Opening
Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Hymn
Speak, Lord — the house is quiet still. Your servant waits to hear. Before the day becomes a crowd, Come near, and make us hear. Open the Scripture of our hearts; Let one true word remain. Then send us into what must come, Still listening for your name.
Original – Prayer on Fire
Psalm I
Antiphon
Word of God, open the Scriptures of my heart.
Psalm 72 (71):1–2, 12–13
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Give your judgment, O God, to the king, and your justice to the king’s son, to judge your people with justice and your poor with judgment. For he will free the poor from the powerful, and the poor one who has no helper. He will spare the poor and the indigent, and he will bring salvation to the souls of the poor.
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
Word of God, open the Scriptures of my heart.
Psalm II
Antiphon
Speak, Lord — your servant is listening in the quiet.
Psalm 98 (97):1–3
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has performed wonders. His right hand and his holy arm have accomplished salvation. The Lord has made known his salvation. He has revealed his justice in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
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.
Silence
Let the last verse rest in you.
First Reading
Sirach 42:15–25
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
And now, I will remember the works of the Lord, and I will announce what I have seen. The words of the Lord are in his works. The sun illuminates and considers all things, and its work shows the fullness of the glory of the Lord. Has not the Lord caused the holy ones to describe all his miracles, which the all-powerful Lord has firmly established in his glory? He has examined the abyss and the hearts of men. And he has considered their astuteness. For the Lord comprehends all knowledge, and he has gazed upon the signs of the times: announcing the things of the past, as well as the things of the future, and revealing the traces of hidden things. No thought passes by him unnoticed, and no word can conceal itself from him. He has adorned the magnificent works of his wisdom. He is before eternity and even unto eternity. And nothing can be added, and nothing can be taken away. And he has no need of any counselor. O how desirable are all his works! And all that we consider is but a spark. All these works exist, and they remain in the present age, and they all obey him in every purpose. All things are two-fold, one facing another, and he has not made anything to be lacking.
Responsory
In the morning I lift my prayer to you. And I wait upon your word. 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 Romans
public domain
I write to the Churches, and impress on them all, that I shall willingly die for God, unless you hinder me. I beseech of you not to show an unseasonable goodwill toward me. Suffer me to become food for the wild beasts, through whose instrumentality it will be granted me to attain to God. I am the wheat of God, and let me be ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found the pure bread of Christ. Rather entice the wild beasts, that they may become my tomb, and may leave nothing of my body; so that when I have fallen asleep, I may be no trouble to any one. Then shall I truly be a disciple of Christ, when the world shall not see so much as my body. Entreat Christ for me, that by these instruments I may be found a sacrifice to God. Now I begin to be a disciple. And let no one, of things visible or invisible, envy me that I should attain to Jesus Christ. Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings, breakings, and dislocations of bones; let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the dreadful torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ.
Intercessions
Meet those who come thirsty and still feel dry.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For seekers who do not yet know your Name.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For the baptized who have grown dull of hearing.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For us, that we may stay until the Word becomes prayer.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
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
Father, send us into the work of this day. Keep our hands honest and our speech kind. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.