PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (THURSDAY, JANUARY 21)

Prayer for the Morning

Come, let us adore the Lamb of God

whom the virgins follow!

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 blessed virgin Agnes flies

Back to her home above the skies.

With love she gave her blood on earth

To gain a new celestial birth.

Mature enough to give her life,

Though still too young to be a wife,

What joy she shows when death appears

That one would think: her bridegroom nears!

PSALM 116:1-6, 9

I have with me an Angel of the Lord as a guardian of my body. (Traditional Antiphon)

It is said that threat, torture, and confinement in a house of prostitution could not break this young girl’s commitment to Christ. Saint Agnes went to her death as to her wedding banquet, trusting that Christ, the Bridegroom with whom she kept faith in this life, would keep faith with her in the life to come.

I love the Lord for he has heard

the cry of my appeal;

for he turned his ear to me

in the day when I called him.

They surrounded me, the snares of death,

with the anguish of the tomb;

they caught me, sorrow and distress.

I called on the Lord’s name.

O Lord my God, deliver me!

How gracious is the Lord, and just;

our God has compassion.

The Lord protects the simple hearts;

I was helpless so he saved me.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord

in the land of the living.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Sirach 51:1-2a, 3)

I give you thanks, O God of my father;/ I praise you, O God my savior!/ I will make known your name, refuge of my life;/ you have been my helper against my adversaries./ [Y]ou have delivered me, in your great mercy,/ From the scourge of a slanderous tongue,/ and from lips that went over to falsehood;/ From the snare of those who watched for my downfall,/ and from the power of those who sought my life;/ From many a danger you have saved me.

I love you, Lord, my strength,/ my rock,

my fortress, my savior. (Ps 18:2-3)

Canticle of Zechariah

My Lord Jesus Christ has espoused me with a ring. He has adorned me with a crown. (Traditional Antiphon)

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

Saint Agnes overcame all fear of bodily pain and death; she put her trust in her Savior and was delivered through death to everlasting life. Through her intercession we pray:

R/O Lord, our God, deliver us!

From every infidelity: R/

From all temptation: R/

From compromise with expediency: R/

From any lessening of our baptismal commitment

to Christ: R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

Lord Jesus Christ, Saint Agnes loved you more than she loved approval, safety, or life itself. Through her intercession, protect the young from every form of seduction, and keep all your people faithful to your love for us, who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.