Prayer for the Morning (Thursday, November 11)
Prayer for the Morning
To God let us sing a new song,
for he is our stronghold, our savior!
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
Hymn
O Jesus sent to bring good news
To poor and broken hearts to bind,
We praise you that in every age
You bring forth shepherds great and kind.
Saint Martin, once a soldier brave,
Became a soldier of your cross,
Renouncing force, embracing peace,
Rejecting wealth as useless dross.
As bishop, Martin taught the Faith
With constancy and gentle zeal,
And in the way, he led his flock,
Proved to the world God’s grace was real.
Concern for lowly, helpless folk
Was in the forefront of the task;
“What’s done to least is done to me!”
The poor we help are Christ in mask.
Psalm 144:1-2, 7-9
The weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. (2 Cor 10:4)
Saint Martin translated his long military career into a campaign of spiritual warfare against the paganism and the temptations to worldly wealth that threatened the people of the Church he served as monk and as bishop.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock
who trains my arms for battle,
who prepares my hands for war.
He is my love, my fortress;
he is my stronghold, my savior,
my shield, my place of refuge.
He brings peoples under my rule.
Reach down from heaven and save me;
draw me out from the mighty waters,
from the hands of alien foes
whose mouths are filled with lies,
whose hands are raised in perjury.
To you, O God, will I sing a new song;
I will play on the ten-stringed harp.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God. Ephesians 6:12-13
Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. (Eph 6:16)
Canticle of Zechariah
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…
Stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. (Eph 6:14-15)
Intercessions
Jesus Christ has overcome all evil. Through the intercession of Saint Martin, we pray:
R/Save your people, Lord.
In Saint Martin, you defeated the tempter in the desert:
– defeat in us the subtle forces of temptation. R/
In Saint Martin, you contradicted falsehood with truth:
– protect us from all inner and outward deceit. R/
In Saint Martin, you taught love for the true treasures of heaven:
– keep us from attachment to material goods. R/
In Saint Martin, you exchanged military weapons for the weapons of the Gospel:
– in all those who have died in military service, exchange suffering and death for life. R/
Personal intentions
Our Father….
O God, you inspired Saint Martin with zeal for the Gospel lived and preached on behalf of his people. By his example of self-denying charity toward all in need, keep your Church and all our pastors alive with love for your word lived and proclaimed, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11)
Catholic Morning Offering Prayer
