Spirituality: Daily Prayer

Tuesday 24 March 2026

Morning Prayer

Paul Couturier, Priest, 1953
Lent / Week 5 of Lent

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:



Opening

Psalm 86

1. Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord,*
nor anything like your works.
2. All nations you have made will come and worship you, O Lord,*
and glorify your name.
3. For you are great; you do wondrous things;*
and you alone are God.
4. Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;*
knit my heart to you that I may fear your name.

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 66

1. Be joyful in God, all you lands *
be joyful, all the earth.
2. sing the glory of the divine name; *
sing the glory of God’s praise.
3. Say to God,” How awesome are your deeds! *
Because of your great strength your enemies cringe
before you.
4. All the earth bows down before you, *
sings to you, sings out your name.”
5. Come now and see the works of God, *
how wonderful you are, O God, in your doing toward
all people.
6. You turned the sea into dry land, so that they went through the water on foot, *
and there we rejoiced in you.
7. In your might you rule for ever; your eyes keep watch
over the nations; *
let no rebel rise up against you.
8. Bless our God, you peoples; *
make the voice of God’s praise to be heard;
9. who holds our souls in life, *
and will not allow our feet to slip.
10. For you, O God, have proved us; *
you have tried us just as silver is tried.
11. You brought us into the snare; *
you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.
12. You let enemies ride over our heads; we went through
fire and water; *
but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.
13. I will enter your house with burnt-offerings *
and will pay you my vows,
14. which I promised with my lips *
and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble
15. I will offer you sacrifices of fat beasts with the smoke
of rams; *
I will give you oxen and goats.
16. Come and listen, all you who fear God, *
and I will tell you what the Lord has done for me,
17. The One to whom I called out with my mouth *
and whose praise was on my tongue.
18. If I had found evil in my heart, *
the Lord would not have heard me;
19. But in truth God has heard me *
and has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20. Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, *
nor withheld steadfast love from me.

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.


Conclusion

Isaiah 42

1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold*
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;


2. I have put my spirit upon him*
to bring forth justice to the nations.
3. My servant will not cry nor lift up his voice*
or make it heard in the street;
4. Nor break a bruised reed, *
nor quench a dimly burning wick.
5. My servant will faithfully bring forth justice,*
and will not fail nor be discouraged, till justice has been
established in the earth.

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: O God, you are my God; eagerly I seek you.

Reading(s)

Exodus 5.1-6.1

Afterwards Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.”’ But Pharaoh said, ‘Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.’ Then they said, ‘The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us; let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword.’ But the king of Egypt said to them, ‘Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labours!’ Pharaoh continued, ‘Now they are more numerous than the people of the land and yet you want them to stop working!’ That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, ‘You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously; do not diminish it, for they are lazy; that is why they cry, “Let us go and offer sacrifice to our God.” Let heavier work be laid on them; then they will labour at it and pay no attention to deceptive words.’

So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, ‘Thus says Pharaoh, “I will not give you straw. Go and get straw yourselves, wherever you can find it; but your work will not be lessened in the least.”’ So the people scattered throughout the land of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, ‘Complete your work, the same daily assignment as when you were given straw.’ And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, ‘Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today, as you did before?’

Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, ‘Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, “Make bricks!” Look how your servants are beaten! You are unjust to your own people.’ He said, ‘You are lazy, lazy; that is why you say, “Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.” Go now, and work; for no straw shall be given you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks.’ The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, ‘You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks.’ As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron who were waiting to meet them. They said to them, ‘The Lord look upon you and judge! You have brought us into bad odour with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.’

Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people.’

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh: Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go; by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.’


1 Corinthians 14.20-33a,39-40

Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking; rather, be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. In the law it is written,

‘By people of strange tongues
and by the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people;
yet even then they will not listen to me,’

says the Lord. Tongues, then, are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers but for believers. If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever’s heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, ‘God is really among you.’

What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.

(As in all the churches of the saints,


Silence


Response (Psalm 6.4)

Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.
Save me for your mercy’s sake.
And deliver me.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
Turn, O Lord, and deliver me.

Song of Zechariah (Benedictus)

Song of Zechariah Antiphon: Anyone who serves me must follow me, says the Lord; * where I am, there shall my servant be also.

1 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, *
who has come to his people and set them free.
2 The Lord has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,*
born of the house of his servant David.
3 Through the holy prophets, God promised of old*
to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us,
4 to show mercy to our forebears, *
and to remember his holy covenant.
5 This was the oath God 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 before him, all the days of our life.
7 And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,*
for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way,
8 to give his people knowledge of salvation*
by the forgiveness of 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: Anyone who serves me must follow me, says the Lord; * where I am, there shall my servant be also.

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

Merciful God,
look upon your family as we travel to the foot of the cross:
and, by your great goodness, guide us in body;
that, by your protection,
we may also be preserved in heart and mind;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
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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