Feria Tertia infra Hebdomadam III in QuadragesimaTuesday within the 3rd Week of Lent

℣ O Lord, ✠ open my lips.

℟ And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

℣ O God, ✠ come to my assistance.

℟ Lord, make haste to help me.

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.

Praise to you, O Lord, King of eternal glory.

Ant. Let it not be in vain for you to rise before the light in the morning: * for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

Ant. Let it not be in vain for you to rise before the light in the morning: * for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

Come, let us exult in the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to God, our Savior. Let us anticipate his presence with confession, and let us sing joyfully to him with psalms.

Ant. Let it not be in vain for you to rise before the light in the morning: * for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

For the Lord is a great God and a great King over all gods. For the Lord will not drive away his people. For in his hand are all the limits of the earth, and he beholds the heights of the mountains.

Ant. for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

For the sea is his, and he made it, and his hands established the dry land. (kneel) Come, let us adore and fall prostrate before God, and let us weep before the Lord who made us. For he is the Lord our God, and we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Ant. Let it not be in vain for you to rise before the light in the morning: * for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts: as in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness, where your fathers tempted me; they tested and saw my works.

Ant. for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

For forty years, I was near to that generation, and I said: These have always strayed in heart. But they have not known my ways. To them I swore in my wrath: They shall not enter into my rest.

Ant. Let it not be in vain for you to rise before the light in the morning: * for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

℣ 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.

Ant. for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

Ant. Let it not be in vain for you to rise before the light in the morning: * for the Lord has promised a crown to those who keep vigil.

The fast, as taught by holy lore,

We keep in solemn course once more:

The fast to all men known, and bound

In forty days of yearly round.

The law and seers that were of old

In diverse ways this Lent foretold,

Which Christ, all seasons’ King and Guide,

In after ages sanctified.

More sparing therefore let us make

The words we speak, the food we take,

Our sleep and mirth, —and closer barred

Be every sense in holy guard.

Avoid the evil thoughts that roll

Like waters o’er the heedless soul;

Nor let the foe occasion find

Our souls in slavery to bind.

In prayer together let us fall,

And cry for mercy, one and all,

And weep before the Judge’s feet,

And his avenging wrath entreat.

Thy grace have we offended sore,

By sins, O God, which we deplore;

But pour upon us from on high,

O pardoning One, thy clemency.

Remember thou, though frail we be,

That yet thine handiwork are we;

Nor let the honour of thy name

Be by another put to shame.

Forgive the sin that we have wrought;

Increase the good that we have sought:

That we at length, our wanderings o'er,

May please thee here and evermore.

Grant O thou Blessed Trinity,

Grant, O Essential Unity,

That this our fast of forty days

May work our profit and thy praise.

Amen.

At the Nocturn

Ant. Fight, O Lord, * against those who fight against me.

Psalm 34(1-10) [1]

34:1 O Lord, judge those who harm me; * assail those who attack me.

34:2 Take hold of weapons and a shield, * and rise up in assistance to me.

34:3 Bring forth the spear, and close in on those who persecute me. * Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

34:4 Let them be confounded and in awe, * who pursue my soul.

34:4 Let them be turned back and be confounded, * who think up evil against me.

34:5 May they become like dust before the face of the wind, * and let the Angel of the Lord hem them in.

34:6 May their way become dark and slippery, * and may the Angel of the Lord pursue them.

34:7 For, without cause, they have concealed their snare for me unto destruction. * Over nothing, they have rebuked my soul.

34:8 Let the snare, of which he is ignorant, come upon him, and let the deception, which he has hidden, take hold of him: * and may he fall into that very snare.

34:9 But my soul will exult in the Lord * and delight over his salvation.

34:10 All my bones will say, * “Lord, who is like you?”

34:10 He rescues the needy from the hand of the stronger one, * the indigent and the poor from those who plunder him.

℣ 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.

Ant. Fight, O Lord, against those who fight against me.

Ant. Rescue my soul * from their evil deeds, O Lord.

Psalm 34(11-17) [2]

34:11 Unfair witnesses have risen up, * interrogating me about things of which I am ignorant.

34:12 They repaid me evil for good, * to the deprivation of my soul.

34:13 But as for me, when they were harassing me, * I was clothed with haircloth.

34:13 I humbled my soul with fasting, * and my prayer will become my sinews.

34:14 Like a neighbor, and like our brother, so did I please; * like one mourning and contrite, so was I humbled.

34:15 And they have been joyful against me, and they joined together. * Scourges have been gathered over me, and I was ignorant of it.

34:16 They have been scattered, yet they were unremorseful. They have tested me. They scoffed at me with scorn. * They gnashed their teeth over me.

34:17 Lord, when will you look down upon me? * Restore my soul from before their malice, my only one from before the lions.

℣ 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.

Ant. Rescue my soul from their evil deeds, O Lord.

Ant. Arise, O Lord, * and attend to my judgment.

Psalm 34(18-28) [3]

34:18 I will confess to you in a great Church. * I will praise you among a weighty people.

34:19 May those who are my unjust adversaries not be glad over me: * those who have hated me without cause, and who nod agreement with their eyes.

34:20 For indeed, they spoke peacefully to me; * and speaking with passion to the earth, they intended deceit.

34:21 And they opened their mouth wide over me. * They said, “Well, well, our eyes have seen.”

34:22 You have seen, O Lord, do not be silent. * Lord, do not depart from me.

34:23 Rise up and be attentive to my judgment, * to my cause, my God and my Lord.

34:24 Judge me according to your justice, O Lord, my God, * and do not let them be glad over me.

34:25 Do not let them say in their hearts, “Well, well, to our soul.” * Neither let them say, “We have devoured him.”

34:26 Let them blush and be in awe together, * those who congratulate at my misfortunes.

34:26 Let them be clothed with confusion and awe, * who speak great things against me.

34:27 Let them exult and rejoice, who wish my justice, * and let them ever say, “The Lord be magnified,” who will the peace of his servant.

34:28 And so my tongue will express your justice: * your praise all day long.

℣ 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.

Ant. Arise, O Lord, and attend to my judgment.

Ant. Do not vie * with him who prospers and commits iniquity.

Psalm 36(1-15) [4]

36:1 Do not choose to imitate the malicious; * neither should you envy those who work iniquity.

36:2 For they will quickly wither away like dry grass, * and in like manner to kitchen herbs, they will soon droop.

36:3 Hope in the Lord and do good, * and dwell in the land, and so you shall be pastured with its riches.

36:4 Delight in the Lord, * and he will grant to you the petitions of your heart.

36:5 Reveal your way to the Lord, and hope in him, * and he will accomplish it.

36:6 And he will bring forth your justice like the light, and your judgment like the midday. * Be subject to the Lord and pray to him.

36:7 Do not choose to compete with him who prospers in his way, * with the man who does injustice.

36:8 Cease from wrath and leave behind rage. * Do not choose to imitate the malicious.

36:9 For those who are malicious will be exterminated. * But those who remain with the Lord, these will inherit the land.

36:10 Yet still a little while, and the sinner will not be. * And you will search his place and find nothing.

36:11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, * and they will delight in the multitude of peace.

36:12 The sinner will observe the just, * and he will gnash his teeth over him.

36:13 But the Lord will laugh at him: * for he knows in advance that his day will come.

36:14 The sinners have drawn the sword, * they have bent their bow,

36:14 so as to cast down the poor and the needy, * so as to massacre the upright of heart.

36:15 Let their sword enter into their own hearts, * and let their bow be broken.

℣ 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.

Ant. Do not vie with him who prospers and commits iniquity.

Ant. The arms of sinners * shall be broken, but the Lord strengthens the just.

Psalm 36(16-29) [5]

36:16 A little is better to the just * than the many riches of sinners.

36:17 For the arms of sinners will be crushed, * but the Lord confirms the just.

36:18 The Lord knows the days of the immaculate, * and their inheritance will be in eternity.

36:19 They will not be confounded in an evil time; and in days of famine, they will be satisfied: * for sinners will perish.

36:20 Truly, the adversaries of the Lord, soon after they have been honored and exalted, * will fade away, in the same way that smoke fades away.

36:21 The sinner will lend and not release, * but the just one shows compassion and donates.

36:22 For those who bless him will inherit the earth, * but those who curse him will perish.

36:23 The steps of a man will be directed by the Lord, * and he will choose his way.

36:24 When he falls, he will not be harmed, * because the Lord places his hand under him.

36:25 I have been young, and now I am old; * and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his offspring seeking bread.

36:26 He shows compassion and lends, all day long, * and his offspring will be in blessing.

36:27 Turn away from evil and do good, * and dwell forever and ever.

36:28 For the Lord loves judgment, and he will not abandon his saints. * They will be kept safe in eternity.

36:28 The unjust will be punished, * and the offspring of the impious will perish.

36:29 But the just will inherit the earth, * and they will dwell upon it forever and ever.

℣ 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.

Ant. The arms of sinners shall be broken, but the Lord strengthens the just.

Ant. Keep innocence * and behold equity.

Psalm 36(30-40) [6]

36:30 The mouth of the just one will express wisdom, * and his tongue will speak judgment.

36:31 The law of his God is in his heart, * and his steps shall not be supplanted.

36:32 The sinner considers the just one * and seeks to put him to death.

36:33 But the Lord will not abandon him into his hands, * nor condemn him, when he will be judged.

36:34 Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way. And he will exalt you, so as to inherit the land that you may seize. * When the sinners will have passed away, then you shall see.

36:35 I have seen the impious over-exalted, * and lifted up like the cedars of Lebanon.

36:36 And I passed by, and behold, he was not. * And I sought him, and his place was not found.

36:37 Keep to innocence, and gaze upon fairness: * because there are allotments for the peaceful man.

36:38 But the unjust will be destroyed together: * the allotments of the impious will pass away.

36:39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, * and he is their protector in time of tribulation.

36:40 And the Lord will help them and free them. * And he will rescue them from sinners and save them, because they have hoped in him.

℣ 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.

Ant. Keep innocence and behold equity.

Ant. Do not rebuke me, O Lord, * in your anger.

Psalm 37(2-11) [7]

37:2 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, * nor chastise me in your wrath.

37:3 For your arrows have been driven into me, * and your hand has been confirmed over me.

37:4 There is no health in my flesh before the face of your wrath. * There is no peace for my bones before the face of my sins.

37:5 For my iniquities have walked over my head, * and they have been like a heavy burden weighing upon me.

37:6 My sores have putrefied and been corrupted * before the face of my foolishness.

37:7 I have become miserable, and I have been bent down, even to the end. * I have walked with contrition all day long.

37:8 For my loins have been filled with illusions, * and there is no health in my flesh.

37:9 I have been afflicted and greatly humbled. * I bellowed from the groaning of my heart.

37:10 O Lord, all my desire is before you, * and my groaning before you has not been hidden.

37:11 My heart has been disturbed. My strength has abandoned me, * and the light of my eyes has abandoned me, and it is not with me.

℣ 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.

Ant. Do not rebuke me, O Lord, in your anger.

Ant. Be intent upon my help, * O Lord, the strength of my salvation.

Psalm 37(12-23) [8]

37:12 My friends and my neighbors * have drawn near and stood against me.

37:12 And those who were next to me stood far apart. * And those who sought my soul used violence.

37:13 And those who sought evil accusations against me were speaking emptiness. * And they practiced deceitfulness all day long.

37:14 But, like someone deaf, I did not hear. * And I was like someone mute, not opening his mouth.

37:15 And I became like a man who does not hear, * and who has no reproofs in his mouth.

37:16 For in you, Lord, I have hoped. * You will listen to me, O Lord my God.

37:17 For I said, “Lest at any time, my enemies might rejoice over me,” * and, “While my feet are being shaken, they have spoken great things against me.”

37:18 For I have been prepared for scourges, * and my sorrow is ever before me.

37:19 For I will announce my iniquity, * and I will think about my sin.

37:20 But my enemies live, and they have been stronger than me. * And those who have wrongfully hated me have been multiplied.

37:21 Those who render evil for good have dragged me down, * because I followed goodness.

37:22 Do not forsake me, O Lord my God. * Do not depart from me.

37:23 Be attentive to my help, * O Lord, the God of my salvation.

℣ 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.

Ant. Be intent upon my help, O Lord, the strength of my salvation.

Ant. Remove, O Lord, * your plagues from me.

Psalm 38 [9]

38:2 I said, “I will keep to my ways, * so that I will not offend with my tongue.”

38:2 I posted a guard at my mouth, * when a sinner took up a position against me.

38:3 I was silenced and humbled, and I was quiet before good things, * and my sorrow was renewed.

38:4 My heart grew hot within me, * and, during my meditation, a fire would flare up.

38:5 I spoke with my tongue, * “O Lord, make me know my end,

38:5 and what the number of my days will be, * so that I may know what is lacking to me.”

38:6 Behold, you have made my days measurable, * and, before you, my substance is as nothing.

38:6 Yet truly, all things are vanity: * every living man.

38:7 So then, truly man passes by like an image; * even so, he is disquieted in vain.

38:7 He stores up, * and he knows not for whom he will gather these things.

38:8 And now, what is it that awaits me? Is it not the Lord? * And my substance is with you.

38:9 Rescue me from all my iniquities. * You have handed me over as a reproach to the foolish.

38:10 I was silenced, and I did not open my mouth, because it was you who acted. * Remove your scourges from me.

38:12 I fall short at corrections from the strength of your hand. * For you have chastised man for iniquity.

38:12 And you have made his soul shrink away like a spider. * Nevertheless, it is in vain that any man be disquieted.

38:13 O Lord, heed my prayer and my supplication. * Pay attention to my tears.

38:13 Do not be silent. For I am a newcomer with you, and a sojourner, * just as all my fathers were.

38:14 Forgive me, so that I may be refreshed, before I will go forth * and be no more.

℣ 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.

Ant. Remove, O Lord, your plagues from me.

℣ He will overshadow you with his shoulders.

℟ And under his wings you shall hope.

The Our Father is said silently as far as And lead us not into temptation:

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 also forgive those who trespass against us:

℣ And lead us not into temptation:

℟ But deliver us from evil.

Absolution. May his loving kindness and mercy assist us, he who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

℟ Amen.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the evangelical reading be our salvation and protection.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 1

A Reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Matt 18:15-22

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: if your brother has sinned against you, go and correct him, between you and him alone. And so forth.

A Homily of Saint Augustine, Bishop

Sermon 16 on the Words of the Lord, volume 10, after the beginning

Why do you rebuke him? Because you grieve that he has sinned against you? God forbid. If you do it out of love for yourself, you do nothing; if you do it out of love for him, you do excellently. And so, in the very words themselves, observe out of love for whom you ought to do this—whether for yourself or for him. If he hears you, he says, you have gained your brother. Therefore do it for his sake, that you may gain him. By acting thus you gain him; had you not acted, he would have perished. What, then, is it that so many people despise these sins and say: What great thing have I done? I have sinned against a man. Do not despise it: you have sinned against a man.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ They announced to Jacob, saying: Your son Joseph is alive, and he himself rules over the whole land of Egypt: hearing which his spirit revived, and he said:

* It is enough for me; I will go and see him before I die.

℣ And when Jacob heard that his son was alive, awaking as it were from a deep sleep, he said.

℟ It is enough for me; I will go and see him before I die.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the divine assistance remain always with us.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 2

Do you wish to know that you perished by sinning against a fellow man? If he against whom you have sinned should correct you between himself and you alone, and you have heard him, he has gained you. What is, he has gained you, if not that you had perished, if he had not gained you? For if you had not perished, how has he gained you? Let no one, therefore, make light of sinning against a brother. For the Apostle says in one place: But thus sinning against the brethren and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ: therefore because we have all been made members of Christ. How do you not sin against Christ, when you sin against a member of Christ?

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ When Joseph entered into the land of Egypt, he heard a tongue he did not know: his hands served in labors:

* And his tongue spoke wisdom among princes.

℣ They humbled his feet with fetters: iron pierced through his soul, until his word came to pass.

℟ And his tongue spoke wisdom among princes.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the King of Angels lead us to the company of the citizens on high.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 3

Let no one say, therefore: I have not sinned against God, but against my brother; I have sinned against a man — it is a slight matter or no matter at all. Perhaps you say: It is slight, because it is quickly healed. You sinned against your brother: make satisfaction, and you are healed. Quickly you did a deadly deed, but quickly you found a remedy. Which of us may hope for the kingdom of heaven, my brothers, when the Gospel says: Whoever shall say to his brother, You fool, shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna? Great is the terror: but look there for the remedy. If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar. God is not angry because you delay placing your gift: God seeks you more than your gift.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ Remember me when it is well with you:

* That you may mention me to Pharaoh, so that he may bring me out of this prison. * For I was stolen away by stealth, and here I was cast into a pit, innocent.

℣ For there are yet three days, after which Pharaoh will remember your service, and will restore you to your former rank: then remember me.

℟ That you may mention me to Pharaoh, so that he may bring me out of this prison.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ For I was stolen away by stealth, and here I was cast into a pit, innocent.

The rest is omitted unless Lauds is said separately.

℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟ And let my cry come before you.

Let us pray.

Hear us, almighty and merciful God, and graciously grant us the gifts of wholesome continence.

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.

℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟ And let my cry come before you.

℣ Let us bless the Lord.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℣ May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

℟ Amen.