Daily Prayers for May 14

Brother Juniper (d. 1258)

A companion of Francis of Assisi, Brother Juniper is remembered as a “fool for Christ,” and there are all sorts of wild stories about his antics. He was notorious for constantly giving his possessions away and living with a winsomeness that sometimes got him into trouble. At one point, he was ordered by a superior not to give away his outer garment to the beggars anymore. But it wasn’t long before he met someone in need who asked him for some clothing. He said, “My superior has told me under obedience not to give my clothing to anyone. But if you pull it off my back, I certainly will not prevent you.” Francis is said to have joked about how he wished for a forest of Junipers.

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 “Servant Song”

Blessed are you who are poor : for yours is the kingdom of God.

Psalm 72:1 – 2, 12 – 14

Give the king your justice, O God : and your righteous-ness to the king’s son;

that he may rule your -people righteously : and the poor with justice.

For he shall deliver the poor who cries out in distress : and the oppressed who has no helper.

He shall have pity on the lowly and poor : he shall preserve the lives of the needy.

He shall redeem their lives from oppression and violence : and dear shall their blood be in his sight.

Blessed are you who are poor : for yours is the kingdom of God.

Numbers 16:36 – 50 Luke 7:1 – 17

Blessed are you who are poor : for yours is the kingdom of God.

John Chrysostom, a fourth-century preacher and bishop of Constantinople, wrote, “Tell me then, how is it that you are rich? From whom did you receive it, and from whom did he transmit it to you? From his father and his grandfather. But can you, ascending through many generations, show the acquisition just? It cannot be. The root and origin of it must have been injustice. Why? Because God in the beginning did not make one person rich and another poor. He left the earth free to all alike. Why then if it is common, have you so many acres of land, while your neighbor has not a portion of it?”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

Lord, you did not withhold even your life for our benefit. If nothing is too much to offer you, remind us that nothing is too much to sacrifice for our brothers and sisters in need. 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.