First Light

Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Your word is a lamp for the path I cannot see. I do not ask for the whole road — Only light enough for this next step, And a heart willing to take it. If I am slow, wait with me. If I am proud, make me small and true. Speak, and I will follow as I can Until the day is full.

Original – Prayer on Fire

Micah 4:1–7

Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)

And this shall be: In the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be prepared at the top of the mountains and high above the hills. And the people will flow to it. And many nations will hurry, and will say: “Come, let us ascend to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he will judge among the many peoples, and he will correct strong nations, even from afar. And they will cut up their swords into plows, and their spears into hoes. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will no longer learn to wage war. And a man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one to fear, for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. For all people will walk, each one in the name of his god. But we will walk in the name of the Lord our God, forever and ever. In that day, says the Lord, I will gather together the lame. And I will recover her whom I had rejected, and her whom I had afflicted. And I will place the lame within the remnant, and she who had been in distress, within a healthy people. And the Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion, from the present time and even unto eternity.

Your word is a lamp for my feet. And a light for my path. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

From a letter of St. Clement of Rome to the Corinthians

public domain

Let us look steadfastly to the blood of Christ, and see how precious that blood is to God, which, having been shed for our salvation, has set the grace of repentance before the whole world. Let us turn to every age that has passed, and learn that, from generation to generation, the Lord has granted a place of repentance to all who would be converted unto Him. Noah preached repentance, and as many as listened to him were saved. Jonah proclaimed destruction to the Ninevites; but they, repenting of their sins, propitiated God by prayer, and obtained salvation, although they were aliens to God. The ministers of the grace of God have, by the Holy Spirit, spoken of repentance. And even the Lord of all Himself has declared with an oath regarding it, “As I live, says the Lord, I desire not the death of the sinner, but rather his repentance.” He added also a merciful declaration: “Repent, O house of Israel, of your iniquity. Say to the children of my people, Though your sins reach from earth to heaven, and though they be redder than scarlet, and blacker than sackcloth, yet if you turn to me with your whole heart, and say, Father, I will listen to you as to a holy people.”

Set a guard over our lips, O Lord. Let the first conversations of this day be true and gentle. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.