Prayer for the Morning
Our God is a forgiving God: let us come before him
in humble supplication.
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
With broken heart and contrite sigh,
A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry:
Thy pardoning grace is rich and free:
O God, be merciful to me.
I smite upon my troubled breast,
With deep and conscious guilt oppressed,
Christ and his cross my only plea:
O God, be merciful to me.
Far off I stand with tearful eyes,
Nor dare uplift them to the skies;
But thou dost all my anguish see:
O God, be merciful to me.
Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,
Can for a single sin atone;
To Calvary alone I flee:
O God, be merciful to me.
PSALM 31:10-13, 15, 17
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.” (Lk 15:18)
The story of the prodigal son is the story of each one of us when we choose, foolishly, to cast away the home we have with God for a cold and hungry exile. Let us never hesitate to return and confess our sins, for we will always find the prodigal’s welcome from a Father who loves us more than we can ever imagine.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for I am in distress.
Tears have wasted my eyes,
my throat and my heart.
For my life is spent with sorrow
and my years with sighs.
Affliction has broken down my strength
and my bones waste away.
In the face of all my foes
I am a reproach,
an object of scorn to my neighbors
and of fear to my friends.
Those who see me in the street
run far away from me.
I am like a dead man, forgotten,
like a thing thrown away.
But as for me, I trust in you, Lord,
I say: “You are my God.
Let your face shine on your servant.
Save me in your love.”
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Luke 15:1-2)
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to [Jesus], but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Happy the man whose offense is forgiven,/ whose sin is remitted. (Ps 32:1)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found. (Lk 15:23-24)
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 contrite hearts, let us pray to our loving Father:
R/Lord, have mercy on us!
When we foolishly squander the heritage of grace that is ours in Christ: R/
When we wander away from our true home in you to seek illusory pleasures that leave us lonely and hungry of heart: R/
When we recognize our sin but fear to turn to you: R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O God of mercy and of love, hear us in our sin and grant us your forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
