The
Readings
Isaiah 55:10-11; Psalm 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17,
18-19; Matthew 6:7-15
Daily Meditation:
Help us grow in our desire for you.
We are learning the intimate connection
between the “discipline” we choose
these days,
and the growth of our desire.
If our desire for our Lord is weak,
if it has to compete with so many
other desires that choke it out,
then we need to re-form our desiring.
We want to be disciples -
those who love Jesus, are with
Jesus in our desires,
and choose to follow Jesus.
In
today's lesson we learn the Lord's Prayer again.
As children, we turn to our Loving
Father in prayer.
Today's
Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Praise to Christ, who has given us himself as the
bread from heaven.
Let us pray to him, saying:
Jesus, you feed and heal our souls; come to strengthen
us.
Lord, feed us at the banquet of the Eucharist,
- with all the gifts of your paschal sacrifice.
Give us a perfect heart to receive your word,
- that we may bring forth fruit in patience.
Make us eager to work with you in building a better world,
- so that it may listen to your Church and its gospel of peace.
We confess, Lord, that we have sinned,
- wash us clean by your gift of salvation.
Closing Prayer:
Father of my soul,
Mother of my heart,
I know your love for me is limitless beyond imagining.
You care for me as a loving parent.
Through my smallest Lenten sacrifices,
help me to become less selfish
and more aware of your ways.
Fan the flame of my desire
to draw ever closer to you.
Guide me to seek your love.
May the
Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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The First Week of Lent
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Collect:
Look kindly, Lord, we pray,
on the devotion of your people,
that those who by self-denial are restrained in body
may the fruit of good works be renewed in mind.
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. *
The
Readings
Jonah 3:1-10; Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19;
Luke 11:29-32
Daily Meditation:
Hear our prayer.
The Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent
take on a more penitential tone.
Our longing intensifies.
We know we have to work hard to
resist temptation
and to change some of our bad habits.
We know that spiritual renewal
won't come easy.
But we know that all we will ultimately
be able to do
will come from God's inspiration
- as a gift.
So we ask from a deeper and deeper
place in our hearts.
We
listen to the wonderful children's story about Nineveh.
They responded to God's word and
repented.
My
sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and
humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Psalm 51
Today's
Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Blessed be God, the giver of salvation, who decreed
that mankind should become a new creation in himself,
when all would be made new. With great confidence let us ask him:
Lord, renew us in your Spirit.
Lord, you promised a new heaven and a new earth; renew us daily through
your Spirit,
- that we may enjoy your presence for ever in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Help us to work with you to make this world alive with your Spirit,
- and to build on earth a city of justice, love and peace.
Free us from all negligence and sloth,
- and give us joy in your gifts of grace.
Deliver us from evil,
- and from slavery to the senses, which blinds us to goodness
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord,
I know you receive what is in my heart.
Let me be inspired by your words
and by the actions of your son, Jesus.
Guide me to make sacrifices this Lent
in the spirit of self-denial
and with greater attention to you
and to those around me.
Help me to believe that you will grant me this
because of the sacrifice Jesus made for me.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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The First Week of Lent
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Collect:
Grant we pray, Almighty God,
that no tempest may disturb us,
for you have set us fast
on the rock of the Apostle Peter's confession of faith.
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. *
The
Readings
1 Peter 5:1-4; Psalm 23:1-3a, 4, 5, 6; Matthew 16:13-19
Daily Meditation:
Lord, you ask who we say you are.
Like Peter we profess our faith in you.
Bless our journey as part of your Church
led by Peter and his successors.
Let us be a Church acknowleging who you are for us.
You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church;
the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
Today's
Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Christ our Lord came among us as the
light of the world, that we might walk in his light, and not in the darkness
of death.
Let us praise him and cry out to him:
Let your word be a lamp to guide us.
God of mercy, help us today to grow in your likeness,
- that we who sinned in Adam may rise again in Christ.
Let your word be a lamp to guide us,
- that we may live the truth and grow always in your love.
Teach us to be faithful in seeking the common good for your sake,
- that your light may shine on the whole human family by means of
your Church.
Touch our hearts to seek your friendship more and more,
- and to make amends for our sins against your wisdom and goodness.
Closing Prayer:
Lord,
I'm not always eager to do your will.
I'd often much rather do my own will.
Please be with me on this Lenten journey
and help me to remember
that your own spirit can guide me
in the right direction.
I want to "fix" my weaknesses
but the task seems overwhelming.
But I know that with your help,
anything can be done.
With a grateful heart,
I acknowledge your love
and know that without you,
I can do nothing.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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The First Week of Lent
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Collect:
Grant that your faithful, O Lord, we pray,
may be so conformed to the paschal observance,
that the bodily discipline now solemnly begun
may bear fruit in the souls of all.
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. *
The
Readings
Ezekiel 18:21-28; Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8; Matthew 5:20-26
Daily Meditation:
Renew us and prepare us.
Our lesson today is about reconciliation
Our Lord forgives us all our sins -
nothing can separate us from the love of God for us in Jesus
And we are called to forgive others
with the same compassion, mercy, patience, and love given to us.
Our Lenten practices help us to
experience the renewing love of God,
and they prepare us for our journey to Easter"
to celebrate the mystery of our death to self
and rebirth in the new life Jesus won for us.
I do not wish the sinner to die, says the Lord,
but to turn to me and live.
Ezekiel 33
Today's
Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
Thanks be to Christ the Lord, who brought us life by his death on the cross.
With our whole heart let us ask him:
By your death raise us to life
Teacher and savior, you have shown us your fidelity and made us
a new creation by your passion,
-keep us from falling again into sin
Help us to deny ourselves today,
-and not deny those in need
May we receive this day of penance as your gift,
-and give it back to you through works of mercy
Master our rebellious hearts,
-and teach us generosity
Closing Prayer:
Creator of my life,
renew me:bring me to new life in you.
Touch me and make me feel whole again.
Help me to see your love
in the passion, death and resurrection of your son.
Help me to observe Lent
in a way that allows me to celebrate that love.
Prepare me for these weeks of Lent
as I feel both deep sorrows for my sins
and your undying love for me.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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The First Week of Lent
“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.”
Collect:
Turn our hearts to you, eternal Father,
and grant that, seeking always the one thing necessary
and carrying out works of charity,
we may be dedicated to your worship.
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. *
The
Readings
Deuteronomy 26:16-19; Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 7-8;
Matthew 5:43-48
Daily Meditation:
Turn our hearts to you.
The Saturdays of Lent have a grateful
and uplifting tone to them.
Our lesson today reminds us of
the covenant God made long ago:
you be my people
and I will be your God.
In
the new covenant, without condition,
God is faithful to us, even if
we are not.
Jesus calls us to a new way of
being -
loving others as we have been loved
-
which includes loving those who
do not love us.
We are to be as pure in our love,
as God is pure in loving us.
God
loved the world so much,
he gave us his only
Son,
that all who believe
in him
might have eternal
life.
John 3:16
Today's
Daily Reflection
Intercessions:
To make us his new creation, Christ the Lord gave
us the waters of rebirth
and spread the table of his body and his word. Let us call upon
him and say:
Lord, renew us in your grace.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, clothe us with compassion, kindness and
humility,
- make us want to be patient with everyone.
Teach us to be true neighbors to all in trouble and distress,
- and so imitate you, the Good Samaritan.
May the Blessed Virgin, your Mother, pray for all those vowed to a life
of virginity,
- that they may deepen their dedication to you and to the Church.
Grant us the gift of your mercy,
- forgive our sins and remit their punishment.
Closing Prayer:
Loving God,
Sometimes my heart
turns in every direction
except towards you.
Please help me
to turn my heart toward you,
to gaze upon you in trust
and to seek your kingdom with all of my heart.
Soften my hardened heart
so that I might love others
as a way to glorify and worship you.
Grant me this
with the ever-present guidance of your spirit.
May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
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* New English translation according to the Third Typical Edition of the Roman Missal. 2010,
Copyright International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
