Opening
Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Hymn
Your word is a lamp for the path I cannot see. I do not ask for the whole road — Only light enough for this next step, And a heart willing to take it. If I am slow, wait with me. If I am proud, make me small and true. Speak, and I will follow as I can Until the day is full.
Original – Prayer on Fire
Psalm I
Antiphon
Speak, Lord — your servant is listening in the quiet.
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
Speak, Lord — your servant is listening in the quiet.
Psalm II
Antiphon
Let your truth steady me before the day grows loud.
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
Let your truth steady me before the day grows loud.
Silence
Hold the psalm a little longer.
First Reading
Ezekiel 37:1–14
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
The hand of the Lord was set upon me, and he led me away in the Spirit of the Lord, and he released me in the midst of a plain which was full of bones. And he led me around, through them, on every side. Now they were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceedingly dry. And he said to me, “Son of man, do you think that these bones will live?” And I said, “O Lord God, you know.” And he said to me, “Prophesy about these bones. And you shall say to them: Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live. And I will set sinews upon you, and I will cause flesh to grow over you, and I will extend skin over you. And I will give you spirit, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the Lord.” And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. But a noise occurred, as I was prophesying, and behold: a commotion. And the bones joined together, each one at its joint. And I saw, and behold: sinews and flesh rose up over them; and skin was extended over them. But they had no spirit within them. And he said to me: “Prophesy to the spirit! Prophesy, O son of man, and you shall say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord God: Approach, O spirit, from the four winds, and blow across these ones who were slain, and revive them.” And I prophesied, just as he had instructed me. And spirit entered into them, and they lived. And they stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. And he said to me: “Son of man: All these bones are the house of Israel. They say: ‘Our bones are dried out, and our hope has perished, and we have been cut off.’ Because of this, prophesy, and you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your tombs, and I will lead you away from your sepulchers, O my people. And I will lead you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I will have opened your sepulchers, and when I will have led you away from your tombs, O my people. And I will place my Spirit within you, and you shall live. And I will cause you to rest upon your own soil. And you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and acted, says the Lord God.”
Responsory
Your word is a lamp for my feet. And a light for my path. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Second Reading
From a letter of St. Jerome to Paulinus
public domain
I beg of you, my dear brother, to live among these books, to meditate upon them, to know nothing else, to seek nothing else. Does not such a life seem to you a foretaste of heaven here on earth? Let not the simplicity of the Scripture offend you. The food of the soul is humble in appearance, but it is precious within. The men who wrote the Scriptures did not seek to be eloquent. They sought to be true. If you look only at the surface, you may think the words poor; if you knock, you will find the riches within. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Love the holy Scriptures, and wisdom will love you. Love them, and they will keep you. Honour them, and they will embrace you. These are the books which, as a boy, I used to despise, but which now I hold dearer than gold and jewels. Let us learn upon earth those truths which will remain with us in heaven.
Intercessions
Bless this ordinary morning as a place of encounter.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For workers already on the road, and parents already awake.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For the sick who will not leave their rooms today.
R. Lord, have mercy.
For a heart that can hear you in unremarkable 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
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.