Opening
Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Hymn
In the stillness, one true Word Is enough to hold the soul. We do not come to master you; We come to be made whole. Open the book, open the heart. Where we have hurried, slow us down. Where we have feared, be near and kind Until your light is found.
Original – Prayer on Fire
Psalm I
Antiphon
Word of God, open the Scriptures of my heart.
Psalm 46 (45):2–3, 5–6
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Our God is our refuge and strength, a helper in the tribulations that have greatly overwhelmed us. Because of this, we will not be afraid when the earth will be turbulent and the mountains will be transferred into the heart of the sea. The frenzy of the river rejoices the city of God. The Most High has sanctified his tabernacle. God is in its midst; it will not be shaken. God will assist it in the early morning.
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 67 (66):2–4
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
May God have mercy on us and bless us. May he shine his countenance upon us, and may he have mercy on us. So may we know your way upon the earth, your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples confess to you, O God. Let all the peoples confess to you.
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
Hold the psalm a little longer.
First Reading
Haggai 2:1–9
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
On the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of king Darius, they began. And in the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came, by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying: Speak to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remainder of the people, saying: Who is left among you, who saw this house in its first glory? And how do you see it now? Is it not, in comparison to that, as nothing in your eyes? And now be strengthened, Zerubbabel, says the Lord. And be strengthened, Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest. And be strengthened, all people of the land, says the Lord of hosts. For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. And act according to the word that I planted with you when you departed from the land of Egypt. And my Spirit will be in your midst. Do not be afraid. For thus says the Lord of hosts: There is yet one brief time, and I will move heaven and earth, and the sea and the dry land. And I will move all nations. And the Desired of all nations will arrive. And I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. Mine is the silver, and mine is the gold, says the Lord of hosts.
Responsory
This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Second Reading
On Our Lady of Sorrows
Original – Prayer on Fire
Mary does not stand beside the Cross as decoration. She stands as a mother who refuses to leave. The sword that Simeon named is not a metaphor meant to make us poetic. It is the cost of loving the Crucified without looking away. The Church keeps this memorial so that no one will think faith is the same as being spared. Some griefs are not failures. They are the shape love takes when it remains. Mary does not explain the Cross to us. She stays. That is her teaching. If you are keeping vigil with someone you cannot save, you are near this feast. If you have had to place a child, a friend, a hope into God’s hands while your own hands were empty, you are near this feast. You do not have to feel brave. You have to remain. Let this Hour be a standing, not a speech. Offer your ache beside hers. Ask for a heart that can look at suffering without becoming cruel, and without becoming false. The Mother of Sorrows is not the mother of despair. She is the woman who still believes that the One on the wood is Lord, even when the sky has gone dark.
Intercessions
Let the first word over us today be mercy.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For those crushed by accusation, even in their own minds.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For the world you love, that light may find the shadowed places.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For us, that we may not turn the Word into a weapon.
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
Lord Jesus, go with us toward the people we will meet. Let no one leave our presence unblessed. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.