Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 26, 2022 | Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time  "Jesus said, 'how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling!'" - Luke 13:34 Everyone is invited to the kingdom where many will enter but not those who fail to do the will of God. Saying we believe in God is not enough unl...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 25, 2022 | Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time  "Jesus said, 'What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and 'the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.'" - Luke 13:18-19 Like a tiny mustard seed, each of us is packe...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 24, 2022 | Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time / Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop "Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth." - John 17:13 Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Anthony Claret (1807-1870), bishop. After becoming a priest he spent several years preaching to the people throughout Catalon...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 23, 2022 | Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) "Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, as a fragrant offering to God." - Eph. 5:2 While God approves of no sin, His mercy and His forgiveness is available for all sinners who acknowledge their need for Him. Today, let us admit our sin before God and acknowledge our need for His mercy. Join the universal p...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 22, 2022 | Memorial of St. John Paul II, Pope "I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me." - John 10:14 St. John Paul II, named Karol Jozef Wojtyla was born in 1920 in Wadowice, Poland. After his ordination to the priesthood and theological studies in Rome, he returned to his homeland and resumed various pastoral and academic tasks....

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 21, 2022 | Friday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time "Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom." - Mt. 11:25 We all form part of the Body of Christ and that we should do all we can to build up the unity of that body through charity, selflessness, gentleness and patience and by believing...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 20, 2022 | Thursday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time "May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith..." - Eph 3:17a God's Word unites and divides. Are you ready and willing to accept the full Truth of the Gospel no matter the consequences? Pray for unity in Christ, but do not be willing to compromise so as to bring about a false unity. (Catholic Daily Ref...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 19, 2022 | Wednesday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time "You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." - Luke 12:40 Are you prepared to meet the Lord? Jesus comes to us at an unexpected hour. He will return one day as judge of the living and the dead. But He also comes to us, continually, by grace. The Lord's coming...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 18, 2022 | Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings of peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation!" - Isaiah 52:7 St. Luke, the inspired author of the third Gospel and of the Acts of the Apostles, was a native of Antioch in Syria and a physician, and one of the early converts from paganism. He...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 17, 2022 | St. Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr "I am crucified with Christ, yet I live; no longer I, but Christ lives in me. I live by faith in the Son of God, who has loved me and given himself up for me." - Gal 2:19-20 St. Ignatius of Antioch (50-107) is one of the great bishops of the early Church. He was the successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Antioch....

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 16, 2022 | Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time "Pray always without becoming weary." - Luke 18:1 How persistent are you in your prayer? The prayer you must seek to live is primarily a prayer of total trust and abandonment to God. You do not change God’s mind by begging Him. Rather, your prayer must be so persistent that it opens you to the will of God and allows...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 15, 2022 | Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church "Remain in my love, says the Lord; whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit." - Jn 15:9b, 5b St. Teresa of Jesus (1515-1582) was born in Avila and died in Alba, Spain. When only a child of seven, she ran away from home in the hope of being martyred by the Moors; in this way,...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 14, 2022 | Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time / Optional Memorial of St. Callistus, Pope and Martyr "May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us; who have put our hope in you." - Ps 33:22 Today is the Optional Memorial of St. Callistus, Pope and Martyr. Callistus was a Christian slave of Rome, and later was ordained deacon by Pope St. Zephyrinus, whom he succeeded...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 13, 2022 | Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time "I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6 Today in Fatima in 1917, the marvelous Miracle of the Sun took place in the sky before 70,000 witnesses. On the 13th day of each month from May through October 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mothe...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 12, 2022 | Wednesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time "Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life." - John 8:12 From one generation to the next, God's love never ceases. He manifests His love to us in concrete ways, most of which would go unnoticed to those who do not pay attention to His presence within and around us. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to o...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 11, 2022 | Memorial of St. John XXIII, Pope "The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart." - Heb 4:12 Today is the Optional Memorial of St. John XXIII, pope from 1958-1963, best known for convening the Second Vatican Council. He was born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in the village of Sotto il Monte, near Bergamo, in 1...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 10, 2022 | Monday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time "There is something greater than Jonah here." - Lk 11:32 Do you ever wish that God would give you a sign from Heaven as a way of giving you some definitive guidance or direction in life? Do you look for signs from God and rely upon them? Reflect, today, upon the greatest “sign” God has ever given. And if...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 9, 2022 | Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time "In all circumstances, give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus." - Lk 17:11-19 Have you thanked the Lord today? When we sincerely offer thanks to God for all that He has done, we are manifesting great faith in God as a result. We are pointing to Him and His goodness as the source of our bless...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 8, 2022 | Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." - Lk 11:28 Do you hear the Word of God? And if you do hear it, do you observe it? If so, then you can consider yourself among those truly blessed by our Lord. Though it can be challenging to hear Jesus speak and to internalize what He says, it is eve...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 7, 2022 | Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb." - Lk 1:28, 42 The Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary was instituted to honor Mary for the Christian victory over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571. Pope St. Pius V and all Christians had prayed the...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 6, 2022 | Thursday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time / Optional Memorial of St. Bruno, Priest "Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son." - Acts 16:14b St. Bruno (1030-1101) was born in Cologne, Germany. He became a priest and achieved fame as a professor of theology at Rheims. He decided to leave the world and pursue a life of complet...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 5, 2022 | Wednesday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time "You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father!" - Rom 8:15c How do you pray? Jesus has taught us to call God Our Father so we have the courage to pray as He did: with trust and confidence in the Father's love for us. In teaching us the Lord's Prayer, Jesus has taug...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 4, 2022 | Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, Religious "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." - Mt. 5:3 Today the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi (1182-1226). Francis Bernardone was born and died in Assisi. He was the son of a rich merchant, Pietro Bernardone, received a good education, and in the beginning f...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 3, 2022 | Monday in the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time "Who is my neighbor?" - Luke 10:29 Love of God and neighbor sums up Jesus' greatest commandment: love.  We can easily isolate others by how we define our relationship with them. But as Jesus taught, it is when we go beyond our set boundaries and reach out in love to others, as the Good Samaritan did...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - October 2, 2022 | Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time "Praise the Lord from the heavens, alleluia." - Lauds, antiphon Lord, extolled in the heights by angelic powers, you are also praised by all earth’s creatures, each in its own way. With all the splendor of heavenly worship, you still delight in such tokens of love as earth can offer. May heaven and earth together ac...