Daily Prayers for April 17
On April 17, 1961, the CIA launched its Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro’s Communist government. When US President John F. Kennedy recognized this action of his own intelligence agency as an attempt to escalate the Cold War, he refused to send in US troops, saying that he would like to “splinter the CIA in a thousand pieces and scatter it to the wind.”
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 “Guide My Feet”
We stoop to lift up our souls, O God : rain down heaven in our hearts and in your world.
Psalm 86:3 – 5, 11 – 13
Be merciful to me, O Lord, for you are my God : I call upon you all the day long.
Gladden the soul of your servant : for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving : and great is your love toward all who call upon you.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth : knit my heart to you that I may fear your name.
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart : and glorify your name for evermore.
For great is your love toward me : you have delivered me from the nethermost pit.
We stoop to lift up our souls, O God : rain down heaven in our hearts and in your world.
Exodus 32:21 – 34 1 Thes-salo-nians 4:1 – 12
We stoop to lift up our souls, O God : rain down heaven in our hearts and in your world.
John Chrysostom, a fourth-century bishop of Constantinople, wrote, “Prayer is the light of the spirit, and the spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness. Like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. Prayer also stands before God as an honored ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by humans, but by God’s grace.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, we cup our hands to gather the pieces of heaven you shower upon us. Help us to open our hands with generous spirits and scatter your divine love in the darkest places. 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.
