to enfold you in darkness. Do not let the night and mist of ignorance steal upon you. So that you may always enjoy the light of knowledge, keep always in the daylight of faith, hold fast always to the light of love and peace.
RESPONSORY
Matthew 25:35, 40; John 15:12
For our sake,
Jesus went before us into heaven,
— and he has become like Melchizedek,
a high priest for ever.
He is the king of justice;
his life has no end.
— And he has become like Melchizedek,
a high priest for ever.
LAUDS
Ant. 1 Each morning, Lord, you fill us with your kindness.
Psalm 90
O Lord, you have been our refuge *
from one generation to the next.
Before the mountains were born †
or the earth or the world brought forth, *
you are God, without beginning or end.
You turn men back to dust *
and say: “Go back, sons of men.”
To your eyes a thousand years †
are like yesterday, come and gone, *
no more than a watch in the night.
You sweep men away like a dream, *
like the grass which springs up in the morning.
In the morning it springs up and flowers: *
by evening it withers and fades.
So we are destroyed in your anger, *
struck with terror in your fury.
Our guilt lies open before you; *
our secrets in the light of your face.
All our days pass away in your anger. *
Our life is over like a sigh.
Our span is seventy years *
or eighty for those who are strong.
And most of these are emptiness and pain. *
They pass swiftly and we are gone.
Who understands the power of your anger *
and fears the strength of your fury?
Make us know the shortness of our life *
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever? *
Show pity to your servants.
In the morning, fill us with your love; *
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to balance our affliction *
for the years when we knew misfortune.
Show forth your work to your servants; *
let your glory shine on their children.
Let the favor of the Lord be upon us: †
give success to the work of our hands, *
give success to the work of our hands.
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. Each morning, Lord, you fill us with your kindness.
Ant. 2 From the farthest bounds of earth, may God be praised!
Canticle: Isaiah 42:10-16
Sing to the Lord a new song, *
his praise from the end of the earth:
Let the sea and what fills it resound, *
the coastlands, and those who dwell in them.
Let the steppe and its cities cry out, *
the villages where Kedar dwells;
let the inhabitants of Sela exult, *
and shout from the top of the mountains.
Let them give glory to the Lord, *
and utter his praise in the coastlands.
The Lord goes forth like a hero, *
like a warrior he stirs up his ardor;
he shouts out his battle cry, *
against his enemies he shows his might:
I have looked away, and kept silence, *
I have said nothing, holding myself in;
but now, I cry out as a woman in labor, *
gasping and panting.
I will lay waste mountains and hills, *
all their herbage I will dry up;
I will turn the rivers into marshes, *
and the marshes I will dry up.
I will lead the blind on their journey; *
by paths unknown I will guide them.
I will turn darkness into light before them, *
and make crooked ways straight.
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. From the farthest bounds of earth, may God be praised!
Ant. 3 You who stand in his sanctuary, praise the name of the Lord.
Psalm 135:1-12
Praise the name of the Lord, *
praise him, servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord, *
in the courts of the house of our God.
Praise the Lord for the Lord is good. *
Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself *
and Israel for his own possession.
For I know the Lord is great, *
that our Lord is high above all gods.
The Lord does whatever he wills, *
in heaven, on earth, in the seas.
He summons clouds from the ends of the earth; †
makes lightning produce the rain; *
from his treasuries he sends forth the wind.
The first-born of the Egyptians he smote, *
of man and beast alike.
Signs and wonders he worked †
in the midst of your land, O Egypt, *
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
Nations in their greatness he struck †
and kings in their splendor he slew. *
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, the king of Bashan, *
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
He let Israel inherit their land; *
on his people their land he bestowed.
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. You who stand in his sanctuary, praise the name of the Lord.
READING
Exodus 19:4-6
You have seen for yourselves how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself. Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine. You shall be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.
RESPONSORY
God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
— God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
From those who would trap me with lying words
— and from the hunter’s snare.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
— God himself will set me free, from the hunter’s snare.
GOSPEL CANTICLE
Ant. A royal official, hearing that Jesus had come to Galilee, begged him to heal his son who lay ill in Capernaum.
Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old †
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. A royal official, hearing that Jesus had come to Galilee, begged him to heal his son who lay ill in Capernaum.
INTERCESSIONS
Blessed be God the Father for his gift of this sacrifice of praise. In the spirit of this Lenten season, let us pray:
Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.
God of power and mercy, give us the spirit of prayer and repentance,
— with burning love for you and all mankind.
Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.
Help us to work with you in making all things new in Christ,
— and in spreading justice and peace throughout the world.
Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.
Teach us the meaning and value of creation,
— so that we may join its voice to ours as we sing your praise.
Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.
Forgive us for failing to see Christ in the poor, the distressed and the troublesome,
— and for our failure to reverence your Son in their persons.
Instruct us, Lord, in the ways of your kingdom.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
(Remember us, Lord, when you come to your kingdom and teach us to pray:)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Father, creator,
you give the world new life by your sacraments.
May we, your Church, grow in your life
and continue to receive your help on earth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
DISMISSAL
May the Lord + bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
— Amen.