Daily Prayers for January 18
In 1893 Lorrin Thurston, the grandson of Christian missionaries, convinced US President Benjamin Harrison of the urgent need to annex Hawaii in order to protect American lives and property. When US troops arrived on Hawaiian soil, Queen Liliuokalani surrendered her throne to prevent bloodshed. One hundred years later, US President Bill Clinton apologized to Native Hawaiians, calling the overthrow of Hawaii’s monarchy an illegal act.
O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you
as the day rises to meet the sun.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Come, let us bow down and bend the knee : let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
Song “O Lord, Have Mercy”
Judge your earth with mercy, Lord : and teach us to love justice.
Psalm 94:1 – 4
O Lord God of vengeance : O God of vengeance, show yourself.
Rise up, O Judge of the world : give the arrogant their just deserts.
How long shall the wicked, O Lord : how long shall the wicked triumph?
They bluster in their insolence : all evildoers are full of boasting.
Judge your earth with mercy, Lord : and teach us to love justice.
Genesis 11:27 – 12:8 Galatians 5:25 – 6:10
Judge your earth with mercy, Lord : and teach us to love justice.
Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, wrote, “We want no revolution; we want the brotherhood of men. We want men to love one another. We want all men to have what is sufficient for their needs. But when we meet -people who deny Christ in His poor, we feel, ‘Here are the atheists.’ They turned first from Christ crucified because He was a poor worker, buffeted and spat upon and beaten. And now — strange thought — the devil has so maneuvered that the -people turn from Him because those who profess Him are clothed in soft raiment and sit at well-spread tables and deny the poor.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Holy Spirit, guide us in the imprint of Christ’s footsteps to pursue justice, counting our neighbors’ welfare to be as important as our own. Amen.
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you;
may he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm;
may he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you;
may he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.
