Invitatory Antiphon
The Lord is risen, alleluia.
Psalm 94
Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us.
For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Hymn — The Strife Is O’er
The strife is o’er, the battle done;
The victory of life is won;
The song of triumph has begun: Alleluia.
The powers of death have done their worst,
But Christ their legions hath dispersed;
Let shouts of holy joy outburst: Alleluia.
Lord, by the stripes which wounded thee,
From death’s dread sting thy servants free,
That we may live and sing to thee: Alleluia.
Psalmody
Antiphon 1
As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for thee, O God, alleluia.
Psalm 41
As the hart panteth after the fountains of water; so my soul panteth after thee, O God.
My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?
My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God?
These things I remembered, and poured out my soul in me: for I shall go over into the place of the wonderful tabernacle, even to the house of God.
With the voice of joy and praise; the noise of one feasting.
Why art thou sad, O my soul? and why dost thou trouble me?
Hope in God, for I will still give praise to him: the salvation of my countenance, and my God.
Antiphon 1
As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for thee, O God, alleluia.
Antiphon 2
Show us the light of thy mercies, O Lord, alleluia.
Canticle — Sirach 36
Have mercy upon us, O God of all, and behold us, and shew us the light of thy mercies:
And send thy fear upon the nations, that have not sought after thee: that they may know that there is no God beside thee, and that they may shew forth thy wonders.
Lift up thy hand over the strange nations, that they may see thy power.
For as thou hast been sanctified in us in their sight, so thou shalt be magnified among them in our presence.
That they may know thee, as we also have known thee, that there is no God beside thee, O Lord.
Antiphon 2
Show us the light of thy mercies, O Lord, alleluia.
Antiphon 3
The heavens proclaim the glory of God, alleluia.
Psalm 18
The heavens shew forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands.
Day to day uttereth speech, and night to night sheweth knowledge.
There are no speeches nor languages, where their voices are not heard.
Their sound hath gone forth into all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world.
He hath set his tabernacle in the sun: and he, as a bridegroom coming out of his bride chamber, hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way.
His going out is from the end of heaven, and his circuit even to the end thereof: and there is no one that can hide himself from his heat.
Antiphon 3
The heavens proclaim the glory of God, alleluia.
Short Reading
Romans 10:8–10
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart. This is the word of faith, which we preach.
For if thou confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him up from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For, with the heart, we believe unto justice; but, with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation.
Responsory
The Lord is risen from the tomb, alleluia, alleluia.
He hung for us upon the cross, alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Canticle
Antiphon
When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, he shall give testimony of me, alleluia.
Benedictus — Luke 1:68–79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Intercessions
Christ is risen and sends the Spirit of truth. Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, strengthen thy Church in courage and charity.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Teach us to bear witness without bitterness.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Give light to those who suffer misunderstanding, rejection, or persecution.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Let our homes, work, and words become places of Easter peace.
Lord, hear our prayer.
Our Father
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 them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen.
Concluding Prayer
O God, who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will: grant unto thy people to love that which thou commandest, and to desire that which thou dost promise; that, amid the changes of this world, our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are found. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gospel of the Day
John 15:26–16:4 — Douay-Rheims
But when the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony of me.
And you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning.
These things have I spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized.
They will put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth a service to God.
And these things will they do to you; because they have not known the Father, nor me.
But these things I have told you, that when the hour shall come, you may remember that I told you of them.
Paradox of the Day
The Spirit of Truth does not make life quieter; He makes the soul braver.
Chesterton Quote
“The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.”
— G.K. Chesterton
Reflection
Christ does not promise His disciples popularity. He promises them the Paraclete.
This is one of the oddest comforts in Christianity. Our Lord does not say, “Do not worry; no one will misunderstand you.” He says, in effect, “They will misunderstand you so thoroughly that they may call hatred holiness.” And then He gives the answer: not strategy, not public relations, not a smoother slogan, but the Spirit of Truth.
The world often imagines truth as a weapon. Christ reveals truth as a witness. The Christian is not sent into the world merely to win arguments, but to bear testimony. A testimony is a strange thing: it may be rejected, mocked, ignored, or punished, and yet it remains true. The martyr does not make truth true by dying for it; he reveals that truth is worth more than survival.
Chesterton saw this clearly. Christianity is not too vague for the modern world; it is too solid. It stands like a stone bridge in a fog, and men complain that the bridge is narrow when the real problem is that the swamp is wide.
Today’s Gospel is not gloomy. It is gloriously realistic. Christ tells us beforehand so that fear will not become scandal. The disciple who expects Easter without opposition has not understood Easter. Resurrection means that death has been defeated, not that death has ceased making noise.
So today we ask for the Spirit of Truth: not merely to know Christ, but to testify to Him; not merely to admire courage, but to receive it; not merely to survive the hour, but to remember that He told us first.
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