Peter Claver, priest, missionary to Colombia, 1654

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.
(from The Roman Sacramentary)

15 My eyes are ever towards the Lord,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me* out of my distress.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 O guard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
Psalm 25 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Job 8:1-10, 20-22 - Acts 10:17-33 - John 7:14-36

The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We beseech thee, O Lord, pour into our hearts the abundance of thy heavenly grace: that like as the child-bearing of the Blessed Virgin Mary was unto us thy servants the beginning of salvation, so the devout observance of her nativity may avail for the increasing of our peace. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen

1 Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.
2 They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4 those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?’
5 ‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;
‘I will place them in the safety for which they long.’
6 The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
Psalm 5 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Job 6:1, 7:1-21 - Acts 10:1-16 - John 7:1-13

Father,
I trust You through each day.
Every day I have a choice. I can choose to lean on my own understanding, or I can choose to trust You. Sometimes You speak through my common sense understanding. Sometimes You teach me to walk by faith and not by sight. Regardless of my situation, I will listen every day for Your guidance in my life. Thank You, Lord, for faithfully walking beside me all the way. Amen.
(From "Everyday Prayers for Everyday Cares")

1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
give heed to my sighing.
2 Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God, for to you I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil will not sojourn with you.
5 The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house,
I will bow down towards your holy temple
in awe of you.
Psalm 5 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Job 6:1-4, 8-15, 21 - Acts 9:32-43 - Acts 9:32-43

Almighty God, you have so linked our lives one with another that all we do affects, for good or ill, all other lives: So guide us in the work we do, that we may do it not for self alone, but for the common good; and, as we seek a proper return for our own labor, make us mindful of the rightful aspirations of other workers, and arouse our concern for those who are out of work; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer)

1 Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Job 4:1, 5:1-11, 17-21, 26-27 - Acts 9:19-31 - John 6:52-59

I adore you, O my God, and I love you with all my heart.
I give you thanks that you have created me, made me a Christian, and preserved me this night.
I offer you the actions of this day;
Grant that all of them may be according to your holy Will, and for your greater glory.
Save me from sin and from all evil. Let Thy grace be always with me.
Amen.

1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers; protect me from those who are violent, 2 who plan evil things in their minds and stir up wars continually. 3 They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s, and under their lips is the venom of vipers.4 Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; protect me from the violent who have planned my downfall. 6 I say to the Lord, ‘You are my God; give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.’ 7 O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer, you have covered my head in the day of battle.
Psalm 140 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Job 2:1-13 - Acts 9:1-9 - John 6:27-40

The Martyrs of Papua 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.
(From Lesser Feasts and Fasts)

1 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 it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
3 The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5 May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
6 Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
Psalm 126 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Job 1:1-22 - Acts 8:26-40 - John 6:16-27

O my God, relying on your almighty power and infinite mercy and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of your grace, and life everlasting through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.

145 With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord.
I will keep your statutes.
146 I cry to you; save me,
that I may observe your decrees.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I put my hope in your words.
148 My eyes are awake before each watch of the night,
that I may meditate on your promise.
149 In your steadfast love hear my voice;
O Lord, in your justice preserve my life.
150 Those who persecute me with evil purpose draw near;
they are far from your law.
151 Yet you are near, O Lord,
and all your commandments are true.
Psalm 119 New Revised Standard Version

Readings for today from the Daily Lectionary
(click on underlined link to go directly to the reading)
Judges 18:16-31 - Acts 8:14-25 - John 6:1-15