Daily Prayers for November 17
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 “Steal Away to -Jesus”
Hide us, your anxious children : under the shadow of your wing.
Psalm 86:14 – 17
The arrogant rise up against me, O God, and a band of violent men seeks my life : they have not set you before their eyes.
But you, O Lord, are gracious and full of compassion : slow to anger, and full of kindness and truth.
Turn to me and have mercy upon me : give your strength to your servant; and save the child of your handmaid.
Show me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed : because you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.
Hide us, your anxious children : under the shadow of your wing.
Zechariah 10:1 – 12 Revelation 18:1 – 14
Hide us, your anxious children : under the shadow of your wing.
A passage from Forgotten among the Lilies by Ronald Rolheiser: “If the Catholicism that I was raised in had a fault, and it did, it was precisely that it did not allow for mistakes. It demanded that you get it right the first time. There was supposed to be no need for a second chance. If you made a mistake, you lived with it and, like the rich young man, were doomed to be sad, at least for the rest of your life. A serious mistake was a permanent stigmatization, a mark that you wore like Cain. I have seen that mark on all kinds of -people: divorcees, ex-priests, ex-religious, -people who have had abortions, married -people who have had affairs, -people who have had children outside of marriage, parents who have made serious mistakes with their children, and countless others who have made serious mistakes. There is too little around to help them. We need a theology of brokenness. We need a theology which teaches us that even though we cannot unscramble an egg, God’s grace lets us live happily and with renewed innocence far beyond any egg we may have scrambled. We need a theology that teaches us that God does not just give us one chance, but that every time we close a door, he opens another one for us.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Thank you, Lord, for the many ways you watch over and protect us in the course of the day. As you shelter us, show us also how to provide physical and spiritual shelter for those we encounter today. 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.
