Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that I, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of public worship, and grant as well that my Sabbath upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Source: The Divine Hours
“Why should I want to be rich, when You were poor? Why should I desire to be famous and powerful in the eyes of men, when the sons of those who exalted the false prophets and stoned the true rejected You and nailed You to the Cross? Why should I cherish in my heart a hope that devours me—the hope for perfect happiness in this life—when such hope, doomed to frustration, is nothing but despair?”
-Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude
I called upon the LORD in my distress* and cried out to my God for help. He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling;* my cry of anguish came to his ears. The earth reeled and rocked;* the roots of the mountains shook; they reeled because of his anger. Smoke rose from his nostrils and a consuming fire out of his mouth;* hot burning coals blazed forth from him. He parted the heavens and came down* with a storm cloud under his feet. He mounted on cherubim and flew;* he swooped on the wings of the wind. He wrapped darkness about him;* he made dark waters and thick clouds his pavilion. From the brightness of his presence, through the clouds,* burst hailstones and coals of fire. The LORD thundered out of heaven;* the Most High uttered his voice. He loosed his arrows and scattered them;* he hurled thunderbolts and routed them. The beds of the seas were uncovered, and the foundations of the world laid bare,* at your battle cry, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. He reached down from on high and grasped me;* he drew me out of the great waters. He delivered me from my strong enemies and from those who hated me;* for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster;* but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into an open place;* he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:6-20
Source: The Divine Hours
Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant that all of us may be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Source: The Divine Hours
This Saturday’s Prayer:
Lord, make me have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Source: The Divine Hours
This Saturday’s Prayer…
Remember, O Lord, what you have wrought in us and not what we deserve; and, as you have called me to your service, make me worthy of your calling; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Source: The Divine Hours
Today’s prayer is taken from Brennan Manning’s Ragamuffin Gospel:
Let us ask God for the gift He gave to an unforgettable rabbi, Joshua Abraham Heschel:
“Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of Your universe. Delight me to see how Your Christ plays in ten thousand places, lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not His, to the Father through the features of men’s faces. Each day enrapture me with Your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I ask only to share the wonder of it all.”
The following prayer typically appears at the end of the day each Saturday in the Divine Hours:
The Concluding Prayer of the Church
Almighty God, who after the creation of the world rested from all your works and sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures: Grant that I, putting away all earthly anxieties, may be duly prepared for the service of public worship, and grant as well that my Sabbath upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thomas Merton shares the following prayer in his book Thoughts in Solitude. And just for clarity’s sake, the subject of his prayer is Jesus:
“Why should I want to be rich, when You were poor? Why should I desire to be famous and powerful in the eyes of men, when the sons of those who exalted the false prophets and stoned the true rejected You and nailed You to the Cross? Why should I cherish in my heart a hope that devours me—the hope for perfect happiness in this life—when such hope, doomed to frustration, is nothing but despair? ….
Let my trust be in Your mercy, not in myself. Let my hope be in Your love, not in health, or strength, or ability or human resources.”
The Litany of Penance may be familiar if you attend services in an Episcopal or Anglican church. A shorter version of it is often included in the Night office of the Divine Hours.
When we run out of our own words or don’t know where to start in prayer, a simple prayer of confession can offer a good place to begin, claiming God’s mercy and trusting in the renewing power of God’s love for you.
The full litany follows:
Litany of Penitence
Most holy and merciful Father: I confess to you and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart, and mind, and strength. I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I have not forgiven others, as I have been forgiven. Have mercy on me, Lord.
I have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. I have not been true to the mind of Christ. I have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on me, Lord.
I confess to you, Lord, all my past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of my life. I confess to you, Lord.
My self-indulgent appetites and ways, and my exploitation of other people, I confess to you, Lord.
My anger at my own frustration, and my envy of those more fortunate than I, I confess to you, Lord.
My intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and my dishonesty in daily life and work, I confess to you, Lord.
My negligence in prayer and worship, and my failure to commend the faith that is in me, I confess to you, Lord.
Accept my repentance, Lord, for the wrongs I have done: for my blindness to human need and suffering, and my indifference to injustice and cruelty, Accept my repentance, Lord.
For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward my neighbors, and for my prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from me, Accept my repentance, Lord.
For my waste and pollution of your creation, and my lack of concern for those who come after us, Accept my repentance, Lord.
Restore me, good Lord, and let your anger depart from me, Favorably hear me for your mercy is great. Accomplish in me and all of your church the work of your salvation, That I may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord, Bring me with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.
The Contemplative Writer 