PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (THURSDAY, JULY 16)
Prayer for the Morning
From Zion has gone forth instruction,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem:
come, let us adore!
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
Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel
Whom in ancient prophecy
God revealed to Saint Elijah
By an Oriental sea,
Rise again on God’s creation,
Bring to bloom this arid place
With the white cloud of your beauty
And the rainfall of your grace.
Virgin of the Incarnation,
In the mysteries of grace
God has made his habitation
In our soul’s most secret place.
Toward that bright and inner kingdom
All our words and ways compel,
For the Father, Son and Spirit
In its sacred silence dwell.
CANTICLE OF ISAIAH 2:2-5
I lift up my eyes to the mountains:/ from where shall come my help? (Ps 121:1)
The title “Our Lady of Mount Carmel,” named for the lovely place where the Prophet Elijah dwelt in service to the word of God, expresses a sense of the beauty, silence, and prayer that characterize Mary, the Mother of our Redeemer.
In days to come,
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest mountain
and raised above the hills.
All nations shall stream toward it;
many peoples shall come and say:
“Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and impose terms on many peoples.
They shall beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks;
one nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again.
O house of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Ezekiel 20:40)
On my holy mountain, on the mountain height of Israel, says the Lord God, there the whole house of Israel without exception shall worship me; there I will accept them, and there I will claim your tributes and the first fruits of your offerings, and all that you dedicate.
I will bring back Israel to her fold,/ to feed
on Carmel till she has her fill.
(cf. Jer 50:19)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Shepherd your people with your staff,/ the flock of your inheritance,/ That dwells apart in a woodland,/ in the midst of Carmel. (Mi 7:14)
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 Our Lady of Mount Carmel, let us offer to God the tribute of our prayer:
R/Instruct us in your ways, O God of light!
On the summits of prayer: R/
In the silence of contemplation: R/
In the midst of the dark valleys of discouragement and despair: R/
Personal intentions
Our Father….
God and giver of all good gifts, you have given us the Blessed Virgin Mary as a sign of the beauty of your Kingdom brought to fulfillment. Through her example and intercession, teach us the spirit of silence and prayer that enabled her to hear your word with love and serve you with fidelity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
