Daily Prayers for May 5
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 “I Will Trust in the Lord”
Rise up, O Lord : and may your enemies be scattered.
Psalm 25:1 – 5
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; my God, I put my trust in you : let me not be humiliated, nor let my enemies triumph over me.
Let none who look to you be put to shame : let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.
Show me your ways, O Lord : and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me : for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long.
Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love : for they are from everlasting.
Rise up, O Lord : and may your enemies be scattered.
Numbers 10:29 – 36 Luke 4:31 – 37
Rise up, O Lord : and may your enemies be scattered.
French sociologist Jacques Ellul wrote, “One thing, however, is sure: unless Christians fulfill their prophetic role, unless they become the advocates and defenders of the truly poor, witness to their misery, then, infallibly, violence will suddenly break out. In one way or other ‘their blood cries to heaven,’ and violence will seem the only way out. It will be too late to try to calm them and create harmony.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
God, you call us to walk alongside the poor, all the while reminding us of our own poverty in spirit. Grant us courage to cry out against injustice. Grant us burdened hearts that ache to see the enemies of hunger, violence, and economic injustice scattered.
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 May 4
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 “Come, Thou Fount”
May the words we say and the prayers we pray : echo heaven’s praise.
Psalm 19:1 – 4
The heavens declare the glory of God : and the firmament shows his handiwork.
One day tells its tale to another : and one night imparts knowledge to another.
Although they have no words or language : and their voices are not heard,
their sound has gone out into all lands : and their message to the ends of the world.
May the words we say and the prayers we pray : echo heaven’s praise.
Numbers 6:22 – 27 Luke 4:14 – 30
May the words we say and the prayers we pray : echo heaven’s praise.
Mechthild of Magdeburg, a thirteenth-century mystic, prayed, “I cannot dance, Lord, unless you lead me. If you want me to leap with abandon, you must intone the song. Then I shall leap into love, from love into knowledge, from knowledge into enjoyment, and from enjoyment beyond all human sensations. There I want to remain, yet want also to circle higher still.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
We will proclaim your bounty and your blessing, O Lord. We will sing to one another the song you have put in our hearts. Our feet will bring good news to the ends of the earth. Help us, Lord, to live out our promises. 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.
Smells and Bells
We worship a God who came as a material Savior. So when we pray, we can use all of our senses. We see symbols of our faith. We hear words and songs. We smell the incense of our prayers rising to God. We touch and taste Christ in the sacramental life. Just as a whiff of apple pie can conjure up nostalgic memories of home, so our incense can help us pray. But, as Amos declares, if all we have is incense, without justice for the poor and fruit from our prayers, we should snuff out the incense and shut up with our songs, because they are nauseating to God. If our material tools help us worship the eternal God and bear fruit for the kingdom, then we keep them. If our material tools lead to narcissism or to an obsession with having the right incense or the correct color of candle, then we need to let go of them.
Disagreements in church history have led many Christians to feel like the physical world and the spiritual world are at odds, but it’s important to see them as complements, not opposites. After all, God breathed into the dirt to make humanity. (The very name human comes from the word humus, meaning “dirt.”) The incarnation of -Jesus is all about God taking on flesh and being born as a baby who cries, eats, and poops. -Jesus uses physical stuff like dirt and spit to heal -people, and God is always communicating — through rocks and fire (even through a donkey).
Physical stuff can help us pray. In the celebration of communion, or the Eucharist, we eat bread and drink wine (or juice) in remembrance of -Jesus. The physical elements help us literally “re-member” -Jesus as we are knit together into his body. We are what we eat. Sacrament comes from the Latin translation of the Greek word for mystery. A lot of the most sacred and beautiful rituals of Christianity are mysterious. There is more going on than what we see, but what we see can help us know God at work in the world.
Take water, for example. When we see water, we think of the waters of creation, the waters that swallowed up the Egyptian armies, the flood in Noah’s day, the baptism of -Jesus. It may seem odd that -Jesus identified himself with things of the earth such as “living water” and “the bread of life.” But just as much as -Jesus used the stuff of earth to show us something about himself, he also showed us that there is something of God in the creation around us. Even mud and spit can be used as healing balms. God is everywhere.
Think of the power of candlelight vigils or how the Scriptures speak about our prayers going up to God like incense. Certain parts of the church regularly use oil and water, not as magic potions but as material signs of the Spirit’s touch. Pentecostals often anoint the sick with oil as a sign of healing.
“Is any one of you sick? Call the elders of the church to pray over you and anoint you with oil” (James 5:14).
Catholics often dip an olive branch in water and fling the water out on the -people as a reminder of their baptism. We want to give you an invitation to use material things in prayer. You may want to burn incense as you say prayers for others. Or maybe you could do a foot-washing ceremony during confession, or light a candle as we suggest during evening prayer, remembering the light that shines in the darkness and is not overwhelmed.
Maybe you want to get even more creative. One pastor created an Easter ser-vice by putting snow on the altar, on Saturday, when the world was cold and the sun stopped shining. He made icicles out of red liquid and placed them in a crown above the snow so that as they melted, they dripped red onto the snow. Members of the congregation were invited to come and chisel their sins on ice tablets on the altar. Then, as Easter approached, the ice melted and the world came to life again.
Daily Prayers for May 3
Septima Poinsette Clark (1898 – 1987)
Septima Poinsette Clark was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to a father who was an ex-slave and a mother who had been raised in the Caribbean. While her parents had very little formal education, they emphasized the need for Septima to go to school. Though Septima was eligible to teach after completing the eighth grade, her parents and teachers encouraged her to finish high school. After graduating she took a post as a teacher on Johns Island, off the coast of Charleston. There she began to notice the extreme disparity between the education of African-Americans and that of their white counterparts. This experience stayed with her and fueled her quest for educational reform. An avid social activist during the civil rights era, Septima traveled throughout the South to educate African-Americans about their voting rights. She worked closely with Myles Horton of the Highlander Folk School. Together they trained many civil rights activists, including Rosa Parks, in nonviolent resistance and local leadership. Although Septima was thrown in jail, threatened, fired from jobs, and falsely accused of wrongdoing, she never turned from her task of working against an unjust educational system. Septima Poinsette Clark has become known as the Grandmother of the Civil Rights Movement.
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”
Root us, Lord, in your life : the life that lasts forever.
Psalm 15
Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? : who may abide upon your holy hill?
Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right : who speaks the truth from his heart.
There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend : he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
In his sight the wicked is rejected : but he honors those who fear the Lord.
He has sworn to do no wrong : and does not take back his word.
He does not give his money in hope of gain : nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things : shall never be overthrown.
Root us, Lord, in your life : the life that lasts forever.
Numbers 3:1 – 13 Luke 4:1 – 13
Root us, Lord, in your life : the life that lasts forever.
Septima Poinsette Clark liked to say, “I have a great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Like a tree planted by living water is the person who commits to your ways, O Lord. Nourish us with your disciplining love; prune our branches for growth. Teach us also to recognize good fruit and to recoil from the bitterness of the bad. 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 May 2
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 “O Lord, Hear My Prayer”
Rise up and lift your hand, O God : forget not your afflicted.
Psalm 10:1 – 3, 10 – 11
Why do you stand so far off, O Lord : and hide yourself in time of trouble?
The wicked arrogantly persecute the poor : but they are trapped in the schemes they have devised.
The wicked boast of their heart’s desire : the covetous curse and revile the Lord.
The innocent are broken and humbled before them : the helpless fall before their power.
They say in their heart, “God has forgotten : he hides his face; he will never notice.”
Rise up and lift your hand, O God : forget not your afflicted.
Leviticus 26:27 – 42 Luke 3:15 – 22
Rise up and lift your hand, O God : forget not your afflicted.
Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy said, “Men of our time believe that all the insanity and cruelty of our lives, the enormous wealth of few, the envious poverty of the majority, the wars and every form of violence, are perceived by nobody, and that nothing prevents us from continuing to live thus.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
God, we know you see us in our suffering and in our sin. It is we who are forgetful. Be patient with us and receive even our forgetful prayers and pleas. Remind us again and again of your presence, and help us to be that memory for others. 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 May 1
On May 1, 1886, one hundred and eighty thousand US workers went on strike for an eight-hour workday. Rallies continued until May 3, when a bomb was thrown into a crowd and shots were fired, killing eight policemen and an unknown number of civilians. Ever since this incident, remembered as the Haymarket Massacre, May 1 has been remembered as International Workers Day.
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”
Gather us to you, O Lord : and whisper justice in our ears.
Psalm 2:1 – 2, 11 – 13
Why are the nations in an uproar? : Why do the -peoples mutter empty threats?
Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt, and the princes plot together : against the Lord and against his Anointed?
Submit to the Lord with fear : and with trembling bow before him;
lest he be angry and you perish : for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are they all : who take refuge in him!
Gather us to you, O Lord : and whisper justice in our ears.
Leviticus 26:1 – 20 Luke 3:1 – 14
Gather us to You, O Lord : and whisper justice in our ears.
American labor organizer and activist Cesar Chavez said, “When we are really honest with ourselves, we must admit that our lives are all that really belong to us. So it is how we use our lives that determines what kind of men we are. It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life. I am convinced that the truest act of courage, the strongest act of manliness is to sacrifice ourselves for others in totally nonviolent struggle for justice. To be a man is to suffer for others. God help us to be men!”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
God, help us to imitate you as we feed those who hunger for bread, for justice, for companionship, for forgiveness, for alternate ways of living in this world. Give us your words, equip our hands, and guide our feet. Sustain us, Lord, with your healing love. 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 April 30
North and South Vietnam were reunited on April 30, 1975, bringing an end to the Vietnam War.
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”
Establish the work of our hands, O God : establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 144:1 – 2, 13 – 16
Blessed be the Lord my rock! : who trains my hand to fight and my fingers to battle;
my help and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer : my shield in whom I trust, who subdues the -peoples under me.
May our sons be like plants well nurtured from their youth : and our daughters like sculptured corners of a palace.
May our barns be filled to overflowing with all manner of crops : may the flocks in our pastures increase by thousands and tens of thousands; may our cattle be fat and sleek.
May there be no breaching of the walls, no going into exile : no wailing in the public squares.
Happy are the -people of whom this is so! : happy are the -people whose God is the Lord!
Establish the work of our hands, O God : establish the work of our hands.
Leviticus 25:35 – 55 1 Peter 4:7 – 19
Establish the work of our hands, O God : establish the work of our hands.
Twentieth-century novelist Georges Bernarnos said, “Every particle of Christ’s divine charity is today more precious for your security — for your security, I say — than all the atom bombs in all the stockpiles.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
If our days do not begin and end in you, O Lord, they come to nothing. Bless our efforts at faithfulness; work through us despite our supposed strengths. Establish the work of our hands, O God, and be merciful. 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.
Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers: A Few Ideas
1. Track to its source one item of food you eat regularly. Then each time you eat that food, remember the folks who made it possible for you to eat it.
2. Become a pen pal with someone who is in prison.
3. Try recycling water from the washer or sink by using it to flush your toilet. Remember the 1.2 billion folks who don’t have clean water.
4. Leave a tip for someone cleaning the streets or the public restroom.
5. Write one CEO each month this year. Affirm or critique the ethics of their companies. (You may need to do a little research first.)
Daily Prayers for April 29
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 “Be Thou My Vision”
There is a crack, a crack in everything : that’s how the light gets in.
Psalm 139:1, 6 – 9
Lord, you have searched me out and known me : you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
Where can I go then from your Spirit? : where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there : if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning : and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand will lead me : and your right hand hold me fast.
There is a crack, a crack in everything : that’s how the light gets in.
Leviticus 25:1 – 17 1 Peter 3:13 – 4:6
There is a crack, a crack in everything : that’s how the light gets in.
Francis de Sales, a sixteenth-century bishop, said, “We often say that we are nothing, that we are misery itself and the refuse of the world, but we would be very sorry if anyone took us at our word or told others that we are really such as we say.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, we thank you for our brokenness because it makes us depend on you. Yet you are continually remaking us into a new creation. Keep us from false humilities and help us to reflect back to one another what it means to be created in your image. 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 April 28
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 “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence”
I greet the Christ in you, my sister : I greet the Christ in you, my brother.
Psalm 133
Oh, how good and pleasant it is : when brethren live together in unity!
It is like fine oil upon the head : that runs down upon the beard,
upon the beard of Aaron : and runs down upon the collar of his robe.
It is like the dew of Hermon : that falls upon the hills of Zion.
For there the Lord has ordained the blessing : life for evermore.
I greet the Christ in you, my sister : I greet the Christ in you, my brother.
Leviticus 23:23 – 44 1 Peter 2:11 – 25
I greet the Christ in you, my sister : I greet the Christ in you, my brother.
Albert Luthuli, who struggled nonviolently against apartheid in South Africa, said, “It is inevitable that in working for freedom some individuals and some families must take the lead and suffer: the road to freedom is via the cross.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Lord, we pray we never find ourselves without hope, without a glimpse of the empty tomb each time we happen upon a cross. Help us begin our daily journey expecting both crosses and empty tombs and rejoicing when we encounter either because we know you are with us. 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 April 27
On April 27, 1977, mothers of abducted children in Buenos Aires, Argentina, held their first rally for the “disappeared.” The mothers organized after losing numerous children during Argentina’s Dirty War between 1976 and 1983. Many of the children were tortured and killed during this time. The military claims that nine thousand such children are unaccounted for, while the mothers say it is closer to thirty thousand.
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 “O Mary, Don’t You Weep”
God, grant me courage : that I may plant seeds of peace.
Psalm 120:1 – 3, 6 – 7
When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord : I called to the Lord, and he answered me.
Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips : and from the deceitful tongue.
What shall be done to you, and what more besides : O you deceitful tongue?
Too long have I had to live : among the enemies of peace.
I am on the side of peace : but when I speak of it, they are for war.
God, grant me courage : that I may plant seeds of peace.
Leviticus 23:1 – 22 1 Peter 2:1 – 10
God, grant me courage : that I may plant seeds of peace.
Contemporary Christian activist Jim Wallis has said, -“People who believe in war leave all behind, prepared to die: what price are we prepared to pay to be a -people who believe in peace? Those who keep faith to the end will know their weakness the best. God, grant me the courage; help me, that I may plant seeds of peace.”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
We profess to be -people of peace, Lord, but keep us from the temptation to proclaim peace when there is no peace. Show us today where peace is most needed in our community and in our world. Show us which of us must plant the seeds of peace, which of us must water them, and which of us must yet become gardeners of your peace. 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 April 26
On April 26, 1986, a nuclear power accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine, dispersed large amounts of radioactive debris into the air. The plume drifted over parts of the Soviet Union and Europe, extending as far as Ireland. The most contaminated areas were in Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, forcing the evacuation and resettlement of 336,000 -people. There were fifty-six direct deaths; it is estimated that eight hundred thousand others suffered radiation exposure.
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 “Guide My Feet”
Guide my feet and hold my hand : set my heart on heaven’s way.
Psalm 119:105 – 8, 111 – 12
Your word is a lantern to my feet : and a light upon my path.
I have sworn and am determined : to keep your righteous judgments.
I am deeply troubled : preserve my life, O Lord, according to your word.
Accept, O Lord, the willing tribute of my lips : and teach me your judgments.
Your decrees are my inheritance for ever : truly, they are the joy of my heart.
I have applied my heart to fulfill your statutes : for ever and to the end.
Guide my feet and hold my hand : set my heart on heaven’s way.
Leviticus 19:26 – 37 1 Peter 1:13 – 25
Guide my feet and hold my hand : set my heart on heaven’s way.
Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, wrote, “We believe that spiritual action is the hardest of all — to praise and worship God, to thank Him, to petition Him for our brothers, to repent of our sins and those of others. This is action, just as the taking of cities is action, as revolution is action, as the Corporal Works of Mercy are action. And just to lie in the sun and let God work on you is to be sitting in the light of the Sun of Justice, and the growth will be there, and joy will grow and spread from us to others. That is why I like to use so often that saying of St. Catherine of Siena: ‘All the Way to heaven is Heaven, because He said I am the Way.’ ”
Prayers for Others
Our Father
Open our eyes to see your glory in the smallest things, that we would live with the faith and the boldness required to believe that all the way to heaven truly is heaven. 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.
