John Bunyan, Teacher – click underlined section for more info

Lord, you say that no man may be drawn to you unless you draw him. Therefore, Lord, I pray that you will draw all people to you, regardless of how sinful they are. I never deserved to be drawn to you, Lord, and yet in your great mercy you drew me. If people around me know my great wickedness as you do, they would marvel at the great goodness you have shown to me. If you can make such an unworthy creature as me worthy to be your servant, then you can turn the lowest sinner into the highest saint. I beg that you will turn all sinners into saints. Amen.
(Margery Kempe)

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young— a place near your altar,
O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
Psalm 84 New International Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
2 Samuel 13:23-39 – Acts 20:17-38 – Mark 9:42-50

Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Teacher – click underlined section for more info

Eternal God,
The light of the minds that you know,
The joy of the hearts that love you,
The strength of the wills that serve you:
Help us to know you that we may truly love you,
So to love you that we may gladly serve you,
In the glory of you holy Name
Augustine, Bishop of Hippo

7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, O God of Jacob.
9 Look upon our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
12 O LORD Almighty,
blessed is the man who trusts in you.
Psalm 84 New International Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
2 Samuel 12:1-14 – Acts 19:21-41 – Mark 9:14-29

Monica, Mother of Augustine

O Lord, who through spiritual discipline strengthened your Servant Monnica to persevere in offering her love and prayers and tears for the conversion of her husband and of Augustine their son: Deepen our devotion, we pray, and use us in accordance with your will to bring others, even our own kindred, to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.

12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron,
13 he will bless those who fear the LORD—
small and great alike.
14 May the LORD make you increase,
both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
16 The highest heavens belong to the LORD,
but the earth he has given to man.
17 It is not the dead who praise the LORD,
those who go down to silence;
18 it is we who extol the LORD, both now and forevermore.
Praise the LORD.
Psalm 115 New International Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
2 Samuel 11:1-27 – Acts 19:11-20 – Mark 9:2-13

Father,
I praise You in all circumstances.
You are Lord over all, and I thank You for Your presence in each circumstance of my life. When I am happy, I praise You for the joy of living. When I am sad, I thank You for Your loving care. When I am worried, You ask me to set aside my fears and take time to give You the honor and glory. I speak and sing freely in Your presence in every circumstance because Your love has given me a song to sing. Amen.
(From "Everyday Prayers for Everyday Cares")

1 An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself
too much to detect or hate his sin.
3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
he has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4 Even on his bed he plots evil;
he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong.
5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.
7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 36 New International Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
2 Samuel 9:1-13 – Acts 19:1-10 – Mark 8:34-9:1

- St. Bartholomew, Apostle

Almighty and everlasting God, who gave to your apostle Bartholomew grace truly to believe and to preach your Word: Grant that your Church may love what he believed and preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-
10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
Psalm 91 New International Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
2 Samuel 7:1-17 – Acts 18:1-11 – Mark 8:11-21

O GOD, heavenly Father, who by your Son Jesus Christ hast promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and the righteousness thereof, all things necessary to their bodily sustenance; Send us, we beseech you, in this our necessity, such moderate rain and showers, that we may receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and to your honor; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 1928 Book of Common Prayer

1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
2 Begin the music, strike the tambourine,
play the melodious harp and lyre.
3 Sound the ram's horn at the New Moon,
and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;
4 this is a decree for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
7 In your distress you called and I rescued you,
I answered you out of a thundercloud;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Psalm 81 New International Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
2 Samuel 5:1-12 – Acts 17:1-15 – Mark 7:24-37

Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux (click on underlined link for more information)

O God, by whose grace your servant Bernard of Clairvaux, kindled with the flame of your love, became a burning and a 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

1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalm 139 New International Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
2 Samuel 4:1-12 – Acts 16:25-40 – Mark 7:1-23