PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8)

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Prayer for the Morning

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good:

his love endures for ever!

Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!

HYMN

Radiant Dawn of our salvation,

Hope of life for all the earth!

Now we sing God’s new creation

On this day of such a birth.

Virgin, thou art filled with beauty;

Spot and stain are not in thee.

God has made thee perfect duly

For thy Son’s divinity.

Cry, O Blessed, to high heaven;

Sing our praise, O Spotless One!

We, thy children, are forgiven

Through thy Maker, Lord, and Son.

God has looked on thee with favor;

Generations this acclaim.

We rejoice in God thy Savior,

For with thee we praise his Name.

PSALM 106:1-5

When the most holy Virgin was born, the whole world was made radiant; blessed is the branch and blessed the stem which bore such holy fruit. (Liturgy of the Hours)

In Mary, daughter of the House of David, the stump of Jesse buds forth the beginning of salvation, for she who is the stem bears for all peoples the fruit that gives everlasting life, Christ the Lord.

O give thanks to the Lord for he is good;

for his love endures for ever.

Who can tell the Lord’s mighty deeds?

Who can recount all his praise?

They are happy who do what is right,

who at all times do what is just.

O Lord, remember me

out of the love you have for your people.

Come to me, Lord, with your help

that I may see the joy of your chosen ones

and may rejoice in the gladness of your nation

and share the glory of your people.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God (Isaiah 11:1-3)

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,/ and from his roots a bud shall blossom./ The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him:/ a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,/ A spirit of counsel and of strength,/ a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord,/ and his ­delight shall be the fear of the Lord.

Blessed is the fruit of her womb!

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH 

The Root of Jesse has blossomed; the Star has risen out of Jacob. (Traditional Marian 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

With thanks and praise, let us pray to Christ through the intercession of his mother:

R/Jesus, Son of Mary, hear our prayer!

Sun of Justice, the Virgin was born before you as dawn comes before day:

– make us walk in your light. R/

Vine of life, the Virgin is the root from which you sprang:

– bless your people, that we may remain faithful to you. R/

Living bread, the Virgin gave you the flesh of our human race:

– nourish in us the fullness of life through her prayer and example. R/

(Personal intentions)

Our Father….

O God, you gave life to the world through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Son of the Blessed Virgin for whose birth we give thanks this day. Grant us, we beseech you, the grace to honor with our lives the Savior whom she bore, Christ our Lord. Amen.