Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

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 o...

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 Ligu...

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...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 3, 2022 | Memorial of St. Francis Xavier, Priest "What I say to you in the darkness speak in the light, says the Lord, what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops." - Mt 10:27 Francis Xavier was born in the Basque country of Spain in 1506. He met Ignatius Loyola when he was a student in Paris, and he was ordained priest in 1537. In 1541 the Pope sent him a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 2, 2022 | Friday of the First Week of Advent "Let it be done for you according to your faith." - Mt. 9:29 Jesus heals even the blindness of the hearts of men and he does so out of love.  Are you aware of God's power at work in your life? Are you ready to share to others all that God has done for you? Ponder God's own action in your life and acknowledge His p...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - December 1, 2022 | Thursday of the First Week of Advent "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call him while he is near." - Isaiah 55:6 God created each one of us with a purpose and it is only in, with and through Him that we can achieve that which we are created for. This Advent, may we tirelessly strive to seek to know God more so we can love, praise and glorify Him mor...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 30, 2022 | Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle "Come after me, says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of men." - Mt. 4:19 Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, a native of Bethsaida in Galilee, a fisherman by trade, and a former disciple of John the Baptist. He was the one who introduced his brother Peter to Jesus, saying, "We have found t...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 29, 2022 | Tuesday of the First Week of Advent  "Your light will come, Jerusalem; the Lord will dawn on you in radiant beauty." - responsory Christmas is not a mere nicety or an excuse for a party. It is a celebration of God's extravagant love for us in that while we were yet sinners, He sent us Jesus to save us from our sins. Let us strive to get to know mo...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 28, 2022 | Monday of the First Week of Advent  "Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord." - Ps. 122 Advent is the time for renewal or repentance for the coming of Christ. The season invites us to reorient our whole life to God with all our heart, end sin, and turn away from evil with repugnance toward the sins we have committed. Let us pray for humble a...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 27, 2022 | First Sunday of Advent (Cycle A, Year I) "Let us adore the Lord, the King who is to come." - Invitatory antiphon Today, the Church opens the new Liturgical Year with the First Sunday of Advent. This Season of Advent is a period of vigilant waiting as we prepare for the Lord's birth into our lives at Christmas.  May we make this time of preparation...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 26, 2022 | Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, says the Lord." - Mt. 28:20 Today is the last day of the current Liturgical Year, and the last day of Ordinary Time until after Christmas. We conclude the year with Christ reminding us to be always ready because we do not know when he will return. As...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 25, 2022 | Memorial of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr "Blessed is the virgin who by denying herself and taking up her cross imitated the Lord, the spouse of virgins and prince of martyrs." From time immemorial St. Catherine had been venerated at the monastery on Mount Sinai when, in the fifteenth century, the monks discovered her body. Legend has...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 24, 2022 | Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs "Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." - Mt 5:10 Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac (1735-1839), priest and martyr, and companions, martyrs. St. Andrew was one of 117 people who were martyred i...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 23, 2022 | Wednesday in the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time "By your perseverance you will secure your lives." - Luke 21:19 How do you deal with persecutions, harshness and insults especially by your family and those close to you? We may be rattled and burdened by the heavy cross, but Jesus invites us not to give in to discouragement, anger or despair. He for...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 22, 2022 | Memorial of St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr "Pure be my heart and undefiled my flesh; for I have a spouse you know not of -- an angel of my Lord." - St. Cecilia Devotion to St Cecilia, in whose honor a basilica was constructed in Rome in the fifth century, has spread far and wide because of the Passion of Saint Cecilia, which holds her up as a perfect e...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - November 21, 2022 | Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Christ is the son of Mary: come, let us adore him." - antiphon Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of the Presentation of Mary. The cycle of these three Marian feasts: the Birthday of Our Lady (September 8), the Holy Name of Mary (September 12) and her Presentation in the Temple (November 21...