PRAYER FOR THIS MORNING (WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16)
Saints Cornelius and Cyprian
Prayer for the Morning
The Lord is our shepherd:
let us give thanks and praise!
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
He is our Shepherd true;
With watchful care unsleeping,
On us, his erring sheep,
An eye of pity keeping;
So with a mighty arm
The bonds of sin he breaks,
And to our burdened hearts
In words of peace he speaks.
CANTICLE OF ISAIAH 40:10-11, 28ab, 29-31
I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (Jn 10:11)
Today’s martyrs were among the many shepherds of the Church who have followed Christ into the valley of death rather than lead their flocks astray after other gods. They defended the Church especially from popular but false teaching and from division.
Here comes with power
the Lord God,
who rules by his strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.
Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The Lord is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God (Ezekiel 34:12)
As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.
He leads them in right paths/ for his name’s sake.
(cf. Ps 23:3)
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
The Lamb on the throne will shepherd them./ He will lead them to springs of life-giving water,/ and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (cf. Rv 7:17)
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 Christ our Good Shepherd we pray:
R/Hear our cry!
You called the martyrs Cornelius and Cyprian to lay down their lives for their sheep:
– grant courage and strength to the pope, bishops, and priests of today’s Church. R/
You inspired the martyrs to keep together their divided people:
– grant bishops the wisdom and compassion to heal all divisions in the Church. R/
You fortified the martyrs to lead their people in right paths:
– grant a love of truth to all those who preach and teach your Word today. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O Lord our God, you are God alone, and there is no other. Rule our hearts and our minds, through the intercession of the martyrs Cornelius and Cyprian, who served no other Lord but you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
