The Psalms for prayer and reflection

Canticles Every Day

Ode 9, Part 1 The Magnificat Luke 1, 46-55

MY soul doth magnify the Lord:

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior,

Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid: for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,

Because he that is mighty hath done great things to me, and holy is his name.

And his mercy is from generation unto generation to those that fear him.

He hath showed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent away empty.

He hath received Israel, his servant, being mindful of his mercy,

As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed forever.

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.

Ant. All generations shall call me blessed, for God hath regarded his lowly handmaid.

Ode 9, Part 2 Canticle of Zachary Luke 1 :68-79

BLESSED be the Lord God of Israel, because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people: And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:

As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been since the world began.

Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:

To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,

The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,

That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear.

In holiness and justice before him, all our days.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:

To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:

Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:

To give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.

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.

Canticle of Simeon Luke 2.29-32.34

+ NOW Thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord according to thy word in peace:

Because my eyes have seen thy salvation.

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples:

A light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

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.

Ant. Save us, O Lord, while we are awake, and guard us when we sleep: that we may watch with Christ, and rest in peace.

Ant. And Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother: Behold this child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against.

A Prayer to live the instructions in the Psalms correctly, especially in relation to Holy Communion.

Lord Jesus Christ Who took upon You the curses of the peoples as related in the psalms to bring us back to Your true Law written in our hearts by You and preached by the prophets, especially St. John the Baptist, Lord Jesus Christ Who commands us to obey Your Law and nothing other, have mercy upon us who turn to You. Grant us to always be aware of the pitfalls related in the psalms to always avoid these ditches. All Holy Divine Person Lord Jesus Christ Immortal Son Word Wisdom Power of God Our Father in the Unity and Power and Bond of Love of the Holy Spirit our Paraclete. Grant us to worthily receive this Communion which You alone give to us. You Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit created the world ex nihilo at the beginning of the first six days and finished the making thereof on the rest of the first six days and on the morn of the last of those formed Adam from the moist earth and breathed into him and he became a living soul and cast him into a deep sleep and made Eve from his side; the first man and woman with none other before them of any sort and none other with them at the beginning of any sort, from whom are descended all men here on earth wherein all salvation is worked out from the first Adam to the last saint, saved by You and no other, for no other could. You Who alone proceeded from the Father's bosom and throne and came into the world 70 generations later, conceived by the Holy Spirit and the blessed virgin Mary and truly born of her on earth and saved us by Your most Holy Cross and Resurrection and Ascension in the flesh and the gift of Your Holy Spirit, by this most Holy Eucharist of Yourself Whom we receive in faith, these gifts of bread and wine and water by Your command and power alone, truly transubstantiated into Your Divine Person, You, Your most Holy Body Flesh Blood Water Soul Spirit Energy One Divine Essence Substance Nature uncreated alone having aseity threefold light of one undivided glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Christ Jesus Our Only Lord and Saviour, Whom we receive in faith with all thanksgiving, thereby indwelling us Lord God Our Father and the Son Jesus Christ Our Only Lord and Saviour and the Holy Spirit our Paraclete with all Your gifts and mercies, shielding us, delivering us in our spirits souls and bodies in everything in all ways at all times unceasingly and now and always and unto the endless ages of ages to come.

Glory to God.

Psalms by day of the week

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• Thursday
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• Saturday
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ON AWAKENING

Hymn to Christ the light and life

Christ come among men
as source of light,
your ineffable birth
is before the beginning of time. You are the radiant light shining with the Father. You irradiate lustreless matter
and illumine the souls of the faithful.

You have created the world
and fixed the orbit of the stars;
you sustain the axis of the earth, you save all mankind.
You guide the sun in its course
to light up all our days
and the crescent moon
which dispels the darkness of night. You make the seed to sprout preparing food for the flocks.
From your inexhaustible fount
you pour out the splendour of life making fruitful the whole universe. . .

Synesius of Cyrene

Morning hymn

A festive chirruping announces the day, singing in the light of dawn.
Christ spurs on the soul,
inviting us to a rebirth, this day.

Arise from your beds, he urges,
where a feeble languor makes you inert. Be watchful, chaste, good, and sober;
for I am close to you. .

Let us invoke Jesus, aloud, sorrowing, praying, repentant; an ardent invocation
keeps a pure heart on the alert.

O Christ, drive away sleep, break the chains of night, make good the ancient fault, bring to us new light.

Glory be to God the Father,
and to his only Son,
together with the Spirit, the consoler,
now and for ever.

Prudentius

Prayers on awakening

To the eternal creator of the world

Eternal maker of the world, who rules over night and day dividing up our daily round to ease the body’s weariness.

O night light for wayfarers
Which distinguishes night from night, the dawn bird now sings aloud calling up the light of the sun.

Holy day star unveiled by him, drives darkness from the face of heaven and malefactors in their troops abandon now their brigandage.

Sailors gain strength as he appears, and the sea’s waves grow calm again; hearing him, the Rock of the Church Christ Jesus our only Lord and Saviour, [Peter] weeping, mourns his sin.

Let us arise then speedily.
The cock awakens those who sleep and rouses up the drowsy ones; the perjurors are accused by him.

At cock crow hope is born again, and health returns to those who ail; the brigand hides his dagger now, and faith revives in apostate soul.

Jesus, look on those who waver; and, looking, help us to be firm; under your care shame fades away and tears wipe out the stain of sin.

O light, shine now within our souls and torpor fly from every mind; and at the dawn our voices rise
in songs of prayer and praise to you.

AMBROSE AND AUGUSTINE

Prayer to Christ the Creator

Sun of Justice, blessed ray,
the first source of light;
O ardently Desired, above all else; powerful, inscrutable, ineffable;
joy of the good, vision of fulfilled hope,
praised and heavenly, Christ the Creator;
king of glory, assurance of life,
fill the void of my miserable voice
with your almighty word;
and offer it as a supplication
pleasing to your Father Most High,
for you have come into the world in likeness to me, subjecting yourself to human suffering,
the heritage of the curse.
O blessing of life, watchful providence
for all, both small and great!
If you accepted to die for me,
you, God and Lord of all,
how much more,
for the sake of the body you assumed, of your nature, will you pardon the weakness that leads me into danger, interceding for me, a sinner,
with the Father whose glory you share.

Gregory of Narek