Our Lady of Loreto

Prayer for the Morning

The Lord fulfills his promises:

let us place all our hope in him.

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

I’ll sing a hymn to Mary

The Mother of my God,

The Virgin of all virgins,

Of David’s Royal blood.

O teach me, holy Mary,

A loving song to frame,

When wicked men blaspheme thee,

To love and bless thy name.

O Lily of the Valley,

O mystic Rose what tree

Or flower, e’en the fairest,

Is half so fair as thee?

O let me, though so lowly,

Recite my Mother’s fame:

When wicked men blaspheme thee,

I’ll love and bless thy name.

O noble Tower of David,

Of gold and ivory,

The Ark of God’s Own promise,

The Gate of Heaven to me;

To live, and not to love thee,

Would fill my soul with shame:

When wicked men blaspheme thee,

I’ll love and bless thy name.

When troubles dark afflict me,

In sorrow and in care,

Thy light doth ever guide me,

O beauteous Morning Star.

So I’ll be ever ready

Thy goodly help to claim,

When wicked men blaspheme thee,

I’ll love and bless thy name.

PSALM 84:2-6, 11

I am going to prepare a place for you. (John 14:2)

“Since the Middle Ages veneration for the Holy House of Loreto has been the origin of that particular shrine which still today is visited by many faithful pilgrims in order to nourish their faith in the Word of God made flesh for us. This shrine recalls the mystery of the Incarnation, leading all those who visit it to consider ‘the fullness of time,’ when God sent his Son, born of a woman.” (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments)

How lovely is your dwelling place,

Lord, God of hosts.

My soul is longing and yearning,

is yearning for the courts of the Lord.

My heart and my soul ring out their joy

to God, the living God.

The sparrow herself finds a home

and the swallow a nest for her brood;

she lays her young by your altars,

Lord of hosts, my king and my God.

They are happy, who dwell in your house,

for ever singing your praise.

They are happy, whose strength is in you,

in whose hearts are the roads to Zion.

One day within your courts

is better than a thousand elsewhere.

The threshold of the house of God

I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.

Glory to the Father…

Word of God (Luke 2:51–52)

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

Pray for us, O holy Mother of God:

that we may be made worthy

of the promises of Christ.

Canticle of Zechariah

The virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall call him Immanuel (Is 7:14)

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 rely with great confidence on the intercession of the Mother of God:

R/Mother of fair love, help your children!

Mother of Christ, pray for all who seek to follow your Son,

– that they may be united with him for all eternity. R/

Mother of the Church, pray for all members of your Son’s Mystical Body,

– that they may be always united in charity and truth. R/

Mother of Divine Grace, pray for poor sinners,

– that the divine assistance may lead them to true sanctity. R/

Personal intentions

Our Father…

Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, that we, your servants, may enjoy perpetual health of mind and body; and by the intercession of the Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow, and obtain eternal joy. Through Christ our Lord.

Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

Prayer for the Morning

Arise and greet the Lord with joy!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

HYMN

O Savior, rend the heavens wide

And once again this Advent-tide

Unbar the portals, Lord, we pray,

That hold thee back from man today.

Drop dew, you heavens, from above:

As dew, O Savior, is your love.

O rainclouds, break and rain the Just,

The King who rules o’er Jacob’s house.

Awake, O earth, break forth in spring!

To crown this great awakening,

Bloom once again, O Flower divine

And brightest Son of Jesse’s line.

O shining Sun, O lovely Star,

May we behold thee from afar!

O Sun, arise! Without your light,

We shall remain in darkest night.

PSALM 119:25-32

I will refresh the weary soul; every soul that languishes I will replenish. (Jer 31:25)

Christ comes in the vigor of new life. The Good News of his coming gives heart to those who have grown weary under life’s burdens and reinvigorates those who have lost a sense of Gospel joy. Let us welcome him with renewed enthusiasm for his presence in our midst, and run with delight in his footsteps.

My soul lies in the dust;

by your word revive me.

I declared my ways and you answered:

teach me your statutes.

Make me grasp the way of your precepts

and I will muse on your wonders.

My soul pines away with grief;

by your word raise me up.

Keep me from the way of error

and teach me your law.

I have chosen the way of truth

with your decrees before me.

I bind myself to do your will;

Lord, do not disappoint me.

I will run the way of your commands;

you give freedom to my heart.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Hebrews 12:3)

Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

You have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary. (Rv 2:3)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Lift up your voices to glorify the Lord,/ though he is still beyond your power to praise;/ Extol him with renewed strength,/ and weary not, though you cannot reach the end. (Sir 43:31-32)

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

Christ comes! Let us pray:

R/Renew us in your love.

When we grow weary and discouraged: R/

When we grow slothful in living the Gospel: R/

When we grow sad amid life’s troubles: R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

God of power and life, you sent your Son to renew us in the joy of the Resurrection. Pour forth upon us once again the Spirit of your love, and grant us strength to live the Gospel with energy and enthusiasm, that we may bear true witness to the abundance of the life you give, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Patronal Feastday of the United States of America

Prayer for the Morning

As we rejoice in the Immaculate Conception

of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us give God

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

Holy light on earth’s horizon,

Star of hope to those who fall,

Light amid a world of shadows,

Dawn of God’s design for all,

Chosen from eternal ages,

You alone of all our race,

By your Son’s atoning merits

Were conceived in perfect grace.

Hail, beloved of the Father,

Mother of his only Son,

Mystic bride of Love eternal,

Hail, O fair and spotless one!

CANTICLE OF ISAIAH 61:10; 62:2-3, 4b-5

You are all-beautiful, my beloved,/ and there is no blemish in you. (Sg 4:7)

The Virgin Mary, chosen Mother of the Redeemer, is robed in the splendor of her stainless innocence, clothed with the beauty of Christ, and prepared to receive him in her womb.

I rejoice heartily in the Lord,

in my God is the joy of my soul;

for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation,

and wrapped me in a mantle of justice,

like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,

like a bride bedecked with her jewels.

Nations shall behold your vindication,

and all kings your glory;

you shall be called by a new name

pronounced by the mouth of the Lord.

You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the Lord,

a royal diadem held by your God.

You shall be called “My Delight,”

and your land “Espoused.”

For the Lord delights in you,

and makes your land his spouse.

As a young man marries a virgin,

your Builder shall marry you;

and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride

so shall your God rejoice in you.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Judith 13:17-18)

“Blessed are you, our God, who today have brought to nought the enemies of your people.”… “Blessed are you, daughter, by the Most High God, above all the women on earth; and blessed be the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth.”

O Virgin Mary, you are all-beautiful!

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH 

This day a shoot came forth from the root of Jesse; this day Mary was conceived without any stain of sin; this day she crushed the head of the serpent. (Traditional Antiphon)

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

With joy in our hearts, let us pray through the intercession of the chosen Mother of God:

R/Lord, hear your Mother’s prayer!

Mary, conceived without sin, pray for all sinners,

– that we may be made holy by the Birth, Death, and ­Resurrection of your Son. R/

Mother most pure, pray for all those in need of purity of heart,

– that we may will always what God wills. R/

Mother of divine grace, pray for all those who seek God,

– that we may find him in the approaching celebration of Christmas. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O God, you preserved the Virgin from all stain of sin through the redemptive death of your Son, and thus you made of her a worthy dwelling place for him. Through her intercession, free us from all sin, that we may celebrate with hearts made pure the mystery of his birth, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer for the Morning

The Lord has made known his salvation:

come, let us adore!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

HYMN

Behold a broken world, we pray,

Where want and war increase,

And grant us, Lord, in this our day,

The ancient dream of peace:

A dream of swords to sickles bent,

Of spears to scythe and spade,

The weapons of our warfare spent,

A world of peace remade.

O Prince of peace, who died to save,

A lost world to redeem,

And rose in triumph from the grave,

Behold our waking dream.

Bring, Lord, your better world to birth,

Your kingdom, love’s domain;

Where peace with God, and peace on earth,

And peace eternal reign.

PSALM 98

He who obeys me dwells in security,/ in peace, without fear of harm. (Prv 1:33)

What is so new about the promised “mountain of the Lord” is not that the wolf and the lamb are both there, but that the wolf remains a wolf and the lamb a lamb, and yet they dwell together without harm or hurt in God’s Kingdom. Under God’s rule, conversion and obedience do not mean the loss of identity but the discovery of our true identity as one in Christ.

Sing a new song to the Lord

for he has worked wonders.

His right hand and his holy arm

have brought salvation.

The Lord has made known his salvation;

has shown his justice to the nations.

He has remembered his truth and love

for the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

the salvation of our God.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,

ring out your joy.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp

with the sound of music.

With trumpets and the sound of the horn

acclaim the King, the Lord.

Let the sea and all within it thunder;

the world, and all its peoples.

Let the rivers clap their hands

and the hills ring out their joy.

Rejoice at the presence of the Lord,

for he comes to rule the earth.

He will rule the world with justice

and the peoples with fairness.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Isaiah 65:25)

The wolf and the lamb shall graze alike,/ and the lion shall eat hay like the ox/ [but the serpent’s food shall be dust]./ None shall hurt or destroy/ on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

May the Lord bless you, holy mountain,

abode of justice! (Jer 31:23)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

The Lord shall shelter them with his right hand,/ and protect them with his arm. (cf. Wis 5:16)

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 we await with joy the One who will rule the world with justice, let us pray:

R/Come and rule over us, Prince of Peace!

You bring the spirit of wisdom and understanding:

– build bridges of understanding among those who ­differ. R/

You bring the spirit of counsel and strength:

– guide the strong to assist the weak. R/

You bring the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord:

– enlighten us with true knowledge of you during this holy season. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

God our Father, you have promised us peace in the kingdom won for us by your Son. Carve in our hearts a place of peace where all may be invited to dwell in your love, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.