PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24)

Saint Anthony Mary Claret; Blessed Virgin Mary

Prayer for the Morning

Let us bow down before God’s holy temple,/

filled with awe. (cf. Ps 5:8b)

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

I lift my eyes to you, O Lord,

Until you speak your promised word;

Mine like the eyes of maids who stand

Until the mistress waves her hand.

So shall I wait upon your will,

Commands that seem of good or ill.

For even harshest words from you

Shall still prove holy, kind and true.

So Jesus listened and obeyed

When in his human will afraid.

Despised, rejected, sought and killed—

He yet attended to your will.

So may this Church which you have wrought,

And with your own blood dearly bought,

Delight to ponder and obey

The hard or gentle words you say.

Have mercy, Lord, have mercy long,

Our very weakness render strong,

Until the earth, like heav’n is filled

With sweet concordance to your will.

PSALM 119:17-24

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.” (Jn 4:34)

To our cost, we sometimes think that obedience to God’s will is an iron cage. On the contrary, God wills that everyone be saved: set free, made whole, brought to the joy of the Kingdom. Mary pondered and did the will of God not reluctantly, out of a sense of martyred duty, but with her whole heart, in delight.

Bless your servant and I shall live

and obey your word.

Open my eyes that I may see

the wonders of your law.

I am a pilgrim on the earth;

show me your commands.

My soul is ever consumed

as I long for your decrees.

You threaten the proud, the accursed,

who turn from your commands.

Relieve me from scorn and contempt

for I do your will.

Though princes sit plotting against me

I ponder on your rulings.

Your will is my delight;

your statutes are my counselors.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Leviticus 26:3-5)

If you live in accordance with my precepts and are careful to observe my commandments, I will give you rain in due season, so that the land will bear its crops, and the trees their fruit; your threshing will last till vintage time, and your vintage till the time for sowing, and you will have food to eat in abundance, so that you may dwell securely in your land.

Thy will be done!

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. (Jn 15:10)

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

Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us pray for the coming of God’s Kingdom, to which she devoted her life:

R/Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

That the blind may see, the deaf hear, and the lame walk freely: R/

That the sick be healed, the sorrowing consoled, the homeless given a home: R/

That the hungry be fed, the naked clothed, and the stranger made welcome: R/

That the poor have the Good News preached to them: R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O Lord our God, your will is that we be made whole in the Kingdom of your Son. Through the intercession and example of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant us the wisdom and the love to do as you have commanded for the good of all the world, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.