Prayer for the Morning
Strong is God’s love for us;/ he is faithful for ever:
come, let us give thanks and praise! (cf. Ps 117:2)
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 morning breaks, I place my hand in thine,
My God, ’tis thine to lead, to follow mine;
No word deceitful shall I speak the while,
Nor shall I stain my hand with action vile.
Thine be the day with worthy labor filled,
Strong would I stand to do the duty willed;
Nor swayed by restless passion let me be,
That I may give the offspring pure to thee.
PSALM 105:1-10
I will extol you and praise your name;/ For you have fulfilled your wonderful plans of old,/ faithful and true. (Is 25:1)
God is true: he has a long memory for his own promises and a short memory for our failures to keep ours.
Give thanks to the Lord, tell his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples.
O sing to him, sing his praise;
tell all his wonderful works!
Be proud of his holy name,
let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice.
Consider the Lord and his strength;
constantly seek his face.
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, the judgments he spoke.
O children of Abraham, his servant,
O sons of the Jacob he chose.
He, the Lord, is our God:
his judgments prevail in all the earth.
He remembers his covenant for ever,
his promise for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
He confirmed it for Jacob as a law,
for Israel as a covenant for ever.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Isaiah 54:10-14)
Though the mountains leave their place/ and the hills be shaken,/ My love shall never leave you/ nor my covenant of peace be shaken,/ says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
O afflicted one, storm-battered and unconsoled,/ I lay your pavements in carnelians,/ and your foundations in sapphires;/ I will make your battlements of rubies,/ your gates of carbuncles,/ and all your walls of precious stones./ All your sons shall be taught by the Lord,/ and great shall be the peace of your children./ In justice you shall be established,/ far from the fear of oppression,/ where destruction cannot come near you.
The Holy One is faithful! (cf. Hos 12:1)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1:9)
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
Let us pray with faith to the One who is faithful and true:
R/Remember your people, O Lord.
You promised that the house of the messianic King would last forever:
– grant us the grace to put our trust in your fidelity rather than our own shortsightedness. R/
You have made your promise known in the assembly of the holy ones:
– teach us to hear and to live the words we pray when we are gathered for worship. R/
You have clothed yourself in truth and beauty:
– make us walk in the ways of truth and beauty today. R/
You have created us in your image:
– may the lives of the unborn be protected in our laws. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O God, you have kept your covenant with every generation. In a world shadowed by the many infidelities of frail humanity, grant us faith in your enduring love, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
