Spirituality: Daily Prayer

Thursday 3 September 2026

Morning Prayer

Gregory the Great, Bishop and Teacher of the Faith, 604
Week C / Week of Proper 22

O Lord, open our lips:
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever. Amen.
Amen.

Psalmody

Antiphon:
Be joyful in God, all you lands;*
ng the glory of the divine name!
Psalm 66.1


Opening

Come, let us sing

1 Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before the presence of the Lord with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to God with psalms.
3 For you, O Lord, are a great God, * and a great sovereign above all gods.
4 In your hand are the caverns of the earth, * and the heights of the hills are yours also.
5 The sea is yours, for you made it, *
and your hands have moulded the dry land.
6 Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, * and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For you are our God, and we are the people of your pasture and the sheep of your hand. *
Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice!
8 “Harden not your hearts, *
as your forebears did in the wilderness.
9 They put me to the test, * though they had seen my works.
10 So I swore in my wrath, *
‘They shall not enter into my rest.’”

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or a suitable Hymn

(Or from Psalms 66 and 92)

1. All the earth bows down before you,*
sings to you, sings out your name.
2. Bless our God, you peoples;*
make the voice of God’s praise to be heard.
3. It is a good thing to give thanks to the Lord,*
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
4. to tell of your loving-kindness early in the morning*
and of your faithfulness in the night season.

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or a suitable hymn


Psalm 8

1. O Lord our governor, *
how exalted is your name in all the world
2. Out of the mouths of infants and children * your majesty is praised above the heavens.
You have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, * to quell the enemy and the avenger
3. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,*
the moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
4. what are mortals that you should be mindful of them,* their children that you should seek them out?
5. You have made them but little lower than the angels;* you adorn them with glory and honour;
6. you give them mastery over the works of your hands;* you put all things under their feet;
7. all sheep and oxen, *
even the wild beasts of the field,
8. the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, * and all that walks in the paths of the sea.
9. O Lord our governor, *
how exalted is your name in all the world!

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.


Psalm 11

1. In the Lord have I taken refuge; *
how then can you say to me, “Fly away like a bird to the hilltop; 
2. for see how the wicked bend the bow and fit their arrows to the string, *
to shoot from ambush at the true of heart.
3. When the foundations are being destroyed, * what can the righteous do?”
4. O Lord, you are in your holy temple and enthroned in heaven. *
Your eyes behold the inhabited world; your piercing eye weighs our worth.
5. You weigh the righteous as well as the wicked, * but those who delight in violence you abhor.
6. Upon the wicked you shall rain coals of fire and burning sulphur; *
a scorching wind shall be their lot.
7. For you are righteous and delight in righteous deeds;* and the just shall see your face.


Conclusion

Isaiah 12

1. Behold God is my salvation;*
I will trust and not be afraid;
2. the Lord God is my strength and my song;
the Lord God has become my salvation.
3. With joy you will draw water*
from the wells of salvation.
4. Give thanks to the Lord, call upon God’s name;*
make known the Lord’s deeds among the nations.
5. Sing to the Lord who has done gloriously;*
let this be known in all the earth.
6. Shout and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Sion,*
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel

Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

Antiphon: Be joyful in God, all you lands;* sing the glory of the divine name!

Reading(s)

Job 16.16-22;17.1,13-16

My face is red with weeping,
and deep darkness is on my eyelids,
though there is no violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.

‘O earth, do not cover my blood;
let my outcry find no resting-place.
Even now, in fact, my witness is in heaven,
and he that vouches for me is on high.
My friends scorn me;
my eye pours out tears to God,
that he would maintain the right of a mortal with God,
as one does for a neighbour.
For when a few years have come,
I shall go the way from which I shall not return.
My spirit is broken, my days are extinct,
the grave is ready for me.
If I look for Sheol as my house,
if I spread my couch in darkness,
if I say to the Pit, “You are my father”,
and to the worm, “My mother”, or “My sister”,
where then is my hope?
Who will see my hope?
Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?
Shall we descend together into the dust?’


Acts 13.1-12

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul. While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, ‘You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun.’ Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.


Silence


Response (Psalm 63.4)

I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
I will bless you Lord as long as I live.
And lift up my hands in your name.
As long as I live.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
I will bless you Lord as long as I live.

Song of Zechariah

Song of Zechariah Antiphon: Christ is the chosen of God: * * who brings healing to the nations.

1 Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel,* for he has come to his people and set them free.
2 He has raised up for us a mighty saviour,* born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through his holy prophets he promised of old* that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all that hate us.
4 He promised to show mercy to our forebears,* and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:* to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
6 free to worship him without fear,* holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
7 You my child shall be called the prophet of the Most High,* for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation* by the forgiveness of all their sins.
9 In the tender compassion of our God* the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
10 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 shall be for ever.

Amen.

or

Glory be to God, Source of all Being, Eternal Word, and Holy Spirit;*
as it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be for ever.

Amen.

(may be said by all)

Song of Zechariah Antiphon: Christ is the chosen of God: * * who brings healing to the nations.

Prayers

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Do not bring us to the time of trial,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever.

Amen


Collect of the Day

Almighty and merciful God,
by whose grace alone
your faithful people offer you service and praise:
grant that we may hasten without stumbling
towards the things that you promise;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
ever one God, world without end.
Amen


God most holy, we give you thanks for bringing us out of the shadow of night into the light of morning; and we ask you for the joy of spending this day in your service, so that when evening comes, we may once more give you thanks, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord.
Amen

Let us bless the Lord:
Thanks be to God!

The Lord bless us and preserve us from all evil;
and bring us to life eternal.
Amen.

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