Office of the Readings and Lauds on Good Friday

OFFICE OF THE READINGS AND LAUDS ON GOOD FRIDAY

Lord, + open my lips.
– And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

Psalm 95
A call to praise God

Come, let us sing to the Lord *
and shout with joy to the Rock who saves us.
Let us approach him with praise and thanksgiving *and sing joyful songs to the Lord.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

The Lord is God, the mighty God, *
the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth *
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him, *
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

Come, then, let us bow down and worship, *
bending the knee before the Lord, our maker.
For he is our God and we are his people, *
the flock he shepherds.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

Today, listen to the voice of the Lord: †
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did
in the wilderness, *
when at Meriba and Massah
they challenged me and provoked me, *
Although they had seen all of my works.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

Forty years I endured that generation. *
I said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray
and they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my anger, *
“They shall not enter into my rest.”

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ, the Son of God, who redeemed us with his blood.

HYMN
Lord Jesus, as we turn from sin
With strength and hope restored,
Receive the homage that we bring
To you our risen Lord.

We call on you whose living word
Has made the Father known,
O Shepherd, we have wandered far,
Find us and lead us home.

Your glance at Peter helped him know
The love he had denied,
Now gaze on us and heal us, Lord,
Of selfishness and pride.

Reach out and touch with healing pow’r
The wounds we have received,
That in forgiveness we may love
And may no longer grieve.

Then stay with us when evening comes
And darkness makes us blind,
O stay until the light of dawn
May fill both heart and mind.

PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Earthly kings rise up, in revolt; princes conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed.

Psalm 2
The Messiah, king and conqueror

Why this tumult among nations, *
among peoples this useless murmuring?
They arise, the kings of the earth, *
princes plot against the Lord and his Anointed.
“Come let us break their fetters, *
come, let us cast off their yoke.”

He who sits in the heavens laughs; *
the Lord is laughing them to scorn.
Then he will speak in his anger, *
his rage will strike them with terror.
“It is I who have set up my king *
on Zion, my holy mountain.”

I will announce the decree of the Lord:

The Lord said to me: “You are my Son. *
It is I who have begotten you this day.
Ask and I shall bequeath you the nations, *
put the ends of the earth in your possession.
With a rod of iron you will break them, *
shatter them like a potter’s jar.”

Now, O kings, understand, *
take warning, rulers of the earth;
serve the Lord with awe *
and trembling, pay him your homage
lest he be angry and you perish; *
for suddenly his anger will blaze.

Blessed are they who put their trust in God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Earthly kings rise up, in revolt; princes conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed.

Ant. 2 They divided my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.

Psalm 22:2-23
God hears the suffering of his Holy One

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? *
You are far from my plea and the cry of my distress.
O my God, I call by day and you give no reply; *
I call by night and I find no peace.

Yet you, O God, are holy, *
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our fathers put their trust; *
they trusted and you set them free.
When they cried to you, they escaped. *
In you they trusted and never in vain.

But I am a worm and no man, *
scorned by men, despised by the people.
All who see me deride me. *
They curl their lips, they toss their heads.
“He trusted in the Lord, let him save him; *
let him release him if this is his friend.”

Yes, it was you who took me from the womb, *
entrusted me to my mother’s breast.
To you I was committed from my birth, *
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
Do not leave me alone in my distress; *
come close, there is none else to help.

Many bulls have surrounded me, *
fierce bulls of Bashan close me in.
Against me they open wide their jaws, *
like lions, rending and roaring.

Like water I am poured out, *
disjointed are all my bones.
My heart has become like wax, *
it is melted within my breast.

Parched as burnt clay is my throat, *
my tongue cleaves to my jaws.
Many dogs have surrounded me, *
a band of the wicked beset me.
They tear holes in my hands and my feet *
and lay me in the dust of death.

I can count every one of my bones. *
These people stare at me and gloat;
they divide my clothing among them. *
They cast lots for my robe.

O Lord, do not leave me alone, *
my strength, make haste to help me!
Rescue my soul from the sword, *
my life from the grip of these dogs.
Save my life from the jaws of these lions, *
my poor soul from the horns of these oxen.

I will tell of your name to my brethren *
and praise you where they are assembled.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. They divided my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.

Ant. 3 They sought to take my life by violence.

Psalm 38
A sinner in extreme danger prays earnestly to God

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger; *
do not punish me, Lord, in your rage.
Your arrows have sunk deep in me; *
your hand has come down upon me.

Through your anger all my body is sick: *
through my sin, there is no health in my limbs.
My guilt towers higher than my head; *
it is a weight too heavy to bear.

My wounds are foul and festering, *
the result of my own folly.
I am bowed and brought to my knees. *
I go mourning all the day long.

All my frame burns with fever; *
all my body is sick.
Spent and utterly crushed, *
I cry aloud in anguish of heart.

O Lord, you know all my longing: *
my groans are not hidden from you.
My heart throbs, my strength is spent; *
the very light has gone from my eyes.

My friends avoid me like a leper; *
those closest to me stand afar off.
Those who plot against my life lay snares; †
those who seek my ruin speak of harm, *
planning treachery all the day long.

But I am like the deaf who cannot hear, *
like the dumb unable to speak.
I am like a man who hears nothing, *
in whose mouth is no defense.

I count on you, O Lord: *
it is you, Lord God, who will answer.
I pray: “Do not let them mock me, *
those who triumph if my foot should slip.”

For I am on the point of falling *
and my pain is always before me.
I confess that I am guilty *
and my sin fills me with dismay.

My wanton enemies are numberless *
and my lying foes are many.
They repay me evil for good *
and attack me for seeking what is right.

O Lord, do not forsake me! *
My God, do not stay afar off!
Make haste and come to my help, *
O Lord, my God, my savior!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. They sought to take my life by violence.

They brought false evidence against me.
– They were breathing out fury.

READINGS

FIRST READING
From the letter to the Hebrews
9:11-28

When Christ came as high priest of the good things which have come to be, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation. He entered, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, and achieved eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself up unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God!

This is why he is mediator of a new covenant: since his death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions committed under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Where there is a testament, it is necessary that the death of the testator be confirmed. For a testament comes into force only in the case of death; it has no force while the testator is alive. Hence, not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood.

When Moses had read all the commandments of the law to the people, he took the blood of goats and calves, together with water and crimson wool and hyssop, and sprinkled the book and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has enjoined upon you.” He also sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of worship with blood. According to the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

It was necessary that the copies of the heavenly models be purified in this way, but the heavenly realities themselves called for better sacrifices. For Christ did not enter into a sanctuary made by hands, a mere copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself that he might appear before God now on our behalf. Not that he might offer himself there again and again, as the high priest enters year after year into the sanctuary with blood that is not his own; if that were so, he would have had to suffer death over and over from the creation of the world. But now he has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sins once for all by his sacrifice. Just as it is appointed that men die once, and after death be judged, so Christ was offered up once to take away the sins of many; he will appear a second time not to take away sin but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.

RESPONSORY
See Isaiah 53:7, 12

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter;
no complaint from his lips against the evil done to him. He was given up to death,
– to give his people life.

He surrendered himself to death
and was counted among the wicked.
– To give his people life.

SECOND READING
From the Catecheses by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop (Cat. 3, 13-19: SC 50, 174-177)

If we wish to understand the power of Christ’s blood, we should go back to the ancient account of its prefiguration in Egypt. Sacrifice a lamb without blemish, commanded Moses, and sprinkle its blood on your doors. If we were to ask him what he meant, and how the blood of an irrational beast could possibly save men endowed with reason, his answer would be that the saving power lies not in the blood itself, but in the fact that it is a sign of the Lord’s blood. In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.

If you desire further proof of the power of this blood, remember where it came from, how it ran down from the cross, flowing from the Master’s side. The gospel records that when Christ was dead, but still hung on the cross, a soldier came and pierced his side with a lance and immediately there poured out water and blood. Now the water was a symbol of baptism and the blood, of the holy eucharist. The soldier pierced the Lord’s side, he breached the wall of the sacred temple, and I have found the treasure and made it my own. So also with the lamb: the Jews sacrificed the victim and I have been saved by it.

There flowed from his side water and blood. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolized baptism and the holy eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit, and from the holy eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam. Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh! As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.

Do you understand, then, how Christ has united his bride to himself and what food he gives us all to eat? By one and the same food we are both brought into being and nourished. As a woman nourishes her child with her own blood and milk, so does Christ unceasingly nourish with his own blood those to whom he himself has given life.

RESPONSORY
1 Peter 1:18-19; Ephesians 2:18; 1 John 1:7

The price of your redemption
was not something of fleeting value like gold or silver, but the costly shedding of the blood of Christ, the lamb without blemish.
– Through him, in the one Spirit, we can approach the Father.

The blood of Jesus Christ washes away all our sins.
– Through him, in the one Spirit, we can approach the Father.

PSALMODY
Ant. 1 God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to suffer for our sake.

Psalm 51
O God, have mercy on me

Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. *
In your compassion blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more from my guilt *
and cleanse me from my sin.

My offenses truly I know them; *
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned; *
what is evil in your sight I have done.

That you may be justified when you give sentence *and be without reproach when you judge.
O see, in guilt I was born, *
a sinner was I conceived.

Indeed you love truth in the heart; *
then in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom.
O purify me, then I shall be clean; *
O wash me, I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me hear rejoicing and gladness, *
that the bones you have crushed may revive.
From my sins turn away your face *
and blot out all my guilt.

A pure heart create for me, O God, *
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, *
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

Give me again the joy of your help; *
with a spirit of fervor sustain me,
that I may teach transgressors your ways *
and sinners may return to you.

O rescue me, God, my helper, *
and my tongue shall ring out your goodness.
O Lord, open my lips *
and my mouth shall declare your praise.

For in sacrifice you take no delight, *
burnt offering from me you would refuse,
my sacrifice, a contrite spirit.*
A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.

In your goodness, show favor to Zion: *
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice,
Holocausts offered on your altar.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. God did not spare his own Son, but gave him up to suffer for our sake.

Ant. 2 Jesus Christ loved us, and poured out his own blood for us to wash away our sins.

Canticle: Habakkuk 3:2-4, 13a, 15-19
God comes to judge

O Lord, I have heard your renown, *
and feared, O Lord, your work.
In the course of the years revive it, †
in the course of the years make it known; *
in your wrath remember compassion!

God comes from Teman, *
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
Covered are the heavens with his glory, *
and with his praise the earth is filled.

His splendor spreads like the light; †
rays shine forth from beside him, *
where his power is concealed.
You come forth to save your people, *
to save your anointed one.

You tread the sea with your steeds *
amid the churning of the deep waters.
I hear, and my body trembles; *
at the sound, my lips quiver.

Decay invades my bones, *
my legs tremble beneath me.
I await the day of distress *
that will come upon the people who attack us.

For though the fig tree blossom not *
nor fruit be on the vines,
though the yield of the olive fail *
and the terraces produce no nourishment,

though the flocks disappear from the fold *
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet will I rejoice in the Lord *
and exult in my saving God.

God, my Lord, is my strength; †
he makes my feet swift as those of hinds *
and enables me to go upon the heights.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Jesus Christ loved us, and poured out his own blood for us to wash away our sins.

Ant. 3 We worship your cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify your holy resurrection, for the wood of the cross has brought joy to the world.

Psalm 147:12-20
The restoration of Jerusalem

O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! *
Zion, praise your God!

He has strengthened the bars of your gates, *
he has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders, *
he feeds you with finest wheat.

He sends out his word to the earth *
and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool, *
he scatters hoar-frost like ashes.

He hurls down hailstones like crumbs. *
The waters are frozen at his touch;
he sends forth his word and it melts them: *
at the breath of his mouth the waters flow.

He makes his word known to Jacob, *
to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations; *
he has not taught them his decrees.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. We worship your cross, O Lord, and we praise and glorify your holy resurrection, for the wood of the cross has brought joy to the world.

READING
Isaiah 52:13-15

See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him—
so marred was his look beyond that of man,
and his appearance beyond that of mortals—
So shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
For those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.

In place of the responsory the following is said:

Ant. For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death, death on a cross.

GOSPEL CANTICLE

Ant. Over his head they hung their accusation: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

Canticle of Zechariah
Luke 1:68 -79

Blessed + be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old †
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, *
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, *
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Over his head they hung their accusation: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

INTERCESSIONS
For our sake our Redeemer suffered death and was buried, and rose again. With heartfelt love let us adore him, and pray:
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ our teacher, for our sake you were obedient even to accepting death,
– teach us to obey the Father’s will in all things.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ our life, by your death on the cross you destroyed the power of evil and death,
– may we die with you, to rise with you in glory.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ our King, you became an outcast among us, a worm and no man,
– teach us the humility by which you saved the world.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ our salvation, you gave yourself up to death out of love for us,
– help us to show your love to one another.
Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ our Savior, on the cross you embraced all time with your outstretched arms,
unite God’s scattered children in your kingdom of salvation.
Lord, have mercy on us.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
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 forgive those who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

CONCLUDING PRAYER
Father, look with love upon your people,
the love which our Lord Jesus Christ showed us
when he delivered himself to evil men
and suffered the agony of the cross,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL
The Lord be with you.
– And with your spirit.

May almighty God bless you,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
– Amen.

Go in peace.
– Thanks be to God.