Maundy Thursday - Morning Prayer

Light a candle, it will help with prayer.

In the name of the Father …

Play a piece of Music

Psalm 79 (80) - Lord, tend your vine

Antiphon Look, Lord, and answer quickly, for I am in distress.

O shépherd of Ísrael, héar us, *

you who léad Jóseph’s flóck,

shine fórth from your chérubim thróne *

upon Éphraim, Bénjamin, Manásseh.

O Lórd, róuse up your míght, *

O Lórd, cóme to our hélp.

Gód of hósts, bríng us báck; *

let your fáce shine on ús and wé shall be sáved.

Lórd God of hósts, how lóng *

will you frówn on your péople’s pléa?

You have féd them with téars for their bréad, *

an abúndance of téars for their drínk.

You have máde us the táunt of our néighbours, *

our énemies láugh us to scórn.

Gód of hósts, bríng us báck; *

let your fáce shine on ús and wé shall be sáved.

You bróught a víne out of Égypt; *

to plánt it you dróve out the nátions.

Befóre it you cléared the gróund; *

It took róot and spréad through the lánd.

The móuntains were cóvered with its shádow, *

the cédars of Gód with its bóughs.

It strétched out its bránches to the séa, *

to the Great Ríver it strétched out its shóots.

Then whý have you bróken down its wálls? *

It is plúcked by áll who pass bý.

It is rávaged by the bóar of the fórest, *

devóured by the béasts of the fíeld.

God of hósts, turn agáin, we implóre, *

look dówn from héaven and sée.

Vísit this víne and protéct it, *

the víne your ríght hand has plánted.

Men have búrnt it with fíre and destróyed it. *

May they pérish at the frówn of your fáce.

May your hánd be on the mán you have chósen, *

the mán you have gíven your stréngth.

And we shall néver forsáke you agáin; *

give us lífe that we may cáll upon your náme.

Gód of hósts, bríng us báck; *

let your fáce shine on ús and wé shall be sáved.

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.

Antiphon Look, Lord, and answer quickly, for I am in distress.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, eternal shepherd, you so tend the vineyard you planted that now it extends- its branches even to the farthest coast. Look down on your Church and come to us. Help us remain in your Son as branches on the vine, that, planted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere.

Canticle - Isaiah 12

Antiphon See now that God is my salvation: I have trust and no fear.

I thank you, Lord: you were angry with me, *

but your anger has passed and you give me comfort.

Truly, God is my salvation, *

I trust, I shall not fear.

For the Lord is my strength, my song, *

he is my saviour.

With joy you will draw water *

from the wells of salvation.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name! *

Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples.

Declare the greatness of his name, *

sing a psalm to the Lord!

For he has done glorious deeds: *

make them known to all the earth!

People of Zion, sing and shout for joy, *

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

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.

Antiphon See now that God is my salvation: I have trust and no fear.

Psalm 80 (81) - Solemn renewal of the covenant

Antiphon The Lord fed us with finest wheat, he filled us with honey from the rock.

Ring out your jóy to Gód our stréngth, *

shout in tríumph to the Gód of Jácob.

Raise a sóng and sóund the tímbrel, *

the swéet-sounding hárp and the lúte;

blów the trúmpet at the new móon, *

when the móon is fúll, on our féast.

For thís is Ísrael’s láw, *

a commánd of the Gód of Jácob.

He impósed it as a rúle on Jóseph, *

when he went óut against the lánd of Égypt.

A vóice I did not knów said to mé: *

‘I fréed your shóulder from the búrden;

your hánds were fréed from the lóad. *

You cálled in distréss and I sáved you.

‘I ánswered, concéaled in the stórm cloud; *

at the wáters of Meríbah I tésted you.

Lísten, my péople, to my wárning. *

O Ísrael, if ónly you would héed!

‘Let there bé no fóreign god amóng you, *

no wórship of an álien gód.

Í am the Lórd your Gód, †

who bróught you from the lánd of Égypt. *

Ópen wide your móuth and I will fíll it.

‘But my péople did not héed my vóice *

and Ísrael wóuld not obéy,

so I léft them in their stúbbornness of héart *

to fóllow their ówn desígns.

‘Ó that my péople would héed me, *

that Ísrael would wálk in my wáys!

At ónce I would subdúe their fóes, *

turn my hánd agáinst their énemies.

‘The Lord’s énemies would crínge at their féet *

and their subjéction would lást for éver.

But Ísrael I would féed with finest whéat *

and fíll them with hóney from the róck.’

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.

Antiphon The Lord fed us with finest wheat, he filled us with honey from the rock.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, open our mouths to proclaim your glory. Help us to leave sin behind and to rejoice in professing your name.

Short Reading - Hebrews 2:9-10

We have seen Jesus crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind. As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation.

Pause for a few moments in silence.

Canticle Benedictus

Antiphon I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

Bléssed be the Lórd, the Gód of Ísrael! *

He has vísited his péople and redéemed them.

He has raised úp for ús a mighty sáviour *

in the hóuse of Dávid his sérvant,

as he prómised by the líps of holy mén, *

thóse who were his próphets from of óld.

A sáviour who would frée us from our fóes, *

from the hánds of áll who háte us.

So his lóve for our fáthers is fulfílled *

and his hóly covenant remémbered.

He swóre to Ábraham our fáther to gránt us, *

that frée from féar, and sáved from the hánds of our fóes,

we might sérve him in hóliness and jústice *

all the dáys of our lífe in his présence.

As for yóu, little chíld, *

you shall be cálled a próphet of Gód, the Most Hígh.

You shall go ahéad of the Lórd *

to prépare his wáys befóre him,

To make knówn to his péople their salvátion *

through forgíveness of áll their síns,

the loving-kíndness of the héart of our Gód *

who vísits us like the dáwn from on hígh.

He will give líght to those in dárkness, †

those who dwéll in the shádow of déath, *

and gúide us into the wáy of péace.

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.

Antiphon I have longed to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

Prayers and intercessions

Let us humbly pray to Christ, the eternal priest, whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit to proclaim release for captives. Lord, have mercy on us.

You went up to Jerusalem to endure the passion and enter into glory; lead your Church into the paschal feast of eternal life. Lord, have mercy on us.

Your heart was pierced with a lance; heal the wounds of our human weakness. Lord, have mercy on us.

You made your cross the tree of life; share your victory with all the baptized. Lord, have mercy on us.

You gave salvation to the repentant thief; pardon all our sins. Lord, have mercy on us.

Our Father …

Prayer

Love of you with our whole heart, Lord God, is holiness.

Increase, then, your gifts of divine grace in us,

so that, as in your Son’s death

you made us hope for what we believe,