FIRST, THIRD AND FIFTH WEEKS
MORNING PRAYER
READING
Joel 2:12-13
Yet even now, says the Lord,
return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to your God,
who is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.
CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH
Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you.
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
who shepherds the people and sets them free.
God raises from David’s house
a child with power to save.
Through the holy prophets
God promised in ages past
to save us from enemy hands,
from the grip of all who hate us.
The Lord favored our ancestors
recalling the sacred covenant,
the pledge to our ancestor Abraham,
to free us from our enemies,
so we might worship without fear
and be holy and just all our days.
And you child, will be called
Prophet of the Most High,
for you will come to prepare
a pathway for the Lord
by teaching the people salvation
through forgiveness of their sin.
Out of God’s deepest mercy
a dawn will come from on high,
light for those shadowed by death,
a guide for our feet on the way to peace.
INTERCESSIONS
O God, aware of the challenges we will face this
day, we pray:
~ Show us your steadfast love.
That we may acknowledge our failings with
humility and confidence in you, we pray:
That we may forgive all injuries and overlook
all wrongs, we pray:
that we may respond with compassion to all
who are troubled in mind or body, we pray:
That we may use the resources of our earth
with concern for the needs of others, we pray:
That we may share our talents and resources
generously with others, we pray:
THE LORD'S PRAYER
PRAYER
O God, you are gracious and merciful, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love. Through
the example of Jesus, who dined with sinners and
reached out to strangers, you teach us to value
the dignity of each person. Help us to show love
to all whom we meet today, whatever their need
or condition. We ask this with confidence in
your steadfast love. Amen.
BLESSING
Purify our hearts, O God, that we may be freed from sin. Amen.
Renew our hearts, O God, that they may burn with love for you. Amen.
Open our hearts, O God, that we may welcome all persons as our brothers and sisters. Amen.
EVENING PRAYER
READING: James 2:14-17
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you
say you have faith but do not have works? Can
faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked
and lacks daily food, and one of you says to
them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,"
and yet you do not supply their bodily needs,
what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it
has no works, is dead.
CANTICLE OF MARY
Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
I acclaim the greatness of the Lord,
I delight in God my savior,
who regarded my humble state.
Truly from this day on
all ages will call me blest.
For God, wonderful in power,
has used that strength for me.
Holy the name of the Lord!
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God
scatters the proud in their conceit,
pulls tyrants from their thrones,
and raises up the humble.
The Lord fills the starving
and lets the rich go hungry.
God rescues lowly Israel,
recalling the promise of mercy,
the promise made to our ancestors,
to Abraham’s heirs for ever.
INTERCESSIONS
Jesus Christ, you testified on all occasions
a tender love for the poor, and declared that you
would consider as done to you whatever we do
for them. Help us to serve the poor with words
and deeds of compassion:
~ Give us compassionate hearts and willing
hands.
You call us to share our bread with the hungry
and to question the reasons for hunger:
You call us to shelter the homeless and to remedy
the causes of homelessness:
You call us to clothe the naked and to challenge
the inequities that exists among the members of
the human family:
You call us to visit the imprisoned and to
speak out against the injustices that imprison
humankind:
You call us to visit the sick and dying and to
advocate humane health care for all people:
THE LORD'S PRAYER
PRAYER
Jesus, we pray for an increase in understanding
of the needs of our brothers and sisters and
for the courage to confront the social conditions
that contribute to their suffering. May our faith
be practical, measured by our deeds as well as
by our words. May our ministries of health care,
education and social and pastoral work further
the well-being of our sisters and brothers. We
ask this with confidence in your unending love
for your people. Amen.
BLESSING
Purify our hearts, O God, that we may be freed from sin. Amen.
Renew our hearts, O God, that they may burn with love for you. Amen.
Open our hearts, O God, that we may welcome all persons as our brothers and sisters. Amen.