The invitatory (Latin: invitatorium; also invitatory psalm) is the

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

used to start certain daily prayer offices in Catholic and Anglican traditions. Most often it is Psalm 94(95), also known as the Venite.Numbered 94 in the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

, 95 in the Hebrew

Masoretic text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

: see Psalms > Numbering. The term derives from Medieval Latin ''invītātōrium'', derived from ''invītāre'', "to invite."

Catholic

The invitatory is used to start Nocturns in the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic Church, Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the br ...

, the Catholic Church's Divine Office. It is usually Psalm 94(95), which begins ''Venite exsultemus'' in Latin. After the reform of the Liturgy of the Hours following the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

, the Invitatory is said either before the Office of Readings or Lauds, whichever is said first in a liturgical day. In place of Psalm 94(95), Psalm 99(100), Psalm 66(67), or Psalm 23(24) may be used as circumstances may suggest. Verse 17 of Psalm 50(51) ''Domine, labia mea aperies'' is often used as the invitatory antiphon in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Anglican

In the Episcopal Church, the Morning Prayer office opens with an invitatory psalm, either the Venite (Psalm 95:1-7, or the entire psalm on Ash Wednesday, Holy Saturday, and all Fridays in Lent) or the Jubilate (Psalm 100). An invitatory antiphon may appear before, or before and after the invitatory psalm. The invitatory may be spoken or sung; there are several musical settings in plainsong or Anglican chant.Invitatory Psalm
in Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, eds., ''An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians.'' An invitatory psalm may also be substituted for the Phos Hilaron in Evening Prayer. In Anglican prayer beads, the invitatory bead is next to the cross, most often corresponding to the opening versicle of Evening Prayer.

Footnotes

References

{{Liturgical hours in the Catholic Church Liturgy of the Hours Psalms