PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (MONDAY, AUGUST 24)

Saint Bartholomew

Prayer for the Morning

God’s majesty is praised above the heavens:

in the faith of the Apostles, 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

By all your saints still striving,

For all your saints at rest

Your holy name, O Jesus,

For evermore be blessed.

You rose, our King victorious,

That they might wear the crown

And ever shine in splendor

Reflected from your throne.

Praise for your blest apostle

Surnamed Bartholomew;

We know not his achievements

But know that he was true,

For he at the Ascension

Was an apostle still.

May we discern your presence

And seek, like him, your will.

CANTICLE (Philippians 2:6-11)

Jesus said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the ­gospel to every creature.” (cf. Mk 16:15)

Bartholomew is one of the “anonymous” Apostles: all the personal details of his life have disappeared behind the Gospel he proclaimed. Like John the Baptist, he decreased to nothing so that Christ might increase.

Though he was in the form of God,

Jesus did not deem equality with God

something to be grasped at.

Rather, he emptied himself

and took the form of a slave

being born in the likeness of men.

He was known to be of human estate

and it was thus that he humbled himself,

obediently accepting even death,

death on a cross!

Because of this,

God highly exalted him

and bestowed on him the name

above every other name,

So that at Jesus’ name

every knee must bend

in the heavens, on the earth,

and under the earth,

and every tongue proclaim

to the glory of God the Father:

Jesus Christ is Lord!

Word of God (Isaiah 43:10-12)

You are my witnesses, says the Lord,/ my servants whom I have chosen/ To know and believe in me/ and understand that it is I./ Before me no god was formed,/ and after me there shall be none.

It is I, I the Lord;/ there is no savior but me./ It is I who foretold, I who saved;/ I made it known, not any strange god among you;/ You are my witnesses, says the Lord.

To whomever I send you, you shall go;/

whatever I command you, you shall speak./

Have no fear before them,/ because I am with you

to deliver you, says the Lord.

(Jer 1:7b-8)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” (Is 6:8)

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

We have received a great spiritual heritage from the Apostles; let us give thanks to God our Father for the good he has done for us.

R/Blessed are you, O Lord!

Blessed are you for your holy Church, built upon the foundation of the Apostles:

– make us strong and living stones within it. R/

Blessed are you for baptism and penance, given to us through the Apostles:

– through the sacraments, renew us in faith, hope, and love. R/

Blessed are you for the Eucharist, handed down to us through the Apostles:

– feed your people always at the banquet table of life. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

Pour forth upon your Church, O Lord, the gift of your Holy Spirit, that our love for one another and for your Word may set fire to our world as the Apostles set fire to theirs, through Christ our Lord. Amen.