Praying the Lauds - Your Daily Christian Morning Prayer

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - September 7, 2022 | Wednesday in the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time "Rejoice and be glad: your reward will be great in heaven." - Luke 6:23ab Jesus promises great rewards for those who follow Him. But at what cost? To be true disciples of Christ, we must strip away our inordinate attachments to everything that is earthly and hunger for nothing but God's Word and His K...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - September 6, 2022 | Tuesday in the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time "I chose you from the world to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last, says the Lord." - Jn. 15:16 After spending the night in prayer, Jesus chose apostles to be with Him and to share His mission of proclaiming the Good News of God's Love. As He called the 12 apostles, He also continues to call us....

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - September 5, 2022 | Monday in the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Lord God, king of heaven and earth, direct our minds and bodies throughout this day, and make us holy. Keep us faithful to your law in thought, word and deed. Be our helper now and always, free us from sin, and bring us to salvation in that kingdom. Join the universal prayer of the Church through the anc...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - September 4, 2022 | Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time What is heaven like? God desires for us to know, love and serve Him in this life and to be united with Him in the next. He constantly invites us to a deeper friendship with Him so that we may experience the peace, love and joy that His Spirit brings to our lives and to our relationships. May we always strive to fix...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - September 3, 2022 | Memorial of St. Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church "Blessed Gregory, raised upon the throne of Peter, sought always the beauty of the Lord and lived in celebration of that love." - Entrance antiphon St. Gregory the Great (540-604), senator and prefect of Rome, then in succession monk, cardinal and pope, governed the Church from 590 to 604...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - September 2, 2022 | Friday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time "Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Ps. 37:4 The world can tell us to delight in many things, which in the end, will never be deeply fulfilling. But if we choose to place our joy and hope in God first, He will always meet all of our needs above and beyond our expecta...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - September 1, 2022 | Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time "Come after me, says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of men." - Mt. 4:19 God's great work is the creation and redemption of the world wrought through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The one essential work in which we are all called to participate is God's transforming love. Today let...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 31, 2022 | Wednesday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" - Romans 8:35 Jesus has promised to remain with His Church all days, until the end of the world. Let us strive to also remain with Him trusting that nothing can separate us from His love.  Nurture and deepen your spiritual life. Join the universal pr...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 30, 2022 | Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time "Lord, keep us safe all the days of our life." - antiphon, Lauds Lord God, hope of all the earth, hear the humble prayer of your children as we sing your praises. Pour out your Spirit on us so that our lives may bear fruit abundantly. Join the universal prayer of the Church through the ancient tradition...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 29, 2022 | Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist "John answered and said: He must increase; but I must decrease." - Jn 3:27, 30 Saint John the Baptist has two feasts to himself. One, in August, celebrates his death, and one, in June, celebrates his birth. And this is as it should be, for as Christ himself said, John was the greatest of the sons of men....

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 28, 2022 | Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time "Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." - Mt 11:29ab The Memorial of St. Augustine, which is ordinarily celebrated today, is superseded by the Sunday liturgy. Augustine was born in Thagaste in Africa of a Berber family. He was brought up a Christian but left the C...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 27, 2022 | Memorial of St. Monica "How wonderful is God among his saints: come, let us adore him." - antiphon, Lauds St. Monica was born at Thagaste in Africa of a Christian family. She was married young, to Patricius, and among her children was Augustine, who would later become one of the great Doctors of the Church. He had a brilliant intellect and uncertain mora...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 26, 2022 | Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time "Be vigilant at all times and pray, that you may have the strength to stand before the Son of Man." - Luke 21:36 What is keeping you from praising God today?  Jesus constantly invites us to deepen our friendship with Him so that we may come to know that "all things work together for good for those who...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 25, 2022 | Thursday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time "Stay awake! For you do not know when the Son of Man will come." - Mt. 24:42A, 44 Everyday, our Lord comes to us by grace. How attentive are you to His presence every time? Whenever we feel the prompting of His love and mercy in our hearts and souls, God comes. Whenever we feel Him whispering us closer t...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 24, 2022 | Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." - Jn 1:49b St. Bartholomew (also known as Nathaniel), a doctor in Jewish law, was a dear friend of St. Philip the Apostle. Because Bartholomew was a man "in whom there was no guile," his mind was open to the truth. He went willingly with Philip to see Christ an...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 23, 2022 | Memorial of St. Rose of Lima, Virgin "Lord, increase my sufferings, and with them increase your love in my heart." - St. Rose of Lima Isabela de Oliva, nicknamed "Rosa" because of her beauty, was born in Lima, in Peru. She lived a life of selflessness and devotion from an early age. She refused to marry, and became a Dominican tertiary at the age of 20....

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 22, 2022 | Memorial of Our Lady, Mother and Queen "Christ the King crowned his Mother as Queen of Heaven: come, let us adore him." - antiphon, Lauds The doctrine of the Assumption was promulgated in 1951, with its feast on August 15. As was normal for the greater feasts, this celebration was echoed for a week afterwards, and today’s memorial of Our Lady, Mother and...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 21, 2022 | Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time "I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me." - John 14:6 On this holy day of rest, God invites us to seek the values that will bring us lasting joy in this changing world. May we love His command and desire what He promise and our hearts may be fixed on that pla...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 20, 2022 | Memorial of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church "The Lord is the source of all wisdom: come, let us adore him." - antiphon, Lauds St. Bernard of Clairvaux was born near Dijon, in France, in 1090, of a noble family. In 1112 he joined the new monastery at Cîteaux with four of his five brothers and two friends. Within three years he had...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 19, 2022 | Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time "Your inmost being must be renewed, and you must put on the new man." - Ephesians 4:23-24 Lord, fill our hearts with your love as morning fills the sky. By living your law may we have your peace in this life and endless joy in the life to come. Listen, share and subscribe to Friday's Morning Prayer here: &nbs...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 18, 2022 | Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time "If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts." - Ps. 95:8 In creating us, God gave us the freedom to choose to honor or dishonor Him. He speaks to us through His creation, the Scriptures, and His Son, Jesus so that we may share life with Him. We pray for open and humble hearts that know how to liste...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 17, 2022 | Wednesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time "Let us serve the Lord in holiness all the days of our life." - Benedictus antiphon God of glory and power, those who have put all their trust in you are happy indeed. Shine the brightness of your light on us, that we may love you always with a pure heart. Full-text to Wednesday's Morning Prayer is availab...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 16, 2022 | Memorial of St. Rock (Roque), healer St. Rock was the son of the governor of Montpellier, France. At the age of twenty, he went on a pilgrimage to Rome. When a plague broke out in Italy he took care of the infected and cured many. He himself caught the disease, but not wishing to be a burden to others, he went to the woods to die. There a dog brought him...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 15, 2022 | Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a Holy Day of Obligation.  On Nov. 1, 1950, Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption. Thus he solemnly proclaimed that the belief whereby the Blessed Virgin Mary, at the close of her earthly life, was tak...

LISTEN | Morning Prayer - August 14, 2022 | Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time "The Word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting through the depths of our being." - Heb. 4:12 God's Word has the power to change and transform lives. As His beloved children, we are invited to abide by his words and discern his plans so that we can profit by his salvific work especiall...