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Prayer for the Evening (Tuesday, January 11)

Prayer for the Evening

Let our prayer arise before God like incense,

the raising of our hands in prayer

like the evening sacrifice!

 

Glory to the Father…. Amen. Alleluia!

 

Hymn

 

As the darkness draweth nigh,

Daylight fadeth from the sky:

Father, unto thee we call,

Thou who rulest over all.

Light that cannot know decline,

Come within our souls to shine!

 

All our hearts to thee are known;

Come, possess them as thine own.

Thou alone these hearts can fill,

And their deepest yearning still.

Love that never groweth old,

In thy love our lives enfold!

 

May the virtue of our lives

Unto thee as incense rise,

When each joy and pain shall be

Joined with Paschal Mystery.

May our gift to thee arise

As an evening sacrifice.

 

Psalm 141:1-5a, 8

 

May the spoken words of my mouth,/ the thoughts of my heart,/ win favor in your sight, O Lord. (Ps 19:15)

We can use our treasured capacity for speech to offer prayer, as ­fragrant as incense before God, or to offer hurt to another.

 

I have called to you, Lord; hasten to help me!

Hear my voice when I cry to you.

Let my prayer arise before you like incense,

the raising of my hands like an evening oblation.

 

Set, O Lord, a guard over my mouth;

keep watch at the door of my lips!

Do not turn my heart to things that are wrong,

to evil deeds with men who are sinners.

 

Never allow me to share in their feasting.

If a good man strikes or reproves me it is kindness;

but let the oil of the wicked not anoint my head.

 

To you, Lord God, my eyes are turned:

in you I take refuge; spare my soul!

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Revelation 8:3-4

 

Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel.

Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled

with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.

(Rv 5:8)

 

Canticle of Mary

 

Live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma. (Eph 5:2)

 

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

 

Our love for God and neighbor is the fire in which the incense of our worship burns sweetly. Let us pray:

R/Receive our prayer, O Lord.

You have called your people to pray always:

– may we grow in awareness that every thought, word, and deed lies open to you. R/

You receive all our offerings in love:

– may we offer them more and more faithfully in
love. R/

You have promised us the gift of your Holy Spirit:

– may the fire of divine charity burn in our hearts and in our prayer. R/

You desire to bring all people into your glory:

– receive the souls of those who have died. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May grace, mercy, and peace be with us from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. (cf. 2 Tm 1:2)

 

Marian Antiphon

 

Blessed Mother of God, Mary, perpetual Virgin,

temple of the Lord, shrine of the Holy Spirit,

you alone without compare were pleasing

to the Lord Jesus Christ;

pray for the people, intervene for the clergy;

intercede for devout women.

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer,

gate of heaven, star of the sea,

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.

To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,

yet remained a virgin after as before.

You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,

have pity on us, poor sinners.

 

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

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

 

Salve Regina

 

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.

 

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Prayer for the Morning (Tuesday, January 11)

Prayer for the Morning

Glorious is God’s name over all the earth:

come, let us sing praise!

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

Hymn

 

Love divine, all loves excelling,

Joy of heaven to earth come down;

Fix in us thy humble dwelling;

All thy faithful mercies crown!

Jesus, thou art all compassion,

Pure unbounded love thou art;

Visit us with thy salvation;

Enter every trembling heart.

 

Finish, then, thy new creation;

Pure and spotless let us be.

Let us see thy great salvation

Perfectly restored in thee;

Changed from glory into glory,

Till in heaven we take our place,

Till we cast our crowns before thee,

Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

 

Psalm 8

 

Unless you become like little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of God. (cf. Mt 18:3)

Only the childlike retain the child’s gift of wonder. Wondering, we forget ourselves entirely, lost in what has provoked our awe. Wonder is the wellspring of praise. We have reason for our praise: we are God’s children, made in his image.

 

How great is your name, O Lord our God,

through all the earth!

 

Your majesty is praised above the heavens;

on the lips of children and of babes

you have found praise to foil your enemy,

to silence the foe and the rebel.

 

When I see the heavens, the work of your hands,

the moon and the stars which you arranged,

what is man that you should keep him in mind,

mortal man that you care for him?

 

Yet you have made him little less than a god;

with glory and honor you crowned him,

gave him power over the works of your hand,

put all things under his feet.

 

All of them, sheep and cattle,

yes, even the savage beasts,

birds of the air, and fish

that make their way through the waters.

 

How great is your name, O Lord our God,

through all the earth!

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Genesis 1:27-28, 31a

 

God created man in his image;/ in the divine image he created him;/ male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying to them: “Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.” God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good.

What are we that you should care for us? (cf. Ps 8:5)

 

Canticle of Zechariah

 

To which of the angels did God ever say:/ “You are my son; this day I have begotten you”? (Heb 1:5)

 

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

 

Let us praise the God whose mystery fills the universe with wonder:

R/We praise and exalt you above all for ever!

Blessed are you, O Lord our God; you created all things and pronounced them good:

– fill us with respect for the works of your hands. R/

Blessed is your holy and glorious name; you created male and female in your image:

– fill us with respect for our brothers and sisters. R/

Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven; you reign over all creation:

– fill us with reverence for you, who alone are God. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O God, you are over all, in all, beyond all. Open our eyes to see the wonders that surround us; open our hearts to know the wonders of our brothers and sisters; open our lips to sing your praise. Restore all peoples in your image, who is our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

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Prayer for the Evening (Monday, January 10)

Prayer for the Evening

The Lord is just and loves justice:

let us give thanks and praise!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

Hymn

 

We sing for all the unsung saints,

That countless, nameless throng,

Who kept the faith and passed it on

With hope steadfast and strong

Through all the daily griefs and joys

No chronicles record,

Forgetful of their lack of fame,

But mindful of their Lord.

 

So we take heart from unknown saints

Bereft of earthly fame,

Those faithful ones who have received

A more enduring name:

For they reveal true blessing comes

When we our pride efface

And offer back our lives to be

The vessels of God’s grace.

 

Psalm 43

 

I know, O my God, that you put hearts to the test and that you take pleasure in uprightness. (1 Chr 29:17)

Violence often seems to succeed where goodness fails to accomplish much. Yet the power that endures is the power of the Gospel. The world is full of “unsung saints” who achieve no public success but who persevere in living upright lives that accomplish the greatest of goals: to see and dwell with God always.

 

Defend me, O God, and plead my cause

against a godless nation.

From deceitful and cunning men

rescue me, O God.

 

Since you, O God, are my stronghold,

why have you rejected me?

Why do I go mourning

oppressed by the foe?

 

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.

 

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.

 

Why are you cast down, my soul,

why groan within me?

Hope in God; I will praise him still,

my savior and my God.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Jeremiah 9:23

 

Let him who glories, glory in this,/ that in his prudence he knows me,/ Knows that I, the Lord, bring about kindness,/ justice and uprightness on the earth;/ For with such am I pleased, says the Lord.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,/ for they will be satisfied. (Mt 5:6)

 

Canticle of Mary

 

The righteous shall hold to his way,/ and he who has clean hands increase in strength. (Jb 17:9)

 

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

 

God calls us in Christ to worship him in holiness and righteousness all our days.

R/Make us holy, O Lord!

You are the refuge of all who put their trust in you:

– protect the integrity of those who seek to live righteously. R/

You see the depths of our hearts:

– fan into flame our love for kindness, justice, and uprightness. R/

You show us your face in the goodness of those who live the Gospel:

– strengthen us to encourage one another in following your ways. R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever! Amen.

 

Marian Antiphon

 

Blessed Mother of God, Mary, perpetual Virgin,

temple of the Lord, shrine of the Holy Spirit,

you alone without compare were pleasing

to the Lord Jesus Christ;

pray for the people, intervene for the clergy;

intercede for devout women.

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer,

gate of heaven, star of the sea,

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.

To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,

yet remained a virgin after as before.

You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,

have pity on us, poor sinners.

 

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

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

 

Salve Regina

 

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.

 

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Prayer for the Evening (Thursday, January 6)

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Prayer for the Morning (Monday, January 10)

Prayer for the Morning

 

God is the giver of all good gifts:

come, let us adore!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

Hymn

 

Eternal maker of all things,

You govern everything as King:

The sea, the sun, the heav’nly vault,

And pay each one for good or fault.

 

To ruination you condemn

The arrogant and all like them;

They shall receive what is their due,

But help us, Lord, who call on you.

 

With ever-growing confidence

We pray for heavenly defense:

Our champions in armies send,

To us, through them, may grace extend.

 

O may they visit, cleanse, inspire,

And gently teach us to aspire

To noble paths of good and right,

And may they end the demons’ might.

 

O angels’ Glory, safely lead;

By paths secure make us proceed.

Give us these guards, your gifts of grace,

That we may come to see your face.

 

Psalm 4

 

I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then. (Dt 30:19)

Beside the river that watered the garden of Eden, God offered the first couple the choice between obedient love and self-seeking death. The choice remains ours to make each day.

 

When I call, answer me, O God of justice;

from anguish you released me, have mercy and hear me!

 

O men, how long will your hearts be closed,

will you love what is futile and seek what is false?

It is the Lord who grants favors to those whom he loves;

the Lord hears me whenever I call him.

Fear him; do not sin: ponder on your bed and be still

Make justice your sacrifice, and trust in the Lord.

 

“What can bring us happiness?” many say.

Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord.

You have put into my heart a greater joy

than they have from abundance of corn and new wine.

I will lie down in peace and sleep comes at once

for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Sirach 15:14-17

 

When God, in the beginning, created man,/ he made him subject to his own free choice./ If you choose you can keep the commandments;/ it is loyalty to do his will./ There are set before you fire and water;/ to which­ever you choose, stretch forth your hand./ Before man are life and death,/ whichever he chooses shall be given him.

Choose life!

 

Canticle of Zechariah

 

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. (Jn 15:12)

 

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

 

To God, the giver of life, we pray:

R/Teach us to do your will, O Lord.

At home and at work:

– open our eyes to the demands of love. R/

In business and pleasure:

– grant us the wisdom to choose as you would have us choose. R/

In making decisions for the unborn, the aging, the dying:

– strengthen us to choose life. R/

 

(Personal intentions)

 

Our Father….

 

O Lord our God, you have replanted on our earth the garden lost in Eden, and you have sent a new Gardener to till the soil plowed by the wood of the cross. He who is both the farmer and the seed has watered the earth with his life’s blood, shed for our redemption. Make us grow in his likeness by the power of his word dwelling in our hearts. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

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Prayer for the Evening (Sunday, January 9)

Prayer for the Evening

Jesus Christ leads us from death to life:

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

 

See Christ who on the river’s shore

With John the Baptist stood,

His secret in the name he bore:

The holy Lamb of God.

See all his body washed and wet

Baptized in Jordan’s flow,

As here his shame and glory meet,

His pain and triumph show.

 

See, Christ submits himself to John,

The Lord bows to his slave!

See where he stoops, the sinless one,

To share a sinner’s grave!

See him arising from the stream

Where all the past now dies:

From yet a colder tomb he came

And now calls us to rise.

 

Psalm 77:14-21

 

You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Col 2:12)

With Jesus, we have entered the waters of baptism; [with] Jesus, we have left the land of slavery to sin and death; [with] Jesus we have risen as members of the body of the Word made flesh, whose coming we have celebrated during the season of Christmas and Epiphany now drawing to a close. We now have a journey to make: let us follow the holy Lamb of God from death to life!

 

Your ways, O God, are holy.

What god is great as our God?

You are the God who works wonders.

You showed your power among the peoples.

Your strong arm redeemed your people,

the sons of Jacob and Joseph.

 

The waters saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and trembled;

the depths were moved with terror.

The clouds poured down rain,

the skies sent forth their voice;

your arrows flashed to and fro.

 

[Your] thunder rolled round the sky,

your flashes lighted up the world.

The earth was moved and trembled

when your way led through the sea,

your path through the mighty waters

and no one saw your footprints.

 

You guided your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Romans 6:2-4

 

How can we who died to sin yet live in it? Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.

He has been my savior!

(Ex 15:2)

 

Canticle of Mary

 

He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. (Col 1:13)

 

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

 

To the Lord who leads us from death to life, we pray:

R/Our joy is in you!

For the Church born of the waters of baptism:

– inspire us to live the new life you have given us through your Birth, your life among us, your Death, and your Resurrection in glory. R/

For your Church sent out, as you were sent, into the everyday world of Ordinary Time:

– keep us faithful to the gifts of Christmas and Epiphany. R/

For those who face imminent death:

– lead them in hope to the Promised Land of heaven. R/

 

Personal intentions

 

Our Father….

 

May the Lord rescue us from every evil threat and bring us safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (cf. 2 Tm 4:18)

 

Marian Antiphon

 

Blessed Mother of God, Mary, perpetual Virgin,

temple of the Lord, shrine of the Holy Spirit,

you alone without compare were pleasing

to the Lord Jesus Christ;

pray for the people, intervene for the clergy;

intercede for devout women.

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer,

gate of heaven, star of the sea,

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.

To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,

yet remained a virgin after as before.

You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,

have pity on us, poor sinners.

 

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

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

 

Salve Regina

 

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

 

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.

 

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Prayer for the Evening (Saturday, January 8)

Prayer for the Evening

Vigil of the Baptism of the Lord

 

Praised be the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ!

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

Hymn

 

When John baptized by Jordan’s river

In faith and hope the people came,

That John and Jordan might deliver

Their troubled souls from sin and shame.

They came to seek a new beginning,

The human spirit’s ageless quest,

Repentance, and an end of sinning,

Renouncing every wrong confessed.

 

There as the Lord, baptized and praying,

Rose from the stream, the sinless one,

A voice was heard from heaven saying,

“This is my own beloved Son.”

There as the Father’s word was spoken,

Not in the power of wind and flame,

But of his love and peace the token,

Seen as a dove, the Spirit came.

 

O Son of Man, our nature sharing,

In whose obedience all are blest,

Savior, our sins and sorrows bearing,

Hear us and grant us this request:

Daily to grow, by grace defended,

Filled with the Spirit from above;

In Christ baptized, beloved, befriended,

Children of God in peace and love.

 

Canticle. Ephesians 1:3-6

 

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (Rom 8:16)

In Jesus Christ, we are chosen as beloved children in the beloved Son. As we prepare to leave the season of Christmas and Epiphany behind us and resume the life of Ordinary Time, let us pray that we may grow into what God desires for us.

 

Praised be the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

who has bestowed on us in Christ

every spiritual blessing in the heavens.

 

God chose us in him

before the world began

to be holy

and blameless in his sight.

 

He predestined us

to be his adopted sons through Jesus Christ,

such was his will and pleasure,

that all might praise the glorious favor

he has bestowed on us in his beloved.

 

Word of God. Ephesians 1:11-14

 

In [Christ] we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things ­according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Through faith you are all children of God

in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:26)

 

Canticle of Mary

 

So be imitators of God, as beloved children. (Eph 5:1)

 

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

 

With trust in the love the Father has for us, let us pray:

R/Father, hear your children.

You have chosen us to be your adopted sons and ­daughters:

– in Christ, lead us to honor one another as members of one family. R/

You have chosen us to be members of the living Christ:

– in Christ, lead us to live the Gospel he proclaimed. R/

You have chosen us to be the sign of your redemptive love:

– in Christ, lead us to live the love we proclaim. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May Christ dwell in our hearts through faith, and may charity be the root and foundation of our life. Amen. (cf. Eph 3:17)

 

Marian Antiphon

 

Blessed Mother of God, Mary, perpetual Virgin,

temple of the Lord, shrine of the Holy Spirit,

you alone without compare were pleasing

to the Lord Jesus Christ;

pray for the people, intervene for the clergy;

intercede for devout women.

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer,

gate of heaven, star of the sea,

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.

To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,

yet remained a virgin after as before.

You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,

have pity on us, poor sinners.

 

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

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

 

Salve Regina

 

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.

 

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Prayer to Our Lady of “Quick Help” for protection from danger

Our Lady of Prompt Succor has been a powerful intercessor for the people of New Orleans for many years.

The influence of French Catholicism runs deep in New Orleans, and one of the most prominent images honored in the city is that of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, which is commonly translated as “Our Lady of Quick Help.”

According to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, “Since 1727, long before her statue arrived in 1810 and was enshrined in the Ursuline Convent Chapel in the French Quarter, devotion to Notre Dame de Prompt Secours had spread among the Ursuline Sisters, their students and the women and men of New Orleans. Prayers for deliverance from wars, fire, pestilence, disease, storms, despair, and hopelessness were made to Our Lady of Prompt Succor.”

Whenever a crisis occurs in New Orleans, many invoke Our Lady of Prompt Succor for help and protection.

Here is a short prayer is taken from an older novena that invokes her “quick” protecting help.

God, who beholds us encompassed on all sides by dangers and miseries, grant us in your goodness, that the Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, your only Son, may defend us from the malignant enemy, and protect us against all adversity; that she may ever by prompt succor, deliver us from all necessities of soul and body; and by her powerful hand, lead us in safety to the kingdom of heaven: Through Jesus Christ your Son, Amen.

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Our Lady of Prompt Succor

What do you know about Our Lady of Perpetual Help?

In times of trial, Pray to Mary for help of all Christians

 

Prayer for the Morning (Saturday, January 8)

Prayer for the Morning

 

Let us praise Christ, the living tree!

 

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

 

When Christ’s appearing was made known,

King Herod trembled for his throne;

But he who offers heavenly birth

Sought not the kingdom of this earth.

 

The eastern sages saw from far

And followed on his guiding star;

By light their way to Light they trod,

And by their gifts confessed their God.

 

Within the Jordan’s sacred flood

The heavenly Lamb in meekness stood,

That he, to whom no sin was known,

Might cleanse his people from their own.

 

And O what miracle divine,

When water reddened into wine!

He spoke the word, and forth it flowed

In streams that nature ne’er bestowed.

 

All glory, Jesus, be to thee

For this thy glad epiphany:

Whom with the Father we adore

And Holy Ghost forevermore.

 

Psalm 1

 

This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. (1 Jn 5:6)

As we prepare to celebrate the mystery of Christ’s baptism, we remember that the Spirit of God who descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the waters of the Jordan came upon us through the waters of our baptism, cleansing us as the leper was cleansed, and grafting us onto Christ, the living Vine and Tree of Life.

 

Happy indeed is the man

who follows not the counsel of the wicked;

nor lingers in the way of sinners

nor sits in the company of scorners,

but whose delight is the law of the Lord

and who ponders his law day and night.

 

He is like a tree that is planted

beside the flowing waters,

that yields its fruit in due season

and whose leaves shall never fade;

and all that he does shall prosper.

Not so are the wicked, not so!

 

For they like winnowed chaff

shall be driven away by the wind.

When the wicked are judged they shall not stand,

nor find room among those who are just;

for the Lord guards the way of the just

but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Revelation 22:1-2

 

Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.

I am like a growing olive tree/ in the house of God.

(Ps 52:10)

 

Canticle of Zechariah

 

God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (1 Jn 5:11)

 

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

 

As members of Christ we pray:

R/Hear your children, Lord!

You came to win all hearts to serve you:

– make us faithful and loving disciples. R/

You came as the living Vine and Tree of Life:

– make us fruitful branches. R/

You came that we might have life in abundance:

– make us grow ever more deeply into our communion with you. R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

God our Father, you sent your Son to bring light and life to all peoples. Manifest your love, by the power of the Spirit, in your Church throughout the world, that all may come to the source of life through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Prayer for the Evening (Friday, January 7)

Prayer for the Evening

Let us thank the Lord for his love!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

Hymn

 

Immortal love, forever full,

Forever flowing free,

Forever shared, forever whole,

A never ebbing sea!

 

We may not climb the heavenly steeps

To bring the Lord Christ down;

In vain we search the lowest deeps,

For him no depths can drown.

 

The healing of his seamless dress

Is by our beds of pain;

We touch him in life’s throng and press

And we are whole again.

 

Psalm 107:1, 17-22

 

I will heal them, and reveal to them an abundance of lasting peace. (Jer 33:6b)

Even in a season of joy, we are reminded of the cross. The delights of Christmas and Epiphany do not spare us from sickness, suffering, and death. Instead, they illuminate the shadows of our pain with the abiding love of Jesus Christ, revealed in human flesh as our Healer and Savior. Seeking as the Magi sought, we find him not in a splendid palace, isolated from all ills, but in the very midst of the sick, the poor, the suffering, and the dying.

 

“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

for his love endures for ever.”

 

Some were sick on account of their sins

and afflicted on account of their guilt.

They had a loathing for every food;

they came close to the gates of death.

 

Then they cried to the Lord in their need

and he rescued them from their distress.

He sent forth his word to heal them

and saved their life from the grave.

 

Let them thank the Lord for his love,

for the wonders he does for men.

Let them offer a sacrifice of thanks

and tell of his deeds with rejoicing.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Isaiah 57:15, 18

 

On high I dwell, and in holiness,/ and with the crushed and dejected in spirit,/ To revive the spirits of the dejected,/ to revive the hearts of the crushed./ I saw their ways,/ but I will heal them and lead them;/ I will give full comfort/ to them and to those who mourn for them.

If you will to do so, you can cure me.

(cf. Mk 1:40)

 

Canticle of Mary

 

Heal me, Lord, that I may be healed;/ save me, that I may be saved,/ for it is you whom I praise. (Jer 17:14)

 

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

 

God dwells with the crushed and dejected in spirit. For them, let us pray:

R/Lord, hear the cry of the poor.

For those who suffer chronic illness:

– grant them patient endurance. R/

For those who suffer mental or emotional illness:

– grant them peace of mind. R/

For those who suffer terminal illness:

– grant them hope as they approach you. R/

For all who love and care for the sick:

– grant them the reward of your love. R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

May the Lord treat and assuage all wounds, heal us, and reveal to us an abundance of lasting peace. Amen. (cf. Jer 33:6)

 

Marian Antiphon

 

Blessed Mother of God, Mary, perpetual Virgin,

temple of the Lord, shrine of the Holy Spirit,

you alone without compare were pleasing

to the Lord Jesus Christ;

pray for the people, intervene for the clergy;

intercede for devout women.

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer,

gate of heaven, star of the sea,

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.

To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,

yet remained a virgin after as before.

You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,

have pity on us, poor sinners.

 

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

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

 

Salve Regina

 

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 (Thursday, January 6)

Prayer for the Evening

Christ is our help and our salvation:

come, let us adore him!

 

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

 

Hymn

 

Hail, the long-awaited Son!

Lord of all the realm to come.

Deaf and blind and lame are healed,

And God’s Kingdom is revealed.

“Where, O Master, do you stay?”

“Come and see,” we hear him say.

 

Jesus, David’s righteous heir,

King of justice, kind and fair,

Lead your flock to pastures green

By the ever-flowing stream,

There the three-fold Name to praise

Unto everlasting days.

 

Psalm 146:5-10

 

Jesus Christ heals you. (Acts 9:34)

In this season, we celebrate the mystery of God’s Epiphany in Christ, which is not confined to the past but alive in our present. Christ continues to come in our day to all those who are in need of God’s liberating, illuminating, and healing love.

 

He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who alone made heaven and earth,

the seas and all they contain.

 

It is he who keeps faith for ever,

who is just to those who are oppressed.

It is he who gives bread to the hungry,

the Lord, who sets prisoners free,

 

the Lord who gives sight to the blind,

who raises up those who are bowed down,

the Lord, who protects the stranger

and upholds the widow and orphan.

 

It is the Lord who loves the just

but thwarts the path of the wicked.

The Lord will reign for ever,

Zion’s God, from age to age.

 

Glory to the Father….

 

Word of God. Isaiah 58:8-9a

 

Your light shall break forth like the dawn,/ and your wound shall quickly be healed;/ Your vindication shall go before you,/ and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard./ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,/ you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

 

For you who fear my name, there will arise/

the sun of justice with its healing rays.

(Mal 3:20)

 

Canticle of Mary

 

In the sight of all the people, I will reveal my glory. (Lv 10:3)

 

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

 

Trusting in the mercy of God revealed in Jesus Christ, we pray:

R/You keep faith for ever.

For those who turn to you in their need:

– hear and heal them, O Lord. R/

For those blinded by illness, accident, or malice:

– restore light to their eyes and their hearts, O Lord. R/

For those imprisoned in the fear of death:

– free them for eternal life, O Lord. R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

May the Lord be kind and faithful to us. Amen. (cf. 2 Sm 2:6)

 

Marian Antiphon

 

Antiphon for the Saturday Office

of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

Blessed Mother of God, Mary, perpetual Virgin,

temple of the Lord, shrine of the Holy Spirit,

you alone without compare were pleasing

to the Lord Jesus Christ;

pray for the people, intervene for the clergy;

intercede for devout women.

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater

 

Alma Redemptoris Mater, quae pervia caeli

porta manes, et stella maris, succurre cadenti,

surgere qui curat, populo: tu quae genuisti,

natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,

Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore

sumens illud Ave, peccatorum miserere.

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer

 

Loving mother of the Redeemer,

gate of heaven, star of the sea,

assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again.

To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,

yet remained a virgin after as before.

You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,

have pity on us, poor sinners.

 

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

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

 

Salve Regina

 

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.