PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (WEDNESDAY, JULY 1)

Prayer for the Morning

God sends workers into the harvest fields of faith:

let us give thanks and praise!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,

and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,

is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HYMN

O raise your voices, wake the world.

And let your song of praise be heard.

For both in town and desert waste

God’s glory finds a dwelling place.

This servant heard within his heart

A call to leave his family hearth.

He heard, he answered, left his home

And gave away the goods he owned.

He gave his life to hear God’s word

And then proclaim it to the world.

He listened, fasted, suffered, prayed

And stood in darkness undismayed.

O praise the Father, wake the world!

And let the Son’s own praise be heard!

And praise in town or desert waste

The Spirit glorified in grace.

PSALM 96:1-5a, 10, 13b

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain. (Jn 15:16)

Saint Junípero Serra did not set out to become a missionary; he heard God’s call through the ordinary words of his brothers and sisters, and he answered it willingly. His tireless labor for the salvation and the needs of the people entrusted to his care earned him the nickname “Apostle of California.”

O sing a new song to the Lord,

sing to the Lord, all the earth.

O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

Proclaim his help day by day,

tell among the nations his glory

and his wonders among all the peoples.

The Lord is great and worthy of praise,

to be feared above all gods;

the gods of the heathens are naught.

Proclaim to the nations: “God is king.”

The world he made firm in its place;

he will judge the peoples in fairness.

With justice he will rule the world,

he will judge the peoples with his truth.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Colossians 1:27b-29)

It is Christ in you, the hope for glory. It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone ­perfect in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power working within me.

This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is

at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.

(Mk 1:15)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

We do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. (2 Cor 4:5)

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight

all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet

of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

The Lord is faithful to his promise of salvation. With Saint Junípero, we pray:

R/Fill the earth with your love.

For all those you have called to preach and teach your word:

– sustain them in courage and zeal. R/

For all those you have called to labor through physical illness:

– sustain them in patience and hope. R/

For all those struggling to forgive those who have harmed their loved ones:

– sustain them in love and humility. R/

For the Church in the United States, to whom you sent Saint Junípero:

– sustain them in holiness, justice, and peace. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

God our Father, who sent Junípero Serra to the New World as the herald of your Gospel, through his intercession may we bear the light of your Gospel to ­others throughout our everyday lives. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.