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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

 

<< Friday, July 4, 2008 >> St. Elizabeth of Portugal
Saint of the Day
 
Amos 8:4-6, 9-12
View Readings
Psalm 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131 Matthew 9:9-13
 

VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!

 
"When will the new moon be over?" —Amos 8:5
 

Like worshippers in Amos' time, many of today's worshippers think: "When will church be over? Then I can:

  • watch the ball games,
  • go see a movie,
  • tell my neighbor how much I dislike my priest's homilies,
  • get something to eat,
  • do my own thing, or
  • remind God what a sacrifice it is to be at church today."

After we heed the call of Jesus to "go and learn the meaning of the words: 'It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice' " (Mt 9:13), then our worship changes. During Mass, we think: "When church is over, I can:

  • tell my family that I love them,
  • share Jesus with my neighbors, even with the outcast (Mt 9:10),
  • thank and encourage my priest (see Heb 13:17),
  • follow Jesus (Mt 9:9),
  • show mercy to someone who has hurt me (Mt 9:13), and
  • let God know how grateful I am for His mercy to me."

Do you see what Jesus means when He points out the difference between heartfelt mercy and sacrifice?

 
Prayer: "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine."
Promise: "Happy are they who observe His decrees, who seek Him with all their heart." —Ps 119:2
Praise: St. Elizabeth didn't wait until her husband treated her well to love him. She loved him as he was with all his faults and sinfulness.
 

32 posted on 07/04/2008 7:10:16 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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To: All
Compline -- Night Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.


This is an excellent moment for an examination of conscience. In a communal celebration of Compline, one of the penitential acts given in the Missal may be recited.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.


Psalm 87 (88)
The prayer of one gravely ill
I cry out to you, Lord, by day and by night.
Lord God, my saviour,
 I have cried out to you by day and by night.
Let my prayer come before you:
 turn your ear to my request.

For my soul is full of evils,
 my life has come close to its end.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit:
 I am left without help.
I am one of the dead,
 like the murdered who sleep in their tombs,
who lie there forgotten,
 cut off from your care.

You have thrust me down into the pit,
 to the gloom and the shadow of death.
Your anger weighs heavy upon me;
 you have drowned me under your waves.

You have taken my friends away from me:
 you have made me hateful in their sight,
 I am shut in, I may not go out.
My eyes are weak from my sufferings.
I have called to you, Lord, all the day;
 I have stretched out my hands to you.
Is it for the dead that you perform your wonders?
 Will the ghosts rise up and proclaim you?
In the tomb, will they tell of your kindness?
 Will they tell of your faithfulness in the place of the lost?
Will your wonders be known in the darkness,
 or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

And so I have called out to you, Lord,
 and in the morning my prayer will come before you.
With what purpose, Lord, do you reject my soul?
 Why do you hide your face from me?
I am poor; from my youth I have been dying;
 I have borne the terrors you sent, I am lost in confusion.
Your anger has overrun me, your terrors have broken me:
 they have flowed round me like water,
 they have besieged me all the day long.
You have taken my friends and those close to me:
 all I have left is shadows.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.
I cry out to you, Lord, by day and by night.

Reading (Jeremiah 14:9)
You, Lord, are in our midst, and we are called by your name; therefore do not abandon us, Lord, our God.

Short Responsory ?
Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
You have redeemed us, Lord, God of faithfulness.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
- Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.

Canticle Nunc Dimittis
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.
Now, Master, you let your servant go in peace.
 You have fulfilled your promise.
My own eyes have seen your salvation,
 which you have prepared in the sight of all peoples.
A light to bring the Gentiles from darkness;
 the glory of your people Israel.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.
Keep us safe, Lord, while we are awake, and guard us as we sleep, so that we can keep watch with Christ and rest in peace.

Prayer
Let us pray.
Lord, let us be so united with your only Son that we become worthy to rise with him into new life, who lives and reigns for ever and ever, Amen.

May the almighty Lord grant us a quiet night and a perfect end.
A M E N
An antiphon to Our Lady should be recited here.

33 posted on 07/04/2008 7:19:39 PM PDT by Salvation (†With God all things are possible.†)
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