Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 147 : 12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Exalt the Lord, o Jerusalem; praise your God, o Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.
He sends His command to the earth and swiftly runs His word. He spreads snow like wool; He scatters frost like ashes.
It is He Who tells Jacob His words, His laws and decrees to Israel. This He has not done for other nations, so His laws remain unknown to them. Alleluia!
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 41 : 2, 3 and Psalm 42 : 3, 4
As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for You, o God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and see the face of God?
Send forth Your light and Your truth; let them be my guide, let them take me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You reside.
Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my gladness and delight. I will praise You with the lyre and harp. O God, my God.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 102 : 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8 and 11
Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless His Holy Name! Bless the Lord, my soul, and do not forget all His kindness.
He forgives all your sins and heals all your sickness; He redeems your life from destruction and crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord restores justice and secures the rights of the oppressed. He has made known His ways to Moses and His deeds to the people of Israel.
The Lord is gracious and merciful, abounding in love and slow to anger. As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His love for those fearing Him.
Alternative reading (from Readings of Year A)
Psalm 94 : 1-2, 6-7, 8-9
Come, let us sing to the Lord, let us make a joyful sound to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him giving thanks, with music and songs of praise.
Come and worship; let us bow down, kneel before the Lord, our Maker. He is our God, and we His people; the flock He leads and pastures. Would that today you heard His voice!
Do not be stubborn, as at Meribah, in the desert, on that day at Massah, when your ancestors challenged me, and they put Me to the test.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 30 : 5-6, 14, 15-16
Free me from the snare that they have set for me. Indeed You are my Protector. Into Your hands I commend my spirit; You have redeemed me, o Lord, faithful God.
I hear whispering among the crowd, rumours that frighten me from every side – their conspiracies, their schemes, their plot to take my life.
But I put my trust in You, o Lord, I said : “You are my God.” My days are in Your hand. Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, from those after my skin.
Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet
Psalm 33 : 4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
Oh, let us magnify the Lord, together let us glorify His Name! I sought the Lord, and He answered me; from all my fears He delivered me.
They who look to Him are radiant with joy, their faces never clouded with shame. When the poor cry out, the Lord hears and saves them from distress.
The eyes of the Lord are fixed on the righteous; His ears are inclined to their cries. But His face is set against the wicked to destroy their memory from the earth.
The Lord hears the cry of the righteous and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the distraught.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 83 : 3, 4, 5 and 10, 11
My soul yearns, pines, for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young, at Your altars, o Lord of hosts, my King and my God!
Happy are those who live in Your house, continually singing Your praise! Look upon our shield, o God; look upon the face of Your anointed!
One day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be left at the threshold in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Liturgical Colour : Green or White (Virgins)
Psalm 131 : 6-7, 8-10
Then came the news, “The Ark is in Ephrathah, we found it in the fields of Jaar.” Let us go to where He dwells and worship at His footstool!
Arise, o Lord, and come to Your rest, You and the Ark of Your might. May Your priests be arrayed in glorious mantle; may Your faithful ones shout in gladness. For the sake of Your servant, David, do not turn away the face of Your anointed.
Liturgical Colour : Green
Psalm 137 : 1-2a, 2bc-3, 4-5, 7c-8
I thank You, o Lord, with all my heart, for You have heard the word of my lips. I sing Your praise in the presence of the gods. I bow down towards Your holy Temple and give thanks to Your Name.
For Your love and faithfulness, for Your word which exceeds everything. You answered me when I called; You restored my soul and made me strong.
O Lord, all kings on earth will give You praise, when they have heard Your words. They will celebrate the ways of the Lord, “Great is the glory of God!”
You save me from the wrath of my foes, with Your right hand You deliver me. How the Lord cares for me! Your kindness, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of Your hands.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 118 : 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
How can young people remain pure? By living according to Your word.
I seek You with my whole heart; let me not stray from Your commands.
In my heart I have kept Your word, that I may not sin against my Lord.
Praise to You, o Lord; instruct me in Your statutes.
That with my lips I may declare all Your spoken decrees.
I delight in following Your laws, more so than in all riches.
Liturgical Colour : Red
Psalm 17 : 31, 47 and 50, 51
This God – His way is perfect; the word of the Lord can stand fire. He is a shield for those who seek refuge in Him.
The Lord lives! Praised be my Rock! Exalted be my saviour God. For this I extol You, o Lord, among the nations; I will sing praise to Your Name.
He has given victories to His king; He has shown His love to His anointed ones, to David, and to his descendants forever.
