PRAYER FOR THIS EVENING (WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9)

Prayer for the Evening

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

for his love endures for ever!

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

The Spirit sends us forth to serve;

We go in Jesus’ name

To bring glad tidings to the poor,

God’s favor to proclaim.

We go to comfort those who mourn

And set the burdened free;

Where hope is dim, to share a dream

And help the blind to see.

We go to be the hands of Christ,

To scatter joy like seed,

And all our days, to cherish life,

To do the loving deed.

Then let us go to serve in peace,

The Gospel to proclaim.

God’s Spirit has empowered us;

We go in Jesus’ name.

PSALM 107:1, 10-16

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives,/ to let the oppressed go free. (cf. Lk 4:18)

As Saint Peter knew, the paradox of the Gospel is that we are set free from the chains of our own making by choosing to yoke ourselves to Christ, who bursts our bonds by his own Death and Resurrection.

“O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

for his love endures for ever.”

Some lay in darkness and in gloom,

prisoners in misery and chains,

having defied the words of God

and spurned the counsels of the Most High.

He crushed their spirit with toil;

they stumbled; there was no one to help.

Then they cried to the Lord in their need

and he rescued them from their distress.

He led them forth from darkness and gloom

and broke their chains to pieces.

Let them thank the Lord for his goodness,

for the wonders he does for men:

for he bursts the gates of bronze

and shatters the iron bars.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Isaiah 58:6-7)

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:/ releasing those bound unjustly,/ untying the thongs of the yoke;/ Setting free the oppressed,/ breaking every yoke;/ Sharing your bread with the hungry,/ sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;/ Clothing the naked when you see them,/ and not turning your back on your own.

For freedom Christ set us free.

(Gal 5:1)

CANTICLE OF MARY 

Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. (Mt 25:40)

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father…

INTERCESSIONS 

Jesus Christ is the true liberator. To him we pray:

R/Free your people, Lord.

For those who are unjustly bound, we pray: R/

For those who are oppressed, we pray: R/

For those who are trapped in homelessness, hunger, cold, and nakedness, we pray: R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, so that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. (cf. Rom 15:13)

MARIAN ANTIPHON 

Antiphon for the Feast of the Nativity

of the Blessed Virgin Mary,

8 September

With joy let us celebrate the nativity of blessed Mary,

that she may intercede for us

before the Lord Jesus Christ.

Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;

vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.

Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.

Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes

in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia ergo, advocata nostra,

illos tuos misericordes oculos

ad nos converte.

Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,

nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.

Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,

our life, our sweetness, and our hope.

To you do we cry,

poor banished children of Eve.

To you do we send up our sighs,

mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.

Turn then, O most gracious advocate,

your eyes of mercy toward us,

and after this our exile

show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

V/ Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,

R/ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.