For Wednesday–Friday we adapt a format for daily prayer that I learned from a prayer book titled, Everyday Catholic Prayer: A Little Office Book, by Angela Tilby
The Invocation: Sarum Prayer
God be in my head—and in my understanding
God be in my eyes—and in my looking
God be in my mouth—and in my speaking
God be in my heart—and in my thinking
God be at my end—and at my departing
Cloud of Witnesses Meditation
Now let’s call to mind and heart, the ancestors—loved and admired ones who have gone before us and surround us, we are told, in the cloud of witnesses. Over the next minute simply remember and name those who have gone before you and whose presence in remembered loved, surrounds you now. Over the next minute, go ahead.
Refrain for the Psalm
My pen is the tongue of a ready writer; I address my verses to the king.
Psalm 121
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and forevermore.
Refrain for the Psalm
My pen is the tongue of a ready writer; I address my verses to the king.
Song of the Servant
Isaiah 50: 1–8a
The Lord GOD has given me
the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord GOD has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.
The Lord GOD helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
The Wisdom of Jesus
Mark 10: 42–45
So Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Response to the Reading
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our [father/mother/creator] in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy good realm come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our sins,
As we forgive those who sin against us.
And lead us not into the time of trial,
But deliver us from evil.
Amen
Prayer for Loved Ones
Over the next minute simply name your loved ones, calling each to mind in love, lifting each in the embrace of remembered love, to the God who is the source of all being.
Prayer to Face the Frustrations of the Day
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
A Pause for Gratitude
Take about 30 seconds to focus on one or two things that you are grateful for.
Celtic Journey Blessing
Bless to me O God, the earth beneath my feet.
Bless to me O God, the path whereon I go.
Bless to me O God, the thing of my desire.
Thou Evermore of evermore,
Bless Thou to me my rest.
Benediction
Go in peace, wash your hands, love your neighbors—you are not alone.Daily Prayer | Wednesday, Sep 16, 2020