PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21)
Saint Matthew
Prayer for the Morning
The word goes out to all the earth:
let us give thanks 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
The glory that surrounds your name,
O blessed Levi, is a proof
Of God’s all-loving clemency
Besides a sign of hope for us.
The life the Son of David led,
The words he spoke, you stored as gold,
Which, handed down the centuries,
Have fed and taught the Christian world.
You spread the Gospel fearlessly;
Until at last you shed your blood,
In witness to your faith in Christ
And pledge of your undying love.
Apostle and evangelist
With martyrdom as final crown,
Bring us to heaven, that with you
God’s praises we may ever sing.
PSALM 19:2-7
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit. (Mt 28:19)
We who take access to words for granted should pause to be grateful to those who preserved the Gospel words so carefully and spread them to the utmost bounds of the world without benefit of the printing press or instantaneous media.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
There he has placed a tent for the sun;
it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from his tent,
rejoices like a champion to run its course.
At the end of the sky is the rising of the sun;
to the furthest end of the sky is its course.
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
We too give thanks to God unceasingly, that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us, you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God, which is now at work in you who believe.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.
(Mk 1:15)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you. (1 Cor 11:23)
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
In gratitude for the Gospel given to us through the faithful ministry of the Evangelists and their hearers, let us pray:
R/Plant in every place the seed of your Gospel.
For the literate and those who have easy access to many media:
– grant us the reverence of former ages for the sacredness of your Word. R/
For the illiterate:
– send preachers and teachers to open for them the riches of your Word. R/
For those who live in places where your Word is banned:
– bless the efforts of societies and individuals who seek ways to carry the Good News to them. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
Lord Jesus Christ, you changed Matthew’s life by the Good News you entrusted to him. May we receive the Gospel with reverence, live it in faith, and hand it on in love. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
