S. Caietani 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 Proverbs of Solomon

Prov 14:1-5

1 A wise woman builds up her household. But a foolish one will pull down with her own hands what has been built up.
2 One who walks on a virtuous journey, and who fears God, is despised by him who advances along a disreputable way.
3 In the mouth of the foolish, there is a rod of arrogance. But the lips of the wise guard them.
4 Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is empty. But where there are many crops, there the strength of the ox is manifest.
5 A faithful witness will not lie. But a deceitful witness offers a lie.

℟ Grant me, O Lord, the wisdom that stands beside your throne, and do not cast me away from among your children:

For I am your servant, and the son of your handmaid.

℣ Send her forth from your seat of greatness, that she may be with me and labor with me.

℟ For I am your servant, and the son of your handmaid.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 2

Prov 14:6-11

6 A mocker seeks wisdom and does not find it. The doctrine of the prudent is accessible.
7 Go against a foolish man, and he does not acknowledge lips of prudence.
8 The wisdom of a discerning man is to understand his way. And the imprudence of the foolish is to be wandering astray.
9 The foolish will speak mockingly of sin. But grace lingers among the just.
10 The heart that knows the bitterness of its own soul, in its gladness the outsider shall not meddle.
11 The house of the impious will be wiped away. Yet truly, the tabernacles of the just shall spring forth.

℟ The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:

Good understanding to all who do it: his praise endures for ever and ever.

℣ The love of him is the keeping of his laws: for all wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

℟ Good understanding to all who do it: his praise endures for ever and ever.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 3

Prov 14:12-16

12 There is a way which seems just to a man, but its conclusion leads to death.
13 Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning occupies the limits of joy.
14 The foolish will be filled up by his own ways. And the good man shall be above him.
15 The innocent trust every word. The astute one considers his own steps. Nothing good will be for the deceitful son. But the wise servant shall act prosperously and his way will be set in order.
16 The wise fear, and so turn away from evil. The foolish leap ahead with confidence.

℟ Keep far from me a false and deceitful word, O Lord:

Give me neither riches nor poverty, but grant me only what is necessary for my sustenance.

℣ Two things I have asked of you; deny them not to me before I die.

℟ Give me neither riches nor poverty, but grant me only what is necessary for my sustenance.

℣ 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.

℟ Give me neither riches nor poverty, but grant me only what is necessary for my sustenance.

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

Cajetan, born of the noble Thiene family in Vicenza, was at once offered by his mother to the Virgin Mother of God. From his tenderest years a wonderful innocence of morals shone forth in him, so that he was called Saint by all. Having obtained his doctorate in both laws at Padua, he went to Rome; where, having been placed among the prelates by Julius the Second and initiated into the priesthood, he was inflamed with such ardor of divine love that, leaving the court, he gave himself wholly to God. Having founded hospitals at his own expense, he served with his own hands even those laboring under the plague. He devoted himself with assiduous care to the salvation of his neighbors, and was therefore called the Hunter of Souls.

℟ Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands:

For the hand of the Lord was with him; he struck down the Philistine, and took away the reproach from Israel.

℣ Is not this David, of whom they sang in the chorus, saying: Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands?

℟ For the hand of the Lord was with him; he struck down the Philistine, and took away the reproach from Israel.

℟ O mountains of Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain fall upon you,

where the mighty of Israel have fallen.

℣ May the Lord visit all the mountains that surround it: but from Gilboa may he pass away.

℟ where the mighty of Israel have fallen.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 5

Desiring to restore the collapsed discipline of the clergy to the form of apostolic life, he established the order of Clerks Regular, who, having renounced all concern for earthly things, would neither possess revenues nor seek the necessities of life from the faithful, but live solely on alms freely offered. Accordingly, with the approval of Clement the Seventh, he made his solemn vows at the high altar of the Vatican basilica together with Giovanni Pietro Carafa, the Bishop of Chieti, who was afterwards Paul the Fourth, Supreme Pontiff, and two other men of outstanding piety. During the sack of the City, he was most cruelly harassed by soldiers to compel him to produce money, which the hands of the poor had long since carried off to the treasuries of heaven; he endured blows, torments, and imprisonment with invincible patience. He persevered most steadfastly in the way of life he had undertaken, clinging solely to divine providence, which certain miracles on occasion confirmed had never failed him.

℟ O mountains of Gilboa, let neither dew nor rain fall upon you,

where the mighty of Israel have fallen.

℣ May the Lord visit all the mountains that surround it: but from Gilboa may he pass away.

℟ where the mighty of Israel have fallen.

℟ You have heard, O Lord, the prayer of your servant, that I should build a temple for your name:

Bless and sanctify this house for evermore, O God of Israel.

℣ O Lord, who keep your covenant with your servants who walk before you with their whole heart.

℟ Bless and sanctify this house for evermore, O God of Israel.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 6

He was most zealous for the worship of God, for the beauty of the house of God, for the observance of sacred rites, and for the more frequent use of the most holy Eucharist. More than once he uncovered and routed the monsters and lairs of heresies. He prolonged prayer throughout eight hours with unceasing tears: often rapt in ecstasy and illustrious with the gift of prophecy, in Rome, on the night of the Nativity, at the crib of the Infant Lord, he merited at the hands of the Mother of God to receive the child Jesus into his own arms. At times he afflicted his body with flagellations through entire nights; nor could he ever be induced to soften the austerity of his life, declaring that he wished to die in ashes. At last, taken ill from grief of soul at seeing the people stir up sedition against God, he was refreshed by a heavenly vision and migrated to heaven at Naples; and his body is venerated there in the church of Saint Paul with great devotion. Clement X, Sovereign Pontiff, who was illustrious by many miracles in life and after death, enrolled him in the number of the Saints.

℟ I took you from your father's house, says the Lord, and I set you to shepherd the flock of my people:

And I was with you in all things, wherever you walked, establishing your kingdom for ever.

℣ And I made you a great name, after the name of the great ones who are on the earth; and I gave you rest from all your enemies.

℟ And I was with you in all things, wherever you walked, establishing your kingdom for 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.

℟ And I was with you in all things, wherever you walked, establishing your kingdom for ever.

℟ Lord, if your people have turned back and have prayed toward your sanctuary:

You will hear in heaven, O Lord, and deliver them from the hands of their enemies.

℣ If your people sin against you, and, having turned back, do penance, and come and pray in this place.

℟ You will hear from heaven, O Lord, and deliver them from the hands of their enemies.

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 6:24-33

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples: No one is able to serve two masters. And so forth.

A Homily of Saint Augustine, Bishop.

Liber 2 de Sermóne Dómini in monte, cap. 14

No one is able to serve two masters. This passage is to be referred to the very same intention which he goes on to expound, saying: For either he will have hatred for the one and love the other, or he will persevere with the one and despise the other. These words are to be considered carefully: for who the two masters are he shows immediately afterward, when he says: You cannot serve God and wealth. Among the Hebrews, wealth is said to be called mammon. The Punic name agrees with this; for in Punic, profit is called mammon. But whoever serves mammon serves, by the rightful punishment of his perversity, him who is set over earthly things and is called by the Lord the ruler of this age. For either a man will have hatred for the one and love the other, that is, God; or he will persevere with the one and despise the other. For whoever serves mammon will endure a hard and ruinous master; for, entangled by his own cupidity, he is subject to the devil, and does not love him. For who is there who loves the devil? Yet nonetheless he endures him.

℟ I have sinned beyond the number of the sands of the sea, and my sins have been multiplied; and I am not worthy to look up to the height of heaven because of the multitude of my iniquity, for I have provoked your anger,

And have done evil before you.

℣ For I acknowledge my iniquity, and my transgression is ever before me; because against you only have I sinned.

℟ And have done evil before you.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the divine assistance remain always with us.

Reading 8

Therefore, he says, I say to you, do not be anxious about your soul, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on; lest perhaps, although superfluous things are no longer sought, for the sake of those very necessities the heart be divided, and our intention be diverted toward acquiring them, when we work something as if out of mercy — that is, that when we wish to appear to consult someone's welfare, we attend there rather to our own advantage than to that person's benefit; and thus we do not seem to ourselves to sin, because what we seek to obtain are not superfluous things but necessities.

℟ 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 the Lord is high, and looks upon the humble; but the proud, such as that Pharisee was, he knows from afar. God indeed knows the proud from afar, but does not pardon them. Hear further the humility of the publican. It is a small matter that he stood at a distance; he did not even lift his eyes toward heaven: he did not look up to be looked upon; he did not dare to look upward. Conscience weighed him down; hope lifted him up. Hear further: He was striking his breast. He was exacting a punishment from himself; and therefore the Lord was sparing toward him as he confessed. He was striking his breast, saying: Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. Behold the one who prays. Why do you marvel, if God forgives, when he himself acknowledges?

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.