S. Ioannis Bosco Confessoris

Nocturn 1

Ant. The Lord raised up * a testimony in Jacob: and appointed a law in Israel.

Psalm 77(1-8)

77:1 O my people, attend to my law: * incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
77:2 I will open my mouth in parables: * I will speak about concepts that are from the beginning.
77:3 We have heard and known such great things: * and our fathers have described them to us.
77:4 These things have not been hidden from their sons: * in any generation.
77:4 Declaring the praises of the Lord, and his virtues: * and the wonders that he has done.
77:5 And he has received testimony with Jacob: * and he has set a law within Israel.
77:5 Such great things, he has commanded our fathers, so as to make these things known to their sons: * so that another generation might know them.
77:6 Sons who will be born and will grow up, * and will describe them to their sons.
77:7 So then, may they put their hope in God, and may they not forget the works of God: * and may they seek his commandments.
77:8 May they not become like their fathers: * a perverse and exasperating generation.
77:8 A generation that does not straighten their heart: * and whose spirit is not trustworthy with 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. The Lord raised up a testimony in Jacob: and appointed a law in Israel.

Ant. Before their fathers * God worked wonders.

Psalm 77(9-16)

77:9 The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow: * have been turned back in the day of battle.
77:10 They have not kept the covenant of God: * and they were not willing to walk in his law.
77:11 And they have been forgetful of his benefits: * and of his miracle, which he revealed to them.
77:12 He performed miracles in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt: * in the field of Tanis.
77:13 He broke the sea and he led them through: * and he stationed the waters, as if in a vessel.
77:14 And he led them with a cloud by day: * and with illumination by fire throughout the night.
77:15 He broke through the rock in the wasteland: * and he gave them to drink, as if from the great abyss.
77:16 He brought forth water from the rock: * and he conducted the waters, as if they were rivers.

℣ 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. Before their fathers God worked wonders.

Ant. The Lord opened * the gates of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat.

Psalm 77(17-31)

77:17 And yet, they continued to sin against him: * in a waterless place, they provoked the Most High with resentment.
77:18 And they tempted God in their hearts, * by asking for food according to their desires.
77:19 And they spoke badly about God: * they said, Would God be able to prepare a table in the desert?
77:20 He struck the rock, and so waters flowed, and the torrents flooded: * but would even he be able to provide bread,
77:20 or provide a table * for his people?
77:21 Therefore, the Lord heard, and he was dismayed: * and a fire was kindled within Jacob, and an anger ascended into Israel.
77:22 For they neither put their trust in God: * nor did they hope in his salvation:
77:23 And he commanded the clouds from above: * and he opened the doors of heaven.
77:24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat: * and he gave them the bread of heaven.
77:25 Man ate the bread of Angels, * he sent them provisions in abundance.
77:26 He transferred the south wind from heaven: * and in his virtue, he brought in the Southwest wind.
77:27 And he rained down flesh upon them, as if it were dust: * and feathered birds, as if they were the sand of the sea.
77:28 And they fell down in the midst of their camp: * encircling their tabernacles.
77:29 And they ate until they were greatly satisfied, and he brought to them according to their desires: * they were not cheated out of what they wanted.
77:30 Their food was still in their mouth: * and then the wrath of God came upon them.
77:31 And he slew the fat ones among them, * and he impeded the elect 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.

Ant. The Lord opened the gates of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat.

℣ God struck the rock and waters flowed.

℟ And the torrents overflowed.

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.

Absolutio. Hear us, Lord Jesus Christ, and have mercy on your servants: You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the eternal Father bless us with his everlasting blessing.

Reading 1

From the Epistle to the Ephesians

Eph 5:1-4

1 Therefore, as most beloved sons, be imitators of God.
2 And walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and delivered himself for us, as an oblation and a sacrifice to God, with a fragrance of sweetness.
3 But let not any kind of fornication, or impurity, or rapacity so much as be named among you, just as is worthy of the saints,
4 nor any indecent, or foolish, or abusive talk, for this is without purpose; but instead, give thanks.

℟ I will confess to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name for ever:

For your mercy, O Lord, is great over me.

℣ You are my God, and I will confess you; you are my God, and I will exalt you.

℟ For your mercy, O Lord, is great over me.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the Only Begotten Son of God be pleased to bless and assist us.

Reading 2

Eph 5:5-8

5 For know and understand this: no one who is a fornicator, or lustful, or rapacious (for these are a kind of service to idols) holds an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one seduce you with empty words. For because of these things, the wrath of God was sent upon the sons of unbelief. 7 Therefore, do not choose to become participants with them. 8 For you were darkness, in times past, but now you are light, in the Lord. So then, walk as sons of the light.

℟ Your mercy, O Lord, is great toward me:

and you have delivered my soul from the lower depths of the underworld.

℣ On the day of my tribulation I cried to you, for you heard me.

℟ and you have delivered my soul from the lower depths of the underworld.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the mercy of Christ lead us to the joys of paradise.

Reading 3

Eph 5:9-14

9 For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and justice and truth, 10 affirming what is well-pleasing to God. 11 And so, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead, refute them. 12 For the things that are done by them in secret are shameful, even to mention. 13 But all things that are disputed are made manifest by the light. For all that is made manifest is light. 14 Because of this, it is said: 'You who are sleeping: awaken, and rise up from the dead, and so shall the Christ enlighten you.'

℟ The Lord has become my refuge:

and my God, the help of my hope.

℣ He delivered me from my strongest enemies, and the Lord became my protector.

℟ and my God, the help of my hope.

℣ 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.

℟ and my God, the help of my hope.

Nocturn 2

Ant. God * is their helper: and the Most High is their redeemer.

Psalm 77(32-41)

77:32 In all these things, they continued to sin: * and they were not trustworthy with his miracles.
77:33 And their days faded away into vanity: * and their years with haste.
77:34 When he slew them, then they sought him: * and they returned, and they drew near to him in the early morning.
77:35 And they were mindful that God is their helper: * and that the Most High God is their redeemer.
77:36 And they chose him with their mouth, * and then they lied to him with their tongue.
77:37 For their heart was not upright with him: * nor have they been living faithfully in his covenant.
77:38 Yet he is merciful, and he will pardon their sins: * and he will not destroy them.
77:38 And he has abundantly turned aside his own wrath: * and he did not enflame his wrath entirely:
77:39 And he remembered that they are flesh: * a spirit that goes forth and does not return.
77:40 How often did they provoke him in the desert, * and stir him to wrath in a waterless place?
77:41 And they turned back and tempted God: * and they exasperated 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.

Ant. God is their helper: and the Most High is their redeemer.

Ant. The Lord * redeemed them from the hand of the one who afflicted them.

Psalm 77(42-58)

77:42 They did not remember his hand, * in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of the one troubling them.
77:43 Thus he positioned his signs in Egypt, * and his wonders in the field of Tanis.
77:44 And he turned their rivers into blood, * along with their rain showers, so that they could not drink.
77:45 He sent among them the common fly, and it devoured them, * and the frog, and it scattered them.
77:46 And he gave up their fruits to mold, * and their labors to the locust.
77:47 And he slew their vineyards with hail, * and their mulberry trees with severe frost.
77:48 And he delivered their cattle to the hail, * and their possessions to fire.
77:49 And he sent the wrath of his indignation among them: * indignation and wrath and tribulation, sent forth by evil angels.
77:50 He made way for the path of his anger; he did not spare their souls from death: * and he enclosed their beasts of burden in death.
77:51 And he struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt: * the first-fruits of all their labor in the tabernacles of Ham.
77:52 And he took away his own people like sheep, * and he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
77:53 And he led them out in hope, and they did not fear: * and the sea covered their enemies.
77:54 And he led them to the mountain of his sanctification: * the mountain that his right hand had acquired.
77:54 And he cast out the Gentiles before their face: * and he divided their land by lot to them, with a line of distribution.
77:55 And he caused them to dwell in their tabernacles: * the tribes of Israel.
77:56 Yet they tempted and aggravated God Most High: * and they did not keep his testaments.
77:57 And they turned themselves aside, and they did not serve the covenant: * just as their fathers, they were turned backwards like a crooked bow.
77:58 They impelled him to anger on their hills: * and they provoked him to rivalry with their graven images.

℣ 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 Lord redeemed them from the hand of the one who afflicted them.

Ant. God * built his sanctuary on earth.

Psalm 77(59-72)

77:59 God listened, and he spurned them: * and he reduced Israel greatly, almost to nothing.
77:60 And he rejected the tabernacle of Shiloh: * his tabernacle where he had dwelt among men.
77:61 And he delivered their virtue into captivity: * and their beauty into the hands of the enemy.
77:62 And he enclosed his people with the sword: * and he spurned his inheritance.
77:63 Fire consumed their young men: * and their virgins were not lamented.
77:64 Their priests fell by the sword: * and their widows did not weep.
77:65 And the Lord was awakened, as if out of sleep: * and like a powerful man impaired by wine.
77:66 And he struck his enemies on the back: * he gave them over to everlasting disgrace.
77:67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph: * and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
77:68 But he chose the tribe of Judah: * mount Zion, which he loved.
77:69 And he built up his sanctuary like a single-horned beast in the land, * which he founded for all ages.
77:70 And he chose his servant David, and he took him from the flocks of the sheep: * he received him from following the ewes with their young,
77:71 in order to pasture Jacob his servant, * and Israel his inheritance.
77:72 And he fed them with the innocence of his heart: * and he led them with the understanding of his hands.

℣ 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. God built his sanctuary on earth.

℣ The mouth of the just man shall meditate wisdom.

℟ And his tongue shall speak judgment.

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.

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

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May God the almighty Father be gracious and merciful to us.

Reading 4

John Bosco, born in humble circumstances at Castelnuovo in the Astigiano, and trained with the greatest holiness under his mother's discipline after the loss of his father, gave remarkable portents of himself even from his earliest years. Gentle by nature and inclined to piety, he bore himself with singular authority among his peers, whose quarrels he soon began to settle, petty brawls to compose, base words and wanton jests to suppress. Then he strove to call them to himself with pleasant words, to weave prayers into games, to retell with wonderful abundance and sweetness of speech what sacred sayings he had heard in church, and to lead the boys as soon as possible, and as frequently as possible, to receive the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist worthily. The modest grace of his countenance, the pleasantness of his character, and the brightness of his most innocent life drew all hearts to him. And although pressed by straitened family circumstances he spent an adolescence full of labors and hardships, he pressed on cheerfully and trusting in God toward the one goal: to be raised to the priesthood.

℟ You have made known to me, O Lord, the ways of life:

You will fill me with joy with your countenance: at your right hand are delights evermore.

℣ You are the one who will restore my inheritance to me.

℟ You will fill me with joy with your countenance: at your right hand are delights evermore.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

Reading 5

At last having attained his wish, he made his way first to Chieri and then to Turin, so that, under the blessed Joseph Cafasso as master, he might advance the more keenly both in the knowledge of the saints and in the sacred teaching of morals for the worthy administration of the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. By his example and labors he also drew many young men after him, and later founded the Salesian Society for their formation.

℟ I will love you, O Lord, my strength; the Lord is my firm foundation,

And my refuge.

℣ My deliverer, my God, my helper.

℟ And my refuge.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May God kindle the fire of his love in our hearts.

Reading 6

Burning with zeal for souls, he spared no labor and no expense in order to establish rest homes for young boys on feast days, hospices for orphans, schools for working boys, houses for the raising and educating of children, and temples to God far and wide throughout the world. At the same time he did not cease to foster the faith of Christ in Piedmont by word and example, to protect it throughout all Italy by compiling, publishing, and disseminating the best books, and to propagate it by repeatedly sending preachers of the Gospel to unbelieving peoples. A simple and upright man of God, equipped for every good work, he flourished in virtues of every kind, which were nourished by the ardor of his most burning charity. With his mind steadfastly raised toward God and heaped with heavenly gifts, that most holy man appeared to be terrified by no threats, wearied by no labors, oppressed by no anxieties, and disturbed by no adversities. Three works of devotion he most strongly commended to his own: that they should approach the sacrament of Confession and the holy Synaxis as frequently as possible, that they should venerate Mary Help of Christians with great love, and that they should be submissive to the Supreme Pontiff as most devoted sons. Nor should it be passed over in silence that in the most difficult circumstances he was at the service of the Roman Pontiff more than once, to temper the evils flowing from the laws against the Church enacted at that time. He completed the course of his life, filled with so many and such great works and labors, on the day before the Kalends of February in the year of salvation one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight, in the seventy-third year of his age. Pius XI, Supreme Pontiff, declared him illustrious for many miracles and enrolled him in the number of the Blessed in the year one thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine; and five years later, on the solemn day of Easter, with the peoples from the whole world flocking to the City on the nineteenth centenary of the completion of the Redemption of the human race, he enrolled him in the ranks of the Saints.

℟ The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof:

The world, and all who dwell in it.

℣ He himself has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.

℟ The world, and all who dwell in it.

℣ 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 world, and all who dwell in it.

Nocturn 3

Ant. Help us, * O God, our salvation: and be gracious toward our sins.

Psalm 78

78:1 O God, the Gentiles have entered into your inheritance; they have polluted your holy temple: * they have set Jerusalem as a place to keep an orchard.
78:2 They have placed the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky: * the flesh of your saints for the beasts of the earth.
78:3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem: * and there was no one who would bury them.
78:4 We have become a disgrace to our neighbors: * a mockery and a derision to those who are around us.
78:5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry until the end? * Will your zeal be kindled like a fire?
78:6 Pour out your wrath among the Gentiles who have not known you: * and upon the kingdoms that have not invoked your name.
78:7 For they have devoured Jacob: * and they have desolated his place.
78:8 Do not remember our iniquities of the past; may your mercies quickly intercept us: * for we have been made greatly poor.
78:9 Help us, O God, our Savior; and free us, Lord, for the glory of your name: * and be merciful to our sins, for the sake of your name.
78:10 Let them not say among the Gentiles: Where is their God? * and may it become known among the nations before our eyes.
78:10 May the vengeance of the blood of your servants that has been poured out * enter before you as the groaning of those in chains.
78:11 According to the greatness of your arm, * take possession of the sons of those who have been put to death.
78:12 And repay our neighbors sevenfold within their sinews: * the reproach with which they have reproached you, O Lord.
78:13 But we are your people and the sheep of your pasture: * we will give thanks to you in all ages.
78:13 From generation to generation * we will declare your praise.

℣ 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. Help us, O God, our salvation: and be gracious toward our sins.

Ant. I am the Lord * your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Psalm 80

80:2 Exult before God our helper: * sing joyfully to the God of Jacob.
80:3 Take up a psalm, and bring forth the timbrel: * a pleasing Psalter with stringed instruments.
80:4 Sound the trumpet at the new moon, * on the noteworthy day of your solemnity.
80:5 For it is a precept in Israel: * and a judgment for the God of Jacob.
80:6 He set it as a testimony in Joseph, when he came out of the land of Egypt: * he heard a tongue that he knew not.
80:7 He turned his back from the burdens: * his hands had served in the basket.
80:8 In tribulation you called upon me, and I delivered you: * I heard you in the secret place of the storm; I proved you at the waters of contradiction.
80:9 Hear, O my people, and I will testify to you: * O Israel, if you will hear me, there shall be no new god among you, nor shall you adore a foreign god.
80:11 For I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt: * open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
80:12 But my people did not hear my voice: * and Israel did not heed me.
80:13 So I dismissed them according to the desires of their heart: * they shall walk in their own devices.
80:14 If my people had heard me: * if Israel had walked in my ways:
80:15 I would have humbled their enemies as nothing: * and I would have stretched forth my hand upon those who troubled them.
80:16 The enemies of the Lord have lied to him: * and their time shall be for ever.
80:17 And he fed them with the fat of wheat: * and filled them with honey from the rock.

℣ 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. I am the Lord your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Ant. Be not silent, O God, * for your enemies have lifted up their head.

Psalm 82

82:2 O God, who shall be like you? * Be not silent, neither be still, O God.
82:3 For behold, your enemies have made a noise: * and they who hate you have lifted up their head.
82:4 They have devised a malicious counsel against your people: * and they have plotted against your holy ones.
82:5 They have said: Come, and let us destroy them as a nation: * and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.
82:6 For they have plotted together with one accord: * they have made a covenant against you— the tents of the Edomites and the Ishmaelites:
82:8 Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek: * the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre.
82:9 And Assyria also has come with them: * they have become a help for the sons of Lot.
82:10 Do to them as you did to Midian and to Sisera: * as to Jabin at the torrent of Kishon.
82:11 They perished at Endor: * they became as dung upon the earth.
82:12 Make their princes as Oreb and Zeb, * and Zebah and Zalmunna:
82:13 All their princes: * who have said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God as our inheritance.
82:14 O my God, make them like a wheel, * and like stubble before the face of the wind.
82:15 As fire that burns a forest: * and as a flame burning mountains:
82:16 So shall you pursue them in your storm: * and in your anger you shall trouble them.
82:17 Fill their faces with shame: * and they shall seek your name, O Lord.
82:18 Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever: * and let them be confounded and perish.
82:19 And let them know that the Lord is your name: * you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

℣ 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 not silent, O God, for your enemies have lifted up their head.

℣ The law of his God is in his heart.

℟ And his steps shall not be overthrown.

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.

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

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May he bless us who lives and reigns without end.

Reading 7

A Reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Matt 18:1-5

At that time: The disciples drew near to Jesus, saying: Who, do you think, is greater in the kingdom of heaven? And so forth.

From a Homily of Saint John Chrysostom

Homilia 60 in Matth. cap. 18

See in how many ways the Lord moves us to care even for the lesser brethren. Therefore do not say: He is a coppersmith, or a cobbler, or a farmer, or an unlettered man, and so despise him. Lest you fall into that evil, consider in how many ways he moves you to conduct yourself with modesty and to take care of them. He placed a little child in the midst and said: Become as little children; and: Whoever receives such a little child receives me; and: Whoever leads one astray shall suffer the worst. If, then, God so rejoices over a little one who is found, why do you despise those of whom God takes such solicitous care — when you ought even to lay down your very soul for one of these little ones? For so great is God's care for the soul that he has not even spared his own Son. Therefore, I beseech you, from the first light of day, when we leave home, let us have this one aim and this surpassing concern: to rescue those who are in peril. I do not speak here of peril to the body, for that is no peril at all; but of peril to the soul, which the devil prepares for men.

℟ To you, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul:

O my God, in you I trust, let me not be put to shame.

℣ Guard my soul, and deliver me.

℟ O my God, in you I trust, let me not be put to shame.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the divine assistance remain always with us.

Reading 8

He is wicked, you say, and hard to bear. And therefore you ought to be joined to him with love, so that you may remove him from his vice, convert him, and lead him back to virtue. But he does not comply, you say, and does not accept counsel. How do you know this? Have you exhorted him and striven to amend him? I have often exhorted him, you will say. How often? Many times: once and again. Do you call that many times? Even if you had done it your whole life, you ought not to cease or despair. Do you not see how God always exhorts us through the Prophets, through the Apostles, through the Evangelists? What then? Do we act rightly? Do we comply in all things? By no means. Has he therefore made an end of admonishing us?

℟ Two Seraphim cried out one to the other:

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts: * all the earth is filled with his glory.

℣ For there are Three who give testimony in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. And these Three are One.

℟ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts.

℣ 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.

℟ All the earth is filled with his glory.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 9

For nothing is so precious as the soul: what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul? But the love of money perverts and overturns everything and shakes off the fear of God, seizing souls like a tyrant seizing a citadel. Hence we neglect both the salvation of our children and our own. Hence great foolishness; hence children become cheaper than servants. But why speak of servants? If a man has a mule, he takes great care to provide the best groom for it, one who is not wicked, not thieving, not drunken, not unskilled in his art. Yet if a tutor must be provided for a son, we take the first man who happens along, chosen at random and without discernment; yet no art is greater than this. What is equal to that art which is charged with guiding the mind and character of a young man? Whoever is endowed with such a skill ought to show more diligence than any painter or sculptor.

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.
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)

(Brethren, when they begin 'Te ergo quaesumus,' departing from the Stalls, let them reverently bow at the words 'Quos pretioso' and the rest)

And so we beg you, help your servants, * redeemed by your most precious blood.
Number them * among your Saints in eternal glory.
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.
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.