Book of Common Prayer
The Concluding Hallel—Pss 146–150[a]
Psalm 146[b]
Trust in God, Creator and Redeemer
1 [c]Alleluia.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.[d]
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God throughout my life.[e]
3 Do not place your trust in princes,
in mortal men who have no power to save.
4 When the spirit departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day all their plans come to naught.[f]
5 [g]Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,[h]
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,[i]
the sea, and everything in them—
the one who keeps faith forever.
7 He grants justice to the oppressed[j]
and gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord releases prisoners
8 and opens the eyes of those who cannot see.[k]
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the stranger
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,[l]
but he blocks the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will reign forever,[m]
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Alleluia.
Psalm 147[n]
Hymn to the City of God
1 [o]Alleluia.
How good it is to sing praises to our God;
how pleasant it is to give him fitting praise.[p]
2 The Lord restores Jerusalem
and gathers together the dispersed people of Israel.[q]
3 He heals the brokenhearted
and bandages their wounds.[r]
4 He fixes the number of the stars
and assigns a name to each.[s]
5 Great is our Lord and awesome in power;
his wisdom is without limit.[t]
6 The Lord sustains the poor
but humbles the wicked in the dust.[u]
7 [v]Offer songs of thanksgiving to the Lord;
play the lyre in honor of our God.
8 He veils the heavens with clouds,
supplies the earth with rain,
and makes the hills sprout with grass.[w]
9 He provides food for the animals
and for the young ravens when they call.[x]
10 [y]He takes no pleasure in the strength of the horse,
or delight in the fleetness of a runner.
11 The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
those who place their hope in his kindness.
12 [z]Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Glorify your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your children within you.[aa]
14 He brings peace to your borders
and fills you with the finest of wheat.[ab]
15 He sends a command to the earth;
his word runs with utmost speed.
16 He gives the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.[ac]
17 He hurls down his hail like crumbs;
who can withstand his cold?[ad]
18 He sends his word, and the ice melts;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 [ae]He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his decrees and his judgments to Israel.
20 He has not done this for the other nations;
they are not aware of his judgments.
Alleluia.
Psalm 111[a]
Praise of God for His Wondrous Works
1 Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart[b]
in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord;[c]
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 His deeds[d] show forth majesty and splendor,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has won renown for his wonders;[e]
gracious and compassionate is the Lord.
5 He provides food for those who fear him,[f]
and is forever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has manifested the power of his works to his people
by giving them the lands[g] of the nations.
7 The works of his hands[h] are faithful and right,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
8 They are established forever and ever
to be observed in fidelity and truthfulness.
9 He has granted deliverance to his people
and established his covenant forever;
holy and awe-inspiring is his name.[i]
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;[j]
those who are guided by it will grow in understanding.
His praise will last forever.
Psalm 112[k]
The Blessings of the Righteous
1 Alleluia.
Blessed[l] is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his precepts.
2 His descendants will be powerful upon the earth;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.[m]
3 His house will be filled with wealth and riches,[n]
and his righteousness will endure forever.
4 He shines as a light for the upright in the darkness;
kindness, mercy, and justice are his hallmarks.[o]
5 The future bodes well[p] for him
who is generous in helping those in need
and who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 [q]He will never be swayed;
the righteous man will be remembered forever.
7 He has no fear of bad news,
for his heart remains steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Since his heart is tranquil, he will not be afraid,
and he will witness the downfall of his enemies.
9 He bestows gifts lavishly on the poor;
his righteousness will endure forever,
and his horn[r] will be exalted in glory.
10 The wicked will be furious when he sees this,
gnashing his teeth and pining away;
the desires of the wicked will be fruitless.[s]
The Egyptian Hallel—Pss 113–118[t]
Psalm 113[u]
Praise of the Lord for His Care of the Lowly
1 Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the Lord,[v]
praise the name of the Lord.
2 [w]Blessed be the name of the Lord
now and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 [x]High is the Lord over all the nations,
and supreme over the heavens is his glory.
5 Who is like the Lord, our God,
the one who is enthroned on high
and who stoops down to look
6 on the heavens and the earth?
7 [y]He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
8 seating them with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the barren woman[z] in a home
and makes her the joyful mother of children.
Alleluia.
Chapter 36[a]
Baruch Writes the Prophecies on a Scroll.[b] 1 In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day when I first spoke to you, during the reign of Josiah, until today. 3 Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disasters that I intend to inflict upon them, they will all turn back from their evil ways. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sins.
4 Then Jeremiah summoned Baruch, the son of Neriah, and dictated everything that the Lord had spoken to him so that Baruch might write it all on a scroll. 5 He also gave Baruch the following instruction. “Inasmuch as I am prevented from entering the house of the Lord, 6 you yourself must go there, and on a fast day, in the hearing of all the people in the Lord’s house, you shall read from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote at my dictation.
“You shall read them also in the hearing of all the people of Judah who travel there from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will then plead before the Lord, and all of them will turn from their evil ways. For great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has threatened against this people.” 8 Then Baruch, the son of Neriah, prepared to do everything that the prophet Jeremiah had ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.
9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, the son of Josiah, a fast before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people of Jerusalem and all those who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem. 10 Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll, in the room of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper court, at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, in the hearing of all the people.
At Lystra Paul and Barnabas Are Taken for Gods.[a] 8 At Lystra, there was a man who was crippled. Lame from birth, he had never once been able to walk. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. Paul looked intently at him, and, seeing that he had the faith to be healed, 10 called out to him in a loud voice, “Stand up on your feet.” The man sprang up and began to walk.
11 [b]When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 They called Barnabas Zeus, and since Paul was the chief speaker, they called him Hermes. 13 And the priest of Zeus, who was on the outskirts of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, since he and the people intended to offer sacrifice.
14 However, when the apostles Barnabas and Paul learned about this, they tore their clothes[c] and rushed into the crowd, shouting, 15 “Men, why are you doing this? We are only human beings, just like you. We proclaim to you the good news so that you may turn from these idols to the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them.
16 “In the past, God allowed all the Gentiles to go their own way. 17 However, even then he did not leave you without a witness in doing good, for he sends you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons, and he provides you with food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Yet, even with these words, they were barely able to prevent the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.
36 Jesus Pardons a Sinful Woman.[a] One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to dine with him. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house, he took his place at table. 37 A woman of that town, who was leading a sinful life, learned that Jesus was a dinner guest in the Pharisee’s house. Carrying with her an alabaster jar of ointment,[b] 38 she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to bathe his feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. Then she kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were really a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him—that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus then said to the Pharisee, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied, “What is it, Teacher?”
41 “There were two men who were in debt to a certain creditor. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other owed fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay him, he canceled both debts. Now which one of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered, “I would imagine that it would be the one who was forgiven the larger amount.” Jesus replied, “You have judged rightly.”
44 Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your home, and you provided no water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but she has not ceased to kiss my feet from the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore, I tell you: her many sins have been forgiven her because she has shown great love. But the one who has been forgiven little has little love.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 Those who were at table began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” 50 But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.