S. Ioannis a Cruce Confessoris et Ecclesiæ Doctoris

Nocturn 1

Ant. The Lord our God has been mindful * for ever of his covenant.

Psalm 104(1-15)

104:1 Give praise to the Lord and call upon his name: * declare his works among the nations.
104:2 Sing to him, and sing praise to him: * tell all his wondrous works.
104:3 Be praised in his holy name: * let the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
104:4 Seek the Lord, and be confirmed: * seek his face always.
104:5 Remember his miracles, which he has done: * his portents, and the judgments of his mouth:
104:6 You offspring of Abraham his servant: * you sons of Jacob, his elect.
104:7 He is the Lord our God: * his judgments are throughout the entire earth.
104:8 He has remembered his covenant for all ages: * the word that he entrusted to a thousand generations,
104:9 which he assigned to Abraham: * and his oath to Isaac:
104:10 And he stationed the same for Jacob with a precept: * and for Israel with an eternal testament:
104:11 saying: To you I will give the land of Canaan, * the allotment of your inheritance.
104:12 Though they may have been but a small number, * very few, and foreigners there:
104:13 and though they passed from nation to nation, * and from one kingdom to another people.
104:14 He allowed no man to harm them: * and he reproved kings on their behalf.
104:15 Do not be willing to touch my anointed ones: * and do not be willing to malign my prophets.

℣ 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 our God has been mindful for ever of his covenant.

Ant. The Lord increased * his people: and strengthened them against their enemies.

Psalm 104(16-27)

104:16 And he called a famine upon the land: * and he crushed every foundation of the bread.
104:17 He sent a man before them: * Joseph, who had been sold as a slave.
104:18 They humbled his feet in shackles; the iron pierced his soul, * until his word arrived.
104:19 The eloquence of the Lord inflamed him: * the king sent, and released him; the ruler of the peoples, and he dismissed him.
104:21 He established him as master of his house: * and ruler of all his possessions:
104:22 so that he might instruct his princes as himself: * and teach his elders prudence.
104:23 And Israel entered into Egypt: * and Jacob became a sojourner in the land of Ham.
104:24 And he helped his people greatly: * and he strengthened them over their enemies.
104:25 He turned their heart to hate his people: * and to deal deceitfully with his servants.
104:26 He sent Moses, his servant: * and Aaron, the one whom he chose.
104:27 He placed with them signs of his word: * and portents in the land of Ham.

℣ 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 increased his people: and strengthened them against their enemies.

Ant. God led out * his people in exultation, and his chosen ones in gladness.

Psalm 104(28-45)

104:28 He sent darkness and made it conceal: * and he did not afflict them with his speech.
104:29 He turned their waters into blood: * and he slaughtered their fish.
104:30 Their land brought forth frogs: * even in the inner chambers of their kings.
104:31 He spoke, and there came forth common flies: * and gnats, in every region.
104:32 He gave them a shower of hail: * and a burning fire, in the same land.
104:33 And he struck their vineyards and their fig trees: * and he crushed the trees of their region.
104:34 He spoke, and the locust came forth, and the caterpillar, * of which there was no number:
104:35 And it devoured all the grass in their land: * and it consumed all the fruit of their land.
104:36 And he struck all the first-born in their land: * the first-fruits of all their labor.
104:37 And he led them out with silver and gold: * and there was not an infirm one among their tribes.
104:38 Egypt was joyful at their departure: * for the fear of them lay heavy upon them.
104:39 He spread a cloud for their protection: * and a fire, to give them light through the night.
104:40 They petitioned, and the quail came: * and he satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
104:41 He ruptured the rock and the waters flowed: * rivers gushed in the dry land;
104:42 For he had called to mind his holy word: * which he kept near to his servant Abraham.
104:43 And he led forth his people in exultation, * and his elect in rejoicing.
104:44 And he gave them the regions of the Gentiles: * and they possessed the labors of the peoples:
104:45 So that they might observe his justifications, * and inquire about his law.

℣ 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 led out his people in exultation, and his chosen ones in gladness.

℣ The Lord was mindful of his holy word.

℟ Which he spoke to Abraham, his servant.

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

Song 7:1-5

Dan 9:1-5

1 In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who ruled over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,
2 in year one of his reign, I, Daniel, understood in the books the number of the years, concerning the word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would be completed in seventy years.
3 And I set my face to the Lord, my God, to ask and make supplication with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes.
4 And I prayed to the Lord, my God, and I confessed, and I said: 'I beg you, O Lord God, great and terrible, preserving the covenant and mercy for those who love you and keep your commandments.
5 We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we acted impiously and have withdrawn, and we have turned aside from your commandments as well as your judgments.'

℟ A people worthy of praise,

whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying: You are the work of my hands, Israel my inheritance.

℣ Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people chosen as his inheritance.

℟ whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying: You are the work of my hands, Israel my inheritance.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 2

Dan 9:21-24

21 As I was still speaking in prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, flying swiftly, touched me at the time of the evening sacrifice.
22 And he instructed me, and he spoke to me and said: Daniel, now I have come forth to teach you and to help you understand.
23 At the beginning of your prayers, the message came forth, yet I have come to explain it to you because you are a man who is seeking. Therefore, take heed of the word and understand the vision.
24 Seventy weeks of years are concentrated on your people and on your holy city, so that transgression shall be finished, and sin shall reach an end, and iniquity shall be wiped away, and so that everlasting justice shall be brought in, and vision and prophecy shall be fulfilled, and the Saint of saints shall be anointed.

℟ Anguish is upon me on every side, and I know not what to choose;

It is better for me to fall into the hands of men, than to forsake the law of my God.

℣ For if I do this, death awaits me; but if I do not do it, I shall not escape your hands.

℟ It is better for me to fall into the hands of men, than to forsake the law of my God.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 3

Dan 9:25-27

25 Therefore, know and take heed: from the going forth of the word to build up Jerusalem again, until the Christ leader, there will be seven weeks of years, and sixty-two weeks of years; and the wide path will be built again, and the walls, in a time of anguish.
26 And after sixty-two weeks of years, the Christ leader will be slain. And the people who have denied him will not be his. And the people, when their leader arrives, will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will be desolation, and after the end of the war the appointed desolation.
27 But he will confirm a covenant with many for one week of years; and for half of the week of years, victim and sacrifice will nearly cease; but there will be in the temple the abomination of desolation, and until the consummation and the end, the desolation will endure.

℟ The Lord sent his Angel and shut the mouths of the lions,

and they did not defile me, because before him no iniquity was found in me.

℣ God sent his mercy and his truth: he rescued my soul from the midst of lion cubs.

℟ and they did not defile me, because before him no iniquity was found in 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.

℟ and they did not defile me: because before him no iniquity was found in me.

Nocturn 2

Ant. The Lord saved them * for his name's sake.

Psalm 105(1-15)

105:1 Confess to the Lord, for he is good: * for his mercy is with every generation.
105:2 Who will declare the powers of the Lord, * who will make a hearing for all his praises?
105:3 Blessed are those who keep judgment, * and who do justice at all times.
105:4 Remember us, O Lord, with good will for your people: * visit us with your salvation:
105:5 so that we may see the goodness of your elect, so that we may rejoice in the joy of your nation: * so that you may be praised along with your inheritance.
105:6 We have sinned, as have our fathers: * we have acted unjustly; we have wrought iniquity.
105:7 Our fathers did not understand your miracles in Egypt: * they did not remember the multitude of your mercies.
105:7 And they provoked you, while going up to the sea, * the Red Sea.
105:8 And he saved them for the sake of his name: * so that he might make known his power.
105:9 And he rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up, * and he led them into the abyss, as if into a desert.
105:10 And he saved them from the hand of those who hated them: * and he redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
105:11 And the water covered those who troubled them: * not one of them remained.
105:12 And they believed his words: * and they sang his praises.
105:13 As soon as they had finished, they forgot his works: * and they would not endure his counsel.
105:14 And they coveted their desire in the desert: * and they tempted God in a waterless place.
105:15 And he granted to them their request: * and he sent abundance into their souls.

℣ 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 saved them for his name's sake.

Ant. They forgot God * who saved them.

Psalm 105(16-31)

105:16 And they provoked Moses in the camp: * and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
105:17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan: * and it covered the congregation of Abiram.
105:18 And a fire broke out in their congregation: * a flame burned up the sinners.
105:19 And they fashioned a calf at Horeb, * and they adored a graven image.
105:20 And they exchanged their glory * for the likeness of a calf that eats hay.
105:21 They forgot God, who saved them, * who did great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham, and terrible things at the Red Sea.
105:23 And he said that he would destroy them: * yet Moses, his elect, stood firm before him in the breach,
105:24 in order to avert his wrath, lest he destroy them: * and they held the desirable land to be nothing.
105:25 They did not trust in his word, and they murmured in their tabernacles: * they did not heed the voice of the Lord.
105:26 And he lifted up his hand over them: * in order to prostrate them in the desert:
105:27 and in order to cast their offspring among the nations: * and to scatter them among the regions.
105:28 And they were initiated into Baal of Peor: * and they ate the sacrifices of the dead.
105:29 And they provoked him with their inventions: * and ruination was multiplied in them.
105:30 Then Phinehas stood up and placated him: * and so the violent disturbance ceased.
105:31 And it was reputed to him unto justice: * from generation to generation, even 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. They forgot God who saved them.

Ant. When they were in tribulation * the Lord saw them: and heard their prayer.

Psalm 105(32-48)

105:32 And they provoked him at the Waters of Contradiction: * and Moses was afflicted because of them,
105:33 for they exasperated his spirit: * and so he divided them with his lips.
105:35 And they were mixed among the Gentiles, and they learned their works; and they served their graven images: * and it became a scandal to them.
105:37 And they sacrificed their sons, * and their daughters, to demons.
105:38 And they shed innocent blood: * the blood of their sons and of their daughters, which they sacrificed to the graven images of Canaan.
105:39 And the land was infected with bloodshed, and was contaminated with their works: * and they fornicated according to their own inventions.
105:40 And the Lord became furiously angry with his people: * and he abhorred his inheritance.
105:41 And he handed them over into the hands of the nations: * and those who hated them held dominion over them.
105:42 And their enemies afflicted them, and they were humbled under their hands: * many times he delivered them.
105:43 But they provoked him with their counsel: * and they were brought low by their iniquities.
105:44 And he saw, when they were in tribulation: * and he heard their prayer.
105:45 And he was mindful of his covenant: * and he repented according to the multitude of his mercies.
105:46 And he provided for them with mercies * in the sight of all those who had seized them.
105:47 Save us, O Lord our God: * and gather us from the nations:
105:47 That we may give thanks to your holy name: * and glory in your praise.
105:48 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, from age to age: * and let all the people say: Amen. Amen.

℣ 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. When they were in tribulation the Lord saw them: and heard their prayer.

℣ 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 of the Cross, born of devout parents at Fontiveros in Spain, was known from his earliest years to be especially dear to the Virgin Mother of God; for at the age of five, having fallen into a well, he was lifted out by the hand of that same Mother of God and came to no harm. He burned with so great a desire to suffer that at the age of nine, scorning a softer bed, he made it his custom to sleep on brushwood. As a young man he devoted himself as a servant to the hospice of the sick poor at Medina del Campo, attending them with great ardor of charity and embracing the most lowly offices. The others, stirred by his example, fulfilled the same works of charity with greater fervor. Called to higher things, he embraced the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel; and there, made a priest out of obedience, most eager for stricter discipline and a more austere life, he professed the primitive rule of the Order with his superior's permission, so that, in perpetual remembrance of the Lord's Passion, having declared war on himself as on a most fierce enemy, he swiftly crucified the flesh with its vices and concupiscences by vigils, fasts, iron disciplines, and every kind of penance — truly worthy to be reckoned by Saint Teresa among the purer and holier souls then adorning the Church of God.

℟ 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

Fortified by a singular austerity of life and the protection of all the virtues, through his assiduous contemplation of divine things he frequently endured prolonged and wondrous ecstasies; and so ardently did he burn with love toward God that, when the divine fire could no longer contain itself within him, it seemed to burst forth outwardly and to radiate from his countenance. Wholly intent on the salvation of his neighbors, he was assiduous both in the preaching of the word of God and in the administration of the Sacraments. Thus, enriched by so many merits and inflamed with ardent zeal for the promotion of stricter discipline, he was given by God as a companion to Saint Teresa, so that the primitive observance of the Carmelite order which she had restored among the sisters, the same might with John's assistance be restored also among the brothers. Therefore, sharing with the handmaid of God countless labors in advancing the divine work, he visited one by one the monasteries that had been erected throughout Spain by the care of that same holy Virgin, undaunted by any hardships or perils of life. In these and in many others founded through his efforts, he confirmed the restored observance by propagating it with word and example; so that he is rightly held to be the first, after Saint Teresa, to profess and be the father of the order of the Discalced Carmelites.

℟ 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

He preserved perpetual virginity, and shameless women who attempted to lay snares for his chastity he not only repelled but even won for Christ. In expounding the divine mysteries, equally with Saint Teresa, by the judgment of the Apostolic See, instructed by God, he composed books on mystical theology full of celestial wisdom. When asked once by Christ what reward he sought for so many labors, he replied: Lord, to suffer and to be despised for you. Most renowned for his power over demons, whom he often drove from bodies, for his discernment of spirits, the gift of prophecy, and the glory of miracles, he was always of such humility that he frequently besought the Lord to grant him to die in a place where he was unknown to all. He obtained his wish. At Úbeda, enduring with the utmost constancy a dreadful sickness and five wounds on his leg oozing with matter, in fulfillment of his longing to suffer — having devoutly and holily received the Sacraments of the Church, in the embrace of Christ crucified, whom he had always borne in his heart and on his lips — after those words: Into your hands I commend my spirit, he fell asleep in the Lord on the day and hour foretold by himself, in the year of salvation one thousand five hundred and ninety-one, in the forty-ninth year of his age. A most brilliant globe of fire accompanied his departing soul; and his body breathed forth a most sweet fragrance; it is still incorrupt and honored at Segovia. Blessed with many signs before and after his death, Pope Benedict XIII enrolled him in the number of the Saints, and Pius XI, by decree of the Congregation of Sacred Rites, declared him a Doctor of the universal Church.

℟ 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. They cried out to the Lord * and he delivered them from their distress.

Psalm 106(1-14)

106:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: * for his mercy endures for ever.
106:2 Let those who have been redeemed by the Lord say so, those whom he redeemed from the hand of the enemy: * and gathered them from the regions:
106:3 From the rising of the sun and its setting: * from the north and from the sea.
106:4 They wandered in solitude in a waterless place: * they did not find the way to a city of habitation.
106:5 Hungry and thirsty: * their soul fainted within them.
106:6 And they cried out to the Lord in their tribulation: * and he rescued them from their necessity.
106:7 And he led them in the right way: * that they might go forth to a city of habitation.
106:8 Let them confess to the Lord his mercies: * and his wonders to the sons of men.
106:9 For he has satisfied the empty soul: * and the hungry soul he has filled with good things.
106:10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death: * shackled in poverty and in iron.
106:11 For they had provoked the words of God: * and had spurned the counsel of the Most High.
106:12 And their heart was brought low with hardships: * they were weakened, and there was no one to help them.
106:13 And they cried out to the Lord in their tribulation: * and he freed them from their distress.
106:14 And he led them out of darkness and the shadow of death: * and he broke apart their chains.

℣ 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. They cried out to the Lord and he delivered them from their distress.

Ant. They themselves saw * the works of God and his wonders.

Psalm 106(15-30)

106:15 Let them confess to the Lord his mercies: * and his wonders to the sons of men.
106:16 For he has crushed the gates of brass: * and broken the iron bars.
106:17 He has taken them up from the way of their iniquity: * for they were brought low because of their injustices.
106:18 Their soul abhorred all food: * and they drew near even to the gates of death.
106:19 And they cried out to the Lord in their tribulation: * and he delivered them from their necessity.
106:20 He sent his word, and healed them: * and rescued them from their utter destruction.
106:21 Let them confess to the Lord his mercies: * and his wonders to the sons of men.
106:22 And let them offer sacrifice with the sacrifice of praise: * and declare his works in exultation.
106:23 Those who descend to the sea in ships, * making their livelihood in the great waters:
106:24 These have seen the works of the Lord, * and his wonders in the deep.
106:25 He spoke, and a windstorm arose: * and its waves were exalted.
106:26 They ascend even to the heavens, and descend even to the abyss: * their soul wasted away in distress.
106:27 They were troubled and moved like a drunkard: * and all their wisdom was consumed.
106:28 And they cried out to the Lord in their tribulation: * and he led them out of their distress.
106:29 And he replaced the storm with a breeze: * and its waves were stilled.
106:30 And they rejoiced that it was stilled: * and he led them into the haven they desired.

℣ 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. They themselves saw the works of God and his wonders.

Ant. The righteous shall see * and rejoice, and shall understand the mercies of the Lord.

Psalm 106(31-43)

106:31 Let them confess to the Lord his mercies: * and his wonders to the sons of men.
106:32 And let them exalt him in the assembly of the people: * and praise him in the chair of the elders.
106:33 He has placed rivers in the desert: * and sources of water in a waterless land.
106:34 A fruit-bearing land into brine: * because of the malice of those who dwell in it.
106:35 He has placed the desert in pools of water: * and a land without water in sources of water.
106:36 And he has gathered the hungry there: * and they have built a city of habitation.
106:37 And they sowed fields and planted vineyards: * and they yielded the fruit of their increase.
106:38 And he blessed them, and they were multiplied exceedingly: * and their cattle he did not diminish.
106:39 And they became few: * and were afflicted by the tribulation of evils and sorrow.
106:40 Contempt was poured out upon their leaders: * and he caused them to wander in trackless places and not on the way.
106:41 And he helped the poor man out of destitution: * and set families like flocks.
106:42 The upright will see and rejoice: * and every iniquity will stop its mouth.
106:43 Who is wise and will keep these things? * And who will understand the mercies of the Lord?

℣ 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 righteous shall see and rejoice, and shall understand the mercies of the Lord.

℣ 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 13:31-35

At that time: Jesus spoke this parable to the crowds: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. And so forth.

A Homily of Saint Jerome, Priest

Lib. 2. Comment. in cap. 13. Matth.

The kingdom of heaven is the preaching of the Gospel and the knowledge of the Scriptures, which leads to life, and of which it is said to the Jews: The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that bears its fruits. This kingdom is therefore like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. The man who sows in his field is understood by many to be the Savior, in that he sows in the souls of believers; by others, the man himself sowing in his own field, that is, in himself and in his own heart.

℟ 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

Who is it that sows, but our own perception and mind, which, receiving the grain of preaching and fostering the seed, causes it to spring up with the moisture of faith in the field of the breast? The preaching of the Gospel is the least of all disciplines. For at its first teaching, it has no claim to truth when it preaches a God who is man, a Christ who is dead, and the scandal of the Cross. Compare this kind of doctrine with the teachings of the philosophers, with their books, with the splendor of eloquence, with the composition of discourses: and you will see how much lesser than the other seeds is the seed of the Gospel.

℟ 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

But when those things had grown, they showed nothing sharp, nothing lively, nothing vital: but all came forth soft and wilted and flaccid into pot-herbs and grasses, which soon wither and rot. But this preaching, which seemed small at the beginning, when it has been sown either in the soul of a believer or throughout so great a world, does not rise up into pot-herbs, but grows into a tree: so that the birds of the air (which we ought to understand as either the souls of believers, or the powers dedicated to the service of God) come and dwell in its branches. I take the branches of the evangelical tree, which has grown from the mustard seed, to be the diversity of doctrines, in each of which the above-mentioned birds individually find rest.

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.