PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (MONDAY, JANUARY 4)

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Prayer for the Morning

To God we lift up our hearts in prayer and praise!

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

Forth in your name, O Lord, I go,

My daily labor to pursue,

You, only you, resolved to know,

In all I think, or speak, or do.

The task your wisdom has assigned

O let me cheerfully fulfill,

In all my works your presence find,

And prove your acceptable will!

Give me to bear your easy yoke,

And every moment watch and pray,

And still to things eternal look,

And hasten to your glorious day.

For you delightfully employ

Whate’er your bounteous grace has given;

And run my course with even joy,

And closely walk with you to heaven.

PSALM 18:2-4, 29-30, 32-33, 36-37

My feet kept to the level path/ because from earliest youth I was familiar with wisdom. (cf. Sir 51:15)

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s path took many unexpected turnings because she followed God’s will rather than her own. What matters most is that the path God chose took her to him. In her obedience lay the source of the wisdom with which she taught others to follow in God’s ways.

I love you, Lord, my strength,

my rock, my fortress, my savior.

My God is the rock where I take refuge;

my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.

The Lord is worthy of all praise:

when I call I am saved from my foes.

You, O Lord, are my lamp,

my God who lightens my darkness.

With you I can break through any barrier,

with my God I can scale any wall.

For who is God but the Lord?

Who is a rock but our God?

The God who girds me with strength

and makes the path safe before me.

You gave me your saving shield;

you upheld me, trained me with care.

You gave me freedom for my steps;

my feet have never slipped.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Sirach 24:28-31)

Now I, like a rivulet from [wisdom’s] stream,/ channeling the waters into a garden,/ Said to myself, “I will water my plants,/ my flower bed I will drench”;/ And suddenly this rivulet of mine became a river,/ then this stream of mine, a sea./ Thus do I send my teachings forth shining like the dawn,/ to become known afar off./ Thus do I pour out instruction like prophecy/ and bestow it on generations to come.

The path of the just is like shining light,/

that grows in brilliance till perfect day.(Prv 4:18)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

I will teach you the manner of God’s dealings,/ and the way of the Almighty I will not conceal. (Jb 27:1)

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 opens the way before us. Through the intercession of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, let us pray for the wisdom to see it and the grace to follow it.

R/Lord, make us know your ways!

You called Saint Elizabeth Ann to the life of wife and ­mother:

– bless all wives and mothers with the gifts of wisdom and love. R/

You called Saint Elizabeth Ann to enter fully into the life of the Church:

– teach all catechumens and candidates the wisdom of your word. R/

You called Saint Elizabeth Ann to leave the familiar world of family life to found a religious congregation for the service of your people in charity:

– bless the Sisters of Charity for their faithful service and send many workers into the harvest in our day. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O Lord our God, Word of truth, you illumined Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton with the light of your presence and the love of your people. Through her example and intercession, teach us to know you, to follow you, and to serve you, who are Christ the Lord. Amen.