Tuesday

TUESDAY
Prime

God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us,
And from the dreadful foe defend us.


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

She who once was barren gives birth today to the Forerunner of Christ, who will fulfill every prophecy. In the Jordan he placed his hand upon the One Whom the prophets foretold, and thus was shown to be the prophet, the herald, and the Forerunner of the Word of God. 

Byzantine Kontakion

Hail, Virginal wisdom; hail, mansion of God,
Where sevenfold pillars befit his abode.
All stately without and all perfect within,
He chose Him a dwelling undarkened by sin;
For even before your miraculous birth
you were free from the stain that has sullied the earth.
Mother of all saints Living and dead,
New star that shone Over Israel's head
Sovereign of angels, Terror of hell,
Be you our refuge, Who love you so well.

In His Holy Spirit He created Her And exalted Her above all His works.

Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy.
And according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity,
and my sin is always before me.
To you only have I sinned,
and have done evil before you:
that you may be justified in your words,
and may overcome when you are judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities;
and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold you have loved truth:
the uncertain and hidden things of your wisdom you have made manifest to me.
You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed:
you shall wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing you shall give joy and gladness:
and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God:
and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from your face;
and take not your holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of your salvation,
and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust your ways:
and the wicked shall be converted to you.
Deliver me from blood, O God,
God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall extol your justice.
O Lord, you will open my lips:
and my mouth shall declare your praise.
For if you had desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it:
with burnt offerings you will not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit:
a contrite and humbled heart, O God, you will not despise.
Deal favorably, O Lord, in your good will with Zion;
that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shall you accept the sacrifice of justice,
oblations and whole burnt offerings:
then shall they lay calves upon your altar.

The Trisagion
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.

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

Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.

Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us.

It is truly right to bless you, O God-bearing One, as the ever-blessed and immaculate Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and by far more glorious than the seraphim; ever a virgin, you gave birth to God the Word, O true Mother of God, we magnify you.

Angel's prayer at Fatima
O my God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee. I ask pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.

St. Cyril of Alexandria
Behold then the joy of the whole universe. Let the union of God and man in the Son of the Virgin Mary fill us with awe and adoration. Let us fear and worship the undivided Trinity as we sing the praise of the ever-virgin Mary, the holy temple of God, and of God himself, her Son and spotless Bridegroom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Antiphon: The angel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin Mary, who was engaged to be married to Joseph.

Psalm 101
Mercy and judgment I will sing
to you, O Lord: I will sing,

and I will understand in the unspotted way,
when you shall come to me.

I walked in the innocence of my heart,
in the midst of my house.

I did not set before my eyes any unjust thing:
I hated the workers of iniquities.

The perverse heart did not cleave to me:
and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.

The man that in private detracted his neighbor, him did I persecute.
With him that had a proud eye, and an insatiable heart, I would not eat.

My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me:
the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.

He that works pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house:
he that speaks unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.

In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land:
that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.
You are the mother of your Maker, yet you remain a virgin for ever.

Daniel 3
Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
and your name is worthy of praise, and glorious for ever:

For you are just in all that you have done to us,
and all your works are true, and your ways right, and all your judgments true.

For we have sinned, and committed iniquity, departing from you:
and we have trespassed in all things.

Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech you, for your name's sake,
and abolish not your covenant.

And take not away your mercy from us for the sake of Abraham your beloved,
and Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one:

To whom you have spoken, promising that you would multiply their seed as the stars of heaven,
and as the
sand that is on the sea shore.

For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation,
and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins.

Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or holocaust,
or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of first fruits before you,
That we may find your mercy:

nevertheless in a contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be accepted.

As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs:
so let our sacrifice be made in your sight this day, that it may please you:
for there is no confusion to them that trust in you.

And now we follow you with all our heart,
and we fear you, and seek your face.

Antiphon: Trusting in the Lord's promise, the Virgin Mary conceived a child, and remaining a virgin, she gave birth to the Saviour.

Psalm 135
Praise the name of the Lord:
O you his servants, praise the Lord:

You that stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good:
sing to his name, for it is sweet.

For the Lord has chosen Jacob unto himself:
Israel for his own possession.

For I have known that the Lord is great,
and our God is above all gods.

Whatsoever the Lord pleased he has done,
in heaven, in earth, in the sea, and in all the deeps.

He brings up clouds from the end of the earth:
he has made lightnings for the rain.

He brings forth winds out of his stores:
He slew the firstborn of Egypt from the man even unto beast.

He set forth signs and wonders in the midst of you, O Egypt:
upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.

He smote many nations, and slew mighty kings:
Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.

And gave their land for an inheritance,
for an inheritance to his people Israel.

Sirach 24
Wisdom shall praise her own self, and shall be honored in God, and shall glory in the midst of her people, And shall open her mouth in the churches of the most High, and shall glorify herself in the sight of his power, And in the midst of her own people she shall be exalted, and shall be admired in the holy assembly. And in the multitude of the elect she shall have praise, and among the blessed she shall be blessed, saying:

I came out of the mouth of the most High, the firstborn before all creatures: I made that in the heavens there should rise light that never fails, and as a cloud I covered all the earth: I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of cloud. I alone have compassed the circuit of heaven, and have penetrated into the bottom of the deep, and have walked in the waves of the sea, And have stood in all the earth: and in every people, And in every nation I have had the chief rule: And by my power I have trodden under my feet the hearts of all the high and low: and in all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he that made me, rested in my tabernacle, And he said to me: Let your dwelling be in Jacob, and your inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect. From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him. And so was I established in Zion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.

St. Leo the Great
A royal virgin of the house of David is chosen. She is to bear a holy child, one who is both God and man. She is to conceive him in her soul before she conceives him in her body. In the face of so unheard of an event she is to know no fear through ignorance of the divine plan; the angel tells her what is to be accomplished in her by the Holy Spirit. She believes that there will be no loss of virginity, she who is soon to be the mother of God.
Why should she lose heart at this new form of conceiving when she has been promised that it will be effected through the power of the Most High? She believes, and her faith is confirmed by the witness of a previous wonder: against all expectation Elizabeth is made fruitful. God has enabled a barren woman to be with child; he must be believed when he makes the same promise to a virgin.

After the birth of your son, you remained a virgin
Mother of God, intercede for us; you remained a virgin.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

After the birth of your son, you remained a virgin.

Bless the Lord, all you His Angels: you that are mighty in strength, and execute His
word, hearkening to the voice of His orders. Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that
is within me bless His holy Name. - Tridentine Introit

The Song of Zechariah
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
because he has visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And has raised up an horn of salvation to us,
in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers,
and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Highest:
for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people,
unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God,
in which the Orient from on high has visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death:
to direct our feet into the way of peace.
In his great love for us, God sent his Son in the likeness of our sinful nature.

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

God our Father, your Word became man and was born of the Virgin Mary. May we become more like Jesus Christ, whom we acknowledge as our redeemer, God and man. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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







TUESDAY
Vespers

God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Your help, propitious Mother, lend us,
And from the dreadful foe defend us.

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

O Lord, Your goodness follows me all the days of my life. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall not lack anything. He gives me a resting-place where there is pasture. - Byzantine Prokimen Vespers

God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me.
I have sinned without number, forgive me, O Lord.

Psalm 137/Antiphon: The angel of the Lord brought God's message to Mary.
And she conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Upon the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept:
when we remembered Zion:

On the willows in the midst thereof
we hung up our instruments.

For there they that led us into captivity required of us the words of songs.
And they that carried us away, said:
Sing to us a hymn of the songs of Zion.

How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand be forgotten.

Let my tongue cleave to my jaws,
if I do not remember you:
If I make not Jerusalem the beginning of my joy.


Psalm 138/Antiphon: Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. Behold you shall conceive and bear a son, and he will be called the Son of the Most High.

I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart:
for you have heard the words of my mouth.
I will sing praise to you in the sight of the angels:

I will worship towards your holy temple,
and I will give glory to your name.

For your mercy, and for your truth:
for you have magnified your holy name above all.

In what day soever I shall call upon you, hear me:
you shall multiply strength in my soul.

May all the kings of the earth give glory to you:
for they have heard all the words of your mouth.

And let them sing in the ways of the Lord:
for great is the glory of the Lord.

For the Lord is high, and looks on the low:
and the high he knows afar off.

If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, you will quicken me:
and you have stretched forth your hand against the wrath of my enemies:
and your right hand has saved me.

The Lord will repay for me:
your mercy, O Lord, endures for ever:
O despise not the works of your hands.

Antiphon: I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you have said.

Revelation 4; 5
You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honor, and power: because you have created all things; and for your will they were, and have been created...You are worthy, O Lord, to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; because you were slain, and have redeemed us to God, in your blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, And have made us to our God a kingdom and priests, and we shall reign on the earth...The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power, and divinity, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and benediction.

1 John 1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life: For the life was manifested; and we have seen and do bear witness, and declare unto you the life eternal, which was with the Father, and has appeared to us.

St. Augustine
Stretching out his hand over his disciples, the Lord Christ declared: HERE ARE MY MOTHER AND MY BROTHERS, ANYONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHO SENT ME IS MY BROTHER AND MY SISTER AND MY MOTHER. I would urge you to ponder these words. Did the Virgin Mary, who believed by faith and conceived by faith, who was the chosen one from whom our Savior was born among men, who was created by Christ before Christ was created in her--did she not do the will of the Father?
Indeed the blessed Mary certainly did the Father's will, and so it was for her a greater thing to have been Christ's disciple than to have been his mother, and she was more blessed in her discipleship than in her motherhood. Hers was the happiness of first bearing in her womb him whom she would obey as her master.

The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning.
He has taken her to live with him his loved one from the beginning.

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

The Lord has chosen her, his loved one from the beginning.

Angel's prayer at Fatima
Most Holy Trinity--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifferences whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.

St. Alphonsus
O Mary, how shall I die? Even now, that I think of my sins, and of that decisive moment on which my salvation or eternal damnation depends, of that moment in which I must expire and be judged, I tremble and am confounded. O my most sweet Mother, my hopes are in the blood of Jesus Christ and in your intercession. O comfortress of the afflicted, do not, then, abandon me, cease not to console me in that moment of so great affliction. If I am now so tormented by remorse for sins committed, the uncertainty of pardon, the danger of relapse, and the rigor of divine justice, what will become of me then? Unless you help me, I shall be lost. Ah, my Lady, before death obtain me great sorrow for my sins, thorough amendment, and fidelity to God during the remainder of my life. And when my last moment arrives, O Mary, my hope, help me in the great distress in which I shall then be; encourage me, that I may not despair at the sight of my sins, which the devil will place before me. Obtain that I may then invoke you more frequently; so that I may expire with your most sweet name and that of your beloved Son on my lips. Nay more, my Lady, but forgive my boldness, before I expire do come yourself and comfort me with your presence. You have granted this favor to so many of your devout servants, I also desire and hope it. I am a sinner, it is true; I do not deserve so great a favor; but I am your servant, I love you and have full confidence in you. O Mary, I shall expect you; do not disappoint me of this consolation. At least, if I am not worthy of so great a favor, do help me from heaven, that I may leave this life loving God and you, to love you eternally in Paradise.

The Magnificat
My soul now magnifies the Lord.
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
Because he has regarded the humility of his handmaid;
for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Because he that is mighty, has done great things to me;
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him.
He has shown might in his arm:
he has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their seat,
and has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has received Israel his servant,
being mindful of his mercy:
As he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed for ever.

The angel Gabriel said to Mary in greeting: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women.

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

St. Louis Marie de Montfort
Most loving Jesus, permit me to express my heartfelt gratitude to you for your kindness in giving me to your holy Mother through the devotion of holy bondage, and so making her my advocate to plead with your Majesty on my behalf, and make up for all that I lack through my inadequacy.
Alas, O Lord, I am so wretched that without my dear Mother I would certainly be lost. Yes, I always need Mary when I am approaching you. I need her to calm your just indignation at the many offenses I have committed every day. I need her to save me from the just sentence of eternal punishment I have deservedly incurred. I need her to turn to you, speak to you, pray to you, approach you and please you. I need her to help me save my soul and the souls of others. In a word, I need her so that I may always do your holy will and seek your greater glory in everything I do.Would that I could publish throughout the whole world the mercy which you have shown me! Would that the whole world could know that without Mary I would now be doomed! If only I could offer adequate thanks for such a great benefit as Mary! She is within me. What a precious possession and what a consolation for me. Should I not in return be all hers? If I were not, how ungrateful would I be. My dear Savior, send me death rather than I should be guilty of such a lapse, for I would rather die than not belong to Mary.
Like St. John the Evangelist at the foot of the Cross, I have taken her times without number as my total good and as often have I given myself to her. But if I have not done so as perfectly as you, dear Jesus, would wish, I now do so according to your desire. If you still see in my soul or body anything that does not belong to this noble Queen, please pluck it out and cast it far from me, because anything of mine which does not belong to Mary is unworthy of you.
Holy Spirit, grant me all these graces. Implant in my soul the tree of true life, which is Mary. Foster it and cultivate it to that it grows and blossoms and brings forth the fruit of life in abundance. Holy Spirit, give me a great love and longing for Mary, your exalted spouse. Give me a great trust in her maternal heart and a continuous access to her compassion, so that with her you may truly form Jesus, great and powerful, in me until I attain the fullness of his perfect age.

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

Hail, wonderful dial Ezechias of old
Beheld when the prophet His destiny told;
The Word, That incarnate in you did become,
Receded, descending to man's lowly home.
Nine choirs He passed of superior powers,
To take up the tenth in this nature of ours.
The beams of this sun Are the light of your face,
And you the aurora Preceding his race.
The serpent that lurks In night's desperate gloom
You crushed, and caused, All beauties to bloom.

I have caused a never-fading light to rise in heaven;
And like a luminous veil have spread it over the earth.