Prayer for the Evening
Our God is a God of generosity. Let us praise him!
Glory to the Father…. Alleluia!
HymnMeter: 88 88 88
This hymn can be sung to the tune used for
Faith of Our Fathers
Give me, O Lord, the grace to see,
And wisdom to acknowledge thee,
My being’s Source and sovereign Lord,
My greatest Good, my life’s Reward,
My truest wealth and treasure here,
Than dearest earthly friend more dear.
Give me the grace to see my life
A gift most precious in thy sight,
A gift to be preserved for thee
In beauty of integrity,
A gift unspoiled by evil’s blight,
Adorned with virtue’s shining light.
And give me, Lord, the grace to see
The happiness of serving thee
In holiness of life and heart,
Where sin or evil play no part;
And grant that none shall ever be
Less true or good because of me.
Psalm 492-13
Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions. (Lk 12:15)
Greed is like a cancer that infects our attitude toward our possessions and ultimately runs through all aspects of our life. Wealth and financial security are good in themselves if we have a proper attitude toward them. We can ask ourselves: what is our attitude toward our possessions? Do we use our resources to help those who are in need?
Hear this, all you peoples,
give heed, all who dwell in the world,
men both low and high,
rich and poor alike!
My lips will speak words of wisdom.
My heart is full of insight.
I will turn my mind to a parable,
with the harp I will solve my problem.
Why should I fear in evil days
the malice of the foes who surround me,
men who trust in their wealth,
and boast of the vastness of their riches?
For no man can buy his own ransom,
or pay a price to God for his life.
The ransom of his soul is beyond him.
He cannot buy life without end,
nor avoid coming to the grave.
He knows that wise men and fools must both perish
and leave their wealth to others.
Their graves are their homes for ever,
their dwelling place from age to age,
though their names spread wide through the land.
In his riches, man lacks wisdom:
he is like the beasts that are destroyed.
Glory to the Father….
Word of GodLuke 19:2, 4-10
A man […] named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, […] ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back,
the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal. (Ez 34:16)
Canticle of Mary(Text, back cover A)
Let your life be free from love of money. (Heb 13:5)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.
Glory to the Father…
Intercessions
We seek to be free from all attachments that draw us away from God, and so we say:
RMLord, set us free.
From all striving after superfluous wealth,
– that we may be content with less. R
From all desire for honors,
– that we may be content with anonymity. R
From all miserliness,
– that we may use our resources to help those in need. R
Personal intentions
Our Father….
May God be gracious and bless us/ and let his face shed its light upon us. Amen. (cf. Ps 67:2)
Marian Antiphon (page 8 or 9)
O Virgin Mary,
who bore light to the world,
who from your closed womb
brought forth the Savior of all the earth:
pray for us, that assisted by your prayers,
we may praise the Lord Jesus Christ.
Translated by James Monti
Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae;
vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
Ad te clamamus, exsules filii Evae.
Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
in hac lacrimarum valle.
Eia ergo, advocata nostra,
illos tuos misericordes oculos
ad nos converte.
Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.
O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria.
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness, and our hope.
To you do we cry,
poor banished children of Eve.
To you do we send up our sighs,
mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, O most gracious advocate,
your eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this our exile
show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
V Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
R That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.