Daily Prayers for April 14
Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 – 1680)
Kateri Tekakwitha was born in 1656 in present-day New York. Her mother was Algonquin, a Christian Native, and her father was a non-Christian Mohawk Turtle chief. When Tekakwitha was four years old, a smallpox epidemic killed her parents and her brother, and left her with seriously impaired eyesight and a disfigured face. Inspired by Jesuit missionaries at an early age, Tekakwitha was baptized and assumed the name Kateri, probably in honor of Catherine of Siena. The following year, French conquerors reached her community of Ossernenon and destroyed much of it, burning it to the ground and massacring many of the Natives. Kateri escaped on the St. Lawrence River to a village of Christian Natives, where she dedicated her life to chastity, prayer, and care for the sick. She was the first Native American saint in the Catholic Church and is often called the Lily of the Mohawks, and the Apostle of the Indians.
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 “Be Thou My Vision”
May the guarding of God shelter us : against the winds and the wiles of the devil.
Psalm 71:1 – 3, 15 – 17
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge : let me never be ashamed.
In your righteous-ness, deliver me and set me free : incline your ear to me and save me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe : you are my crag and my stronghold.
My mouth shall recount your mighty acts and saving deeds all day long : though I cannot know the number of them.
I will begin with the mighty works of the Lord God : I will recall your righteous-ness, yours alone.
O God, you have taught me since I was young : and to this day I tell of your wonderful works.
May the guarding of God shelter us : against the winds and the wiles of the devil.
Exodus 25:1 – 22 1 Thes-salo-nians 2:1 – 12
May the guarding of God shelter us : against the winds and the wiles of the devil.
Martin Niemoller, a Lutheran pastor in Nazi Germany, wrote, “First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Go before us, God, that we may follow in your steps. Go behind us, God, to steer us when we stray. Go beside us, God, as our strength and our joy for the journey. 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.
