Daily Prayers for December 1
Charles de Foucauld (1858 – 1916)
While working in the North African desert after a dishonorable discharge from military ser-vice, Charles de Foucauld was impressed by the piety of Muslims and experienced a dramatic recovery of his Christian faith. He spent a number of years in a Trappist monastery before hearing the call to a new monasticism among the working poor. “I no longer want a monastery which is too secure,” he wrote. “I want a small monastery, like the house of a poor workman who is not sure if tomorrow he will find work and bread, who with all his being shares the suffering of the world.” Though Foucauld died in solitude, the Little Brothers and Sisters of -Jesus, inspired by his life and witness, have started communities of ser-vice among the poor and outcast around the world.
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”
May we cry the gospel from the rooftops : both with our words and with our lives.
Psalm 8:4 – 7
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.
May we cry the gospel from the rooftops : both with our words and with our lives.
Isaiah 1:1 – 9 Luke 20:1 – 8
May we cry the gospel from the rooftops : both with our words and with our lives.
Charles de Foucauld prayed, “Father, I abandon myself into your hands, do with me what you will. For whatever you may do, I thank you. I am ready for all, I accept all, let only your will be done in me, as in all your creatures.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Sometimes, Lord, it takes witnessing another person’s commitment for us to realize our own lack of faith. Open our eyes to learn, even from strangers who inhabit other faith traditions, what it means to be committed to you. 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.
