Prayer for the Morning (Sunday, October 31)
Prayer for the Morning
How many are the wonders God has worked for us!
Let us give thanks and praise!
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
Hymn
Once, only once, and once for all,
His precious life he gave;
Before the Cross, our spirits fall,
And own it strong to save.
For, as the priest of Aaron’s line
Within the holiest stood,
And sprinkled all the mercy-shrine
With sacrificial blood;
So he, who once atonement wrought,
Our priest of endless power,
Presents himself for those he bought
In that dark noontide hour.
And so we show thy death, O Lord,
Till thou again appear,
And feel, when we approach thy board,
We have an altar here.
Canticle (cf. Daniel 3:26-27, 29, 34, 39-41)
To love God with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. (cf. Mk 12:33)
The one true sacrifice that wins our salvation is the absolute self-offering in the love of Jesus Christ on the cross. The fruit of that sacrifice in us is the holiness of love. To be holy is to participate in, reflect, and offer to all the unimaginable love that Christ has shown for the Father and for us. Our self-offering in love to the God we worship and the neighbor we serve is our true sacrifice.
Blessed are you, and praiseworthy,
O Lord, the God of our fathers,
and glorious forever is your name.
For you are just in all you have done;
all your deeds are faultless, all your ways right,
and all your judgments proper.
For we have sinned and transgressed
by departing from you,
and we have done every kind of evil.
For your name’s sake, do not deliver us up forever,
or make void your covenant.
But with a contrite heart and humble spirit
let us be received;
as though it were holocausts of rams and bullocks,
or thousands of fat lambs,
let our sacrifice be in your presence today
as we follow you unreservedly;
for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame.
And now we follow you with our whole heart,
we fear you and we pray to you.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Romans 12:1-2)
I urge you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Pt 2:5)
Canticle of Zechariah
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,/ and knowledge of God rather than holocausts. (Hos 6:6)
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 offer to God the sweet-smelling incense of prayer, as we say:
R/Hear us, O Lord!
For those who have been sealed in upon themselves by ill-treatment, loss, and pain:
– free them for love, we pray: R/
For those who find themselves unable to offer you worship:
– free them to rejoin the Sunday assembly of your people, we pray: R/
For those who have given their lives freely in service of others:
– bring them to the everlasting joy of your kingdom, we pray: R/
Personal intentions
Our Father….
God and giver of all good gifts, we give you thanks for the saving love you have shown us in the self-gift of Jesus Christ on the cross which we celebrate with joy on this holy day. Through our Sunday worship, grant us the grace to grow in this love, that we may serve more faithfully throughout the coming week, through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
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Prayer for the Morning (October 30)
Powerful morning prayers you need to get your day started with God
