Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
Prayer for the Morning
God is our stronghold, the God who shows us love:
let us give thanks and praise!
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
HYMN
Awake, our souls! away, our fears!
Let every trembling thought be gone!
Awake, and run the heavenly race,
And put a cheerful courage on.
True, ’tis a straight and thorny road,
And mortal spirits tire and faint;
But they forget the mighty God,
That feeds the strength of every saint.
O mighty God, your matchless power
Is ever new, and ever young;
And firm endures, while endless years
Their everlasting circles run.
From you, the ever-flowing spring,
Our souls shall drink a fresh supply;
While such as trust their native strength
Shall melt away, and droop, and die.
PSALM 59:2-3, 17-18
Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. (Eph 6:10)
In a culture that values autonomy and self-reliance, we sometimes imagine that we can call only on our own personal strength to shoulder the burdens of those we care for and to face our own difficulties. The Gospel reminds us again and again that God’s love is our true source of strength. On him the strongest person can lean without apology.
Rescue me, God, from my foes;
protect me from those who attack me.
O rescue me from those who do evil
and save me from bloodthirsty men.
As for me, I will sing of your strength
and each morning acclaim your love
for you have been my stronghold,
a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, it is you to whom I turn,
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
the God who shows me love.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (1 Corinthians 10:13)
No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.
O Lord, my strength, my fortress,/
my refuge in the day of distress! (Jer 16:19)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. (Phil 4:13)
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
To God our strength we cry out:
R/To you we turn! Hear us!
You are our stronghold in time of trouble:
– grant us the wisdom and the courage to place our trust in you. R/
You are our defender against all evil:
– teach us always to call upon you in prayer. R/
You have delivered your people from death by the power of the cross:
– strengthen us to bear one another’s burdens in
love. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
Lord God of power and might, you have revealed to us in Jesus Christ that true strength lies in self-surrendering love. Make us his true disciples in every trial, and make us a true source of strength to one another, through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
