Daily Prayers for September 22
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 “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”
Lord, you satisfy the thirsty : and fill the hungry with good things.
Psalm 107:4 – 8
Some wandered in desert wastes : they found no way to a city where they might dwell.
They were hungry and thirsty : their spirits languished within them.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble : and he delivered them from their distress.
He put their feet on a straight path : to go to a city where they might dwell.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his mercy : and the wonders he does for his children.
Lord, you satisfy the thirsty : and fill the hungry with good things.
Micah 2:1 – 13 Matthew 9:35 – 10:15
Lord, you satisfy the thirsty : and fill the hungry with good things.
Dom Helder Camara, a twentieth-century bishop in Brazil, said, “When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a Communist.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, your good news brings healing to our bodies, minds, and spirits. Teach us the necessity and power of asking the right questions, and help us live the answers as living members of that new social order which is your body. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 21
Henri Nouwen (1932 – 1996)
Henri Nouwen was a Dutch Catholic priest who became an esteemed professor at both Yale and Harvard, but then followed the path of “downward mobility” in his pursuit of Jesus. He left the public eye to work among those struggling to survive in Latin America and then joined the work of L’Arche Daybreak Community in Canada. He was a “wounded healer” whose restless seeking for God has left a legacy to the world through prolific writings on the spirituality of brokenness and vulnerability. He died suddenly on this day in 1996.
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 “Solid Rock”
Sing to the Lord, sing praises : make known his deeds among the nations.
Psalm 105:12 – 15
When they were few in number : of little account, and sojourners in the land,
wandering from nation to nation : and from one kingdom to another,
he let no one oppress them : and rebuked kings for their sake,
saying, “Do not touch my anointed : and do my prophets no harm.”
Sing to the Lord, sing praises : make known his deeds among the nations.
Micah 1:1 – 9 Matthew 9:27 – 34
Sing to the Lord, sing praises : make known his deeds among the nations.
Henri Nouwen wrote, “Praying is no easy matter. It demands a relationship in which you allow someone other than yourself to enter into the very center of your person, to see there what you would rather leave in darkness, and to touch there what you would rather leave untouched.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, we bring to you our vulnerability, our wounds, our pain, and our growth. By the power of your forgiving love, help us also to become wounded healers. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 20
Paul Chong Hasang (1794? – 1839) and the Korean Martyrs
Paul Chong Hasang was the son of Augustine Chong Yakjong, one of Korea’s first converts to Christianity. Yakjong was martyred with Paul’s older brother, but Yakjong’s wife and their remaining children, including seven-year-old Paul, were spared. Paul became a government interpreter, which allowed him to travel and eventually meet a bishop in Beijing whom he entreated to send priests as missionaries to Korea. Years later, Paul learned Latin and theology, and he was about to be ordained when persecution broke out in 1839. Refusing to renounce his faith, Paul was bound to a cross on a cart. We remember him on this day, along with Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean-born Catholic priest, and 103 other Korean Christians who were martyred.
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 “What Wondrous Love”
Listen, Lord, to our hearts’ cry : teach us how to pray.
Psalm 103:8 – 13
The Lord is full of compassion and mercy : slow to anger and of great kindness.
He will not always accuse us : nor will he keep his anger for ever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins : nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
For as the heavens are high above the earth : so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
As far as the east is from the west : so far has he removed our sins from us.
As a father cares for his children : so does the Lord care for those who fear him.
Listen, Lord, to our hearts’ cry : teach us how to pray.
Hosea 14:1 – 9 Matthew 9:18 – 26
Listen, Lord, to our hearts’ cry : teach us how to pray.
When a judge told Paul Chong Hasang that the king had forbidden Christianity and that it was his duty as a loyal subject to renounce the faith, Paul replied, “I have told you that I am a Christian, and will be one until my death.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Thank you, Lord, for the witness of those who have counted their relationship with you more important than their very lives. Draw us to you in constant prayer, that we might grow in the intimacy that makes your passion ours. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 19
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 “Woke Up This Mornin’ ”
Call us with the voice we know : and give us grace to listen.
Psalm 95:8 – 11
Harden not your hearts, as your forebears did in the wilderness : at Meribah, and on that day at Massah, when they tempted me.
They put me to the test : though they had seen my works.
Forty years long I detested that generation and said : “This -people are wayward in their hearts; they do not know my ways.”
So I swore in my wrath : “They shall not enter into my rest.”
Call us with the voice we know : and give us grace to listen.
Hosea 13:4 – 14 Matthew 9:9 – 17
Call us with the voice we know : and give us grace to listen.
Oscar Romero, martyr of the church in El Salvador, said, “A church that suffers no persecution but enjoys the privileges and support of the things of the earth — beware! — is not the true church of -Jesus Christ. A preaching that does not point out sin is not the preaching of the gospel. A preaching that makes sinners feel good, so that they are secured in their sinful state, betrays the gospel’s call.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may ever be supported by the love and prayer of your beloved community, and may know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 18
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 “Fairest Lord -Jesus”
We lift our hands in praise : to say these hands are yours.
Psalm 90:14 – 17
Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning : so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.
Make us glad by the measure of the days that you afflicted us : and the years in which we suffered adversity.
Show your servants your works : and your splendor to their children.
May the graciousness of the Lord our God be upon us : prosper the work of our hands; prosper our handiwork.
We lift our hands in praise : to say these hands are yours.
Hosea 11:1 – 19 Matthew 9:1 – 8
We lift our hands in praise : to say these hands are yours.
Teresa of Avila, a sixteenth-century Spanish mystic, wrote, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the world; yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; yours are the hands with which God is to bless -people now.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, give us the audacity to live as though we believe our hands and feet are instruments of prayer. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 17
Hildegard of Bingen (1098 – 1179)
Hildegard was sent to the convent at the age of eight, where she learned to read Scripture, pray, and chant. Even as a child, she experienced supernatural religious visions in which she saw things invisible to others, foretold the future, and was filled with a luminosity she later called “the reflection of the Living Light.” At age thirty-eight, she became abbess of the Benedictine community in which she was raised and, five years later, received her call to prophesy when she saw a fiery light that infused her heart and mind with knowledge. She finally was able to understand her visions as a means of divine revelation and began to write extensively about them. Her term for the grace of God inherent in all living things was viriditas, or greenness, endearing her in our generation to followers of creation spirituality. Hildegard’s holistic approach to God and humanity is relevant today, particularly to those longing for wholeness and healing for all of creation.
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 “We Are Marching in the Light of God”
Your word is in all the world : it flashes out in every creature.
Psalm 89:5 – 8
The heavens bear witness to your wonders, O Lord : and to your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones;
for who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? : who is like the Lord among the gods?
God is much to be feared in the council of the holy ones : great and terrible to all those round about him.
Who is like you, Lord God of hosts? : O mighty Lord, your faithfulness is all around you.
Your word is in all the world : it flashes out in every creature.
Hosea 10:1 – 15 Matthew 8:28 – 34
Your word is in all the world : it flashes out in every creature.
Hildegard of Bingen wrote, “We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, when you invited Adam to name the animals, you invited us all to participate in your creative work. Teach us to rejoice in your creation and assist in its care, that we, your humble creatures, may in all things give you praise. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 16
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 “Oh the Deep, Deep Love of -Jesus”
Show us the light of your countenance, Lord : and we shall be saved.
Psalm 80:14 – 17
Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine : preserve what your right hand has planted.
They burn it with fire like rubbish : at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.
Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand : the son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
And so will we never turn away from you : give us life, that we may call upon your name.
Show us the light of your countenance, Lord : and we shall be saved.
Hosea 5:8 – 6:6 Matthew 8:18 – 27
Show us the light of your countenance, Lord : and we shall be saved.
Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of -Jesus, wrote, “The most wonderful thing is unity with -Jesus and with the Father. In him we shall partake in God if we firmly resist and flee all the arrogant attacks of the prince of this world. Unity of prayer, unity of supplication, unity of mind, unity of expectancy in love and in blameless joy: this is -Jesus Christ and there is nothing greater than he. Flock together, all of you, as to one temple of God, as to one altar, to one -Jesus Christ, who proceeded from the one Father, who is in the one and returned to the one.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Bind us to you, O Lord, even when we are tempted to fall away, so we might witness to your faithfulness in your Spirit’s power. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 15
On September 15, 1963, a man later identified as Robert Chambliss placed a bomb under the steps of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14), Cynthia Wesley (14), and Denise McNair (11) were killed by the explosion, and twenty-two others were injured. The girls were attending Sunday school classes at the church. Chambliss was found not guilty of murder, but was given a hundred-dollar fine and six months in jail for having dynamite. He was retried in 1973 and received a life sentence for the bombing.
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 “Poor Wayfaring Stranger”
How long, O Lord, will evildoers : harm your little ones?
Psalm 77:5 – 10
I consider the days of old : I remember the years long past;
I commune with my heart in the night : I ponder and search my mind.
Will the Lord cast me off for ever? : will he no more show his favor?
Has his loving-kindness come to an end for ever? : has his promise failed for evermore?
Has God forgotten to be gracious? : has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?
And I said, “My grief is this : the right hand of the Most High has lost its power.”
How long, O Lord, will evildoers : harm your little ones?
Hosea 5:1 – 7 Matthew 8:1 – 17
How long, O Lord, will evildoers : harm your little ones?
A reading from the gospel according to Matthew:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, we weep with those who weep and refuse to be consoled. May our tears mix with yours in a river of justice, flowing down like mighty waters, transforming the world that is into the one that ought to be. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 14
John Chrysostom (c. 347 – 407)
As a young man, John Chrysostom tried to be a desert monk, but he was deterred by poor health. So he decided to give his whole life to God in the city. He eventually became archbishop of Constantinople, but always insisted on a life of simplicity. John is remembered for his eloquence in preaching, especially against abuses of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders. After his death he was given the Greek surname Chrysostomos, meaning “golden-mouthed,” because of his eloquence with words. In a time filled with so many words, John reminds us that words of truth have power to convict and transform.
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 “All Creatures of Our God and King”
O Word made flesh, speak through us : words that bring new life.
Psalm 71:19 – 23
Your righteous-ness, O God, reaches to the heavens : you have done great things; who is like you, O God?
You have showed me great troubles and adversities : but you will restore my life and bring me up again from the deep places of the earth.
You strengthen me more and more : you enfold and comfort me,
therefore I will praise you upon the lyre for your faithfulness, O my God : I will sing to you with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.
My lips will sing with joy when I play to you : and so will my soul, which you have redeemed.
O Word made flesh, speak through us : words that bring new life.
Hosea 4:11 – 19 Matthew 7:22 – 29
O Word made flesh, speak through us : words that bring new life.
John Chrysostom said, “Prayer is the light of the spirit, and the spirit, raised up to heaven by prayer, clings to God with the utmost tenderness. Like a child crying tearfully for its mother, it craves the milk that God provides. Prayer also stands before God as an honored ambassador. It gives joy to the spirit, peace to the heart. I speak of prayer, not words. It is the longing for God, love too deep for words, a gift not given by humans, but by God’s grace.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord -Jesus, you taught us to pray. Now help us pray for our daily bread while laboring with love for those who hunger. Show us how to hallow your name while striving for justice in our relationships and in society. May our whole lives become a prayer, ever to your glory. 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.
Daily Prayers for September 13
In 1971, inmates at Attica Prison in New York revolted and took control of their facility, presenting a list of demands to the governor of New York that included removal of the warden, better living conditions, and amnesty for those who had participated in the uprising. On September 13, a combined military and police force stormed the prison. By the end of the day, thirty-one prisoners and nine prison guards were dead. As we remember the prisoners and guards who died at Attica, we are also mindful of the fact that more than 1 percent of the US population is incarcerated today. Also noteworthy are the Oslo Accords signed on September 13, 1993, a milestone in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. They were the first direct, face-to-face agreements between the government of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and were intended to be a framework for ongoing relations and negotiations in this troubled area of the Holy Land.
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”
You who died a criminal’s death : raise us with you to freedom.
Psalm 69:16 – 17, 21 – 23
Save me from the mire; do not let me sink : let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.
Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up : do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
“You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor : my adversaries are all in your sight.”
Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed : I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I could find no one.
They gave me gall to eat : and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.
You who died a criminal’s death : raise us with you to freedom.
Hosea 4:1 – 10 Matthew 7:13 – 21
You who died a criminal’s death : raise us with you to freedom.
Clarence Jordan, co-founder of Koinonia Farm, wrote, “The Good News of the resurrection is not that we shall die and go home with him, but that he is risen and comes home with us, bringing all his hungry, naked, thirsty, sick, prisoner brothers with him.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, help us see that prison takes many forms in all nations, from the steel bars of injustice and unforgiveness to the open fields of consumerism and spirit-killing entertainment. Equip us by your Spirit’s power to free one another from the various prisons in which we find ourselves. 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.
