Prayers for all Occasions, Needs, and Intentions

THE LITTLE OFFICE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Join with me in a Prayer of Praise

OFFICE OF READINGS

The Office of Readings may be celebrated at any time of the day or night. *The Te Deum follows the second reading and is for Sundays, solemnities, and feasts.

Verse

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

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Doxology

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.   

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Hymn

The God whom earth and sea and sky

Adore and laud and magnify,

Whose might they own, whose praise they tell,

In Mary’s body deigned to dwell.

O Mother blest! the chosen shrine

Wherein the Architect divine,

Whose hand contains the earth and sky,

Vouchsafed in hidden guise to lie:

Blest in the message Gabriel brought;

Blest in the work the Spirit wrought;

Most blest, to bring to human birth

The long desired of all the earth.

O Lord, the Virgin born, to thee

Eternal praise and glory be,

Whom with the Father we adore

And Holy Ghost forever more.   

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Psalmody

Antiphon 1

Mary received a blessing from the Lord and loving kindness from God her savior.

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Psalm 24

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm. 

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things, who has not sworn so as to deceive his neighbor. 

He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.  

O gates, lift high your heads; grow higher, ancient doors. Let him enter, the king of glory!

Who is he, the king of glory? He, the lord of armies, he is the king of glory.   

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Antiphon 2

The Most High has made his dwelling place a holy temple.   

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Psalm 46  

God is for us a refuge and strength, a helper close at hand, in time of distress: so we shall not fear though the earth should rock, though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea, even though its waters rage and foam, even though the mountains be shaken by its waves.

The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold. 

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within, it cannot be shaken; God will help it at the dawning of the day. Nations are in tumult, kingdoms are shaken: he lifts his voice, the earth shrinks away.

The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come, consider the works of the Lord, the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth. He puts an end to wars over all the earth; the bow he breaks, the spear he snaps. He burns the shields with fire. “Be still and know that I am God, supreme among the nations, supreme on the earth!”

The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.   

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Antiphon 3

Glorious things are said of you, 0 Virgin Mary.   

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Psalm 87

On the holy mountain is his city cherished by the Lord. The Lord prefers the gates of Zion to all Jacob’s dwellings. Of you are told glorious things, O city of God! 

“Babylon and Egypt I will count among those who know me; Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia, these will be her children and Zion shall be called ‘Mother’ for all shall be her children.” 

It is he, the Lord Most High, who gives each his place. In his register of peoples he writes: “These are her children,” and while they dance they will sing: “In you all find their home.”

Blessed are those who hear the word of God. And cherish it in their hearts.   

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First Reading  

Scripture confined all things under the power of sin, that through faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe.

Before faith came, we were held in custody under law, confined for the faith that was to be revealed. Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian for Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian. For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise.

I mean that as long as the heir is not of age, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything, but he is under the supervision of guardians and administrators until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were not of age, were enslaved to the elemental powers of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption. As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.  

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Responsory 1

When the fullness of time had come, God sent to earth his own Son, born of a woman, subject to the law; to deliver those under the law. 

Because of his great love for us, God sent his own Son in the likeness of our sinful flesh.

To deliver those under the law.   

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Second Reading  

Let us come to his bride, his mother, his perfect handmaid, for the blessed Mary is all of this.

But what are we to do for her? What kind of gifts shall we offer her? Would that we could at least return what we are in duty bound to do, for we owe her honor and service, we owe her love and praise. We owe her honor, for she is the mother of our Lord. He who fails to honor the mother clearly dishonors the son. Also, Scripture says: Honor your father and your mother.

What then, my brothers, shall we say? Is she not our mother? Yes, my brothers, she is indeed our mother, for through her we have been born, not for the world but for God.

Once we all lay in death, as you know and believe, in sin, in darkness, in misery. In death, because we had lost the Lord; in sin, because of our corruption; in darkness, for we were without the light of wisdom, and thus had perished utterly.

But then we were born, far better than through Eve, through Mary the blessed, because Christ was born of her. We have recovered new life in place of sin, immortality instead of mortality, light in place of darkness.

She is our mother, the mother of our life, the mother of our incarnation, the mother of our light. As the Apostle says of our Lord, he became for us by God’s power our wisdom and justice, and holiness and redemption.

She then, as mother of Christ, is the mother of our wisdom and justice, of our holiness and redemption. She is more our mother than the mother of our flesh. Our birth from her is better, for from her is born our holiness, our wisdom, our justice, our sanctification, our redemption.

Praise the Lord in his holy ones, say the Scriptures. If our Lord is to be praised in those holy ones through whom he brings to being deeds of power and miracles, how much more is he to be praised in her in whom he fashioned himself, who is wonderful beyond all wonders.   

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Responsory 2

Happy are you, holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of all praise; from your womb Christ the Sun of Justice has risen. 

Through him we have salvation and deliverance.

Let us celebrate with joy this feast in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

From your womb Christ the Sun of Justice has risen.   

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Hymn, Te Deum

You are God: we praise you;

You are the Lord: we acclaim you;

You are the eternal Father:

All creation worships you.

To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,

Cherubim and Seraphim, sing in endless praise:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord, God of power and might,

heaven and earth are full of your glory.

The glorious company of apostles praise you.

The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.

The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.

Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:

Father, of majesty unbounded, your true and only Son, worthy of all worship,   and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.

You, Christ, are the king of glory, the eternal Son of the Father.

When you became man to set us free you did not spurn the Virgin’s womb. 

You overcame the sting of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. 

You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. 

We believe that you will come, and be our judge.

Come, then, Lord, and help your people,

bought with the price of your own blood,

and bring us with your saints to glory everlasting.

V. Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.

R. Govern and uphold them now and always.

V. Day by day we bless you. 

R. We praise your name forever.

V. Keep us today, Lord, from all sin.

R. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy. 

V. Lord, show us your love and mercy;

R. For we put our trust in you.

V. In you, Lord, is our hope:

R. And we shall never hope in vain.   

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Concluding Prayer

Lord our God, you have made the Virgin Mary the model for all who welcome your word and who put it into practice.

Open our hearts to receive it with joy and by the power of your Spirit grant that we also may become a dwelling place in which your Word of salvation is fulfilled.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.

Let us praise the Lord, and give him thanks. Amen.    

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Conclusion    

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