Prayer for the Morning
Here is our God:
let us bow down in 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
Sing praise for all the martyrs
who carried Jesus’ cross.
They followed in his footsteps;
they counted gain as loss.
Our heroines and heroes,
their blood the Church’s seed,
Whose witness to the Gospel
led to their dying deed.
Saints John and Isaac served you,
with voice and mind and hand,
To spread the holy Gospel
across a vast new land.
With eager zeal they traveled
to spread the faith abroad,
To baptize to salvation
and shed their blood for God.
All praise to God the Father,
who made the martyrs be,
And praise the Holy Spirit,
their fount of charity.
All praises to Christ Jesus,
let crowns before him fall,
Exemplar of the martyrs:
their Joy, their Love, their All.
PSALM 30:9-13
The apostles rejoiced that they had been found worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. (cf. Acts 5:41)
For the North American martyrs whom we honor today, the pain of exile, torture, and even death was transformed into joy by their love for Christ and for the peoples to whom they were sent to proclaim his Good News.
To you, Lord, I cried,
to my God I made appeal:
“What profit would my death be, my going to the grave?
Can dust give you praise or proclaim your truth?”
The Lord listened and had pity.
The Lord came to my help.
For me you have changed my mourning into dancing,
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.
So my soul sings psalms to you unceasingly.
O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Ephesians 3:8-12)
To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light [for all] what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness of speech and confidence of access through faith in him.
We do not preach ourselves
but Jesus Christ as Lord. (2 Cor 4:5)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. (Eph 2:17)
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
The martyrs bear witness to the cost and the reward of living according to the Gospel. Through their intercession, let us pray:
R/Make your people steadfast in faith, O Lord.
For the Church throughout the world,
– that we may live the Gospel faith for which the martyrs died. R/
For those who suffer persecution for the Gospel’s sake,
– that they may find strength in the Holy Spirit. R/
For all missionaries as they work to build communities of faith at home and abroad,
– that they may share the courage of the North American martyrs. R/
For the Church in North America,
– that our lives may be a light to our neighbors. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O God of the martyrs, you called and strengthened Saints Isaac, John, and their companions to preach the Gospel by their steadfastness in fidelity, even unto death. Through their example and their intercession, strengthen us in faithfulness to live the Good News of salvation, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
