The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Aperi Domine
(Prayer before the hours)
Prayer Before Matins and Lauds
O divine and adorable Lord Jesus Christ, who hast graciously redeemed us by Thy bitter passion and death; I offer these Matins and Lauds to Thy honour and glory; and most humbly beseech Thee, through the vile treatment Thou didst receive from the Jews, who dragged Thee to the courts of the impious high priests, where Thou wast fasely accused, smitten on the face, called a blasphemer, and declared guilty of death; through the cruel torments, the blows, the bruises, and unheard-of injuries, which Thou enduredst during the whole night; to grant us resignation and silence under all calumnies, detractions, and sufferings, for the love of Thee, and to give us grace never to return injury for injury, but to practice the truly Christian revenge of overcoming evil with good, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who persecute and calumniate us. Amen.
1. Matins
Standing, All say the Hail Mary in silence. All then make the sign of the Cross on their lips with the thumb, as the Officiant begins:
V. Thou shalt open my lips, O Lord,
R. And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
Now ALL make the large sign of the Cross:
V. O God, be intent on mine aid,
R. O Lord, make haste to help me. * Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, * as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. * Alleluia.
Invitatory
Invit. Hail Mary, full of grace, * the Lord is with thee.
Hail Mary, full of grace, * the Lord is with thee.
Psalm 94 - Venite, exultemus.
An invitation to praise God, and to obey Him
1 Come let us praise the Lord with joy: * let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
2 Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; * and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
Invit. Hail Mary, full of grace, * the Lord is with thee.
3 For the Lord is a great God, * and a great King above all gods.
4 For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: * and the heights of the mountains are his.
Invit. The Lord is with thee.
5 For the sea is his, and he made it: * and his hands formed the dry land.
Here ALL kneel.
6 Come let us adore and fall down: * and weep before the Lord that made us.
7 For he is the Lord our God: * and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
All Rise
Invit. Hail Mary, full of grace, * the Lord is with thee.
8 Today if you shall hear his voice, * harden not your hearts:
9 As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: * where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works.
Invit. The Lord is with thee.
10 Forty years long was I offended with that generation, * and I said: These always err in heart.
11 And these men have not known my ways: * so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Invit. Hail Mary, full of grace, * the Lord is with thee.
R. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, * as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. * Alleluia.
Invit. The Lord is with thee.
R. Hail Mary, full of grace, * the Lord is with thee.
Hymn
1. The Lord, whom earth, and sea, and sky, * With one adoring voice proclaim;
Who rules them all in majesty; * Enclosed himself in Mary's frame.
2. Lo! in a humble Virgin's womb, * O'ershadowed by almighty power;
He whom the stars, and sun, and moon, * Each serve in their appointed hour.
3. O Mother blest! to whom was given, * Within thy body to contain;
The Architect of earth and heaven, * Whose hands the universe sustain.
4. To thee was sent an angel down, * In thee the Spirit was enshrined;
Of thee was born that mighty One, * The long-desired of all mankind.
5. O Jesus, born of Virgin bright, * Immortal glory be to thee;
Praise to the Father infinite, * And Holy Ghost eternally. Amen.
I. MATINS - The Nocturn (Tuesdays and Fridays)
Ant. In thy comeliness.
Psalm 44 - Eructavit cor meum.
The excellence of Christ's kingdom, and the endowments of His Church
2 My heart hath uttered a good word: * I speak my works to the king;
My tongue is the pen of a scrivener * that writeth swiftly.
3 Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips; * therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.
4 Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, * O thou most mighty.
5 With thy comeliness and thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously, and reign. * Because of truth and meekness and justice: and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully.
6 Thy arrows are sharp: under thee shall people fall, * into the hearts of the king's enemies.
7 Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: * the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness.
8 Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: * therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
9 Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, * from the ivory houses: out of which
10 The daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory. * The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; surrounded with variety.
11 Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: * and forget thy people and thy father's house.
12 And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; * for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.
13 And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, * yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance.
14 All the glory of the king's daughter * is within in golden borders,
15 Clothed round about with varieties. * After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee.
16 They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: * they shall be brought into the temple of the king.
17 Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: * thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.
18 They shall remember thy name throughout all generations. * Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. * Alleluia.
Ant. In Thy comeliness and Thy beauty go forth, proceed prosperously, and reign.
Ant. God shall help her.
Psalm 45 - Deus noster refugium.
The Church in persecution trusteth in the protection of God
2 Our God is our refuge and strength: a helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly.
3 Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea.
4 Their waters roared and were troubled: the mountains were troubled with his strength.
5 The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful: the most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle.
6 God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved: God will help it in the morning early.
7 Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down: he uttered his voice, the earth trembled.
8 The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.
9 Come and behold ye the works of the Lord: what wonders he hath done upon earth,
10 Making wars to cease even to the end of the earth. He shall destroy the bow, and break the weapons: and the shield he shall burn in the fire.
11 Be still and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.
12 The Lord of armies is with us: the God of Jacob is our protector.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. * Alleluia.
Ant. God shall help her with his countenance, God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.
Ant. Our dwelling in thee.
Psalm 86 - Fundamenta ejus.
The glory of the Church of Christ
1 The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains:
2 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion above all the tabernacles of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are said of thee, O city of God.
4 I will be mindful of Rahab * and of Babylon knowing me.
Behold the foreigners, and Tyre, * and the people of the Ethiopians, these were there.
5 Shall not Sion say: This man and that man is born in her? * and the Highest himself hath founded her.
6 The Lord shall tell in his writings of peoples and of princes, * of them that have been in her.
7 The dwelling in thee * is as it were of all rejoicing.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. * Alleluia.
Ant. Our dwelling in thee is as of all those that rejoice, O holy mother of God.
V. Grace is shed forth on thy lips.
R. Therefore hath God blessed thee forever.
Here the Officient only intones the Our Father, the rest till toward the end being said in silence.
O. Our Father...
V. And lead us not into temptation,
R. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
I. MATINS - (Conclusion)
The Absolution
O. By the prayers and merits of the blessed Mary, ever Virgin, and of all the Saints, may the Lord bring us to the kingdom of Heaven.
R. Amen.
The Petition
V. Pray, Lord, a blessing.
The Blessing
O. May the Virgin Mary, with her loving Child, bless us.
A. Amen.
(These lessons are for all times not in Advent, or the Feast of the Annunciation.)
Lesson I.
Ecclus. xxiv. 11-13
O. In all these I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. Then the Creator of all things commanded and said to me; and he that made me rested in my tabernacle, and he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in mine elect. But thou, Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Thanks be to God.
I. Responsory
R O holy and immaculate Virgin, with what praises I shall extol thee, I know not. * For he whom the heavens could not contain, rested in thy bosom.
V. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.* For he whom the heavens could not contain, rested in thy bosom.
The Petition
V. Pray, Lord, a blessing.
The Blessing
O. May the Virgin of Virgins herself intercede for us with the Lord.
R Amen.
Lesson II.
Ecclus. xxiv. 15-16
O. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested; and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honorable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of Saints. But thou, Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Thanks be to God.
II. Responsory
R. Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the Lord, the Creator of the world: * Thou wast the mother of Him who made thee, and thou remainest a virgin forever.
V. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
R. Thou wast the mother of Him who made thee, and thou remainest a virgin forever.
R. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. * Thou wast the mother of Him who made thee, and thou remainest a virgin forever.
The Petition
V. Pray, Lord, a blessing.
The Blessing
O. Through the Virgin Mother, may the Lord grant unto us salvation and peace.
R. Amen.
Lesson III.
Ecclus. xxiv. 17-20
O. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on Mount Sion. I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades and as a rose-plant in Jericho. As a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in streets, was I exalted. I gave forth a sweet fragrance like cinnamon and aromatic balm. I yielded a sweetness of odor like the choicest myrrh. But thou, Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Thanks be to God.
Te Deum
(To be said from Christmas to the Purification, from Easter until Advent, or on feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary.)
1. We praise thee, O God. * We acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
2. All the earth doth worship thee, * the Father everlasting.
3. To thee all the angels, * the heavens and all the powers therein,
4. To thee cherubim and seraphim * with voice unceasing cry,
5. Holy, holy, holy, * Lord God of Sabaoth,
6. Heaven and earth are full * of the majesty of thy glory.
7. The glorious choir * of the Apostles,
8. The admirable company * of the Prophets,
9. The white-robed army of the Martyrs, * all give praise to thee.
10. The Holy Church throughout all the world * doth acknowledge thee,
11. The Father * of infinite majesty,
12. Thy adorable, true, * and only Son,
13. Also the Holy Ghost, * the Comforter.
14. Thou art the King of Glory, * O Christ.
15. Thou art the everlasting Son * of the Father.
16. Thou, when about to take upon thee to deliver man, * didst not shrink back from the Virgin's womb.
17. When thou hadst overcome the sting of death, * thou didst open to all believers the kingdom of Heaven.
18. Thou sittest at the right hand of God * in the glory of the Father.
19. We believe that thou shalt come * to be our Judge.
Here all kneel
20. We pray thee, therefore, help thy servants, * whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
All rise.
21. Make them to be numbered with thy Saints * in glory everlasting.
22. O Lord, save thy people, * and bless thine inheritance.
23. Govern them * and lift them up for ever.
24. Day by day * we glorify thee.
25. And we praise thy name for ever, * yea, for ever and ever.
26. Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day * to keep us without sin.
27. Have mercy on us, Lord, * have mercy on us.
28. Thy mercy, O Lord, come down upon us, * just as we have hoped it of thee.
29. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, * let me not be confounded for ever.
On to Lauds or continue on to close the hour.
Say the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Apostles Creed and then close with the Sacrosanctae.
The Sacrosanctae
(Or Act of Atonement After the Office)
All. To the most holy and undivided Trinity, * to the humanity of our crucified Lord Jesus Christ, * to the fruitful purity of the most blessed and glorious Mary ever Virgin, * and to the company of all the saints, * be everlasting praise, honor, power and glory rendered by every creature; * and to us be given the remission of all our faults for all eternity. Amen.
V. Blessed womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father.
R. And blessed breasts which nursed the Christ, our Lord.
All say the Our Father and Hail Mary in silence.
