Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. I:
Ordinary: 649
Proper of Seasons: 368
Psalter: Monday, Week IV, 1065

Christian Prayer:
Does not contain Office of Readings.

Office of Readings for December 23, Monday in the Season of Advent

God, come to my assistance.
— Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia.

HYMN

My soul is thirsting for You my God
My soul is thirsting for You,
My soul is thirsting for You my God
For God the living God.

Living God, holy One
Fill my soul with love
with Your holy love.
Living God, holy One
Fill my soul with love
Fill my soul
Fill my soul with love
Fill my soul
Fill my soul.

𝄞	"My Soul Is Thirsting for God" by Briege O'Hare And Marie Cox • Available on iTunes • Available for Purchase • Title: My Soul Is Thirsting for God; Text: adapted from Psalm 63; Artists: Briege O’Hare And Marie Cox; Used with permission. • Albums that contain this Hymn: Lord, Teach Us To Pray

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!

Psalm 73
Why is it that the good have many troubles?
Blessed is the man who does not lose faith in me (Matthew 11:6).

How good God is to Israel,
to those who are pure of heart.
Yet my feet came close to stumbling,
my steps had almost slipped
for I was filled with envy of the proud
when I saw how the wicked prosper.

For them there are no pains;
their bodies are sound and sleek.
They do not share in men’s sorrows;
they are not stricken like others.

So they wear their pride like a necklace,
they clothe themselves with violence.
Their hearts overflow with malice,
their minds seethe with plots.

They scoff; they speak with malice;
from on high they plan oppression.
They have set their mouths in the heavens
and their tongues dictate to the earth.

So the people turn to follow them
and drink in all their words.
They say: “How can God know?
Does the Most High take any notice?”
Look at them, such are the wicked,
but untroubled, they grow in wealth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. How good is the God of Israel to the pure of heart!

Ant. 2 Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.

How useless to keep my heart pure
and wash my hands in innocence,
when I was stricken all day long,
suffered punishment day after day.

Then I said: “If I should speak like that,
I should betray the race of your sons.”
I strove to fathom this problem,
too hard for my mind to understand,
until I pierced the mysteries of God
and understood what becomes of the wicked.

How slippery the paths on which you set them;
you make them slide to destruction.
How suddenly they come to their ruin,
wiped out, destroyed by terrors.
Like a dream one wakes from, O Lord,
when you wake you dismiss them as phantoms.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Their laughter will turn to weeping, their merriment to grief.

Ant. 3 Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.

III

And so when my heart grew embittered
and when I was cut to the quick,
I was stupid and did not understand,
no better than a beast in your sight.

Yet I was always in your presence;
you were holding me by my right hand.
You will guide me by your counsel
and so you will lead me to glory.

What else have I in heaven but you?
Apart from you I want nothing on earth.
My body and my heart faint for joy;
God is my possession for ever.

All those who abandon you shall perish;
you will destroy all those who are faithless.
To be near God is my happiness.
I have made the Lord God my refuge.
I will tell of your works
at the gates of the city of Zion.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
— as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

It is good to be with you, Father; in you is fullness of life for your faithful people; in you all hope resides. May you lead us to everlasting happiness.

Ant. Those who depart from you will perish; my joy is to remain with you, my God.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Let your compassion come upon me, Lord
— Your salvation, true to your promise.

READINGS

First reading
From the book of the prophet Isaiah
51:1-11
The salvation promised to the children of Abraham

Listen to me, you who pursue justice,
who seek the Lord;
Look to the rock from which you were hewn,
to the pit from which you were quarried;
Look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth;
When he was but one I called him,
I blessed him and made him many.

Yes, the Lord shall comfort Zion
and have pity on all her ruins;
Her deserts he shall make like Eden,
her wasteland like the garden of the Lord;
Joy and gladness shall be found in her,
thanksgiving and the sound of song.

Be attentive to me, my people;
my folk, give ear to me.
For law shall go forth from my presence,
and my judgment, as the light of the peoples.
I will make my justice come speedily;
my salvation shall go forth
and my arm shall judge the nations;
In me shall the coastlands hope,
and my arm they shall await.

Raise your eyes to the heavens,
and look at the earth below;
Though the heavens grow thin like smoke,
the earth wears out like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies,
My salvation shall remain forever
and my justice shall never be dismayed.

Hear me, you who know justice,
you people who have my teaching at heart:
Fear not the reproach of men,
be not dismayed at their revilings.
They shall be like a garment eaten by moths,
like wool consumed by grubs;
But my justice shall remain forever
and my salvation, for all generations.

Awake, awake, put on strength,
O arm of the Lord!
Awake as in the days of old,
in ages long ago!
Was it not you who crushed Rahab,
you who pierced the dragon?
Was it not you who dried up the sea,
the waters of the great deep,
Who made the depths of the sea into a way
for the redeemed to pass over?

Those whom the Lord has ransomed will return
and enter Zion singing,
crowned with everlasting joy;
They will meet with joy and gladness,
sorrow and mourning will flee.

RESPONSORY See Isaiah 51:4, 5; 35:10

My people, listen to me;
hear me, all you who belong to my race;
— close at hand is my Just One, my Savior draws near.

Now those redeemed by the Lord will come back and enter Z...