This prayer was written after praying with the readings proclaimed in the Mass and reflects a personal meditation on Holy Scripture.
Monday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves. Psalm 127:1-2
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Here I am Lord to listen to Your word. Fill up the open spaces and hidden crevasses of my heart with Your spirit. Cleanse what needs purifying, burn what needs transforming and blow away all that is old and withered. Help me on my walk of forgiveness today.
Entrance
These are the ones who, living in the flesh, planted the Church with their blood; they drank the chalice of the Lord and became the friends of God.
No matter what job or work is done in the Church, big or small, if it is conceived with love and performed with dedication, perseverance, joy and generosity, each stone will bear witness to the life of Jesus and give glory to God.
Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.” Acts 12:11
I believe we are surrounded by Your angels, the instruments You use to free us all from our chains. Our children, partners, friends, community, even I could be an angel if I am open to the grace of Your spirit and let Your power filter through me to touch the lives of those around me and free them from their enslavements.
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make her boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto Him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him!
O fear the Lord, ye His saints! For them that fear Him suffer no want. Psalm 34: 2-9
Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work and will preserve me unto His heavenly Kingdom, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:17-18
These passages spur me on in my mission to bring the light of Christ closer to people´s lives through my writing and I am more and more convinced that it is Your will, my Lord.
And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Matthew 16: 18-19
Peter am I, as we all are, in the places where we are called to be leaders. In my case, that place is home, where I am wife and mother. Lord, although the foundation rocks are already in place, I pray that each new stone that I use to build up the walls of Your kingdom within my small earthly home be covered in the sacrifice of love and coloured in with the bright shades of joy and generosity. I offer up this prayer for the lives of all those affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela and for the leaders there, who have the arduous task of bringing back a nation to a home where dignity resides. Amen.
Scripture Readings
- First Reading: Acts 12: 1-11.
- Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 34: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9.
- Second Reading: Second Timothy 4: 6-8, 17-18.
- Gospel: Matthew 16: 13-19.
You might enjoy these poems: The Mansion of Matrimony My Little Saints and Sinners