Prayer for the Morning (Thursday, January 6)

Saint André Bessette

Prayer for the Morning

Our God is love: 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

I will exalt you, God, my King,

For ever praise, for ever sing

All glory to your treasured name:

All praise, all love our hearts proclaim!

Believers trust and pray and prove

The glories of your mighty love:

Our streets shall sing, our cities bloom,

Your everlasting kingdom come!

As generations take their turn

And saints in each your glory learn,

Your name be praised, and praised again,

And praised forevermore. Amen!

Psalm 119:97-104

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. (Jn 14:15)

If we love God, if we believe in Jesus Christ, if we trust in the glory revealed in the mystery of Christmas and Epiphany, then we in turn must love one another, so that our daily lives continue to manifest God in our day.

Lord, how I love your law!

It is ever in my mind.

Your command makes me wiser than my foes;

for it is mine for ever.

I have more insight than all who teach me

for I ponder your will.

I have more understanding than the old

for I keep your precepts.

I turn my feet from evil paths

to obey your word.

I have not turned from your decrees;

you yourself have taught me.

Your promise is sweeter to my taste

than honey in the mouth.

I gain understanding from your precepts;

I hate the ways of falsehood.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God. Leviticus 19:17-18

You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. Though you may have to reprove your fellow man, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

Love does no evil to the neighbor;

hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. (Rom 13:10)

Canticle of Zechariah

I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. (Jn 13:34)

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 love for the God who has so loved us, we pray:

R/Teach us your ways, O Lord!

You made us in your image:

– reveal your love to the world through our love for one another. R/

You showed the depth of your love in the mystery of the cross:

– grant us the wisdom to seek forgiveness rather than vengeance. R/

You taught us that all peoples are neighbors:

– remove all the false boundaries that set limits to our love. R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

God of love, you created your Church to be the sacrament of unity for a divided world. Gather us together in the communion of love by the power of your Holy Spirit, so that our love for one another may flame out as a vibrant light in every human darkness, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.