Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 28, 2022 | Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs "The innocents were slaughtered as infants for Christ; spotless, they follow the Lamb and sing for ever: Glory to you, O Lord." - Entrance antiphon Today is the Fourth Day in the Octave of Christmas. The Church celebrates the Feast of Holy Innocents, Martyrs. The Church celebrates the memory of the small children of...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 27, 2022 | Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist "The Lord is the King of apostles: come, let us adore him." - Invitatory antiphon, Lauds On the third day of Christmas, we celebrate the Feast of St. John the Apostle, brother of James, sons of Zebedee, nicknamed "the sons of thunder." He calls himself the "beloved disciple" not because he was well-loved by the...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 26, 2022 | Feast of St. Stephen, the First Martyr "Let us adore the new-born Christ; today he has crowned Saint Stephen." - Invitatory antiphon, Lauds Stephen is the first martyr. He was one of the deacons appointed by the Apostles to organize the distribution of food to the poor. He performed many miracles and confounded the Jews in disputation. They fabricated...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 25, 2022 | Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." - John 1:14 Jesus, the only begotten Son of the Father, is born this day of the Virgin Mary, bringing salvation to his people. At the heart of today's celebration is the revelation of God. Before Jesus was born, no one had ever seen God. Now he can be seen, for he has m...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 24, 2022 | Saturday of the Fourth Week of Advent - Christmas Eve "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to his people and set them free..." - Luke 1:68 Every morning, during Lauds, the Church echoes Zechariah's Canticle of Praise, giving glory to God for fulfilling His promise of mercy to His people. Before he burst forth into song, Zechariah was st...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 23, 2022 | Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent "He will be called John (the Baptist)" - Lk 1:60 God is gracious. This is what John's name literally means. His birth and the giving of his name symbolizes a newness being ushered in, as he stands as the last prophet of the Old Law and the first to point to the arrival of the Messiah. John's birth signals the beginni...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 22, 2022 | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord!" - Lk 1:46 How does God intervene in your life? To magnify God or to proclaim God's greatness is our task as a Christian. Borrowing the lines from the song of Hannah, Mary exclaims God's infinite goodness, wisdom, power and love through his intervention in the history o...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 21, 2022 | Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent "When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb..." - Lk 1:41 The spirit of joy that especially characterizes the second half of Advent arises from our awareness that the Lord is near. This is the spontaneous reaction of John the Baptist in the womb of his mother, Elizabeth, when Mary visited...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 20, 2022 | Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent "I am the lowly servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say." - Lk 1:38 Nine months before the birth of the Divine Word, Jesus Christ, he enters the world of time in secret, hidden in the sanctuary of Mary's womb. Mary's "yes" at the Annunciation is the perfect example of how we are to respond to God's will...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 19, 2022 | Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent "O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!" - O Antiphon for the day We are on the final days of Advent and we have now intensified our anticipation for the coming of our Lord. How ready are you to welcome the Lord Jesus on this special day? As we scurry about our l...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 18, 2022 | Sunday of the Fourth Week of Advent "Drop down dew from above, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the Just One; let the earth be opened and bring forth a Savior." - Is. 45:8 This is the last Sunday of our preparation for Christmas, the anniversary of Christ's birth. Like Joseph, we can all feel unworthy of the honor of welcoming him into our hea...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 17, 2022 | Saturday of the Third Week of Advent "Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ." - Matthew 1:1-17 We begin, today, an “octave” of immediate preparation for the birth of Christ. After this octave, we enter into the glorious Solemnity...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 16, 2022 | Friday of the Third Week of Advent "Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus" In the Philippines, and in other nation throughout the world, today begins a special nine-day novena of Masses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us pray during these Aguinaldo Masses (known as Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi) that we may persevere in faith and that we may walk in the...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 15, 2022 | Thursday of the Third Week of Advent "But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place..." - Luke 1:20 Faith grows in silence. Too often we listen to all the fears and excuses and justifications that arise in our minds, and we allow them to interfere with God's plan. Human words can get in the way of the divine wo...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 14, 2022 | Memorial of St. John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Church "Where there is no love, put love - and you will find love." - St. John of the Cross John of the Cross was born in Spain in 1542 of poor and simple parents, from whom he learned the importance of self-sacrificing love. At the age of fourteen, he took a job caring for hospital patients w...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 13, 2022 | Memorial of St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr Lucy was born around 283 in Syracuse, Sicily, of a rich and noble Christian family. After her father's death, her mother arranged a marriage for her, not knowing that Lucy had made a vow of virginity. Later her mother agreed with Lucy's desire to give herself to God. In his rage, her disappointed suitor denounced...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 12, 2022 | Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe "Am I not here, I, who am your Mother?" - message of Our Lady to Juan Diego The shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, near Mexico City, is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage in North America. On December 9, 1531, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to an Indian convert, Juan Diego, and left with him a beautiful pictu...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 11, 2022 | Third Sunday of Advent - Gaudete Sunday "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Indeed, the Lord is near." - Entrance antiphon Today is known as Gaudete Sunday. The term Gaudete refers to the first word of the Entrance Antiphon, "Rejoice." The celebrants have an option to wear rose-colored vestments to emphasize our joy that Christmas is nea...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 10, 2022 | Saturday of the Second Week of Advent "Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved." - Ps. 80 How is the Word burning your heart? The word of the Lord is like a fire that purifies, enlightens and energizes the hearts that are open and welcome. Part of our Advent preparation is to draw near enough to the word of God to let it b...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 9, 2022 | Friday of the Second Week of Advent Maranatha! Come, O Christ the Lord! In these days' liturgy, we keep crying out, "Come, Lord Jesus!" But when he comes, do we appreciate or recognize him?  We can easily get distracted by the festive culture of the season that we forget they can interfere with our spiritual life. Let us ask for the assistance of our Bl...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 8, 2022 | Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women." - Luke 1:18 Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the solemn dogma defined by Blessed Pope Pius IX in 1854. Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 7, 2022 | Memorial of St. Ambrose, Bishop an Doctor  "The Lord is the source of all wisdom: come, let us adore him." - Entrance antiphon The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Ambrose (340-397), who was born at Treves in Gaul, a territory which embraced modern France, Britain, Spain, and part of Africa. He studied in Rome and later became governor of Liguria a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 6, 2022 | Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent "In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost." - Mt. 18:12-14 It is love that drives somebody to seek forgiveness and it is the same love that compels someone to forgive another. Jesus loves a repentant sinner. Let us today embrace the virtue of repentance an...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 5, 2022 | Monday of the Second Week of Advent "I say to you, rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home." - Luke 5:24 It is faith that move people to go to Jesus for healing. When sin causes our sickness, ailments, injuries or incapacity, let us seek help and forgiveness from Jesus. When we have faith in God, we can get anything we need, want or desire from Him, a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 4, 2022 | Second Sunday of Advent (Year A) "Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight his paths; all flesh shall see the salvation of God." - Lk 3:4, 6 As we continue the journey of Advent, John the Baptist's call to conversion sounds out in our communities. It is a pressing invitation to open our hearts and to welcome the Son of God Who comes among us to make d...