PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (SUNDAY, JULY 26)

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Prayer for the Morning

Christ is the wisdom of God: come, let us adore him!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

HYMN

How deep the riches of our God,

His wisdom how sublime;

How high his judgments soar above

All judgment of mankind!

What mind has read the mind of God,

Or giv’n him counsel sure?

Who from his riches gave to God

What was not first received?

From God all things created flow;

All things through him exist;

To him for judgment all returns,

To whom all praise is due!

CANTICLE OF SIRACH 14:20-21, 24-27; 15:2-6

How much better to acquire wisdom than gold!/ To acquire understanding is more desirable than silver. (Prv 16:16)

In comparing the reign of God to the merchant, Jesus shows us God’s priorities. In comparing it to the buried treasure, he asks us what our priorities are. Solomon, choosing wisdom over wealth, models a truly biblical scale of values.

Happy the man who meditates on wisdom,

and reflects on knowledge;

Who ponders her ways in his heart,

and understands her paths;

Who encamps near her house,

and fastens his tent pegs next to her walls;

Who pitches his tent beside her,

and lives as her welcome neighbor;

Who builds his nest in her leafage,

and lodges in her branches;

Who takes shelter with her from the heat,

and dwells in her home.

Motherlike she will meet him,

like a young bride she will embrace him,

Nourish him with the bread of understanding,

and give him the water of learning to drink.

He will lean upon her and not fall,

he will trust in her and not be put to shame.

She will exalt him above his fellows;

in the assembly she will make him eloquent.

Joy and gladness he will find,

an everlasting name inherit.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Proverbs 8:10-12)

Receive my instruction in preference to silver,/ and knowledge rather than choice gold./ [For Wisdom is better than corals,/ and no choice possession can compare with her.]

I, Wisdom, dwell with experience,/ and judicious knowledge I attain.

Go, sell what you have and give to [the] poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

(Mt 19:21)

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. (cf. 1 Cor 1:24)

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 trust, we pray:

R/You are our light and our salvation!

For the gift of discernment:

– that we may recognize what is truly of value. R/

For the gift of wisdom:

– that we may make our decisions according to God’s will. R/

For a spirit of detachment:

– that we may be free to abandon what does not serve God’s Kingdom. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

God of light, you illumine our path to your Kingdom by the light of your holy word. Pour forth your Spirit into our hearts, that we may read with understanding and live with fidelity through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.