April 8th : Night Vigil
Seventh reading
I shall pour clean water over you and I shall give you a new heart
Ezekiel 36:16-17,18-28
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, the members of the House of Israel used to live in their own land, but they defiled it by their conduct and actions. I then discharged my fury at them because of the blood they shed in their land and the idols with which they defiled it. I scattered them among the nations and dispersed them in foreign countries. I sentenced them as their conduct and actions deserved. And now they have profaned my holy name among the nations where they have gone, so that people say of them, “These are the people of the Lord; they have been exiled from his land.”
‘But I have been concerned about my holy name, which the House of Israel has profaned among the nations where they have gone.
‘And so, say to the House of Israel, “The Lord says this: I am not doing this for your sake, House of Israel, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I mean to display the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned among them. And the nations will learn that I am the Lord – it is the Lord who speaks – when I display my holiness for your sake before their eyes. Then I am going to take you from among the nations and gather you together from all the foreign countries, and bring you home to your own land.
‘“I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances. You will live in the land which I gave your ancestors. You
shall be my people and I will be your God.”’
The Word of the Lord.
Psalm
Psalm 41(42):2-3,5,42:3-4 ©
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
My soul is thirsting for God,
the God of my life;
when can I enter and see
the face of God?
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
These things will I remember
as I pour out my soul:
how I would lead the rejoicing crowd
into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving,
the throng wild with joy.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
O send forth your light and your truth;
let these be my guide.
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
And I will come to the altar of God,
the God of my joy.
My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp,
O God, my God.
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is yearning for you, my God.
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