Daily Prayers for November 1
All Saints
Since its earliest centuries, the church has set aside a day to remember the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us in the faith, stretching across the centuries and around the globe. However hard it might seem to follow the way of -Jesus in our own time and place, this is a day to remember that we may be crazy, but we are not alone.
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 sing to the Lord : let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Song “When the Saints Go Marching In”
Heaven and earth are full of your glory : Hosanna in the highest!
Psalm 8
O Lord our Governor : how exalted is your name in all the world!
Out of the mouths of infants and children : your majesty is praised above the heavens.
You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries : to quell the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers : the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
what is man that you should be mindful of him? : the son of man that you should seek him out?
you have made him but little lower than the angels : you adorn him with glory and honor;
you give him mastery over the works of your hands : you put all things under his feet:
all sheep and oxen : even the wild beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, the fish of the sea : and whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
O Lord our Governor : how exalted is your name in all the world!
Revelation 7:2 – 4, 9 – 17 Matthew 5:1 – 12
Heaven and earth are full of your glory : Hosanna in the highest!
Fourteenth-century mystic Meister Eckhart said, “Do not think that saintliness comes from occupation; it depends rather on what one is. The kind of work we do does not make us holy, but we may make it holy.”
Heaven and earth are full of your glory : Hosanna in the highest!
Prayer for Others
Our Father
Lord, your saints come from every nation and every tribe. Such is the beauty of your kingdom, where every race and -people are honored and recognized as being made in your image. Help us live lives of peace and reconciliation that pay homage to the diversity of your great cloud of witnesses. 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.
For centuries, many traditions have sung a simple Alleluia chorus before and after the reading of the Gospel. Feel free to do that throughout the year as you pray. Alleluia means “praise God.” When Lent comes around and we spend forty days fasting and preparing ourselves for Easter, we omit the Alleluia. Then, on Easter morning, we let it burst out again — like -Jesus coming out of the grave. So every Alleluia is a little celebration that our God is stronger than death. Alleluia!
