← Prayer Book
Office of Readings
Tuesday, December 15, 2026 • Advent, Week 2 — Tuesday
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 who is coming to bring salvation to his people.
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 who is coming to bring salvation to his people.
Hymn
The King Shall Come
The King shall come when morning dawns
and light triumphant breaks,
when beauty gilds the eastern hills
and life to joy awakes.
and light triumphant breaks,
when beauty gilds the eastern hills
and life to joy awakes.
Psalmody
Psalm 28The Voice of the Lord
Ant. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything.
Bring to the Lord, O sons of God, bring to the Lord the offspring of rams; bring to the Lord glory and honor.
Bring to the Lord glory for his name; adore the Lord in his holy court.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of majesty has thundered.
The Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord is in magnificence.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; indeed, the Lord will break the cedars of Lebanon.
And he will reduce them to small pieces, like a calf of Lebanon, and the beloved one will be like the son of the rhinoceros.
The voice of the Lord divides the flame of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; and the Lord will shake the desert of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord prepares the stags and will reveal the dense forests; and in his temple all will speak his glory.
The Lord causes the flood to dwell; and the Lord will sit as king in eternity.
The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.
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. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything.
Psalm 29Thanksgiving for Rescue
Ant. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything.
I will exalt you, O Lord, for you have supported me and have not made my enemies rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried out to you and you healed me.
O Lord, you led my soul out of hell; you saved me from those who descend into the pit.
Sing to the Lord, O you his holy ones, and confess to the memory of his holiness.
For wrath is in his indignation, and life is in his good will. Weeping will tarry for an evening, and joy will come in the morning.
But in my abundance I said: "I will not be moved forever."
O Lord, in your good will, you had provided power to my beauty. But you turned your face away from me, and I became troubled.
To you, O Lord, I will cry out, and I will pray to my God.
What benefit is there in my blood, while I descend into corruption? Will dust confess to you? Or will it declare your truth?
The Lord heard and had mercy on me; the Lord became my helper.
You have turned my mourning into joy for me; you have cut away my sackcloth, and you have encircled me with gladness.
So that my glory may sing to you, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will confess to you forever.
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. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything.
Psalm 30Into Your Hands
Ant. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything.
In you, O Lord, I have hoped; let me not be confounded forever; rescue me in your justice.
Incline your ear to me; hasten to deliver me.
Be a God, a protector, and a house of refuge for me, so as to accomplish my salvation.
For you are my strength and my refuge; and for your name's sake you will lead me and nourish me.
You will lead me out of this snare which they have hidden for me; for you are my protector.
Into your hands I commend my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.
You have hated those who hold to vanity without purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord.
I will exult and rejoice in your mercy; for you have seen my humility.
You have saved my soul from necessity, and you have not enclosed me in the hands of my enemy.
You have placed my feet in a spacious place.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted; my eye has been troubled by rage, my soul, and my belly.
For my life has diminished in sorrow, and my years in groaning.
My virtue has been weakened in poverty, and my bones have been disturbed.
I have become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much so to my neighbors; and a source of fear to those I know.
Those who saw me withdrew from me; I was forgotten, like someone dead from the heart.
I was made like a useless vessel.
For I have heard the reproach of many who dwell around me.
In assembling together against me, they consented to take away my soul.
But I have trusted in you, O Lord; I said, "You are my God."
My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
Make your face shine upon your servant; save me in your mercy.
O Lord, let me not be confounded, for I have called upon you.
Let the impious be confounded and be led down into hell.
Let deceitful lips become dumb, which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and with abuse.
How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you!
You have perfected it for those who hope in you, in the sight of the sons of men.
You will hide them in the secret of your face from the disturbance of men.
You will protect them in your tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.
Blessed is the Lord, for he has shown his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.
But I said in the excess of my mind: "I am cast away from before your eyes."
Therefore, you heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried out to you.
O love the Lord, all you his saints, for the Lord will seek truth, and will repay abundantly those who act with pride.
Be strengthened, and let your heart be robust, all you who hope in the Lord.
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. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything.
First Reading: Scripture
Micah 5:2
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Second Reading: Patristic or Hagiographic
The Two Advents of Christ
We profess the coming of the Son of God, and we look for his coming again. The first was a coming in weakness and humility and was signified by the prophets in advance; the other will be glorious and manifest. The first was hidden; the second will be seen by all. The first came to save; the second will come to judge. He came to preach the gospel of peace to those who are far off, and peace to those who are near. And this took place through his first coming. Through faith and knowledge he brought us close to God and made us his own people and heirs of his heavenly kingdom. But on his second coming, the one who will judge the whole world in righteousness, he who will render to each according to his works, will himself be our judge. Let us run to meet him with eagerness and love, not with trembling. Let us show him those works which the Spirit enables us to do, so that we may share in his joy and dwell in his light, forever and ever.
Responsory
V. Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay.
R. Come, Lord Jesus, do not delay.
V. Give new courage to your people,
R. who trust in your word.
Concluding Prayer
O God, the prophets saw from afar what we now celebrate. Grant us through their words a renewed sense of wonder at your saving plan; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dismissal
Let us praise the Lord.
And give him thanks.