Sabbato Quattuor Temporum PentecostesSaturday of the Ember Days of Pentecost

℣ 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.

Alleluia.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

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. Come, let us adore, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

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. Come, let us adore, alleluia.

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. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

℣ 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. Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Ant. Alleluia, the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole earth: * Come, let us adore, alleluia.

Now Christ, ascending whence he came,

Had mounted o'er the starry frame,

The Holy Ghost on man below,

The Father's promise, to bestow.

The solemn time was drawing nigh,

Replete with heav'nly mystery,

On seven days' sevenfold circles borne,

That first and blessèd Whitsun-morn.

When the third hour shone all around,

There came a rushing mighty sound,

And told the Apostles, while in prayer,

That, as was promised, God was there.

Forth from the Father's light it came,

That beautiful and kindly flame:

To fill with fervour of his word

The spirits faithful to their Lord.

With joy the Apostles' breasts are fired,

By God the Holy Ghost inspired:

And straight, in diverse kinds of speech,

The wondrous works of God they preach.

To men of every race they speak,

Alike barbarian, Roman, Greek:

From the same lips, with awe and fear,

All men their native accents hear.

But Juda's sons, e'en faithless yet,

With mad infuriate rage beset,

To mock Christ's followers combine,

As drunken all with new-made wine.

When lo! with signs and mighty deeds,

Stands Peter in the midst, and pleads;

Confounding their malignant lie

By Joel's ancient prophecy.

To God the Father let us sing,

To God the Son, our risen King,

And equally let us adore

The Spirit, God forevermore.

Amen.

At the Nocturn

Ant. Suddenly * there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 47 [1]

47:2 The Lord is great and exceedingly praiseworthy, * in the city of our God, on his holy mountain.

47:3 Mount Zion is being founded with the exultation of the whole earth, * on the north side, the city of the great king.

47:4 In her houses, God will be known, * since he will support her.

47:5 For behold, the kings of the earth have been gathered together; * they have convened as one.

47:6 Such did they see, and they were astonished: they were disturbed, they were moved. * Trembling took hold of them.

47:7 In that place, their pains were that of a woman in labor. * With a vehement spirit, you will crush the ships of Tarshish.

47:9 As we have heard, so we have seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God. * God has founded it in eternity.

47:10 We have received your mercy, O God, * in the midst of your temple.

47:11 According to your name, O God, so does your praise reach to the ends of the earth. * Your right hand is full of justice.

47:12 Let mount Zion rejoice, and let the daughters of Judah exult, * because of your judgments, O Lord.

47:13 Encircle Zion and embrace her. * Discourse in her towers.

47:14 Set your hearts on her virtue. * And distribute her houses, so that you may discourse of it in another generation.

47:15 For this is God, our God, in eternity and forever and ever. * He will rule us forever.

℣ 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. Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, alleluia, alleluia.

Ant. Confirm, O God, * what you have wrought in us: from your holy temple, which is in Jerusalem, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 67 [2]

67:2 May God rise up, and may his enemies be scattered, * and may those who hate him flee from before his face.

67:3 Just as smoke vanishes, so may they vanish. * Just as wax flows away before the face of fire, so may sinners pass away before the face of God.

67:4 And so, let the just feast, and let them exult in the sight of God * and be delighted in gladness.

67:5a Sing to God, sing a psalm to his name. * Make a path for him, who ascends over the west. (bow) The Lord is his name.

67:5b Exult in his sight; * they will be stirred up before his face, (6a) the father of orphans and the judge of widows.

67:6b God is in his holy place. * (7a) It is God who makes men dwell in a house under one custom.

67:7b He leads out those who are strongly bound, * and similarly, those who exasperate, who dwell in sepulchers.

67:8 O God, when you departed in the sight of your people, * when you passed through the desert,

67:9 the earth was moved, for the heavens rained down before the face of the God of Sinai, * before the face of the God of Israel.

67:10 You will set aside for your inheritance, O God, a willing rain. * And though it was weak, truly, you have made it perfect.

67:11 Your animals will dwell in it. * O God, in your sweetness, you have provided for the poor.

67:12 The Lord will give the word to evangelizers, * along with great virtue.

67:13 The King of virtue is beloved among the beloved. * And the beauty of the house will divide spoils.

67:14 If you take your rest in the midst of the clergy, you will be like a dove whose wings are covered with fine silver * and edged with pale gold.

67:15 When heaven discerns kings to be over her, they will be whitened with the snows of Zalmon. * (16a) The mountain of God is a fat mountain,

67:16b a dense mountain, a thick mountain. * (17a) So then, why are you distrustful of dense mountains?

67:17b The mountain on which God is well pleased to dwell, * even there, the Lord will dwell until the end.

67:18 The chariot of God is ten thousand fold: thousands rejoice. * The Lord is with them in Sinai, in the holy place.

67:19a You have ascended on high; you have taken captivity captive. * You have accepted gifts among men.

67:19b For even those who do not believe * dwell with the Lord God.

67:20 Blessed is the Lord, day after day. * The God of our salvation will make our journey prosper for us.

67:21 Our God is the God who will bring about our salvation, * and our Lord is the Lord who has brought an end to death.

67:22 So then, truly, God will break the heads of his enemies, * the hairy skull of those who wander around in their offenses.

67:23 The Lord said: I will turn them away from Bashan, * I will turn them into the depths of the sea,

67:24 so that your feet may be soaked in the blood of your enemies, * so that the tongue of your dogs may be soaked with the same.

67:25 O God, they have seen your arrival, * the arrival of my God, of my king who is in a holy place.

67:26 The leaders went ahead, united with the singers of psalms, * in the midst of girls playing on timbrels.

67:27 In the churches, bless the Lord God * from the fountains of Israel.

67:28a In that place, Benjamin is a youth * in ecstasy of mind.

67:28b The leaders of Judah are their governors: * the leaders of Zebulun, the leaders of Naphtali.

67:29 Command by your virtue, O God. * Confirm in this place, O God, what you have wrought in us.

67:30 Before your temple in Jerusalem, * kings will offer gifts to you.

67:31a Rebuke the wild beasts of the reeds, a congregation of bulls with the cows of the people, * for they seek to exclude those who have been tested like silver.

67:31b Scatter the nations that are pleased by wars. (32) Ambassadors will come out of Egypt. * Ethiopia will offer in advance her hands to God.

67:33a Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth. * Sing psalms to the Lord.

67:33b Sing psalms to God. (34a) He ascends, up to the heaven of the heavens, * toward the east.

67:34b Behold, he will utter his voice, the voice of virtue. (35) Give glory to God beyond Israel. * His magnificence and his virtue is in the clouds.

67:36 God is wonderful in his saints. The God of Israel himself will give virtue and strength to his people. * Blessed is God.

℣ 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. Confirm, O God, what you have wrought in us: from your holy temple, which is in Jerusalem, alleluia, alleluia.

Ant. Send forth your Spirit, * and they shall be created: and you shall renew the face of the earth, alleluia, alleluia.

Psalm 103 [3]

103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul. * O Lord my God, you are exceedingly great.

103:1 You have clothed yourself with confession and beauty; * you are dressed with light like a garment,

103:2 while you stretch out heaven like a tent. * You cover its heights with water.

103:3 You set the clouds as your stairs. * You walk upon the wings of the winds.

103:4 You make your Angels a breath of life, * and your ministers a burning fire.

103:5 You founded the earth upon its stable base. * It will not be bent from age to age.

103:6 The abyss, like a garment, is its clothing. * The waters will remain standing above the mountains.

103:7 At your rebuke, they will flee. * At the voice of your thunder, they will dread.

103:8 The mountains ascend, and the plains descend, * to the place which you have founded for them.

103:9 You have set a limit that they will not cross. * And they will not return to cover the earth.

103:10 You spring forth fountains in steep valleys. * The waters will cross through the midst of the mountains.

103:11 All the wild beasts of the field will drink. * The wild donkeys will anticipate in their thirst.

103:12 Above them, the flying things of the air will dwell. * From the midst of the rocks, they will utter voices.

103:13 You irrigate the mountains from your heights. * The earth will be satiated from the fruit of your works,

103:14 producing grass for cattle * and herbs for the service of men.

103:14 So may you draw bread from the earth, * and wine, in order to cheer the heart of man.

103:15 Then he may gladden his face with oil, * and bread will confirm the heart of man.

103:16 The trees of the field will be saturated, along with the cedars of Lebanon, which he planted. * There, the sparrows will make their nests.

103:17 The leader of them is the house of the heron. * The heights of the hills are for the deer; the rock is a refuge for the hedgehog.

103:19 He has made the moon for seasons; * the sun knows its setting.

103:20 You appointed darkness, and it has become night; * all the beasts of the forest will cross through it.

103:21 The young lions will roar, * while searching for and seizing their meal from God.

103:22 The sun arose, and they were gathered together; * and in their dens, they will lie down together.

103:23 Man will go forth to his work * and to his activities, until the evening.

103:24 How great are your works, O Lord! * You have made all things in wisdom. The earth has been filled with your possessions.

103:25 This sea is great and its hands are spacious. * There are creeping things without number:

103:26 the small animals with the great. * There, the ships will pass by

103:27 this sea-serpent that you have formed to mock them. * All these expect you to give them food in due time.

103:28 What you give to them, they will gather. * When you open your hand, they will all be filled with goodness.

103:29 But if you turn your face away, they will be disturbed. * You will take away their breath, and they will fail, and they will return to their dust.

103:30 You will send forth your Spirit, and they will be created. * And you will renew the face of the earth.

103:31 May the glory of the Lord be for all ages. * The Lord will rejoice in his works.

103:32 He considers the earth, and he makes it tremble. * He touches the mountains, and they smoke.

103:33 I will sing to the Lord with my life. * I will sing psalms to my God, as long as I am.

103:34 May my speech be pleasing to him. * Truly, I will take delight in the Lord.

103:35 Let sinners fade away from the earth, along with the unjust, so that they may not be. * Bless the Lord, O my soul.

℣ 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. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created: and you shall renew the face of the earth, alleluia, alleluia.

℣ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, alleluia.

℟ And they began to speak, alleluia.

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 the almighty and merciful Lord absolve us from the bonds of our sins.

℟ 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 Luke

Luc 4:38-44

At that time: Jesus, rising up from the synagogue, entered into the house of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was in the grip of a severe fever. And so forth.

A Homily of Saint Ambrose the Bishop

Book 4 on Luke, chapter 4, near the end

Behold the clemency of the Lord and Savior: moved by no indignation, offended by no wickedness, violated by no injury, he does not abandon Judea; nay, unmindful of injury, mindful of clemency, he now by teaching, now by liberating, now by healing, soothes the hearts of an unfaithful people. And it is well that holy Luke first set before us the man freed from the spirit of wickedness, and then adds the healing of a woman. For the Lord had come to heal both sexes: yet he who was created first ought to be healed first; nor was she to be passed over, who had sinned more by lightness of soul than by wickedness.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ They were all filled with the Holy Spirit: and they began to speak, as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance:

* And a multitude gathered together, saying, alleluia.

℣ The Apostles spoke in various tongues of the mighty works of God.

℟ And a multitude gathered together, saying, alleluia.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the divine assistance remain always with us.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 2

He indicates that the works of the Lord's healing began on the Sabbath, so that the new creation might begin where the old creation had previously ceased: and it would indicate that the Son of God was not under the law, but above the law in that very beginning: and that the law was not abolished, but fulfilled. For the world was made not through the law, but through the Word, as we read: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established. The law is therefore not abolished, but fulfilled: that the renewal of man who was already failing might come about. Hence the Apostle also says: Stripping off the old man, put on the new, who has been created according to God.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ I will no longer call you servants, but my friends; for you have known all things that I have done in your midst, alleluia:

* Receive the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, within you: he is the one whom the Father will send to you, alleluia.

℣ You are my friends, if you do what I instruct you.

℟ Receive the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, within you: he is the one whom the Father will send to you, alleluia.

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

℟ Receive the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, within you: he is the one whom the Father will send to you, alleluia.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

℟ Amen.

Lesson 3

And it was well that he began on the Sabbath, so as to show himself to be the very Creator, who weaves works into works and carries on the task that he himself had already begun: as when a craftsman plans to restore a house, he does not begin to clear away the old material from the foundations but from the roof. And so he first sets his hand where he had previously left off; then he begins from the lesser things in order to proceed to the greater. To free men from a demon, even human beings can do by the word of God; but to command resurrection to the dead belongs to divine power alone. Perhaps also in the type of that woman: the mother-in-law of Simon and Andrew, our flesh was languishing with various fevers of sins, and was blazing with the immoderate allurements of manifold desires. Nor would I say that the fever of love is less than that of heat. Thus the one inflames the soul, the other the body. For our fever is avarice: our fever is lust: our fever is wantonness: our fever is ambition: our fever is anger.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

Te Deum

O God, we praise you; * O Lord, we acclaim you.

Eternal Father, * all the earth reveres you.

To you all the Angels, * the heavens and all the Powers of heaven:

To you the Cherubim and Seraphim * cry out in endless praise:

(A bow is made) Holy, Holy, Holy * Lord God of hosts;

Heaven and earth are filled * with the majesty of your glory.

The glorious choir of Apostles * sings to you,

the noble company of Prophets * praises you,

the white-robed army of Martyrs * glorifies you.

Holy Church throughout the earth * proclaims you,

the Father * of boundless majesty;

your true and only Son, * worthy of adoration;

and the Holy Spirit, * the Paraclete.

You, O Christ, * are the King of glory.

You are * the Father's everlasting Son.

(A bow is made) When you resolved to save the human race, * you did not spurn the Virgin's womb.

You overcame the sting of death * and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to those who put their faith in you.

You are seated at the right hand of God * in the glory of the Father.

We believe you are the Judge * who is to come.

(The following verse is said kneeling) And so we beg you, help your servants, * redeemed by your most precious blood.

Number them * among your Saints in eternal glory.

Save your people, Lord, * and bless your inheritance.

Shepherd them * and raise them to eternal life.

Day by day * we bless you,

(A bow is made, according to custom) and we praise your name * for endless ages evermore.

Be gracious, Lord, on this day, * and keep us from all sin.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, * have mercy.

May your mercy be upon us, Lord, * as we place our trust in you.

In you, O Lord, I rest my hope: * let me never be put to shame.

The rest is omitted unless Lauds is said separately.

℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟ And let my cry come before you.

Let us pray.

Kindly pour into our minds, we pray, O Lord, the Holy Spirit, by whose wisdom we were made and by whose providence we are governed.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son: who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the same 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.