Prayer for the Morning
God leads us in the path of life eternal:
let us give thanks and praise!
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!
Hymn
Meter: 887D
This hymn can be sung to the tune used for
Stabat Mater Dolorosa
Saint Augustine, wisest preacher,
Still be with us as our teacher,
Guide our feet on wisdom’s quest.
Restless mind, by Wisdom captured,
Soaring Spirit, love enraptured,
Lead us where our hearts find rest.
Troubled heart, you long resisted
Wisdom’s claim, and still insisted
On your freedom, but in vain.
Children’s voices gaily singing,
Kept within your mem’ry ringing;
“Take and read”: God’s will was plain.
Psalm 139 (1-3, 9-10, 13-15, 17-18, 23-24)
The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God. (1 Cor 2:10)
Saint Augustine’s Confessions is a classic of spiritual autobiography. His self-knowledge was rooted in his knowledge of Christ, so it led him beyond himself into the heights and depths of love. His brilliant mind led him to the shores of human understanding, at which point he knelt in humble acknowledgment of the transcendent mystery of God.
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
For it was you who created my being,
knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I thank you for the wonder of my being,
for the wonders of all your creation.
Already you knew my soul,
my body held no secret from you
when I was being fashioned in secret
and molded in the depths of the earth.
To me, how mysterious your thoughts,
the sum of them not to be numbered!
If I count them, they are more than the sand;
to finish, I must be eternal, like you.
O search me, God, and know my heart.
O test me and know my thoughts.
See that I follow not the wrong path
and lead me in the path of life eternal.
Glory to the Father….
Word of God. Ephesians 3:14-19
Ikneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. (1 Cor 2:12)
Canticle of Zechariah
We are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them. (Eph 2:10)
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father…
Intercessions
Through the intercession of Saint Augustine, we pray:
R/Enlighten us, O Lord, by the light of your love.
For those who seek knowledge without love:
– that they may find the love of God, the source of all knowledge. R/
For those who confuse the boundaries of self with the boundaries of the world:
– that they may discover the infinite love of God. R/
For those who have learned the treasure of humble self-knowledge:
– that they may serve as beacons of light to us all. R/
(Personal intentions)
Our Father….
O God of wisdom and of love, you inflamed Saint Augustine with the love of Christ, who is your wisdom and your power. Through his intercession, pour out into your Church anew each day the burning fire of the Holy Spirit, to inflame all hearts with love for your beauty and your truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
