Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 22, 2023 | Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sunday of the Word of God) "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone." - Is. 9:1 Christ came to bring to those who believe in Him, liberation from that which oppresses them. His light conquers the darkness that shrouds the world with gloom and in...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 21, 2023 | Memorial of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr "Behold, now she follows the Lamb who was crucified for us, powerful in virginity, modesty her offering, a sacrifice on the altar of chastity." - Entrance antiphon St. Agnes (c. 304), like St. Cecilia, is to be numbered among the most famous martyrs of Rome. When the Diocletian persecution was at its height, and...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 20, 2023 | Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time "Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him... that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons" - Mk 3:13-15 God made many covenants with his people in Old Testament times but the people regularly broke them. He...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 19, 2023 | Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time "Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel." - 2 Timothy 1:10 The people throughout the Gospels had come to Jesus to hear him preach and to experience healing. Like them, we too come to Jesus not only hoping to be healed, but more profoundly, hoping to be saved f...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 18, 2023 | Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time "Stretch out your hand." - Mark 3:5 A simple command that manifested healing for the paralyzed man who encountered Jesus on a Sabbath. In healing him, Jesus emphatically demonstrates the true meaning of the Sabbath. In "stretching out" His arms and hands, God has come heal us and save us. May we too stretch...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 17, 2023 | Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot "If you would be perfect, go, self what you have, give to the poor, and follow me, says the Lord." - Mt. 19:21 The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Anthony, Abbot (251-356) from the 3rd century. St. Anthony, the father of monks, retired to the desert at about the age of eighteen in order to live in perfect solitude. H...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 16, 2023 | Monday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time "No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse." - Mark 2:21 What are the old ungodly ways and habits that God wants you to shed this year so as to accommodate the new ways of the Gospel? What is hindering you from gro...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 15, 2023 | Feast of the Sto. Niño Holy Childhood Day / Week of Prayer for Christian Unity "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace" - Is. 9:6 God has indeed come down for us to become a little Niño, embracing the lowliness of our human nature so we...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 14, 2023 | Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners." - Mark 2:17 Do you see yourself weak, sick and in need of God's healing? Jesus comes for you and He invites you to draw closer to Him for He loves you and cares for you. Join the People of God in praying the universal prayer of the Church through the Office o...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 13, 2023 | Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care,  O Lord, we pray,  that they may see what must be done  and gain strength to do what they have seen.  Join the People of God in praying the universal prayer of the Church through the Office of Lauds. Listen, share and subscribe to Friday's Morning Prayer her...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 12, 2023 | Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." - Ps. 95:8 Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people. Despite His best interests for us, we would often times stray from God's ways because of the demands and responsibilities of the Gospel, forgetting that His grace...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 11, 2023 | Wednesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." - Mark 1:22 Jesus became human like us who knows our strengths and weaknesses, in order to plead on our behalf and understand our earthly struggles. He continues to cure people of their illnesses n...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 10, 2023 | Tuesday of the First Week in Ordinary Time "The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes." - Mark 1:22 Do you recognize God's authority in your life? The people of Jesus' time were amazed by how he speaks and recognized the authority with which he acts. As we begin the Ordinary Time, let u...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 9, 2023 | Feast of the Baptism of the Lord  "The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son, listen to him." - Mk. 9:7  Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. This feast brings to an end the season of Christmas. The Church recalls Our Lord's second manifestation or epiphany which occurred on the occ...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 8, 2023 | Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord "We have seen his star in the East, and have come with gifts to adore the Lord." - Mt. 2:2 The Epiphany of the Lord is Jesus’ manifestation not only to the three Magi from the East, but it’s also a symbolic but real manifestation of the Christ to the whole world. By the guidance of a star, God revealed His only Begot...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 7, 2023 | Saturday of the Christmas Season "Do whatever he tells you." - John 2:5 With listening comes obedience. In the midst of an impending challenge when the wine ran short in a wedding, Mary intercedes and exhorts the servers to obey what Jesus would ask them to do. Let us ask the intercession of our Blessed Mother that we too may listen and heed God's invita...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 6, 2023 | Friday of the Christmas Season "The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." - Mk 9:6 Jesus has brought about a new era of grace and truth and has called each one of us to follow Him wherever He leads. The Father's Beloved Son constantly invites us to a deeper friendship with Him by listening to H...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 5, 2023 | Thursday of the Christmas Season "In the beginning and before all ages, the Word was God and he humbled himself to be born the Savior of the world." - John 1:1 Through the birth of His only begotten Son, God put forth the work of redemption. We pray that He may grant us firmness in faith that we may attain the glorious prize He has promised in Christ Jes...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 4, 2023 | Wednesday of the Christmas Season "Rabbi, where are you staying? (Jesus) said to them, "Come and see." - John 1:38-39 Jesus invites his disciples to a new life of grace in Him. He has some new mission for us to daily fulfill and He promises to give us all we need to live it. Say "Yes" to the call He gives you and you will see incredible things ahead of y...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 3, 2023 | Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth!" - Ps. 8:2 The Church celebrates today the Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. The name of Jesus means Savior; it had been shown in a dream to Joseph together with its meaning and to Our Lady at the annunciation by the Archan...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 2, 2023 | Memorial of Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and Doctors of the Church "Let the peoples recount the wisdom of the Saints, and let the Church proclaim their praise. Their names will live on and on." - Entrance antiphon Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Basil the Great (329-379) and St. Gregory Nazianzen (330-390), bishops...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - January 1, 2023 | Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God | World Day of Prayer for Peace  "May God bless us in his mercy." - Psalm 67 God wants to bless his people. This is His action and He is always acting to bring us into union with himself. We make it possible for him to bless us by our response to Him as Mary did when she gave her fiat. As you begin the new year, how can y...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 31, 2022 | Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas "And the Word became flesh." - John 1:14 Christmas celebrates the Word becoming flesh, God pitching his tent among us. In the Gospel of John, there is no question about the divinity of Jesus or the mystery of the Incarnation. However, not everyone will accept Jesus. To accept him means, as he himself tells us,  th...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 30, 2022 | Feast of the Holy Family "The shepherds went in haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the Infant lying in a manger." - Luke 2:16 On this Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Scripture tells us practically nothing about the first years and the boyhood of the Child Jesus. All we know ar...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 29, 2022 | Fifth Day Within the Octave of Christmas "My eyes have seen your salvation..." - Luke 2:30 On this Fifth Day in the Octave of Christmas, the Church invites us to reflect on the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, which marks the manifestation of the Child Jesus not just to the Jewish community but also, symbolically, to the whole of humanity. As Simeo...