Discipleship Habit #2: Read Scripture Every Day - Week 16 The Word of God is Living in Me

Discipleship Habit #2:  Read Scripture Every Day
 
Week 16   The Word of God is Living in Me 

​Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are good, and we praise You.  Through Your Scripture, You lovingly tell us the story of our salvation and continue to speak to us today.  Forgive us for the times that we haven’t listened to You in the Scripture.  In Your Scripture you tell us, “the Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)  Thank You for coming to us so powerfully through Your Word.  Help us to know that You long to speak to us through Your Word.  Lord, teach us how to listen to Your voice speaking to us through Your Scriptures.  Inspire us to meet You in Your Word daily.  Jesus, we trust in You.  We make this prayer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
AMEN
 
 

 
Reflection:  Praying with the Liturgy of the Hours
The Liturgy of the Hours, also known as the Divine Office, is the daily prayer of the Church, marking the hours of each day and sanctifying the day with prayer.  The Hours consist primarily of Psalms supplemented by hymns, readings, and other prayers and antiphons.  Together with the Mass, they constitute the official public prayer life of the Church.
 
Each day is canonically divided into five Offices, or Hours (often referred to as the Breviary):  Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer.  The Divine Office is available online at www.liturgies.net.  For a mobile phone app with the Liturgy of the Hours, as well as Daily Mass readings, go to www.catholicapps.com/laudate .
 
For this week’s prayer experience, the Morning Prayer from Monday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time is given below. 
 
 
 
Morning Prayer:
 
God, come to my assistance,

• Lord, make haste to help me.

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 (Alleluia).
 
HYMN
 

I sing the mighty power of God,
that made the mountains rise,
that spread the flowing seas abroad,
and built the lofty skies.
I sing the wisdom that ordained
the sun to rule the day;
the moon shines full at God’s command,
and all the stars obey.
 
I sing the goodness of the Lord,
Who filled the earth with food,
Who formed the creatures through the Word,
and then pronounced them good.
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed,
where’re I turn my eye,
if I survey the ground I tread,
or gaze upon the sky.
There’s not a plant or flower below,
but makes Thy glories known.
And clouds arise, and tempests blow,
by order from Thy throne;
while all that borrows life from Thee
is ever in Thy care;
and everywhere that we can be,
Thou, God, art present there.

PSALMODY
 
Antiphon 1:  When will I come to the end of my pilgrimage and enter the presence of God?
 
Psalm 42  Longing for the Lord’s presence in his Temple
 
Like the deer that yearns for running streams,
so my soul is yearning for You, my God.
 
My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life;
when can I enter and see the face of God?
 
My tears have become my bread, by night, by day,
as I hear it said all the day long:  Where is your God?
 
These things will I remember as I pour out my soul:
How I would lead the rejoicing crowd into the house of God,
amid cries of gladness and thanksgiving, the throng wild with joy.
 
Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise Him still, my Savior and my God.
 
My soul is cast down within me as I think of You,
from the country of Jordan and Mount Hermon, from the Hill of Mizar.
 
Deep is calling on deep, in the roar of waters;
Your torrents and all Your waves swept over me.
 
By day the Lord will send His loving kindness;
by night I will sing to Him, praise the God of my life.
 
I will say to God, my rock:  Why have You forgotten me?
 
With cries that pierce me to the heart, my enemies revile me,
saying to me all day long:  Where is your God?
 
Why are you cast down, my soul, why groan within me?
Hope in God; I will praise Him still, my Savior and my God.
 
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.

 
Psalm Prayer:  Father in heaven, when Your strength takes possession of us, we no longer say:  Why are you cast down, my soul?  So now that the surging waves of Your indignation have passed over us, let us feel the healing calm of Your forgiveness.  Inspire us to yearn for You always, like the deer for running streams, until You satisfy every longing in heaven.
 
Antiphon 1:  When will I come to the end of my pilgrimage and enter the presence of God?
Antiphon 2:  Lord, show us the radiance of Your mercy.
 
Canticle – Sirach 36:1 – 5, 10, 13
Prayer of entreaty for the Holy City, Jerusalem
 
Come to our aid, O God of the universe
and put all the nations in dread of You!
Raise Your hand against the heathen,
that they may realize Your power.
 
As You have used us to show them Your holiness,
so now use them to show us Your glory.
Thus, they will know, as we know,
that there is no God but You.
 
Give new signs and work new wonders;
show forth the splendor of Your right hand and arm.
 
Gather all the tribes of Jacob,
that they may inherit the land as of old,
show mercy to the people called by Your name;
Israel, whom You named your first-born.
 
Take pity on Your Holy City,
Jerusalem, Your dwelling place.
Fill Zion with Your majesty,
Your temple with Your glory.
 
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.

 
 
Antiphon 2:  Lord, show us the radiance of Your mercy.
 
 
Antiphon 3:  The vaults of heaven ring with Your praise, O Lord.
 
Psalm 19A
Praise of the Lord, Creator of All
 
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of His hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
 
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
 
There He has placed a tent for the sun;
it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from His tent,
rejoices like a champion to run its course.
 
At the end of the sky is the rising of the sun;
to the furthest end of the sky is its course.
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.
 
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.

 
Psalm Prayer:  To enlighten the world, Father, You sent to us Your Word as the sun of truth and justice shining upon mankind.  Illumine our eyes that we may discern Your glory in the many works of Your hand.
 
Antiphon 3:  The vaults of heaven ring with Your praise, O Lord.
 
Reading             Jeremiah 15:16
 
When I found Your words, I devoured them;
               they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore Your name,
               O Lord, God of hosts.
 
Responsory
 
Sing for joy, God’s chosen ones, give Him the praise that is due.

• Sing for joy, God’s chosen ones, give Him the praise that is due.

Sing a new song to the Lord,

• give Him the praise that is due.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

• Sing for joy, God’s chosen ones, give Him the praise that is due.

 
Benedictus (Canticle of Zechariah)
 
Antiphon:  Blessed be the Lord, for He has come to His people and set them free.
 
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, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:

• as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever.

 
Antiphon:  Blessed be the Lord, for He has come to His people and set them free.
 

 
Intercessions
Our Savior has made us a nation of priests to offer acceptable sacrifice to the Father.  Let us call upon Him in gratitude:
Preserve us in Your ministry, Lord.
 
Christ, eternal priest, You conferred the holy priesthood on Your people,

• grant that we may offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to the Father.

 
In Your goodness pour out on us the fruits of Your Spirit,

• patience, kindness, and gentleness.

May we love You and possess You, for You are love.

• And may every action of our lives praise You.

 
May we seek those things which are beneficial to our brothers and sisters, without counting the cost,

• to help them on the way to salvation.

 
Our Father…
 
Prayer
Almighty Father,
You have brought us to the light of a new day:
keep us safe the whole day through
from every sinful inclination.
 
May all of our thoughts, words, and actions
aim at doing what is pleasing in Your sight.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever,
AMEN
 
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
AMEN

 
 
Closing Prayer
 
I am not trying, O Lord, to penetrate Your loftiness,
               for I cannot begin to match my understanding with it,
               but I desire in some measure to understand Your truth,
               which my heart believes and loves.
 
For I do not seek to understand in order to believe,
               but I believe in order to understand.
For this, too, I believe,
               that “unless I believe, I shall not understand”.
 
Teach me to seek You,
               and reveal Yourself to me as I seek:
for unless You instruct me
               I cannot seek You,
and unless You reveal Yourself
               I cannot find You.
 
Let me seek You in desiring You:
               let me desire You in seeking You.
Let me find You in loving You:
               let me love You in finding You.
 
                                                            St. Anselm of Canterbury, 1033 – 1109 AD
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