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 love, surrounds you now
Refrain for the Psalm
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench
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
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench
Song of the Servant
Isaiah 42: 1–4
Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
The Wisdom of Jesus
Luke 9: 23–25
Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?
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 in heaven,
Hallowed be your name.
Your good realm come,
Your 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 love.
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.
Tenth-century African Hymn
The cross is the way of the lost,
the staff of the lame,
the guide of the blind,
the strength of the weak,
the hope of the hopeless,
the freedom of prisoners,
the water of the seeds,
the source of those who seek water,
the cloth of the naked.
Benediction
Go in peace, wash your hands, love your neighbor—you are not alone.