Opening
Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Hymn
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
Psalm I
Antiphon
Feed me with what endures when lesser lights fade.
Psalm 90 (89):1–2, 14
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
O Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation. Before the mountains became, or the land was formed along with the world: from ages past, even to all ages, you are God. We were filled in the morning with your mercy, and we exulted and delighted all our days.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon
Feed me with what endures when lesser lights fade.
Psalm II
Antiphon
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Psalm 95 (94):1–3
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
Psalm
Come, let us exult in the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to God, our Savior. Let us anticipate his presence with confession, and let us sing joyfully to him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods.
Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Silence
A moment of silence
First Reading
Jeremiah 1:4–10
Catholic Public Domain Version (public domain)
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you. And I made you a prophet to the nations.” And I said: “Alas, alas, alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am a boy.” And the Lord said to me: “Do not choose to say, ‘I am a boy.’ For you shall go forth to everyone to whom I will send you. And you shall speak all that I will command you. You should not be afraid before their face. For I am with you, so that I may deliver you,” says the Lord. And the Lord put forth his hand, and he touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have placed my words in your mouth. Behold, today I have appointed you over nations and over kingdoms, so that you may root up, and pull down, and destroy, and scatter, and so that you may build and plant.”
Responsory
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.
Second Reading
On Saint Pio of Pietrelcina
Original – Prayer on Fire
He was a hidden man to whom crowds came anyway. The wounds he bore were not a performance. They were a sharing, given and received in the mystery of the Cross. What remains for us is not curiosity about signs. It is the ordinary counsel he never tired of giving: pray, be humble, stay near the sacrament of mercy. Holiness in him looked like long hours in a confessional, patience with souls who repeated themselves, and a stubborn refusal to treat sin as entertainment or as fate. He took people seriously because God does. You may never be asked to carry what he carried. You are asked to carry your own obedience without advertising it. If you need a father for this morning, take his simplest word: stay with Jesus; do not be afraid of the work of becoming small. Go to prayer as to a real meeting. Go to confession as to a hospital, not a theatre. Then return to the day’s labour with a quieter heart. The extraordinary, if it comes, is God’s business. Fidelity is yours.
Intercessions
Begin this day in us, O Lord.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
For all who start again after failure.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
For children going to school and the old going to clinics.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
For a small yes, enough for the next hour.
R. Speak, Lord, we are listening.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Closing prayer
Holy Spirit, seal the Word we have heard. Go with us into the untried hours, and teach us to love as we have been loved. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.