Opening
Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Hymn
Not bread alone, but every word That comes from you, O living God. Feed the hunger we cannot name In this still hour before the work. Then send us, nourished, into day — Not full of ourselves, but of you. Let what we heard become our food When thinner comforts fail.
Original – Prayer on Fire
Psalm I
Antiphon
Speak, Lord — your servant is listening in the quiet.
Psalm 143 (142):8–10
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Make me hear your mercy in the morning. For I have hoped in you. Make known to me the way that I should walk. For I have lifted up my soul to you. Free me from my enemies, O Lord, to you I have fled. Teach me to do your will. For you are my God. Your good Spirit will lead me into the right land.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon
Speak, Lord — your servant is listening in the quiet.
Psalm II
Antiphon
Let your truth steady me before the day grows loud.
Psalm 24 (23):7–10
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates. And the King of Glory shall enter. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord who is strong and powerful; the Lord powerful in battle. Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates. And the King of Glory shall enter. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of virtue. He himself is the King of Glory.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon
Let your truth steady me before the day grows loud.
Silence
Hold the psalm a little longer.
First Reading
Sirach 24:1–12
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Wisdom will praise her own mind, and she will be honored by God, and she will be glorified in the midst of her people. And she will open her mouth in the churches of the Most High, and she will be glorified in the sight of his virtue. And in the midst of her own people, she will be exalted. And she will be admired by the holy assembly. And she will have praise within the multitude of the elect. And she will be blessed among the blessed. And she will say: “I went forth from the mouth of the Most High, as the first-born before all creatures. I caused an unfailing light to arise in the heavens. And I covered all the earth like a cloud. I lived in the highest places, and my throne is in the pillar of a cloud. I alone have encompassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated to the depths of the abyss, and have walked upon the waves of the sea, and have stood upon the whole earth. And among every people, and in every nation, I have held primacy. And by virtue, I have tread upon the hearts of all, the great and the lowly. And I have sought my rest in all of them. And I will continue, as the inheritance of the Lord. Then the Creator of all things instructed and spoke with me. And the One who created me rested in my tabernacle.
Responsory
Send forth your light and your truth. Let them lead me. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Second Reading
From a letter of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians
public domain
It is better for a man to be silent and be a Christian, than to talk and not to be one. It is good to teach, if he who speaks also acts. There is then one Teacher, who spoke and it was done; while even those things which He did in silence are worthy of the Father. He who possesses the word of Jesus, is truly able to hear even His very silence, that he may be perfect, and may both act as he speaks, and be recognized by his silence. There is nothing which is hid from the Lord, but our very secrets are near to Him. Let us therefore do all things as those who have Him dwelling in us, that we may be His temples, and He may be in us as our God, which indeed He is, and will manifest Himself before our faces. Wherefore we justly love Him. Let no man deceive himself: if any one be not within the altar, he is deprived of the bread of God. For if the prayer of one or two possesses such power, how much more that of the bishop and the whole Church. He, therefore, that does not assemble with the Church, has even by this manifested his pride, and condemned himself. Let us be careful, then, not to set ourselves in opposition to the bishop, in order that we may be subject to God.
Intercessions
Teach us to keep the Word we have heard.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For the Church, that she may ponder before she publishes.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For the unborn, the elderly, and all whose lives are hidden.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For our lips, that they may bless and not hurry.
R. Lord, have mercy.
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. Amen.
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, seal the Word we have heard. Go with us into the untried hours, and teach us to love as we have been loved. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.