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
The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.
Psalm 124
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side
—let Israel now say—
if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
Refrain for the Psalm
The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.
Song of the Servant
Isaiah 52: 13–53: 1
See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him[a]
—so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals—
so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
The Wisdom of Jesus
Mark 4: 26–29
He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.”
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.