Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - May 2, 2023 | Memorial of St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Athanasius (295-373), Bishop of Alexandria and a great defender of the orthodox faith, throughout his life opposed the Arian heresy. By denying the Godhead of the Word the Arians turned Christ into a mere man, only higher in grace than others in the ey...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - May 1, 2023 | Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker The Optional Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII in 1955 in order to Christianize the concept of labor and give to all workmen a model and a protector. By the daily labor in his shop, offered to God with patience and joy, St. Joseph provided for the necessities of his holy spouse and of the Inc...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 30, 2023 | Fourth Sunday of Easter - Good Shepherd Sunday World Day of Prayer for Vocations "I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me." - John 10:14 How comforting it is to have Jesus as our Good Shepherd who knows each one of us by name, leads us to good pastures and protects us from the marauding wolf. He continues to shepherd us th...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 29, 2023 | Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church "The Lord is the king of virgins: come, let us adore him." - Morning antiphon Today is the Memorial of St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380). She was born Catherine Benincasa in Siena at a date that remains uncertain, and was favored with visions from the age of seven. Seeking perfection, sh...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 28, 2023 | Friday of the Third Week of Easter "Go out to all the world and tell the Good News." - Ps. 117 How have you encountered the Risen Lord in your life? God's unbounded generosity to us His beloved children is present throughout our lives. Even the faith that allows us to respond to His love is also a gratuitous gift from Him. How right and just it is that we...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 27, 2023 | Thursday of the Third Week of Easter "No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day." - John 6:35b Each of us is called to be a messenger of Jesus, a bearer of His Good News, in all aspects of our being. Is there anything in your way of doing things, of speaking, of being, that is consistent wi...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 26, 2023 | Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty." - John 6:35b Jesus is the bread from heaven par excellence. He alone gives true life and joy for those who believe and He invites us to listen to His Word and partake of His Body and Blood in the Mos...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 25, 2023 | Feast of St. Mark, Evangelist "Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: 'Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'" - Mark 16:15 Today is the Feast of St. Mark, the Evangelist, the author of the second Gospel, was the son of Mary whose house at Jerusalem was the meeting place of Christians, where St. Peter sought refuge a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 24, 2023 | Monday of the Third Week of Easter "Truly I say to you, you look for me, not because of the signs which you have seen, but because you ate bread and were satisfied." - John 6:26 What are you seeking in life? Many of those who followed Jesus sought Him because their hunger was satiated during the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. They want to be...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 23, 2023 | Third Sunday oƒ Easter "While he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him: and he vanished out of their sight." - Luke 24:30-31 Even in moments of doubt and confusion, Jesus walks with us. He reveals Himself to those who seek Him as He did to the two disciples on...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 22, 2023 | Saturday of the Second Week of Easter "They were frightened, but (Jesus) said to them, 'It is I! Do not be afraid!'" - John 6:19c-20 What storms are you facing at this time of your life? The disciples were terrified when they were caught in the middle of a storm. But Jesus walked on the water and calmed the storm to reach his disciples, reassuring them of...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 21, 2023 | Friday of the Second Week of Easter "And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down. In like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would." - John 3:36 God knows our needs even before we ask Him. It is when we acknowledge our own poverty and our dependence on God that He can fill us with his riches....

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 20, 2023 | Thursday of the Second Week of Easter "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life." - John 3:36 Jesus came from heaven to reveal God's truth and grace to us. Even if he knew many would reject His message, Jesus was intent in obeying the Father's will. Let us pray that we too may desire to surrender ourselves to God's most gracious will and allow Him to...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 20, 2023 | Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life." - John 3:16 The extravagant love of God led Him to give His Beloved Son, Jesus, for the life of the world. It is beyond what we can think or imagine, yet He gives it to us fr...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 18, 2023 | Tuesday of the Second Week of Easter "The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." - John 3:8 An encounter with Christ turned into a life-changing experience for Nicodemus. He had approached the Lord under cover of darkness,...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 17, 2023 | Monday of the Second Week of Easter "Blessed are all who take refuge in the Lord." - Ps. 21 God always makes the first move. We just trust and follow his lead. It is God who initiates a relationship with us and it is He who love us first. Whatever we do as disciples, alone or as a community, it is all because of God's grace and not our own efforts. After...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 16, 2023 | Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday) "I shall sing forever the Lord's mercy" (Ps 89) Today is the Sunday of Divine Mercy, the Octave Day of Easter. From Creation, God has revealed his nature as love itself, in Sacred Scripture and most perfectly in the life, Passion, death and Resurrection of his Son, Jesus. The Divine Mercy Sunday origin is from...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 15, 2023 | Saturday within the Octave of Easter "Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News." - Mark 16:15 Despite their wavering faith, the disciples took Jesus' mandate to heart and carried out His message of hope and salvation to the ends of the earth with their very lives. Are you ready to proclaim and transmit your faith in the risen Lord by your thought...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 14, 2023 | Friday within the Octave of Easter "This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it." - Ps 118:24 One of the most amazing things about Jesus is how patient he is with his followers. He doesn't get angry or frustrated when they don't understand his teachings or his actions. He just keeps explaining and showing them the truth, little by...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 13, 2023 | Thursday within the Octave of Easter "This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it." - Ps 118:24 "Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you!'" The Gospel tells of an appearance of Jesus in the Cenacle on the very day of His resurrection. The newly baptized (neophytes) and all Christians with them, must live...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 12, 2023 | Wednesday within the Octave of Easter "This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it." - Ps 118:24 The Resurrection changes everything. Little wonder that it took so long for the disciples walking to Emmaus to recognize the Risen One and to grasp what had happened to him, and to them. Amid that struggle to understand, however, the Ri...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 11, 2023 | Tuesday within the Octave of Easter "This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it." - Ps 118:24 At the tomb of the risen Savior, Mary was made an apostle: “Go to My brethren [the apostles] and say to them: I ascend to My Father and to your Father.” The liturgy lingers about the tomb today with the penitent Magdalen, to whom Christ f...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 10, 2023 | Monday within the Octave of Easter "This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it." - Ps 118:24 According to Moses and the prophets, Christ was to suffer all "these things and so to enter into His glory." And what was this "glory" which Christ merited by His sufferings and death? It was His resurrection, His ascension into heaven, Hi...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 9, 2023 | Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord "The Lord has truly risen, alleluia." - antiphon This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us not give in to discouragement, hopelessness and despair for Christ our Lord has risen and has conquered both sin and death! A blessed Easter to you and your loved ones! Join the univ...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 8, 2023 | Holy Saturday "It is accomplished; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit." - John 19:30 On Holy Saturday, the Church waits at the Lord's tomb, in prayer and fasting, meditating on his Passion and Death and on his Descent into Hell and awaiting his Resurrection. Although we are still in mourning, there is much preparation during this day to prepare for...