A Month of Readings on the Precious Blood
Psalmody, Hymns, Collects (Year C)
The following prayers, modeled on the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of the Hours, are designed to accompany the readings on the Precious Blood. The psalmody and, in particular, its antiphons are taken from a little-known 2014 recording of an office composed in honor of a reputed relic of the Precious Blood in Norway. The entire composition, sung by the Schola Sanctae Sunnivae, entitled In festo susceptionis sanguinis Domini is readily available from vendors such as Amazon and the entire text of the liturgy with English translation can be found at http://www.2l.no/e-book/2L114.pdf.
INVITATORY
Fíliae Sion, veníte et vidéte regem
coronátum in cruce, cuius caro mundi
vita, cuius sanguis redémptio. 1.Veníte,
exsultémus Dómino; *iubilémus Deo
salutári nostro.
Praeoccupémus
fáciem eius in confessióne, *et in
psalmis iubilémus ei.
Glória Patri
et Fílio, *et Spirítui Sancto, sicut
erat in princípio, et nunc et semper,
*et in sáecula saeculórum. Amen.
Come, daughters of Zion, and see the
King, crowned on the cross, whose
flesh is the life of the world, whose
blood is redemption.
O come, let us sing unto the Lord * let us make a joy-
ful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence
with thanksgiving *and make a joyful
noise unto him with psalms.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son *and
to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be
*world without end. Amen.
- OR -
Come, let us adore Christ, the Son of God,
who has redeemed us with his blood.
Clap your hands, all you peoples,
sing unto God with a voice of jubilation.
For you, God, glorious and mighty,
have shown us mercy.
You have not spared your only Son,
but delivered him up in our behalf.
That you might redeem us
from our sins in Christ’s own blood;
That justified in the blood of Jesus
you might turn your anger from us;
That we who were separated
might be reconciled through the blood of Christ.
O God, my God, what can I render to you
for all the good you have bestowed upon me?
I will take the chalice of salvation,
and I will call upon the power of Christ’s blood.
Sing to Jesus, all you saints,
and make known the memory of his holiness.
For Christ indeed has loved us and washed us in his blood
and has become our helper and redeemer.
May Christ be blessed forever
who has wrought such wonders in us.
Blessed be Jesus for all ages,
and may the heavens and the earth be filled with the praises of his love.
Come, let us adore Christ, the Son of God,
who has redeemed us with his blood. Amen. (St. Maria de Mattias, +1866)
Hymn (at choice)
No weight of gold or silver
can measure human worth;
No soul secures its ransom
with all the wealth of earth;
no sinners find their freedom
but by the gift unpriced,
the Lamb of God unblemished,
the precious blood of Christ.
Our sins, our griefs, our troubles,
He bore and made his own;
We hid our faces from him,
rejected and alone.
His wounds are for our healing,
Our peace is by his pain;
Behold, the Man of sorrows,
The Lamb for sinners slain!
In Christ the past is over,
a new world now begins,
with him we rise to freedom
Who saves us from our sins.
We live by faith in Jesus
to make his glory known:
Behold, the Man of Sorrows,
The Lamb upon his throne! (76 76 D)
***
Glory be to Jesus
Who in bitter pains
Poured for me his life blood
From his sacred veins!
Grace and life eternal
In that blood I find,
Blest be his compassion
Infinitely kind!
Blest through endless ages
Be the precious stream
Which from endless torment
Doth the world redeem!
There the fainting spirit
Drinks of like her fill;
There, as in a fountain,
Laves herself at will.
Abel’s blood for vengeance
Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus
For our pardon cries.
Lift ye then your voices;
Swell the mighty flood;
Louder still and louder
Praise the precious Blood.
***
See how the army of our sins,
A cruel army, proud and fierce,
The heart of God most innocent
Ungratefully and basely pierce!
Our sins direct the cruel stroke
Made by the thrust of soldier’s lance;
The dreaded sharpness of its point
Our crimes with mortal guilt enhance.
From out that opened Heart is born
The Holy Church, of Christ the Bride;
Behold the ark to save our race;
The door, this wound made in his side.
Hence comes and everlasting stream
Of grace in wondrous sevenfold flood,
That we may there our robes defiled
Cleanse in the Lamb’s most precious Blood. (LM)
***
The Lamb’s high banquet called to share,
Arrayed in garments white and fair,
The Red Sea past, we now would sing
To Jesus our triumphant King.
Upon the altar of the cross
His body has redeemed our loss;
And, tasting of his precious Blood,
In him we live anew to God.
Now Christ our Passover is slain,
The Lamb of God without a stain;
His flesh, the true unleavened Bread,
For us is freely offer’ed.
Christ rises conqu’ror from the grave,
From death returning, strong to save;
With his right hand the tyrant chains,
And paradise for all regains. (LM)
***
Created for the glory of your name,
redeemed by your blood on the cross,
signed by the seal of your Spirit,
we beseech you: save us, O Lord!
You break the bonds of guilt,
protect the meek and free the oppressed.
You lead the people who believe in your love
to the restful meadows in heaven.
Praise and honor to you,
good shepherd, radiant beam of the eternal light,
who live with the Father and the Holy Spirit
in glory for ever and ever. Amen.
***
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb,
our garments cleansed in him,
saved and made new by Love,
we sing praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
With you we are raised on the Cross,
with you, baptized into your death,
in you, O Christ, we are now risen,
and restored to life in the heart of the Father.
O Christ, your life is an immense font of joy,
springing up eternally; unending splendor,
in you is immersed the human smallness of the redeemed.
Our day passes, declining;
Lord, remain with us this evening,
and may the certainty of our faith
light up the advancing night.
Grant that our death be absorbed
by the glorious light of the Resurrection and,
having died your own death,
may we live in you, who are our life.
O Father of kindness, we ask you this
through your Son who is risen,
and through the eternal Love who leads us
toward the sweet light of your face. Amen.
***
Grant, Lord, that we, your servants all,
Saved by the tide of cleansing Blood,
No more ‘neath sin’s dominion fall
Nor fear the thought of death’s dark flood!
Your varied love each spirit bless,
The humble cheer, the proud control;
Check in each heart its vain excess,
But raise the meek and humble soul.
This favor, Father, we entreat;
This blessing, grant, eternal Son
And Holy Spirit, Paraclete,
Both now and while the ages run. (LM)
PSALMODY
Ant 1 Grátia Dei per Jesum Christum qui nos liberávit sui prétio sánguinis líberet nos de tenebrárum princípibus et constítuat in caelésti patria, gaudéntes secum in sempitérna glória.
May the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, who freed us with the price of His blood. free us from the princes of darkness and set us in the celestial home, rejoicing with Him in everlasting glory.
sing to the Lord, all the earth. *
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim his help day by day, †
tell among the nations his glory *
and his wonders among all the peoples.
The Lord is great and worthy of praise, †
to be feared above all gods; *
the gods of the heathens are naught.
It was the Lord who made the heavens, †
his are majesty and state and power *
and splendor in his holy place.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples, †
give the Lord glory and power, *
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Bring an offering and enter his courts, †
worship the Lord in his temple. *
O earth, tremble before him.
Proclaim to the nations: “God is king.” †
The world he made firm in its place; *
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Let the heavens rejoice and earth be glad, *
let the sea and all within it thunder praise,
let the land and all it bears rejoice, *
all the trees of the wood shout for joy
at the presence of the Lord for he comes, *
he comes to rule the earth.
With justice he will rule the world, *
he will judge the peoples with his truth.
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. 2 Dómine, fons misericórdiae, in quo lavántur contágia delictórum, succúrre propítius redémptae famíliae tuae, et quam effusióne pretiósi sánguinis redemísti, post humánam conversatiónem dimíssis excéssibus sedes cleménter, pastor bone, largíre paradísi.
Lord, fount of mercy, in which is washed away the contamination of our sins, graciously succour your redeemed family; and having redeemed them with the shedding of your precious blood, after their human life, with their sins remitted, benignly grant them, good shepherd, a place in Paradise.
the Lord has robed himself with might, *
he has girded himself with power.
The world you made firm, not to be moved; †
your throne has stood firm from of old. *
From all eternity, O Lord, you are.
The waters have lifted up, O Lord, †
the waters have lifted up their voice, *
the waters have lifted up their thunder.
Greater than the roar of mighty waters †
more glorious than the surgings of the sea, *
the Lord is glorious on high.
Truly your decrees are to be trusted. †
Holiness is fitting to your house, *
O Lord, until the end of time.
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. 3 Ave regum Rex et Dómine, qui pietáte sola dilexísti tuum gregem, nec devitásti crucis fore maledíctum, ave nostra dulcédo, medicaméntum et médice, o sanctíssime Dómine, tuo pétimus salvári sanguine, pro quibus mors morti factus es, et morsus inférno.
Hail, King of kings and Lord, who loved your flock solely through your tenderness and did not shrink from being the reviled object on the cross. Hail, our sweet Lord, our cure and our curer. O most holy Lord, we beg to be preserved by your blood, we for whose sake you became the death of hell.
He is throned on the cherubim; the earth quakes. *
The Lord is great in Zion.
He is supreme over all the peoples. †
Let them praise his name, so terrible and great. *
He is holy, full of power.
You are a king who loves what is right; †
you have established equity, justice and right; *
you have established them in Jacob.
Exalt the Lord our God; †
bow down before Zion, his footstool. *
He the Lord is holy.
Among his priests were Aaron and Moses, †
among those who invoked his name was Samuel. *
They invoked the Lord and he answered.
To them he spoke in the pillar of cloud. †
They did his will; they kept the law, *
which he, the Lord, had given.
O Lord our God, you answered them. †
For them you were a God who forgives; *
yet you punished all their offenses.
Exalt the Lord our God; †
bow down before his holy mountain *
for the Lord our God is holy.
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.
Almighty and eternal God, you have appointed your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by his Blood. Grant we beg of you, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. (Feast of the Precious Blood; Traditional
Father, who through the blood of Jesus your Son, the Lamb sacrificed on the cross, redeemed us, sanctified us, and made us your people; grant that all may accept this gift of your love, celebrate it joyfully in the Spirit, and drink of it in the Eucharistic chalice, the sign of your covenant and blessing. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. (Feast of the Precious Blood; Contemporary)
O God, who by the Precious Blood of your Only Begotten Son have redeemed the whole world, preserve in us the work of your mercy, so that, ever honoring the mystery of our salvation, we may merit to obtain its fruits. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. (Votive Mass The Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ)