Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 7, 2023 | Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion "It is accomplished; and bowing his head he gave up his spirit." - John 19:30 Today the whole Church mourns the death of our Savior. This is traditionally a day of sadness, spent in fasting and prayer. We should try to find ways to slow down and have more quiet to contemplate this solemn day. Many people take time off from...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 6, 2023 | Holy Thursday of the Sacred Triduum "Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ." - 1 Cor. 10:16 The last three days of Holy Week are referred to as the Easter or Sacred Triduum (Triduum Sacrum), the three-part drama of Christ's redemption: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. Holy Thursday is also known as "Maundy Thursday." The wor...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 5, 2023 | Wednesday of the Holy Week "The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born." Mt. 26:24 Wednesday of Holy Week is traditionally known as Spy Wednesday, to commemorate the treachery of Judas, who made a bargain with the high priest to betra...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 4, 2023 | Tuesday of the Holy Week "Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me." John 13:21 Betrayal is one of the most painful of human experiences. Jesus was delivered to his death by his friend, Judas. Happening during their supposedly last shared meal, the act of betrayal u...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 3, 2023 | Monday of the Holy Week "Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil." John 12:3 Jesus was aware of his fate and accepted it with courage and trust in God. As He approaches near His death, Jesus receives Mary's genuin...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 2, 2023 | Palm Sunday "So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!'" John 12:13 Today is Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion during which we commemorate Christ's entry into Jerusalem for the completion of the Paschal Mystery. Following the Jews' example we pro...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - April 1, 2023 | Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent "Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit." - Ezekiel 18:31 The Liturgy is already inviting us to live in spirit Christ’s Passion and Death. In the Gospel we hear the death sentence passed onto Jesus by the High Priest and the Council. As we...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 31, 2023 | Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice." - Psalm 18:7 It is one week before Good Friday. Today's Mass is a further reminder of how hatred against Christ escalated in those final days before Holy Week. Fridays of Lent have a special penitential quality. —The Vatican II Weekday Missal Join the universa...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 30, 2023 | Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent "The Lord remembers his covenant for ever." - Psalm 105:8 The weekday Masses towards the end of Lent are like a Passion Play. The Gospels, as one scene after the other, show the mounting hatred and growing tension. This is the “Abraham Mass,” telling of the inheritance received through Abraham. The Opening Prayer reminds...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 29, 2023 | Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent "Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free." - John 8:34-36 It is one week before the end of Lent, a week from Spy Wednesday. This Mass reminds us that the hatred aga...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 28, 2023 | Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM..." - John 8:24 Today we have another ancient beautiful Lenten lesson. The division between Jesus and His enemies becomes more critical, more sharp. There are references in both readings to “being lifted up.” This reminds us of the crucifixion on Calvary an...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 27, 2023 | Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion, that he may live." - Ez. 33:11 Today we begin the fifth and final full week of Lent. In previous times the crosses and statues in church were veiled at this time to indicate Passion Time. Now the liturgical readings, day after...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 26, 2022 | Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year A) "Out of the depths I call to you O Lord: Lord hear my cry." - Ps. 129:1 In this, the fifth Sunday of Lent, the Church invites us to turn our attention to the realities that are perhaps the most ‘scandalous’ in human experience, the death of a loved one. In this Gospel we see all those who are being supportive of Martha and Ma...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 25, 2022 | Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord "The Word was made flesh; come, let us adore him." - antiphon Lent's austerity is again interrupted as we solemnly keep a feast in honor of the Annunciation. The Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is a mystery that belongs to the temporal rather than to the sanctoral cycle in the Church's calendar. For the...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 24, 2023 | Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent "So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come." - John 7:30 The hostility of the enemies of Jesus becomes increasingly clear, and the agitation around His person continues with greater intensity; but He awaits His "hour." Satan and the forces of evil will appear to triump...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 23, 2023 | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent "The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me." - John 5:36 One way to follow Jesus is to join him in his offering to the Father. We can do this by saying yes to God's will in everything that happens to us. Whether we are happy or sad, busy...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 22, 2023 | Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Lent "Whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life" - John 5:24 What a blessing it is to be saved by faith and not by works! We don't have to worry about earning God's favor or pleasing him with our actions. He loves us unconditionally and forgives us freely. We can have peace and joy knowing t...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 21, 2023 | Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent "When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, 'Do you want to be well?'" - John 5:6 Jesus cares about our pain and wants to heal us from the inside out. He invites us to come to him with faith and humility, and he will touch us with his power and love. He also wants us to...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 20, 2023 | Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." - Mt. 1:20-21 St. Joseph, the spouse of t...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 19, 2023 | Fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare Sunday) "I am the light of the world." - John 9:5 Today is the halfway mark of the Sundays of Lent. This Sunday is known as Laetare Sunday for the first word of the Introit or Entrance Antiphon laetare (rejoice); it is a Sunday of joy. The Church’s liturgy, on this Fourth Sunday of Lent, invites us to retrace one of the fund...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 18, 2023 | Saturday of the Third Week of Lent  "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." - Luke 18:14 One way to pray to God is to be honest and humble. We don't need to brag about what we have done or pretend to be better than we are. We can admit our mistakes and ask for God's forgiveness and guidance. We can a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 17, 2023 | Friday of the Third Week of Lent  "I am the Lord your God: hear my voice." - Ps. 81:11, 9 Sometimes we get so busy with our lives that we forget to listen to God's voice. We may think that we know what is best for us, or that we can handle everything on our own. But God is always speaking to us, through his Word, his creation, his people and the events of...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 16, 2023 | Thursday of the Third Week of Lent  "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." - Ps. 95:8 God commands us to listen to Him and to walk in His ways so that we may prosper. Many times, however, we give in to our stubborn pride and we abandon the Lord and His commands. Whenever we do so, we are blinded from recognizing God's graciousness and merc...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 15, 2023 | Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent  "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." - Mt. 5:17 Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and He regards every part of it as sacred and valid. He respects and upholds it as God's revelation but also invites us to go beyond mere legalism a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - March 14, 2023 | Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent  "Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?" - Mt. 18:33 Prayer on its own is not enough. As Christians, we follow Jesus wherever He goes, even if it means dying to our sinful pride. Prayer will find its fruit in hearts that are humble and ready to forgive those who have wronged us. And th...