Prayer for the Morning (November 22)

Saint Cecilia

Prayer for the Morning

God will never forsake those who seek him:

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

Let the deep organ swell the lay

In honor of this festive day;

Let the harmonious choirs proclaim

Cecilia’s ever blessed name.

Rome gave the virgin martyr birth,

Whose holy name has filled the earth;

And from the early dawn of youth,

She fixed her heart on God and truth.

Then from the world’s bewildering strife,

In peace, she spent her holy life—

Teaching the organ to combine

With voice, to praise the Lord divine.

Cecilia, with a twofold crown

Adorned in heav’n, we pray look down

Upon thy fervent votaries here,

And hearken to their humble prayer.

PSALM 9:2-11

Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me. (Ps 13:7)

A line from the 15th-century story of Saint Cecilia explains how she became the Western patron of music. Faced with a forced ­marriage, despite her desire to dedicate her virginity to Christ, “she sang in her heart only to God” for protection—and received it. This early Christian martyr’s song of faith has certainly outlived the ­military and political power of her Roman oppressors.

I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;

[I will] recount all your wonders.

I will rejoice in you and be glad,

and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.

See how my enemies turn back,

how they stumble and perish before you.

You upheld the justice of my cause;

[you] sat enthroned, judging with justice.

You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked;

[you] have wiped out their name for ever and ever.

The foe is destroyed, eternally ruined.

You uprooted their cities; their memory has perished.

But the Lord sits enthroned for ever.

He has set up his throne for judgment;

[he] will judge the world with justice,

he will judge the people with his truth.

For the oppressed let the Lord be a stronghold,

a stronghold in times of distress.

Those who know your name will trust you:

you will never forsake those who seek you.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God. Isaiah 38:18-20

It is not the nether world that gives you thanks,/ nor death that praises you;/ Neither do those who go down into the pit/ await your kindness./ The living, the living give you thanks,/ as I do today./… The Lord is our savior;/ we shall sing to stringed instruments/ In the house of the Lord/ all the days of our life.

Sing to the Lord,/ praise the Lord,/ For he has rescued the life of the poor/ from the power of the wicked! (Jer 20:13)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Hear, O kings! Give ear, O princes!/ I to the Lord will sing my song,/ my hymn to the Lord, the God of Israel. (Jgs 5:3)

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

Through the intercession of Saint Cecilia, let us pray:

R/Be a stronghold, O Lord!

For those who are depressed by the burden of their ­suffering:

– grant them the faith that enabled Saint Cecilia to sing the song of faith in her heart. R/

For those who have lost the gift of joy in the daily round of life:

– grant them gladness of heart. R/

For those who serve the Church at worship through the medium of music:

– grant them rejoicing. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O Lord, you inspired Saint Cecilia with a courageous trust in your power to prevail over impossible circumstances. Fill your people with her song of faith, that our lives may proclaim your goodness for ever, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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