Jerome; Scholar, Translator, and Theologian

O Lord, O God of truth, whose Word is a lantern to our feet and a light upon our path: We give you thanks for your servant Jerome, and those who, following in his steps, have labored to render the Holy Scriptures in the language of the people; and we pray that your Holy Spirit will overshadow us as we read the written Word, and that Christ, the living Word, will transform us according to your righteous will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. + Amen.

⁹⁷ Oh how I love your law!
    It is my meditation all the day.
⁹⁸ Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
    for it is ever with me.
⁹⁹ I have more understanding than all my teachers,
    for your testimonies are my meditation.
¹⁰⁰ I understand more than the aged,
    for I keep your precepts.
¹⁰¹ I hold back my feet from every evil way,
    in order to keep your word.
¹⁰² I do not turn aside from your rules,
    for you have taught me.
¹⁰³ How sweet are your words to my taste,
    sweeter than honey to my mouth!
¹⁰⁴ Through your precepts I get understanding;
    therefore I hate every false way.

Psalm 119 - English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Hosea 4:1-10 – Acts 21:1-14 – Luke 5:12-26

Michael and All Angels

Everlasting God, who have ordained and constituted in a wonderful order the ministries of angels and mortals: Mercifully grant that, as your holy angels always serve and worship you in heaven, so by your appointment they may help and defend us here on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. + Amen

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
² Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
³ who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
⁵ who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

⁶ The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all who are oppressed.

Psalm 103 - English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Genesis 28:10-17 – Revelation 12:7-12 – John 1:47-51

Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist

We thank thee, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. + Amen

³³ Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;
    and I will keep it to the end.
³⁴ Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
    and observe it with my whole heart.
³⁵ Lead me in the path of your commandments,
    for I delight in it.
³⁶ Incline my heart to your testimonies,
    and not to selfish gain!
³⁷ Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;
    and give me life in your ways.
³⁸ Confirm to your servant your promise,
    that you may be feared.
³⁹ Turn away the reproach that I dread,
    for your rules are good.
⁴⁰ Behold, I long for your precepts;
    in your righteousness give me life!

Psalm 119 - English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Esther 4:4-17 – Acts 18:1-11 – Luke 1:1-4, 3:1-14

Theodore of Tarsus

Almighty God, who called your servant Theodore of Tarsus from Rome to the see of Canterbury, and gave him gifts of grace and wisdom to establish unity where there had been division, and order where there had been chaos: Create in thy Church, we pray, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, such godly union and concord that it may proclaim, both by word and example, the Gospel of the Prince of Peace; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  + Amen

⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
¹⁰ The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

¹¹ Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² What man is there who desires life
    and loves many days, that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

Psalm 34 - English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Esther 1:1-4, 10-19 – Acts 17:1-15 – John 12:36-43

Dag Hammarskjold, Peacemaker

Heavenly Father, who have taught us that the peacemakers shall Be called the children of God: Grant that, like your servant Dag Hamarskjold, we may always seek to live at peace with our neighbors, and to reconcile those living in strife and enmity; so that in this way we may follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. + Amen

Lord, you were favorable to your land;
    you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
² You forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you covered all their sin. Selah
³ You withdrew all your wrath;
    you turned from your hot anger.

⁴ Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
⁵ Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
⁶ Will you not revive us again,
    that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

⁸ Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints;
    but let them not turn back to folly.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that glory may dwell in our land.

Psalm 85 English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 28:1-28 – Acts 16:25-40 – John 12:27-36

Hildegard of Bingen

O God, by whose grace your servant Hildegard, kindled with the fire of your love, became a burning and shining light in your Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. + Amen

²⁴ O Lord, what a variety of things you have made!
    In wisdom you have made them all.
    The earth is full of your creatures.
²⁵ Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
    teeming with life of every kind,
    both large and small.
²⁶ See the ships sailing along,
    and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.

²⁷ They all depend on you
    to give them food as they need it.
²⁸ When you supply it, they gather it.
    You open your hand to feed them,
    and they are richly satisfied.
²⁹ But if you turn away from them, they panic.
    When you take away their breath,
    they die and turn again to dust.
³⁰ When you give them your breath, life is created,
    and you renew the face of the earth.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord continue forever!
    The Lord takes pleasure in all he has made!

Psalm 104 – New Living Translation

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 42:1-17 – Acts 16:16-24 – John 12:20-26

Cyprian of Carthage

Almighty God, who gave to your servant Cyprian boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. + Amen

¹⁰ I believed in you, so I said,
    “I am deeply troubled, Lord.”
¹¹ In my anxiety I cried out to you,
    “These people are all liars!”
¹² What can I offer the Lord
    for all he has done for me?
¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
    and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.
¹⁴ I will keep my promises to the Lord
    in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ The Lord cares deeply
    when his loved ones die.
¹⁶ O Lord, I am your servant;
    yes, I am your servant, born into your household;
    you have freed me from my chains.
¹⁷ I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving
    and call on the name of the Lord.

Psalm 116 – New Living Translation

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 40:1,41:1-11 – Acts 16:6-15 – John 12:9-19

Boundless, O God, is your saving power; your harvest reaches to the ends of the earth. Fill our hearts with zeal for your kingdom and place on our lips the tidings of peace. Grant us perseverance as heralds of the gospel and joy as disciples of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.. + Amen

⁸ You keep track of all my sorrows.
    You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
    You have recorded each one in your book.

⁹ My enemies will retreat when I call to you for help.
    This I know: God is on my side!
¹⁰ I praise God for what he has promised;
    yes, I praise the Lord for what he has promised.
¹¹ I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
    What can mere mortals do to me?

¹² I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,
    and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.
¹³ For you have rescued me from death;
    you have kept my feet from slipping.
So now I can walk in your presence, O God,
    in your life-giving light.

Psalm 56 – New Living Translation

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 40:1-24 – Acts 15:36-16:5 – John 11:55-12:8

God of salvation, in your Prophet, Jesus the Christ, you announce freedom and summon us to conversion. As we marvel at the grace and power of your word, enlighten us to see the beauty of the gospel and strengthen us to embrace its demands. Grant this 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. + Amen

I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
² He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

⁴ Blessed is the man who makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!
⁵ You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are more than can be told.

Psalm 40 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 29:1,31:24-40 – Acts 15:12-21 – John 11:30-44

God of pardon and deliverance, your forgiving love, revealed in Christ, has brought to birth a new creation. Raise us up from our sins to walk in your ways that we may witness to your power, which makes all things new. Grant this 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. + Amen

¹ The Lord, the Mighty One, is God,
    and he has spoken;
he has summoned all humanity
    from where the sun rises to where it sets.
² From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty,
    God shines in glorious radiance.
³ Our God approaches,
    and he is not silent.
Fire devours everything in his way,
    and a great storm rages around him.
⁴ He calls on the heavens above and earth below
    to witness the judgment of his people.
⁵ “Bring my faithful people to me—
    those who made a covenant with me by giving sacrifices.”
⁶ Then let the heavens proclaim his justice,
    for God himself will be the judge. 

Psalm 50 - New living Translation

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 29:1,31:1-23 – Acts 15:1-11 – John 11:17-29

O God, protector of those who hope in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, enfold us in your gracious care and mercy, that with you as our ruler and guide, we may use wisely the gifts of this passing world and fix our hearts even now on those which last forever. We ask this 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. + Amen

⁴⁹ Remember your word to your servant,
    in which you have made me hope.
⁵⁰ This is my comfort in my affliction,
    that your promise gives me life.
⁵¹ The insolent utterly deride me,
    but I do not turn away from your law.
⁵² When I think of your rules from of old,
    I take comfort, O Lord.
⁵³ Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
    who forsake your law.
⁵⁴ Your statutes have been my songs
    in the house of my sojourning.
⁵⁵ I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
    and keep your law.
⁵⁶ This blessing has fallen to me,
    that I have kept your precepts.

Psalm 119 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 29:1,30:1-2,16-31 – Acts 14:19-28 – John 11:1-16

Peter Claver

God of mercy and love, you offer all peoples the dignity of sharing in your life. By the example and prayers of your servant Peter Claver, strengthen us to overcome all racial hatreds and to love each other as brothers and sisters. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. + Amen.

¹ Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
² But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
³ They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

⁴ But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
⁵ They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
⁶ For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

Psalm 1 – New Living Translation

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 29:1-20 – Acts 14:1-18 – John 10:31-42

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Dear Lord, the Great Healer, I kneel before You, since every perfect gift must come from You.

I pray, give me skill to my hands, clear vision to my mind, kindness and meekness to my heart. Give me singleness of purpose, strength to lift up a part of the burden of my suffering fellow men, and a the realization of the privilege that is mine. Take from my heart all guile and worldliness, that with the simple faith of child, I may rely on you. + Amen

- Mother Teresa

God has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
² “How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
³ Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
    maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

⁵ They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    they walk about in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶ I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷ nevertheless, like men you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.”

⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall inherit all the nations!

Psalm 82 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 19:1-7, 14-27 – Acts 13:13-25 – John 9:18-41

Albert Schweitzer

Heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus Christ came, not to be served But to serve: Give us the grace to follow in his footsteps, and to show forth your love by loving and serving our neighbors, and coming, as did Albert Schweitzer, to the rescue of those in need; for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. + Amen

²   I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
    I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

³ Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
    there is no help for you there.
⁴ When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
    and all their plans die with them.
⁵ But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.
⁶ He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
    He keeps every promise forever.
⁷ He gives justice to the oppressed
    and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
⁸     The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
    The Lord loves the godly.
⁹ The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
    He cares for the orphans and widows,
    but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

Psalm 146 – New Living Translation

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 16:16-22, 17:1, 13-16 – Acts 13:1-12 – John 9:1-17

Pour out your Spirit, O God, over all the world to inspire every heart with knowledge and love of you. Grant that we who confess Jesus as Lord may shun whatever is contrary to this faith and give witness to your love that has saved us in Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. + Amen

²⁵ My soul clings to the dust;
    give me life according to your word!
²⁶ When I told of my ways, you answered me;
    teach me your statutes!
²⁷ Make me understand the way of your precepts,
    and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
²⁸ My soul melts away for sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word!
²⁹ Put false ways far from me
    and graciously teach me your law!
³⁰ I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I set your rules before me.
³¹ I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;
    let me not be put to shame!
³² I will run in the way of your commandments
    when you enlarge my heart!

Psalm 119 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 12:1, 14:1-22 – Acts 12:18-25 – John 8:47-59

The Martyrs of New Guinea

Almighty God, we remember before you this day the blessed martyrs of New Guinea, who, following the example of their Savior, laid down their lives for their friends; and we pray that we, who honor their memory, may imitate their loyalty and faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  + Amen

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
    we were like those who dream.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
    and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
    “The Lord has done great things for them.”
³ The Lord has done great things for us;
    we are glad.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like streams in the Negeb!
⁵ Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
⁶ He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him.

Psalm 126 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 12:1, 13:3-17, 21-27 – Acts 12:1-17 – John 8:33-47

Your sovereign rule, O God, draws near to us in the person of Jesus your Son. Your word summons us to faith; your power transforms our lives. Free us to follow in Christ’s footsteps, so that neither human loyalty nor earthly attachment may hold us back from answering your call. We ask this 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. + Amen

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
² O my God, in you I trust;
    let me not be put to shame;
    let not my enemies exult over me.
³ Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴ Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

⁶ Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
⁷ Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

Psalm 25 – English Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary

(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)

Job 12:1-6, 13-25 – Acts 11:19-30 – John 8:21-32