Office of Readings
In those places where this Memorial is observed as a Solemnity or Feast, please use the texts found in the Common of Doctors of the Church or the Common of Pastors: For a Pope with the proper texts below.
INVITATORY
The Invitatory is said when this is the first ‘hour’ of the day.
Go to the Hymn
Go to the Psalmody
Lord, + open my lips.
— And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
The antiphon is repeated. In individual recitation, the antiphon may be said only at the beginning of the psalm; it need not be repeated after each strophe.
Psalm 24
Psalm 67
Psalm 100
Psalm 95
A call to praise God
Encourage each other daily while it is still today (Hebrews 3:13).
Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *
and sing joyful songs to the Lord.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
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. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
If the Invitatory is not said, then the following is used:
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
[Pastors]
Christ, Prince of Pastors, Head and sov’reign ruler,
your joyful people long with all devotion
to laud this Pastor, off’ring him due praises
with hymns and anthems.
This chosen Pontiff governed as your shepherd
sheep you entrusted to the Apostle Peter,
that from all nations you might make one sheepfold,
sacred and holy.
Shepherd and pattern for the flock he tended,
light bringing comfort to the blind and wretched,
provident father, in all things becoming
all things to others.
Christ, Lord in heaven, crowning saints for merit,
grant us to follow in this Pastor’s footsteps
with lives of goodness and attain hereafter
like crowns of glory.
Let equal praises honor God the Father
and you our Savior, loving King eternal;
through all creation, let the Spirit’s glory
echo for ever. Amen.
Tune: ISTE CONFESSOR (ROUEN/POITIERS) 11 11 11 5
Music: Poitiers Antiphoner, 1746
or Mode III, melody 58; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983*
Text: Christe, pastorum caput atque princeps, ca. 12th c., © 2023 ICEL
Continue with the Psalmody
[Doctors]
Eternal Sun, whose splendid rays,
pervading all created things,
infuse our minds with heav’nly light;
our hearts rejoice to sing your praise.
Enkindled by your Spirit’s care,
resplendent lamps of living flame
shed light on earth through ev’ry age,
revealing paths that save and heal.
The truth of words from heaven sent,
the truth that human minds can teach,
has shone with new and clearer light
through these, the stewards of your grace.
This blest partaker of their crown,
revered for teachings filled with light,
whom we acclaim with hymns of praise,
has shone in splendor with the saints.
O grant us, Lord our God, we pray
this teacher’s loving patronage,
that, running on the paths of truth,
we hold the course and come to you.
Most loving Father, hear our prayer,
and you, O Christ coequal Son,
who with the Spirit Paraclete,
now reign for all eternity. Amen.
Tune: MELCOMBE, 8 8 8 8
Music: Samuel Webbe the elder, 1740-1816
or Mode IV, melody 84; Liber Hymnarius, Solesmes, 1983
Text: Æterne sol, qui lumine, Anselmo Lentini, O.S.B., 1901-1989, © 2023 ICEL
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).
I
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 have no 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.
II
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 abandon the faith of your people.”
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 all 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.
To savor your words is my delight, O Lord.
— Honey itself is not sweeter.
READINGS
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Daniel
2:26-47
The vision of the statue and the stone.
The eternal kingdom of God
King Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Can you tell me the dream that I had, and its meaning?” In the king’s presence Daniel made this reply:
“The mystery about which the king has inquired, the wise men, enchanters, magicians, and astrologers could not explain to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what is to happen in days to come; this was the dream you saw as you lay in bed.
“To you in your bed there came thoughts about what should happen in the future, and he who reveals mysteries showed you what is to be. To me also this mystery has been revealed; not that I am wiser than any other living person, but in order that its meaning may be made known to the king, that you may understand the thoughts in your own mind.
“In your vision, O king, you saw a statue, very large and exceedingly bright, terrifying in appearance as it stood before you. The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs bronze, the legs iron, its feet partly iron and partly tile.
“While you looked at the statue, a stone which was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it, struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces. The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
“This was the dream; the interpretation we shall also give in the king’s presence. You, O king, are the king of kings; to you the God of heaven has given dominion and strength, power and glory; men, wild beasts, and birds of the air, wherever they may dwell, he has handed over to you, making you ruler over them all; you are the head of gold. Another kingdom shall take your place, inferior to yours, then a third kingdom, of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. There shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; it shall break in pieces and subdue all these others, just as iron breaks in pieces and crushes everything else.
“The feet and toes you saw, partly of potter’s tile and partly of iron, mean that it shall be a divided kingdom, but yet have some of the hardness of iron. As you saw the iron mixed with clay tile, and the toes partly iron and partly tile, the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. The iron mixed with clay tile means that they shall seal their alliances by intermarriage, but they shall not stay united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
“In the lifetime of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed or delivered up to another people; rather, it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and put an end to them, and it shall stand forever. That is the meaning of the stone you saw hewn from the mountain without a hand being put to it, which broke in pieces the tile, iron, bronze, silver, and gold. The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future; this is exactly what you dreamed, and its meaning is sure.”
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down and worshiped Daniel and ordered sacrifice and incense offered to him. To Daniel the king said, “Truly your God is the God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries; that is why you were able to reveal this mystery.”
RESPONSORY
Daniel 2:44; see Luke 20:17, 18
The God of heaven shall establish a kingdom
which will never be destroyed;
it will overwhelm and absorb all the kingdoms of the earth,
— and God’s kingdom shall stand for ever.
The stone which the builders rejected has become the keystone of the building.
If this stone should fall on anyone,
it will crush him.
— And God’s kingdom shall stand for ever.
SECOND READING
From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope
(Sermo 4, 1-2; PL 54, 148-149)
The minister of a special calling
Although the universal Church of God is constituted of distinct orders of members, still, in spite of the many parts of its holy body, the Church subsists as an integral whole, just as the Apostle says: We are all one in Christ. No difference in office is so great that anyone can be separated, through lowliness, from the head. In the unity of faith and baptism, therefore, our community is undivided. There is a common dignity, as the apostle Peter says in these words: And you are built up as living stones into spiritual houses, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices which are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. And again: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of election.
For all, regenerated in Christ, are made kings by the sign of the cross; they are consecrated priests by the oil of the Holy Spirit, so that beyond the special service of our ministry as priests, all spiritual and mature Christians know that they are a royal race and are sharers in the office of the priesthood. For what is more king-like than to find yourself ruler over your body after having surrendered your soul to God? And what is more priestly than to promise the Lord a pure conscience and to offer him in love unblemished victims on the altar of one’s heart?
Because, through the grace of God, it is a deed accomplished universally on behalf of all, it is altogether praiseworthy and in keeping with a religious attitude for you to rejoice in this our day of consecration, to consider it a day when we are especially honored. For indeed one sacramental priesthood is celebrated throughout the entire body of the Church. The oil which consecrates us has richer effects in the higher grades, yet it is not sparingly given in the lower.
Sharing in this office, my dear brethren, we have solid ground for a common rejoicing; yet there will be more genuine and excellent reason for joy if you do not dwell on the thought of our unworthiness. It is more helpful and more suitable to turn your thoughts to study the glory of the blessed apostle Peter. We should celebrate this day above all in honor of him. He overflowed with abundant riches from the very source of all graces, yet though he alone received much, nothing was given over to him without his sharing it. The Word made flesh lived among us, and in redeeming the whole human race, Christ gave himself entirely.
RESPONSORY
Matthew 16:18; Psalm 48:9
Jesus said to Simon: I tell you most solemnly that you are Peter,
and I will build my Church upon this rock foundation,
— and the powers of hell will never overcome it.
For all eternity, God′s Church stands firm.
— And the powers of hell will never overcome it.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.
God our Father
you will never allow the power of hell
to prevail against your Chrch,
founded on the rock of the apostle Peter.
Let the prayers of Pope Leo the Great
keep us faithful to your truth
and secure in your peace.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen
Or:
O God, who never allow the gates of hell
to prevail against your Church,
firmly founded on the apostolic rock,
grant her, we pray,
that through the intercession of Pope Saint Leo,
she may stand firm in your truth
and know the protection of lasting peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
— Amen.
ACCLAMATION
Let us praise the Lord.
— And give him thanks.
******
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Psalm 24
The Lord’s entry into his temple
Christ opened heaven for us in the manhood he assumed (Saint Irenaeus).
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.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
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.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
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.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Who is the king of glory? †
The Lord, the mighty, the valiant, *
the Lord, the valiant in war.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
O gates, lift high your heads; †
grow higher, ancient doors. *
Let him enter, the king of glory!
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Who is he, the king of glory? †
He, the Lord of armies, *
he is the king of glory.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
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. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Continue with the Hymn
Psalm 67
People of all nations will worship the Lord
You must know that God is offering his salvation to all the world (Acts 28:28).
O God, be gracious and bless us *
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth *
and all nations learn your saving help.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Let the nations be glad and exult *
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples, *
you guide the nations on earth.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
The earth has yielded its fruit *
for God, our God, has blessed us.
May God still give us his blessing *
till the ends of the earth revere him.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
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. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Continue with the Hymn
Psalm 100
The joyful song of those entering God’s temple
The Lord calls his ransomed people to sing songs of victory (Saint Athanasius).
Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. †
Serve the Lord with gladness. *
Come before him, singing for joy.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Know that he, the Lord, is God. †
He made us, we belong to him, *
we are his people, the sheep of his flock.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Go within his gates, giving thanks. †
Enter his courts with songs of praise. *
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Indeed, how good is the Lord, †
eternal his merciful love. *
He is faithful from age to age.
Ant. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
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. Come, let us worship the Lord, fount of all wisdom.
Or: Come, let us worship Christ, chief shepherd of the flock.
Continue with the Hymn
