Daily Prayers for December 8

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 “Ubi Caritas”

Your glory, Lord, lights up the world : where love is real, it shines.

Psalm 41:1 – 3, 13

Happy are they who consider the poor and needy! : the Lord will deliver them in the time of trouble.

The Lord preserves them and keeps them alive, so that they may be happy in the land : he does not hand them over to the will of their enemies.

The Lord sustains them on their sickbed : and ministers to them in their illness.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel : from age to age. Amen. Amen.

Your glory, Lord, lights up the world : where love is real, it shines.

Isaiah 5:1 – 7 Luke 21:20 – 28

Your glory, Lord, lights up the world : where love is real, it shines.

Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche communities, has written, “To love someone is not first of all to do things for them, but to reveal to them their beauty and value, to say to them through our attitude: ‘You are beautiful. You are important. I trust you. You can trust yourself.’ We all know well that we can do things for others and in the process crush them, making them feel that they are incapable of doing things by themselves. To love someone is to reveal to them their capacities for life, the light that is shining in them.”

Prayers for Others

Our Father

Lord, help us minister to others in ways that validate and authenticate them as fellow children of God. Keep us from daring to assume that our good fortune is of our own doing or that our ability to serve is anything other than a gift. 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.