THE DIVINE HOURS

The Call to Prayer

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting and to everlasting;* and let all the people say, "Amen!" Hallelujah!

Psalm 106:48

The Request for Presence

Turn to me and have mercy upon me;* give your strength to your servant; and save the child of your handmaid.

Psalm 86:16

The Greeting

O LORD, your love endures for ever;* do not abandon the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:9

The Refrain for the Midday Lessons

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;* those who act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures for ever.

Psalm 111:10

A Reading

St. Paul wrote to the church of Galatia saying: "Now I want to make it quite clear to you, brothers, about the gospel that was preached by me, that it was no human message. It was not from any human being that I received it, and I was not taught it, but it came to me through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You have surely heard how I lived in the past, within Judaism, and how there was simply no limit to the way I persecuted the Church of God in my attempts to destroy it; and how in Judaism, I outstripped most of my Jewish contemporaries in my limitless enthusiasm for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart from the time when I was in my mother's womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I should preach him to the gentiles, I was in no hurry to confer with any human being, or go up to Jerusalem."

Galatians 1:11-17

The Refrain

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;* those who act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures for ever.

The Midday Psalm

I Have Prepared a Lamp for My Anointed

For the LORD has chosen Zion;* he has desired her for his habitation: "This shall be my resting-place for ever;* here will I dwell, for I delight in her. I will surely bless her provisions,* and satisfy her poor with bread. I will clothe her priests with salvation,* and her faithful people will rejoice and sing. There will I make the horn of David flourish;* I have prepared a lamp for my Anointed."

Psalm 132:14-18

The Refrain

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;* those who act accordingly have a good understanding; his praise endures for ever.

The Gloria

Glory be to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, so it is now and so it shall ever be, world without end. Alleluia. Amen.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your Name. May your kingdom come, and your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for yours are the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Prayer Appointed for the Week

Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Concluding Prayer of the Church

Almighty God, whose will it is to be glorified in your saints, and who raised up your servant Paul to be a light in the world: Shine, I pray, in my heart that I also in my generation may show forth your praise, who called me out of darkness into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill my petitions, I pray, not as I ask in my ignorance, nor as I deserve in my sinfulness, but as you know and love me in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Divine Hours are reprinted here with permission of Doubleday and Phyllis Tickle. Not for distribution without permission from the author.
Buy The Divine Hours from Amazon.com

The Divine Hours © Copyright 2003 Phyllis Tickle www.phyllistickle.com