Prayers for all Occasions, Needs, and Intentions

THE LITTLE OFFICE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Join with me in a Prayer of Praise

SUNDAY - MORNING PRAYERS

The Morning Prayer is suggested as you start your day and begins with the verse "God, come to my assistance. Lord make haste to help me." The elements or outline of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary shown below, are provided to help with the recitation of prayers for both the Morning and Evening Prayers. The Evening Prayer concludes with the recitation of "May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Elements of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Sunday Morning 

Introduction

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

O Mary, of all women, 

You are the chosen one, 

Who, ancient prophets promised,

Would bear God’s only Son;

All Hebrew generations

Prepared the way to thee,

That in your womb the God-man

Might come to set man free. 

O  Mary, you embody

All God taught to our race,

For you are first and foremost

In fullness of his grace;

We praise this wondrous honor

That you gave birth to him

Who from you took his manhood

And saved us from our sin.   

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Psalmody

Antiphon 1

The Virgin has given birth to the Savior: a flower has sprung from Jesse’s stock and a star has risen from Jacob. 0 God, we praise you.   

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Psalm 118

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his love endures forever. 

Let the sons of Israel say: “His love endures forever.” 

Let the sons of Aaron say: “His love endures for ever.” 

Let those who fear the Lord say: ‘‘His love endures for ever.” 

I called to the Lord in my distress; lie answered and freed me. The Lord is at my side; I do not fear. What can man do against me? The Lord is at my side as my helper: I shall look down on my foes.

It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in men: it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. 

The nations all encompassed me; in the Lord’s name I crushed them. They compassed me, compassed me about; in the Lord’s name I crushed them. They compassed me about like bees; they blazed like a fire among thorns. In the Lord’s name I crushed them. 

I was hard-pressed and was falling but the Lord came to help me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he is my savior.

There are shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the just.

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed; his right hand raised me.

The Lord’s right hand has triumphed; I shall not die, I shall live and recount his deeds. I was punished, I was punished by the Lord, but not doomed to die.

Open to me the gates of holiness: I will enter and give thanks. This is the Lord’s own gate where the just may enter. I will thank you for you have answered and you are my savior.

The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone. This is the work of the Lord, a marvel in our eyes. This day was made by the Lord; we rejoice and are glad.

O Lord, grant us salvation; O Lord, grant success. Blessed in the name of the Lord is he who comes. We bless you from the house of the Lord; the Lord God is our light.

Go forward in procession with branches even to the altar. You are my God, I thank you. 

My God, I praise you. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; for his love endures forever.   

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Antiphon 2

Mary has given birth to our Savior. John the Baptist saw him and cried out: This is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.   

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OT Testament Canticle   

Blessed are you, 0 Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. 

And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. 

Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever. 

Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. 

Blessed are you who look into the depths, from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. 

Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.

Bless the Lord, all you works of the Lord, praise and exalt him above all forever.

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Antiphon 3

Mary has given birth to a King whose name is everlasting; hers the joy of motherhood, hers the virgin’s glory. Never was the like seen before, never shall it be seen again.

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Psalm 150

Praise God in his holy place, praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his powerful deeds, praise his surpassing greatness. 

O praise him with sound of trumpet, praise him with lute and harp.

Praise him with timbrel and dance, praise him with strings and pipes.

O praise him with resounding cymbals, praise him with clashing of cymbals.

Let everything that lives and that breathes give praise to the Lord.   

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First Reading  

The ruler in Israel will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, his God. He shall be peace.   

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Second Reading  

What was born of Mary was therefore human by nature, in accordance with the inspired Scriptures, and the body of the Lord was a true body: It was a true body because it was the same as ours. Mary, you see, is our sister, for we are all born from Adam. 

The words of Saint John: The Word was made flesh, bear the same meaning, as we may see from a similar turn of phrase in Saint Paul: Christ was made a curse for our sake. Man’s body has acquired something great through its communion and union with the Word. From being mortal it has been made immortal; though it was a living body it has become a spiritual one; though it was made from the earth it has passed through the gates of heaven. 

Even when the Word takes a body from Mary, the Trinity remains a Trinity, with neither increase nor decrease. It is forever perfect. In the Trinity we acknowledge one Godhead, and thus one God, the Father of the Word, is proclaimed in the Church.   

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Responsory

O Virgin Mary, no other daughter of Jerusalem is your equal, for you are the mother of the King of kings, you are the Queen of heaven and of angels.

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.   

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Antiphon 4

Marvelous is the mystery proclaimed today: Man’s nature is made new as God becomes man; he remains what he was and becomes what he was not. Yet each nature stays distinct and forever undivided.   

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Canticle  of Zechariah 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.   

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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Intercessions

Let us give glory to Christ who was born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, and let us pray to him in these words:

Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.

Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, you are Wonder-Counselor and Prince of Peace, give your peace to the world.

Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.

Our King and our God, you have raised us up by your coming, help us to honor you all the days of our lives by our faith and our deeds.

Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.

You made yourself like us, in your mercy grant that we may become more like you.

Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us. 

You made yourself a citizen of our earthly city, grant that we may become citizens of our true homeland, your kingdom in heaven.

Son of the Virgin Mary, have mercy on us.   

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.    

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Concluding Prayer

God our Father, may we always profit by the prayers of the Virgin Mother Mary, for you bring us life and salvation through Jesus Christ her Son who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.   

May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.   

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Conclusion    

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