Invitatorium

It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death,

considered it a friend, and pined for it,

and made a covenant with it,

Because they deserve to be in its possession,

they who said among themselves, thinking not aright:

“Let us oppress the needy just man;

let us neither spare the widow

nor revere the old man for his hair grown white with time.

But let our strength be our norm of justice;

for weakness proves itself useless.

Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us;

he sets himself against our doings,

Reproaches us for transgressions of the law

and charges us with violations of our training.

“He professes to have knowledge of God

and styles himself a child of the Lord.

To us he is the censure of our thoughts;

merely to see him is a hardship for us,

Because his life is not like other men’s,

and different are his ways.

He judges us debased;

he holds aloof from our paths as from things impure.

He calls blest the destiny of the just

and boasts that God is his Father.

“Let us see whether his words be true;

let us find out what will happen to him.

For if the just one be the son of God, he will defend him

and deliver him from the hand of his foes.

With revilement and torture let us put him to the test

that we may have proof of his gentleness

and try his patience.

Let us condemn him to a shameful death;

for according to his own words, God will take care of him.”

These were their thoughts, but they erred;

for their wickedness blinded them,

And they knew not the hidden counsels of God;

neither did they count on a recompense of holiness

nor discern the innocent souls’ reward.

For God formed man to be imperishable;

the image of his own nature he made him.

But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,

and they who are in his possession experience it.

The souls of the just are in the hand of God,

and no torment shall touch them.

They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;

and their passing away was thought an affliction

and their going forth from us, utter destruction.

But they are in peace.

For if before men, indeed, they be punished,

yet is their hope full of immortality;

Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,

because God tried them

and found them worthy of himself.

As gold in the furnace, he proved them,

and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.

In the time of their visitation they shall shine,

and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;

They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,

and the Lord shall be their King forever.

Those who trust in him shall understand truth,

and the faithful shall abide with him in love:

Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,

and his care is with the elect.

But the wicked shall receive a punishment to match their thoughts,

since they neglected justice and forsook the Lord.

For he who despises wisdom and instruction is doomed.

Vain is their hope, fruitless are their labors,

and worthless are their works.

Their wives are foolish and their children wicked;

accursed is their brood.

Yes, blessed is she who, childless and undefiled,

knew not transgression of the marriage bed;

she shall bear fruit at the visitation of souls.

So also the eunuch whose hand wrought no misdeed,

who held no wicked thoughts against the Lord—

For he shall be given fidelity’s choice reward

and a more gratifying heritage in the Lord’s temple.

For the fruit of noble struggles is a glorious one;

and unfailing is the root of understanding.

But the children of adulterers will remain without issue,

and the progeny of an unlawful bed will disappear.

For should they attain long life, they will be held in no esteem,

and dishonored will their old age be at last;

While should they die abruptly, they have no hope

nor comfort in the day of scrutiny;

for dire is the end of the wicked generation.

Consider, beloved, how the Lord keeps reminding us of the resurrection that is to come, of which he has made the Lord Jesus Christ the firstfruits by raising him from the dead. Let us look, beloved, at the resurrection that occurs at its appointed time. Day and night show us a resurrection; the night lies in sleep, day rises again; the day departs, night takes its place. Let us think about the harvest; how does the sowing take place, and in what manner? The sower goes out and casts each seed onto the ground. Dry and bare, they fall into the earth and decay. Then the greatness of the Lord’s providence raises them up again from decay, and out of one many are produced and yield fruit.

In this hope, then, let our hearts be bound fast to him who is faithful in his promises and just in his judgments. He forbade us to tell lies; still less will he himself tell a lie. Nothing is impossible for God except to tell a lie. Then let our faith in him be awakened; let us reflect that everything is close to him.

By the word of his power he established all things, and by his word he can reduce them to ruin.

Who shall say to him: What have you done? Who shall stand up against the power of his might?

He will accomplish everything when he wills and as he wills, and nothing that he has decreed shall pass away. All things stand in his presence, and nothing lies hidden from his counsel, if

the heavens tell forth the glory of God, the firmament reveals the work of his hands, day speaks to day, and night shares knowledge with night; there are no words, no speeches, and their voices are not heard.

Since all things lie open to his eyes and ears, let us hold him in awe and rid ourselves of impure desires to do works of evil, so that we may be protected by his mercy from the judgment that is to come. Which of us can escape his mighty hand? What world will give asylum to one who deserts him?

Where will I go, where will I hide from your face? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go to the limits of the earth, your right hand is there; if I lie down in the deep, your spirit is there.

Where, then, can one go, where can one escape to, from the presence of him whose hands embrace the universe?

Let us then approach him in holiness of soul, raising up to him hands pure and undefiled, out of love for our good and merciful Father who made us a chosen portion for himself.

You are not in the dark, brothers, that the day should catch you off guard, like a thief. No, all of you are children of light and of the day. We belong neither to darkness nor to night.

There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone.

God is the savior of those who revere him.

That his glory may dwell here on earth.

The body is one and has many members, but all the members, many though they are, are one body; and so it is with Christ. It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body. All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit.

Holy Father, keep us true to yourself.

That we may be perfectly one.

God has so constructed the body, that there may be no dissension in the body, but that all the members may be concerned for one another. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members share its joy.

O Lord our God, gather us from the nations of the world.

That we may glorify your holy name.

All men have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God. All men are now undeservedly justified by the gift of God, through the redemption wrought in Christ Jesus. Through his blood, God made him the means of expiation for all who believe. He did so to manifest his own justice.

Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith.