WEEK A
O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever. Amen.
PSALMODY
Antiphon: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;*
I will praise my God while I have my being.
Opening - From Psalm 104
You spread out the heavens like a curtain;*
you lay the beams of your chambers in the waters above;
You make the clouds your chariot;*
you ride on the wings of the wind;
You make the winds your messengers*
and flames of fire your servants.
You have set the earth upon its foundations,*
so that it never shall move at any time.
Glory to the Father…
Psalm 47
Clap your hands, all you peoples;*
shout to God with a cry of joy.
For the Lord Most High is to be feared;*
he is the great king over all the earth.
He subdues the peoples under us,*
and the nations under our feet.
He chooses our inheritance for us,*
the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
God has gone up with a shout,*
the Lord with the sound of the ram’s-horn.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;*
sing praises to our king, sing praises.
For God is king of all the earth;*
sing praises with all your skill.
God reigns over the nations;*
God sits upon his holy throne.
The nobles of the peoples have gathered together*
with the people of the God of Abraham.
The rulers of the earth belong to God,*
and he is highly exalted.
Glory to the Father . . .
Blessed are you, God of all the earth; you have called us out of every people and nation to be a royal priesthood and citizens of your holy city. May our words of praise call the world to turn to the joy of fellowship with you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Conclusion (from Isaiah 45))
Thus says the Lord who created the heavens,*
who formed the earth and made it;
who did not create it a chaos,*
but formed it to be inhabited -
Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;*
for I am God: there is no other.
From my mouth has gone forth in righteousness*
a word that shall not return:
“To me every knee shall bow,*
every tongue shall swear”.’
In the Lord all the offspring of Israel*
shall triumph and glory.
Glory to the Father…
Antiphon: I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;*
I will praise my God while I have my being.
READINGS
Genesis 26: 1-6, 12-33
Now there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Gerar, to King Abimelech of the Philistines. The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; settle in the land that I shall show you. Reside in this land as an alien, and I will be with you, and will bless you; for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will fulfil the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and will give to your offspring all these lands; and all the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves through your offspring, because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.’
So Isaac settled in Gerar.
Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in the same year reaped a hundredfold. The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich; he prospered more and more until he became very wealthy. He had possessions of flocks and herds, and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. (Now the Philistines had stopped up and filled with earth all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham.) And Abimelech said to Isaac, ‘Go away from us; you have become too powerful for us.’
So Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar and settled there. Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of his father Abraham; for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the names that his father had given them. But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of spring water, the herders of Gerar quarrelled with Isaac’s herders, saying, ‘The water is ours.’ So he called the well Esek,because they contended with him. Then they dug another well, and they quarrelled over that one also; so he called it Sitnah. He moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, ‘Now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.’
From there he went up to Beer-sheba. And that very night the Lordappeared to him and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; do not be afraid, for I am with you and will bless you and make your offspring numerous for my servant Abraham’s sake.’ So he built an altar there, called on the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there. And there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army. Isaac said to them, ‘Why have you come to me, seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you?’ They said, ‘We see plainly that the Lord has been with you; so we say, let there be an oath between you and us, and let us make a covenant with you so that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. In the morning they rose early and exchanged oaths; and Isaac set them on their way, and they departed from him in peace. That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, ‘We have found water!’ He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-shebato this day.
Hebrews 13: 17-25
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you.
Pray for us; we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honourably in all things. I urge you all the more to do this, so that I may be restored to you very soon.
Now may the God of peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do his will, working among us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been set free; and if he comes in time, he will be with me when I see you. Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. Grace be with all of you.
Silence
Response (Ps. 92.4)
V. In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.
R. In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.
V. I will sing for joy because of the works of your hands.
R. You have made me glad.
V. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. In all you have done, O Lord, you have made me glad.
BENEDICTUS
Benedictus Antiphon: God has remembered* his holy covenant.
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,*
for he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,*
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 that hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our forebears,*
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 all 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 be to the Father.
Benedictus Antiphon: God has remembered* his holy covenant.
PRAYERS
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
Collects
Merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon and peace, that we may be cleansed from all our sins and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!
The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal. Amen.