Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - July 2, 2023 | Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." - Mt. 10:39 We sometimes fall into the trap of seeking the pleasures and comforts of this world, which could not satisfy our deepest need for God. It is only when we truly let go of our desires for the sake of God's mo...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 2, 2023 | Wednesday in the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44 What is your ultimate desire in life? We are on a constant journey in life towards wholeness. This search takes us each to di...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - July 1, 2023 | Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Let us listen for the voice of the Lord and enter into his peace." - invitatory antiphon Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary. "Whatever its historical origins may be, today the memorial rightly emphasizes c...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 30, 2023 | Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church "Come, let us worship Christ, the King of martyrs." - invitatory antiphon The Optional Memorial of the First Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church is in honor of the nameless followers of Christ brutally killed by the mad Emperor Nero as scapegoats for the fire in Rome. The pagan historian Tacitus...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 29, 2023 | Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles "Come, let us worship Christ, the King of martyrs." - invitatory antiphon Today the Church universally celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles (d. 64-67). Veneration of the two great Apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, has its roots in the very foundations of the Church. They are the s...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 28, 2023 | Memorial of St. Ireneaus, Bishop, Martyr and Doctor of the Church "Come, let us worship Christ, the King of martyrs." - invitatory antiphon The Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Bishop and Martyr (130-202). He was born in Asia Minor around the year 140. It is not known when he came to Gaul. He was a priest of the Church of...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 27, 2023 | Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church "I will sing to you, O Lord, and I will walk in the way of perfection." - invitatory antiphon Today is the Optional Memorial of St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria (376-444). Cyril was one of the metropolitan sees of the Christian Church in the east, was one of the great defender...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 26, 2023 | Monday in the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged" - Mt. 7:1-2 It is sometimes easier to point out the tiny and insignificant faults of others and trivialize the very serious sins that we have. Jesus invites us for an honest self-reflection so that we can see ourselves a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 25, 2023 | Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time "Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." - Mt. 10:31 The Lord is always at our side and He has our best interest in mind. Therefore let us constantly be on the lookout for anything that can cause us to turn away from Him and to strive to let go of anything that hinders us to become the people He w...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 24, 2023 | Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist "What, then, will this child be?" - Luke 1:79 With the birth of John the Baptist, a new era has dawned on Israel. For God's chosen people, the period of waiting is over, and God's promises are now being fulfilled. The barren womb of Elizabeth bears and give birth to a child as announced by...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 23, 2023 | Friday in the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time "Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be." - Mt. 6:21 We are easily deceived by the lures and enticements of earthly things. However, if we want to be truly happy, let us net set our hearts on material trappings that enslave. Through his teachings, healings, miracles, and acts of forgiven...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 22, 2023 | Memorial of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, Martyrs John Fisher studied Theology in Cambridge (England) and became Bishop of Rochester. His friend, Thomas More, wrote of him, 'I reckon in this realm no one man, in wisdom, learning and long approved virtue together, meet to be matched and compared with him.' Thomas More was born in London, Engl...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 21, 2023 | Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religous "How wonderful is God among his saints: come, let us adore him." - antiphon St Aloysius was the eldest son of a Mantuan nobleman, and was intended by his father to be a soldier. Aloysius, on the other hand, had determined to be a missionary, and even to die for his faith. He renounced his birthright in f...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 20, 2023 | Tuesday in the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Mt. 5:44 Love is the greatest commandment that Jesus left us. His love does not discriminate but embraces and loves everyone with the same measure He loves us. As God's beloved children, let us imitate Jesus' way of loving. It may cos...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 19, 2023 | Monday in the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time "Brothers and sisters: As your fellow workers, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain." - 2 Cor. 6:1 God has given us the greatest gift we could ever receive: His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die and rise again for our salvation. This grace is not cheap. It demands a response from us....

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 18, 2023 | Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest." - Mark 6:34 The world today is in dire need of healing. This is no different from Jesus' time. He took pity on those who were yearning to see and encounter the Lord like lost sheep and He...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 17, 2023 | Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary "I am the good shepherd, says the Lord, I know my sheep, and mine know me." - John 10:14 In the midst of the second world war Pope Pius XII put the whole world under the special protection of our Savior's Mother by consecrating it to her Immaculate Heart, and in 1944 he decreed that in the future the w...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 16, 2023 | Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus "I am the good shepherd, says the Lord, I know my sheep, and mine know me." - John 10:14 Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, designated the Friday after the Second Sunday of Pentecost. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church 478: "Jesus knew and loved us each and all during...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 15, 2023 | Thursday in the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." - Mt. 5:20 Seeking the "spirit" of the Law, as God intended from the start, is more crucial than becoming righteous for the sake of adherence. Jesus challenges us...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 14, 2023 | Wednesday in the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time "I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." - Mt. 5:17 Jesus was a faithful Jew who followed the Sabbath rest and the traditional forms of piety. However, he also puts more importance to delivering people from their ailments and torments even if it means healing on a Sabbath. May we learn to adhere to...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 13, 2023 | Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church St. Anthony of Padua was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1195. He became a canon regular and then a Franciscan preaching the Gospel everywhere in Portugal and Italy. Both as a theologian and as a popular preacher, he fought vigorously against heresy. His preaching was inspired by the love of God...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 12, 2023 | Monday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord." - Ps. 34 When we persevere through the hardships of life while loving, serving, praising and glorifying the Lord, then we will be blessed by the reward promised to us by the Lord. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to persevere and remain strong in faith especially...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 11, 2023 | Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ "While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, 'Take it; this is my body.' Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, 'This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.&#3...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 10, 2023 | Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday "Praise God and tell everyone about the good things he has done for you, so that they too will honor him and sing his praises. Let everyone know what God has done. Never stop praising him. - Tobit 12:6 How do you thank God for all that He is and all that He has done for you? The gesture of the widow in t...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - June 9, 2023 | Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon and Doctor of the Church The Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Ephrem, Deacon (306-373), called "the Harp of the Holy Spirit." Ephrem is the great classic Doctor of the Syrian church. As deacon at Edessa, he vigorously combated the heresies of his time, and to do so more effectively wrote poems and hymns...