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Office of Readings
Sunday, January 11, 2026 • The Baptism of the Lord
Opening
O God, come to my assistance.
Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Invitatory
Ant. Come, let us adore the Lord on this great solemnity.
Come, let us exult in the Lord; let us shout with joy to God our salvation.
Let us come before his face with praise and exult in him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God and a great king above all gods.
For the Lord does not cast off his people; for in his hand are all the ends of the earth.
And the heights of the mountains belong to him.
For the sea is his, and he made it; and his hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us adore and fall down before God; let us weep before the Lord who made us.
For he is the Lord our God; and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness,
where your fathers tempted me; they tried me and saw my works.
For forty years I was close to this generation, and I said: "They always err in heart."
And these people have not known my ways, so I swore in my wrath that they will not enter into my rest.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Come, let us adore the Lord on this great solemnity.
Hymn
What Child Is This
What child is this, who, laid to rest,
on Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
while shepherds watch are keeping?
on Mary's lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
while shepherds watch are keeping?
Psalmody
Psalm 43Lament of a Troubled People
Ant. Today Christ is born for us; glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have declared to us the work that you did in their days and in the days of old.
Your hand destroyed the Gentiles and you planted them; you afflicted peoples and cast them out.
For they did not acquire the land by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them.
But your right hand and your arm and the light of your countenance, because you were pleased with them.
You yourself are my king and my God, who command the salvation of Jacob.
Through you we will push down our enemies with the horn, and through your name we will despise those who rise up against us.
For I will not trust in my bow, and my sword will not save me.
But you have saved us from those who afflict us, and you have put to shame those who hate us.
In God we will be praised all day long, and in your name we will confess forever.
But now you have rejected and despised us, and you will not go out, O God, in our armies.
You have turned us back behind our enemies, and those who hated us plundered for themselves.
You have given us up like sheep to be eaten, and among the Gentiles you have dispersed us.
You have sold your people for no price, and there was no multitude in exchange for them.
You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, a mockery and a derision to those who are around us.
You have set us as a comparison among the Gentiles, a shaking of the head among the peoples.
All day long my shame is before me, and the confusion of my face has covered me,
at the voice of the one speaking ill and the detractor, at the face of the enemy and the pursuer.
All these things have come upon us, yet we have not forgotten you, and we have not acted unjustly in your covenant.
And our heart has not turned backward, and you have not turned aside our steps from your way.
For you have humbled us in the place of affliction, and the shadow of death has covered us.
If we have forgotten the name of our God, and if we have extended our hands to a strange god,
will God not investigate these things? For he knows the hidden things of the heart.
For because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are being considered as sheep for the slaughter.
Rise up; why do you sleep, O Lord? Arise, and do not reject us forever.
Why do you turn your face away and forget our poverty and our tribulation?
For our soul has been humbled in the dust; our belly has clung to the earth.
Rise up, O Lord, help us and redeem us for the sake of your name.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Today Christ is born for us; glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
Psalm 44A Royal Wedding Song
Ant. Today Christ is born for us; glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
My heart has uttered a good word; I speak my works to the king.
My tongue is the pen of a swiftly writing scribe.
You are made beautiful above the sons of men; grace is poured out in your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever.
Take up your sword upon your thigh, O most mighty.
Go forth with your beauty and your excellence and proceed with success, and reign, because of truth and meekness and justice.
And your right hand will guide you wonderfully.
Your arrows are sharp; peoples will fall under you; the hearts of the king's enemies.
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; the rod of your kingdom is the rod of uprightness.
You have loved justice and hated iniquity; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.
Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume your garments, from the ivory houses, from which the daughters of kings have given you delight in your glory.
The queen stood at your right hand in golden attire, surrounded with variety.
Hear, O daughter, and see and incline your ear; and forget your people and your father's house.
And the king will desire your beauty; for he is the Lord your God, and him they will adore.
And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yes the rich among the people, will entreat your face.
All the glory of the daughter of the king is within in golden borders,
Clothed around with varieties. After her, virgins will be brought to the king; her neighbors will be brought to you.
They will be brought with gladness and joy; they will be brought into the temple of the king.
Instead of your fathers, sons are born to you; you will make them princes over all the earth.
They will remember your name in every generation and generation; therefore peoples will confess to you forever and ever and into ages of ages.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Today Christ is born for us; glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
Psalm 45God Is Our Refuge and Strength
Ant. Today Christ is born for us; glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
God is our refuge and strength, a helper in the troubles that have found us greatly.
Therefore we will not fear when the earth will be troubled, and the mountains will be transferred into the heart of the sea.
Their waters roared and were troubled; the mountains were troubled by his strength.
The outflows of the river make the city of God joyful; the Most High has sanctified his tabernacle.
God is in its midst, it will not be moved; God will help it at the break of dawn.
The nations were troubled, and the kingdoms were bowed down; he gave forth his voice, the earth was moved.
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our support.
Come and see the works of the Lord, what wonders he has placed upon the earth,
making wars cease even to the ends of the earth.
He will destroy the bow and break the armor, and he will burn the shields in fire.
"Be empty and see that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations and exalted on the earth."
The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our support.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Ant. Today Christ is born for us; glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will.
First Reading: Scripture
1 John 4:14
And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
Second Reading: Patristic or Hagiographic
The Gift of the Magi
The Magi came from the east and brought gifts to the Lord. Gold was given to him as to a king; frankincense as to God; myrrh as to one who would die. Now we too can offer gifts to the Lord. If you have gold, that is the wealth of good deeds, offer it to him. If you have frankincense, that is the prayer that rises like incense to God from a pure conscience, offer it to him. If you have myrrh, and myrrh here signifies the mortification of the flesh, offer it to him. The Lord has no lack of earthly gold, but he desires the gold of your virtue. He is not without incense from Arabia, but he seeks the prayer of your heart. And myrrh — what does he need with the myrrh of Sheba? — he looks for your willingness to take up the cross and follow him. Therefore let us come to the manger where the Christ-child lies and offer him what we have: our hearts, our prayers, and our lives dedicated to his service.
Responsory
V. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
R. and we have seen his glory.
V. Full of grace and truth,
R. we have seen his glory.
Te Deum (Sundays and Solemnities)
1
Concluding Prayer
Lord God, in reading and prayer today may we come to know your Son more deeply, love him more truly, and follow him more closely; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dismissal
Let us praise the Lord.
And give him thanks.