Daytime Prayers
In those places where this Feast is observed as a Solemnity, additional texts can found in the ‘Prayers’ Section of the iBreviary.
INTRODUCTION
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
At Midmorning
From all that dwell below the skies
Let the Creator’s praise arise:
Let the Redeemer’s name be sung
Through every land, by every tongue.
Halleluia!
Eternal are thy mercies, Lord;
Eternal truth attends thy word:
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore,
Till suns shall rise and set no more.
Halleluia!
Tune: Erschienen ist der herrliche Tag or Eisenach L.M. with halleluia
Music: Nicholaus Hermann, 1560 or Johann Schein, 1583-1630
Text: Isaac Watts, 1719
At Midday
Lord of all being, throned afar,
Your glory flames from sun and star;
Center and soul of every sphere,
And yet to loving hearts how near.
Sun of our life, your living ray
Sheds on our path the glow of day;
Star of our hope, your gentle light
Shall ever cheer the longest night.
Lord of all life, below, above,
Whose light is truth, whose warmth is love;
Before the brilliance of your throne
We ask no luster of our own.
Give us your grace to make us true,
And kindling hearts that burn for you,
Till all your living altars claim
One holy light, one heavenly flame.
Tune: Uffingham L.M.
Music: Jeremiah Clarke, 1659-1707
Text: Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1809-1894
At Midafternoon
Most ancient of all mysteries,
Before your throne we lie;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most holy Trinity.
When heaven and earth were still unmade,
When time was yet unknown,
You in your radiant majesty
Did live and love alone.
You were not born, there was no source
From which your Being flowed;
There is no end which you can reach,
For you are simply God.
How wonderful creation is,
The work which you did bless;
What then must you be like, dear God,
Eternal loveliness!
Most ancient of all mysteries,
Before your throne we lie;
Have mercy now, most merciful,
Most holy Trinity.
Tune: St. Flavian C.M.
Music: John Day in John Day’s Psalter, 1562
Text: Frederick W. Faber, 1814-1863
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 If you love me, says the Lord, keep my commandments.
Psalm 119:153-160
XX (Resh)
A meditation on God’s law
I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34).
See my affliction and save me *
for I remember your law.
Uphold my cause and defend me; *
by your promise give me life.
Salvation is far from the wicked *
who are heedless of your commands.
Numberless, Lord, are your mercies; *
with your decrees give me life.
Though my foes and oppressors are countless *
I have not swerved from your will.
I look at the faithless with disgust; *
they ignore your promise.
See how I love your precepts; *
in your mercy give me life.
Your word is founded on truth: *
your decrees are eternal.
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
Help us always to rejoice in your promise, Father, and to praise the glory of your deeds. Keep us united in the love of your peace; then we shall have little to fear from the threats of the mighty.
Ant. If you love me, says the Lord, keep my commandments.
Ant. 2 May the Lord bless you, and peace will be yours all the days of your life.
Psalm 128
Happiness of family life rooted in God
“May the Lord bless you from Zion,” refers to the Church (Arnobius).
O blessed are those who fear the Lord *
and walk in his ways!
By the labor of your hands you shall eat. *
You will be happy and prosper;
your wife like a fruitful vine *
in the heart of your house;
Your children like shoots of the olive, *
around your table.
Indeed thus shall be blessed *
the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion *
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children *
in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, 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 for ever. Amen.
Psalm Prayer
Give lasting happiness, Lord, to those who reverence your name, so that our life and work may be such as to deserve your commendation, and bring us, laden with good fruit, to our everlasting home.
Ant. May the Lord bless you, and peace will be yours all the days of your life.
Ant. 3 God will gain the victory for you over all your enemies.
Psalm 129
God’s people reaffirm their trust in time of affliction
The voice of the Church lamenting its suffering is heard in this psalm (Saint Augustine).
“They have pressed me hard from my youth,” *
this is Israel’s song.
“They have pressed me hard from my youth *
but could never destroy me.
They plowed my back like plowmen, *
drawing long furrows.
But the Lord, who is just, has destroyed *
the yoke of the wicked.”
Let them be shamed and routed, *
those who hate Zion!
Let them be like grass on the roof *
that withers before it flowers.
With that no reaper fills his arms, *
no binder makes his sheaves
and those passing by will not say: *
“On you the Lord’s blessing!”
“We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
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
Lord Jesus, living in glory as the Son of Man, remember that when our sins had ploughed long furrows on your back, your death broke the bonds of sin and Satan for ever. Bless your Church, wounded in its members, and strengthen it by your invincible power and grace.
Ant. God will gain the victory for you over all your enemies.
At the other hours, the complementary psalmody from Series I and II is used.
MIDMORNING
READING
2 Corinthians 5:19b-20
God has entrusted the message of reconciliation to us. This makes us ambassadors for Christ, God as it were appealing through us. We implore you in Christ’s name: be reconciled to God!
Their voice has gone out to the limits of the earth.
– Their words to the ends of the world.
Go to the Conclusion
MIDDAY
READING
Acts 5:12a, 14
Through the hands of the apostles, many signs and wonders occurred among the people. Nevertheless more and more believers, men and women in great numbers, were continually added to the Lord.
The apostles held fast to Christ’s message.
– They kept the precepts he gave them.
Go to the Conclusion
MIDAFTERNOON
READING
Acts 5:41-42
The apostles left the Sanhedrin full of joy that they had been judged worthy of ill-treatment for the sake of the Name. Day after day, both in the temple and at home, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news of Jesus the Messiah.
Rejoice and be glad says the Lord.
– For your names are written in heaven.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
Lord,
sustain within us the faith
which made Saint Bartholomew ever loyal to Christ.
Let your Church be the sign of salvation
for all the nations of the world.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.
Or:
Strengthen in us, O Lord, the faith,
by which the blessed Apostle Bartholomew
clung wholeheartedly to your Son,
and grant that through the help of his prayers
your Church may become for all the nations
the sacrament of our salvation.
Through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.
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