Saint Sharbel Makhlūf

Prayer for the Morning

God is in our midst, a mighty savior:

come, let us adore!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

HYMN

All who seek to know and serve God,

See the past and understand:

None who hoped were disappointed;

Rich the blessings from God’s hand!

None who waited were forsaken;

None who trusted were deceived.

All who asked his gracious pardon,

Gentle mercy have received.

If our God does not condemn us,

Who against us then will stand?

Will the Lord who died for sinners,

Who is now at God’s right hand?

What could take us from Christ Jesus?

Neither hunger, sword, nor pain!

Neither life nor death shall part us

From the Lamb for us once slain.

PSALM 39:9-14

At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. (Heb 12:11)

Our sins can weigh us down with discouragement. Saint Ignatius of Loyola tells us that discouragement is never from God because it clouds faith and hope. God’s love does not deal in punishment as human vengeance does. God’s love disciplines us in order to free and purify us—sometimes a painful process—so that we may not die but live in Christ.

Set me free from all my sins,

do not make me the taunt of the fool.

I was silent, not opening my lips,

because this was all your doing.

Take away your scourge from me.

I am crushed by the blows of your hand.

You punish man’s sins and correct him;

like the moth you devour all he treasures.

Mortal man is no more than a breath;

O Lord, hear my prayer.

O Lord, turn your ear to my cry.

Do not be deaf to my tears.

In your house I am a passing guest,

a pilgrim, like all my fathers.

Look away that I may breathe again

before I depart to be no more.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Zephaniah 3:16-18)

On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:/ Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!/ The Lord, your God, is in your midst,/ a mighty savior;/ He will rejoice over you with gladness,/ and renew you in his love,/ He will sing joyfully because of you,/ as one sings at festivals./ I will remove disaster from among you,/ so that none may recount your disgrace.

Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid. (Mt 14:27)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

My soul, give thanks to the Lord,/ all my being, bless his holy name. (Ps 103:1)

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

Mindful of God’s saving love for us, we pray:

R/Have mercy on your people, Lord.

You are the potter and we the clay:

– shape us in your image according to your will. R/

You are the shepherd and we the flock:

– seek out those who have strayed from your ways. R/

You are the host and we the guests at your table:

– feed the hungry of spirit with the bread of your loving forgiveness. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

God of mercy and compassion, you brought about the salvation of the world through the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Have mercy on us when we fail to live the new life you have given us; raise us up when our sinfulness sinks us into discouragement; grant us courage to renew our desire to live according to your will, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for the Evening

Let us bless the Lord

in the communion of the saints!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

HYMN

For your dear saints, O Lord,

Who strove in you to live,

Who followed you, obeyed, adored,

Our grateful hymn receive.

They all, in life or death,

With you, their Lord, in view,

Learned from your Holy Spirit’s breath

To suffer and to do.

For this, your name we bless,

And humbly pray that we

May follow them in holiness,

And live eternally.

PSALM 26

May my thoughts be pleasing to him. (Ps 104:34)

Most of us would feel like the hypocrites and liars of the third stanza if we were to pray this psalm on our own merits, but Christ prays the psalms in and with us, his body, as he works to bring us to full maturity in him, together with all his saints, known and unknown. Let us strive to take our place with them, relying on their prayers as we journey toward their great assembly.

Give judgment for me, O Lord:

for I walk the path of perfection.

I trust in the Lord; I have not wavered.

Examine me, Lord, and try me;

O test my heart and my mind,

for your love is before my eyes

and I walk according to your truth.

I never take my place with liars

and with hypocrites I shall not go.

I hate the evil-doer’s company:

I will not take my place with the wicked.

To prove my innocence I wash my hands

and take my place around your altar,

singing a song of thanksgiving,

proclaiming all your wonders.

O Lord, I love the house where you dwell,

the place where your glory abides.

Do not sweep me away with sinners,

nor my life with bloodthirsty men

in whose hands are evil plots,

whose right hands are filled with gold.

As for me, I walk the path of perfection.

Redeem me and show me your mercy.

My foot stands on level ground:

I will bless the Lord in the assembly.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Ephesians 4:7, 12b-13)

Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift…for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

In him we live and move and have our being.

(Acts 17:28)

CANTICLE OF MARY

Since we have God’s promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God. (cf. 2 Cor 7:1)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

The Lord has chosen us to be holy and blameless in his sight. Let us pray:

R/Abide with us, O Lord!

Make us walk according to your truth, O Lord: R/

Let us not go with hypocrites, O Lord: R/

Keep us from the company of evildoers, O Lord: R/

Redeem us and show us your mercy, O Lord: R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

May grace and peace from God our Father descend upon all the faithful who desire to be holy. Amen.

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Antiphon for the Memorial of

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16,

from the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

Your head is like Carmel,

and the hairs of your head,

bound in tresses,

even as royal purple, alleluia.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Prayer for the Evening

God gives bread to the hungry:

let us give him 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

The living Light of heaven

Has come to human birth

And makes of us his leaven

To raise the fallen earth.

The saints who saw his glory

And touched him with their hands

Have taught to us the story

And in their faith we stand.

The coming of the Savior

Has filled the world with grace

To guide our life’s behavior

And benefit our race.

Rejecting all temptation,

And clinging to the good,

We live in his salvation

With witness sealed in blood.

PSALM 40:2-5a, 7-8a

See, I am doing something new! (Is 43:19a)

The yeast of justice, joy, mercy, and grace leavens the dough of human inertia, transforming us, in Christ, into living bread that will feed a hungry world with righteousness, freedom, and care. Let us abandon the old yeast of sin and selfishness so that God’s lively presence can work in us.

I waited, I waited for the Lord

and he stooped down to me;

he heard my cry.

He drew me from the deadly pit,

from the miry clay.

He set my feet upon a rock

and made my footsteps firm.

He put a new song into my mouth,

praise of our God.

Many shall see and fear

and shall trust in the Lord.

Happy the man who has placed

his trust in the Lord!

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings,

but an open ear.

You do not ask for holocaust and victim.

Instead, here am I.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (1 Corinthians 5:6-8)

Your boasting is not appropriate. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough? Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough, inasmuch as you are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Whoever is in Christ is a new creation:

the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Cor 5:17)

CANTICLE OF MARY

Share your bread with the hungry. (cf. Is 58:7)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

As people made new in Christ, let us pray:

R/Our hope is in you, O Lord!

For the hungry of the world:

– that Christian believers may seek ways to feed them in their need. R/

For those who are trapped in old habits of sin:

– that they may be freed to live the new life of the

Gospel. R/

For those who have died:

– that they may know the fullness of new life in

Christ. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, descend upon us and remain with us for ever. Amen.

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Antiphon for the Memorial of

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16,

from the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

Your head is like Carmel,

and the hairs of your head,

bound in tresses,

even as royal purple, alleluia.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Prayer for the Evening

Vigil of the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

God is Lord of the harvest:

let us pray to him, that our lives may bear his fruit.

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

HYMN

All the world is God’s own field,

Fruit unto his praise to yield;

Wheat and tares together sown

Unto joy or sorrow grown.

First the blade and then the ear,

Then the full corn shall appear;

Lord of harvest, grant that we

Wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,

And shall take his harvest home;

From his field shall in that day

All offenses purge away,

Giving angels charge at last

In the fire the tares to cast;

But the fruitful ears to store

In his garner evermore.

PSALM 37:1-4, 7-9

While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. (Mt 13:25)

The parable of the weeds and the wheat captures the tangled ambiguities of the human heart. The word translated as “weeds” actually refers specifically to darnel, also called “false wheat.” Darnel, poisonous to human beings, is easily mistaken for true wheat until the ear, the fruit, appears. Jesus counsels patience: the true will be sorted from the false when the time comes, even within our own souls.

Do not fret because of the wicked;

do not envy those who do evil:

for they wither quickly like grass

and fade like the green of the fields.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,

then you will live in the land and be secure.

If you find your delight in the Lord,

he will grant your heart’s desire.

Be still before the Lord and wait in patience;

do not fret at the man who prospers;

a man who makes evil plots

to bring down the needy and the poor.

Calm your anger and forget your rage;

do not fret, it only leads to evil.

For those who do evil shall perish;

the patient shall inherit the land.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Matthew 7:16-20)

By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.

Every tree is known by its own fruit. (Lk 6:44)

CANTICLE OF MARY

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another through love. (cf. Eph 4:2)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS

We all experience the tangled growth of the good and the evil, the true and the false within our own hearts. Let us pray for the gifts of protection and discernment:

R/We trust in you, O Lord.

When we are tempted by harmful choices offered to us under a false guise of good,

– protect and guide us, we pray: R/

When we judge one another or ourselves too quickly,

– teach us patience and discernment, we pray: R/

When we fail to bear the good fruit of the word you have sown in us,

– nourish and prune us by the power of your Holy Spirit, we pray: R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May the Lord strengthen our hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen. (cf. 1 Thes 3:13)

MARIAN ANTIPHON

Antiphon for the Memorial of

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16,

from the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite

Your head is like Carmel,

and the hairs of your head,

bound in tresses,

even as royal purple, alleluia.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.