Opening
Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Hymn
Word of the Father, first and last, Meet us before we speak. Kindle a lamp for hidden paths And give the strength we seek. Not many words, but one that stays When lesser lights are gone: Teach us to love what you have said, And walk it until dawn.
Original – Prayer on Fire
Psalm I
Antiphon
Feed me with what endures when lesser lights fade.
Psalm 100 (99):1–3
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth. Serve the Lord with rejoicing. Enter into his sight in exultation. Know that the Lord himself is God. He made us, and we ourselves did not. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
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 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
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Silence
Hold the psalm a little longer.
First Reading
Zephaniah 3:14–20
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Give praise, daughter of Zion. Shout joyfully, Israel. Rejoice and exult with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away your judgment; he has turned aside your foes. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall no longer fear evil. In that day, it will be said to Jerusalem, “Do not be afraid,” and to Zion, “Do not let your hands be weakened.” The Lord your God is the strength in your midst; he will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. In his love, he will be silent. He will exult over you with praise. The triflers who withdrew from the law, I will gather together, because they were from you, so that you may no longer suffer disgrace over them. Behold, I will execute all who have afflicted you in that time, and I will save those who are lame, and I will gather together her who had been cast out. And I will place them in praise and in renown, in all the land where they had been put to shame, in that time, when I will lead to you, and in the time when I will gather for you. For I will deliver you into renown and into praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I will have converted your captivity before your very eyes, says the Lord.
Responsory
The Lord’s love is steadfast in the morning. His faithfulness is new with the light. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Second Reading
From On the Holy Spirit by St. Basil the Great
public domain
The Spirit is not brought into intimate association with the soul by its local approximation. How indeed could there be a corporeal approach to the incorporeal? This association results from the withdrawal of the passions which, coming from thereafter into the soul through its friendship to the flesh, have alienated it from its close relationship with God. Only then, after a man is purified from the shame whose stain he took through his wickedness, and has come back to his natural beauty, and as it were cleaning the Royal Image and restoring its ancient form, only thus is it possible for him to draw near to the Paraclete. And He, like the sun, will by the aid of your purified eye show you in Himself the image of the invisible, and in the blessed spectacle of the image you shall behold the unspeakable beauty of the archetype. Through His aid hearts are lifted up, the weak are held by the hand, and they who are advancing are brought to perfection. He shines upon those that are cleansed from every spot, and makes them spiritual by fellowship with Himself.
Intercessions
Let your word be a lamp, not a burden.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For teachers of the faith, that they may be gentle and true.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For households where the Bible is seldom opened — kindle a quiet hunger.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For us, that we may keep one verse through the untried hours.
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
God our Father, you have given us the light of another beginning. Open our lips to praise and our hands to mercy. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.