Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118[a]
Thanksgiving for Salvation
1 [b]Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness[c] endures forever.
2 Let Israel say,
“His kindness endures forever.”
3 Let the house of Aaron say,
“His kindness endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord[d] say,
“His kindness endures forever.”
5 [e]In my distress I called out to the Lord;
he answered by setting me free.
6 With the Lord to protect me I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
7 The Lord is at my side to offer me help;
I will look down upon my enemies.
8 [f]It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to place your trust in mortals.
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to place your trust in princes.
10 [g]All the nations surrounded me;
in the name of the Lord I overcame them.
11 They surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I overcame them.
12 They swarmed around me like bees;
they blazed like a fire in the midst of thorns;
in the name of the Lord I overcame them.
13 I was hard pressed and close to falling,
but the Lord came to my aid.
14 The Lord is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.[h]
15 Joyful shouts of triumph
ring out in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the Lord has done wondrous deeds;
16 the right hand of the Lord is exalted;
the right hand of the Lord has done wondrous deeds.”
17 I shall not die; rather I shall live
and recount[i] the works of the Lord.
18 Even though the Lord punished me harshly,
he did not hand me over to death.
19 [j]Open to me the gates of righteousness
so that I may enter them and praise the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord
through which the righteous enter.
21 I thank you for having answered me;
you have become my salvation.
22 [k]The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;[l]
let us exult and rejoice in it.
25 O Lord, grant us salvation.[m]
O Lord, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.[n]
We bless you from the house of the Lord.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has given us light.
Holding leafy branches, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.[o]
28 [p]You are my God, and I will offer thanks to you;
you are my God, and I will extol you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his kindness endures forever.
Psalm 119[q]
Praise of God’s Law
Aleph
Psalm 145[a]
Praise of the Divine Majesty
1 [b]Praise. Of David.
I will extol you, my God and King;
I will bless your name[c] forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.[d]
3 [e]Great is the Lord and worthy of the highest praise;
no one can even begin to comprehend his greatness.[f]
4 Each generation will praise your works[g] to the next
and proclaim your mighty deeds.
5 People will proclaim the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6 They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds,
and I will relate your greatness.
7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and sing joyfully of your saving justice.
8 [h]The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.[i]
9 The Lord is good to all,
showing compassion to every creature.
10 All your creatures praise you,[j] O Lord,
and all your saints bless you.
11 They relate the glory of your kingdom
and tell of all your power.[k]
12 They make known to all people your mighty deeds
and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom will last forever,
and your dominion will endure throughout all generations.[l]
[m]The Lord is faithful in all his promises
and kind[n] in all his deeds.
14 The Lord supports all those who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.[o]
15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you,
and you give them their food at the right time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.[p]
17 [q]The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and merciful in everything he does.[r]
18 The Lord is near to all who call out to him,
to all who call out to him sincerely.[s]
19 He satisfies the desires of all who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.[t]
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but he will completely destroy all the wicked.[u]
21 May my mouth declare the praise of the Lord,
and may every creature[v] bless his holy name
forever and ever.
Chapter 20
Hezekiah’s Illness. 1 In those days Hezekiah fell ill, and his death was approaching. Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet, came to him and said, “Thus says the Lord: Set your house in order, for you are to die, you will not survive.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed, saying, 3 “Please remember, O Lord, how I walked before you in fidelity and with a perfect heart. I have done what was good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 The word of the Lord came to Isaiah before he left the middle courtyard, saying, 5 “Return and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people: Thus says the Lord, the God of David, your father: I have heard, I have seen your tears. I will heal you today, and the day after tomorrow you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hands of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my own sake and that of David, my servant.”
7 Isaiah said, “Prepare a fig poultice.” They took it and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
8 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What is the sign that the Lord will heal me, and on the day after tomorrow I will go up into the temple of the Lord?” 9 Isaiah answered, “This is the sign that you will receive from the Lord that the Lord is going to do what he said: shall the shade climb up ten stairs, or go down ten stairs?”
10 Hezekiah answered, “It is too easy for the shade to go down ten stairs. No, let the shade go back up ten stairs.”
11 Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and he brought the shade back up the ten stairs that it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.
12 At that time Merodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, the king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah for he had heard that Hezekiah was ill. 13 Hezekiah listened to them and showed them his entire treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious ointments as well as the armory in the treasury. There was nothing in his palace or his dominion that Hezekiah failed to show them.
14 Isaiah the prophet came to Hezekiah and said to him, “What did these men say to you? Where did they come from?” Hezekiah answered, “They came from a distant land, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your palace?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace; they did not miss any of my treasures.”
16 Isaiah the prophet said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord: 17 Behold, the days are coming when everything in your palace, everything that your ancestors collected up to the present, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, nothing, says the Lord. 18 Some of your sons who come forth from you, whom you begot, will be taken away. They will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
19 Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,” for he thought, “Will there not be peace and security in my days?”
20 Now the rest of the deeds of Hezekiah, his achievements, and how he built a pool and a conduit[a] that brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
21 Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh, his son, reigned in his stead.
Chapter 12
Persecution, Death, and Imprisonment.[a] 1 It was about this period of time that King Herod[b] persecuted certain members of the Church. 2 He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword, 3 and when he noted that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter as well. Since this happened during the feast of Unleavened Bread, 4 he imprisoned him and assigned four squads of four soldiers each to guard him, intending to subject him to a public trial after Passover. 5 While Peter was thus imprisoned, the Church prayed fervently to God for him.
6 On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards outside the door were keeping watch over the prison. 7 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light flooded the building. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell away from his wrists. 8 Next, the angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” After he did so, the angel instructed him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
9 Accordingly, Peter followed him out. He did not realize that the intervention of the angel was real, thinking that he was seeing a vision. 10 After passing through the first guard post and then the second, they reached the iron gate that led out to the city. This opened for them of its own accord. They went outside and had walked the length of one street when suddenly the angel left him.
11 Then Peter came to his senses and said, “Now I am positive that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark,[c] where many had assembled and were at prayer.
13 When he knocked at the outer door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it. 14 Recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran in with the news that Peter was standing outside. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind,” but she insisted that it was true. Then they said, “It must be his angel.”
16 Meanwhile, Peter continued to knock, and when they opened the door they saw him and were astounded. 17 He motioned to them with his hand to be silent. After he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison, he said, “Report this to James[d] and the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place.
11 Jesus Raises the Son of a Widow.[a] Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a large crowd. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his widowed mother. A large group of people from the town accompanied her.
13 When the Lord saw her, he was filled with compassion, and he said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 After this, he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers halted. Then he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.
16 Fear seized all who were present, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people.” 17 The news of what he had done spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.