PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (FRIDAY, JULY 31)
Prayer for the Morning
Come, let us seek God with all our hearts.
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 love you, O my Lord most high,
For first your love has captured me;
I seek no other liberty:
Bound by your love, I shall be free.
May memory no thought suggest
But shall to your pure glory tend;
May understanding find no rest,
Except in you, its only end.
All mine is yours: say but the word,
Say what you will, it shall be done;
I know your love, most gracious Lord,
I know you seek my good alone.
Apart from you, nothing can be,
So grant me this, my only wish,
To love you, Lord, eternally,
You give me all in giving this.
PSALM 119:17-24
I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Jer 31:33)
Following Christ in obedience to God’s will discerned in prayer was central to Saint Ignatius’ spirituality. The law of the new covenant is an expression of God’s love for us. It prescribes peace, justice, and love in place of the violence, oppression, and alienation we tend to create when we fail to listen to God’s voice speaking in the depths of our heart.
Bless your servant and I shall live
and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
the wonders of your law.
I am a pilgrim on the earth;
show me your commands.
My soul is ever consumed
as I long for your decrees.
You threaten the proud, the accursed,
who turn from your commands.
Relieve me from scorn and contempt
for I do your will.
Though princes sit plotting against me
I ponder on your rulings.
Your will is my delight;
your statutes are my counselors.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
This command which I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, “Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?” Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?” No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today. (Dt 6:6)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Come to me heedfully,/ listen, that you may have life. (Is 55:3)
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
To God who directs all our ways toward the coming of his Kingdom, we pray through the intercession of Saint Ignatius:
R/Your word is a lamp for our steps.
Guide us, O Lord, in the way of your Word,
– that today we may follow where you lead us. R/
Guide us, O Lord, in the way of your truth,
– that today we may choose wisely among the many ideas the media present to us. R/
Guide us, O Lord, in the way of your love,
– that today we may treat those we meet as you have treated us. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O Lord our God, you poured forth into your Church a spirit of renewal in prayer and life through the work of Saint Ignatius and the Society of Jesus. Grant us the spirit of discernment, so that we may hear the still, small voice of your Word speaking in the depths of our heart, and, hearing, may obey. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
