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
Feed me with what endures when lesser lights fade.
Psalm 145 (144):1–3, 8–9
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
I will extol you, O God, my king. And I will bless your name, in this time and forever and ever. Throughout every single day, I will bless you. And I will praise your name, in this time and forever and ever. The Lord is great and exceedingly praiseworthy. And there is no end to his greatness. The Lord is compassionate and merciful, patient and full of mercy. The Lord is sweet to all things, and his compassion is upon all his works.
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
Feed me with what endures when lesser lights fade.
Psalm II
Antiphon
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm 30 (29):2–5
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
I will extol you, Lord, for you have sustained me, and you have not allowed my enemies to delight over me. O Lord my God, I have cried out to you, and you have healed me. Lord, you led my soul away from Hell. You have saved me from those who descend into the pit. Sing a psalm to the Lord, you his saints, and confess with remembrance of his holiness.
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
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Silence
Let the last verse rest in you.
First Reading
Micah 6:1–8
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Listen to what the Lord says: Rise, contend in judgment against the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. Let the mountains listen to the judgment of the Lord, and the strong foundations of the earth. For the judgment of the Lord is with his people, and he will enter into judgment with Israel. My people, what have I done to you, or how have I assailed you? Respond to me. For I led you out of the land of Egypt, and I freed you from the house of servitude, and I sent before your face Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam. My people, remember, I ask you, what Balak the king of Moab planned, and how Balaam the son of Beor responded to him, from Shittim even to Gilgal, so that you may know the justice of the Lord. What worthy thing might I offer to the Lord, as I bend the knee before God on high? How could I offer holocausts to him, and one year-old calves? Would the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with many thousands of fat he-goats? How could I give up my firstborn because of my evil deed, the fruit of my womb because of the sin of my soul? I will reveal to you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires from you, and how to act with judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk carefully with your God.
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 the Catechetical Lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem
public domain
And His coming is gentle; the perception of Him is fragrant; His burden is most light; beams of light and knowledge gleam forth before His coming. He comes with the heart of a true guardian; for He comes to save, and to heal, to teach, to admonish, to strengthen, to exhort, to enlighten the mind, first of him who receives Him, and afterwards of others also, through him. And as a man, who being previously in darkness, suddenly beholds the sun, receives light in his bodily sight, and sees plainly things which he saw not, so also he to whom the Holy Ghost is granted is enlightened in his soul, and sees things beyond man’s sight, which he knew not. His body is on earth, yet his soul mirrors forth the heavens. He comes down gently, as rain upon a fleece, and as drops falling upon the earth. His visitation is not oppressive. Come, and see the place; receive the seal; that you may be holy and without blame. Keep your soul free, lest by bondage to sin you make the temple unfit for Him who would dwell there. For He does not abide in a body that is defiled, nor in a soul that loves what He hates.
Intercessions
For ears to hear the Word before the day’s noise.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For the Church, that she may keep Scripture as daily bread.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who wake anxious — speak peace before they plan.
R. Lord, hear our prayer.
For our own hearts, that we may receive more than we understand.
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 of light, you wake us into this new day. Receive the work we have not yet begun, and let your Son go before us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.