Prayer for the Morning
Great is God’s love for us:
come, let us worship!
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
Christ be beside me,
Christ be before me,
Christ be behind me,
King of my heart.
Christ be within me,
Christ be below me,
Christ be above me,
Never to part.
Christ on my right hand,
Christ on my left hand,
Christ all around me,
Shield in the strife.
Christ in my sleeping,
Christ in my sitting,
Christ in my rising,
Light of my life.
PSALM 57:2-6
The serpent asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” (Gn 3:1)
The Psalmist knows that only in God can we find true protection and secure rest.
Have mercy on me, God, have mercy,
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.
I call to God the Most High,
to God who has always been my help.
May he send from heaven and save me
and shame those who assail me.
May God send his truth and his love.
My soul lies down among lions,
who would devour the sons of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharpened sword.
O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Matthew 12:43-45)
When an unclean spirit goes out of a person it roams through arid regions searching for rest but finds none. Then it says, “I will return to my home from which I came.” But upon returning, it finds it empty, swept clean, and put in order. Then it goes and brings back with itself seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they move in and dwell there; and the last condition of that person is worse than the first.
You are our protection, Lord!
(cf. Ps 71:1)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
The threshold of the house of God/ I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked. (Ps 84:11)
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
God has opened to us the treasures of his own house. Let us pray for the wisdom to stay within the walls built by his Word.
R/Protect and guide your people, Lord.
Sin speaks to us in many disguises:
– sharpen our ears to discern your voice. R/
Your wisdom is a difficult virtue:
– make our hearts wise. R/
Your love is beyond price:
– form in us a true set of values. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O God, you desire life for your people. Protect us from all that would lead us away from you; guide us safely to the home you have prepared for us, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
