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Mass Readings

First Reading Genesis 3:9-15, 20
And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou? And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. And he said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat? And Adam said: The woman, whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. And Adam called the name of his wife Eve: because she was the mother of all the living.
Responsorial Psalm Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4
A psalm for David himself. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because he hath done wonderful things. His right hand hath wrought for him salvation, and his arm is holy. The Lord hath made known his salvation: he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Second Reading Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with spiritual blessings in heavenly places, in Christ: As he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in his sight in charity. Who hath predestinated us unto the adoption of children through Jesus Christ unto himself: according to the purpose of his will: Unto the praise of the glory of his grace, in which he hath graced us, in his beloved son. In whom we also are called by lot, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things according to the counsel of his will. That we may be unto the praise of his glory: we who before hoped in Christ:
Gospel Luke 1:26-38
And in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done, because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren. Because no word shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
USCCB Readings →

Liturgy of the Hours

WEEK 2

Office of Readings

psalm Psalm 37:1-11
Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity. For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green herbs shall quickly fall. Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches. Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart. Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it. And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Be subject to the Lord and pray to him. Envy not the man who prospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things. Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but they that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the land. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it. But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace.
psalm Psalm 37:12-29
The sinner shall watch the just man: and shall gnash upon him with his teeth. But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foreseeth that his day shall come. The wicked have drawn out the sword: they have bent their bow. To cast down the poor and needy, to kill the upright of heart. Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken. Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the Lord strengtheneth the just. The Lord knoweth the days of the undefiled; and their inheritance shall be for ever. They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be filled: Because the wicked shall perish. And the enemies of the Lord, presently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to nothing and vanish like smoke. The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth mercy and shall give. For such as bless him shall inherit the land: but such as curse him shall perish. With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall like well his way. When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth his hand under him. I have been young and now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread. He sheweth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed shall be in blessing. Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever. For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: they shall be preserved for ever. The unjust shall be punished, and the seed of the wicked shall perish. But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for evermore.
psalm Psalm 37:30-40
The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be supplanted. The wicked watcheth the just man, and seeketh to put him to death, But the Lord will not leave him in his hands; nor condemn him when he shall be judged. Expect the Lord and keep his way: and he will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see. I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus. And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him and his place was not found. Keep innocence, and behold justice: for there are remnants for the peaceable man. But the unjust shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish. But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble. And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them because they have hoped in him.

Lauds

psalm Psalm 43
A psalm for David. Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man. For thou art God my strength: why hast thou cast me off? and why do I go sorrowful whilst the enemy afflicteth me? Sent forth thy light and thy truth: they have conducted me, and brought me unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles. And I will go in to the altar of God: to God who giveth joy to my youth. To thee, O God my God, I will give praise upon the harp: why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God.
canticle Isaiah 38:10-14, 17-20
I said: In the midst of my days I shall go to the gates of hell: I sought for the residue of my years. I said: I shall not see the Lord God in the land of the living. I shall behold man no more, nor the inhabitant of rest. My generation is at an end, and it is rolled away from me, as a shepherd's tent. My life is cut off, as by a weaver: whilst I was yet but beginning, he cut me off: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me. I hoped till morning, as a lion so hath he broken all my bones: from morning even to night thou wilt make an end of me. I will cry like a young swallow, I will meditate like a dove: my eyes are weakened looking upward: Lord, I suffer violence, answer thou for me. Behold in peace is my bitterness most bitter: but thou hast delivered my soul that it should not perish, thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For hell shall not confess to thee, neither shall death praise thee: nor shall they that go down into the pit, look for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall give praise to thee, as I do this day: the father shall make the truth known to the children. O Lord, save me, and we will sing our psalms all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.
psalm Psalm 65
To the end, a psalm of David. The canticle of Jeremias and Ezechiel to the people of the captivity, when they began to go out. A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem. O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to thee. The words of the wicked have prevailed over us: and thou wilt pardon our transgressions. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of thy house; holy is thy temple, Wonderful in justice. Hear us, O God our saviour, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off. Thou who preparest the mountains by thy strength, being girded with power: Who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves. The Gentiles shall be troubled, And they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at thy signs: thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful. Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plentifully watered it; thou hast many ways enriched it. The river of God is filled with water, thou hast prepared their food: for so is its preparation. Fill up plentifully the streams thereof, multiply its fruits; it shall spring up and rejoice in its showers. Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness: and thy fields shall be filled with plenty. The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with joy, The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound with corn: they shall shout, yea they shall sing a hymn.

Terce

psalm Psalm 119:49-56
Be thou mindful of thy word to thy servant, in which thou hast given me hope. This hath comforted me in my humiliation: because thy word hath enlivened me. The proud did iniquitously altogether: but I declined not from thy law. I remembered, O Lord, thy judgments of old: and I was comforted. A fainting hath taken hold of me, because of the wicked that forsake thy law. Thy justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage. In the night I have remembered thy name, O Lord: and have kept thy law. This happened to me: because I sought after thy justifications.
psalm Psalm 53
Unto the end, for Maeleth, understandings to David. The fool said in his heart: There is no God. They are corrupted, and become abominable in iniquities: there is none that doth good. God looked down from heaven on the children of men: to see if there were any that did understand, or did seek God. All have gone aside, they are become unprofitable together, there is none that doth good, no not one. Shall not all the workers of iniquity know, who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon God: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. For God hath scattered the bones of them that please men: they have been confounded, because God hath despised them. Who will give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when God shall bring back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
psalm Psalm 54:3-6, 8-9
Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength. O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes. For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul. I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good: For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies.

Sext

psalm Psalm 119:49-56
Be thou mindful of thy word to thy servant, in which thou hast given me hope. This hath comforted me in my humiliation: because thy word hath enlivened me. The proud did iniquitously altogether: but I declined not from thy law. I remembered, O Lord, thy judgments of old: and I was comforted. A fainting hath taken hold of me, because of the wicked that forsake thy law. Thy justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage. In the night I have remembered thy name, O Lord: and have kept thy law. This happened to me: because I sought after thy justifications.
psalm Psalm 53
Unto the end, for Maeleth, understandings to David. The fool said in his heart: There is no God. They are corrupted, and become abominable in iniquities: there is none that doth good. God looked down from heaven on the children of men: to see if there were any that did understand, or did seek God. All have gone aside, they are become unprofitable together, there is none that doth good, no not one. Shall not all the workers of iniquity know, who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon God: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. For God hath scattered the bones of them that please men: they have been confounded, because God hath despised them. Who will give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when God shall bring back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
psalm Psalm 54:3-6, 8-9
Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength. O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes. For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul. I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good: For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies.

None

psalm Psalm 119:49-56
Be thou mindful of thy word to thy servant, in which thou hast given me hope. This hath comforted me in my humiliation: because thy word hath enlivened me. The proud did iniquitously altogether: but I declined not from thy law. I remembered, O Lord, thy judgments of old: and I was comforted. A fainting hath taken hold of me, because of the wicked that forsake thy law. Thy justifications were the subject of my song, in the place of my pilgrimage. In the night I have remembered thy name, O Lord: and have kept thy law. This happened to me: because I sought after thy justifications.
psalm Psalm 53
Unto the end, for Maeleth, understandings to David. The fool said in his heart: There is no God. They are corrupted, and become abominable in iniquities: there is none that doth good. God looked down from heaven on the children of men: to see if there were any that did understand, or did seek God. All have gone aside, they are become unprofitable together, there is none that doth good, no not one. Shall not all the workers of iniquity know, who eat up my people as they eat bread? They have not called upon God: there have they trembled for fear, where there was no fear. For God hath scattered the bones of them that please men: they have been confounded, because God hath despised them. Who will give out of Sion the salvation of Israel? when God shall bring back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
psalm Psalm 54:3-6, 8-9
Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me in thy strength. O God, hear my prayer: give ear to the words of my mouth. For strangers have risen up against me; and the mighty have sought after my soul: and they have not set God before their eyes. For behold God is my helper: and the Lord is the protector of my soul. I will freely sacrifice to thee, and will give praise, O God, to thy name: because it is good: For thou hast delivered me out of all trouble: and my eye hath looked down upon my enemies.

Vespers

psalm Psalm 49:2-13
Hear these things, all ye nations: give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world. All you that are earthborn, and you sons of men: both rich and poor together. My mouth shall speak wisdom: and the meditation of my heart understanding. I will incline my ear to a parable; I will open my proposition on the psaltery. Why shall I fear in the evil day? the iniquity of my heel shall encompass me. They that trust in their own strength, and glory in the multitude of their riches, No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem: he shall not give to God his ransom, Nor the price of the redemption of his soul: and shall labour for ever, And shall still live unto the end. He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying: the senseless and the fool shall perish together: And they shall leave their riches to strangers: And their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever. Their dwelling places to all generations: they have called their lands by their names. And man when he was in honour did not understand; he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them.
psalm Psalm 49:14-21
This way of theirs is a stumblingblock to them: and afterwards they shall delight in their mouth. They are laid in hell like sheep: death shall feed upon them. And the just shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their help shall decay in hell from their glory. But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, when he shall receive me. Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rick, and when the glory of his house shall be increased. For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; nor shall his glory descend with him. For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed: and he will praise thee when thou shalt do well to him. He shall go in to the generations of his fathers: and he shall never see light. Man when he was in honour did not understand: he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and made like to them.
canticle Revelation 4:11; 5:9, 10, 12
The four and twenty ancients fell down before him that sitteth on the throne and adored him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:

Compline

psalm Psalm 143:1-11
A psalm of David, when his son Absalom pursued him. [2 Kings 17.] Hear, O Lord, my prayer: give ear to my supplication in thy truth: hear me in thy justice. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight no man living shall be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul: he hath brought down my life to the earth. He hath made me to dwell in darkness as those that have been dead of old: I remembered the days of old, I meditated on all thy works: I meditated upon the works of thy hands. I stretched forth my hands to thee: my soul is as earth without water unto thee. Hear me speedily, O Lord: my spirit hath fainted away. Turn not away thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy mercy in the morning; for in thee have I hoped. Make the way known to me, wherein I should walk: for I have lifted up my soul to thee. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord, to thee have I fled: Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God. Thy good spirit shall lead me into the right land: For thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt quicken me in thy justice. Thou wilt bring my soul out of trouble: