A Magnificat (tr. from German by Olga Warneke IBVM)

My soul glorifies the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour!
For he has blessed me lavishly
and makes me ready to respond.
He shatters my little world
and lets me be poor before him.
He takes from me all my plans
and gives me more than I can hope for or ask.
He gives me opportunities and the ability to become free
and to burst through my boundaries.
He gives the strength to be daring, to build on him alone,
for he shows himself as the ever greater One in my life.
He has made known to me this;
It is in my being servant that it becomes possible.
For God’s kingdom to break through
here and now.

Amen.

Beginning the Day

Heavenly Father,
I offer you this day:
All that I think and do and say,
uniting it with what was done
by Jesus Christ, your only Son. Amen.

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.

O God, We Are One With You

(Thomas Merton 1915-1968)

O God, we are one with you.
You have made us one with you.
You have taught us that if we are open to one another,
you dwell in us.
Help us to preserve this openness
and to fight for it with all our hearts.
Help us to realize that there can be no understanding
where there is mutual rejection.

O God, in accepting one another
wholeheartedly, fully, completely,
we accept you,
and we thank you,
and we adore you,
and we love you with our whole being,
because our being is your being,
our spirit is rooted in your spirit.

Fill us then with love,
and let us be bound together with love
as we go our diverse ways,
united in this one spirit
which makes you present in the world,
and which makes you witness to
the ultimate reality that is love.

Love has overcome.
Love is victorious.

Amen.

Praise God, Alleluia!

(St. Francis of Assisi)

Dear Mother earth,
Who day by day unfolds rich blessing on our way,

O Praise God! Alleluia!

The fruits and flowers that verdant grow,
Let them his praise abundant show.

O praise God, O praise God, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

Prayer from “The Cloud of Unknowing”

(Anon, 14th Century)

GOD,

unto whom all hearts are open,
unto whom all wills do speak,
from whom no secret thing is hidden,
I beseech thee
so to cleanse the purpose of my heart
with the unutterable gift of thy grace
that I may perfectly love thee,
and worthily praise thee,

AMEN

Prayer of Adoration (St Francis of Assisi)

We adore You,
Lord Jesus Christ,
in all Your churches
throughout the world
and we bless You
because
by Your holy cross
You have
redeemed the world.

Amen.

Prayer of St Ignatius of Layola

Take Lord and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding and my entire will;
all that I have and possess.
You have given it all to me:
to you, O Lord, I return it.
All is yours;
do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and grace,
for this is enough for me.
Our one desire and choice in life should be this:
I want and I choose what better leads to God deepening his life in me.

Short visit to the Blessed Sacrament

(John Henry Cardinal Newman,)

I place myself in the presence of Him, in whose Incarnate Presence I am before I place myself there.
I adore You, O my Saviour, present here as God and Man, in Soul and Body, in true Flesh and Blood.
I acknowledge and confess that I kneel before the Sacred Humanity, which was conceived in Mary’s womb, and lay in Mary’s bosom;
which grew up to man’s estate, and by the Sea of Galilee called the Twelve, wrought miracles, and spoke words of wisdom and peace;
which in due season hung on the cross, lay in the tomb, rose from the dead, and now reigns in heaven.
I praise and bless, and give myself wholly to Him, Who is the true Bread of my soul, and my everlasting joy.

Amen.

Stay With Me (John Henry Newman, Jesus the Light of the Soul)

Stay with me, and then I shall begin to shine as you shine:
so to shine as to be a light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from you.
None of it will be mine.
It will be you who shines through me upon others.
O let me praise you, in the way which you love best,
by shining on all those around me.
Give light to them as well as to me; light them with me, through me.
Teach me to show your praise, your truth, your will.
Make me preach you without preaching; not by words
but by my example and by the catching force, the sympathetic influence, of what I do –
by my visible resemblance to your saints,
and the evident fullness of the love which my heart bears for you.

Tantum Ergo (Saint Thomas Aquinas)

With heads bowed let us now worship a sacrament so great;
And let the old teaching give way to the new;
Let faith reinforce our belief where the senses cannot.

To the Father and the Son let there be praise and jubilation,
Salvation, honor, virtue, and also blessing;
To the Holy Spirit let there be equal praise.

The Canticle of Brother Sun (St Francis of Assisi)

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
Yours are the praises, the glory, and the honour, and all blessing,
To You alone, Most High, do they belong,
and no human is worthy to mention Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,
especially Sir Brother Sun,
Who is the day and through whom You give us light.
And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendour;
and bears a likeness of You, Most High One.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,
through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom You light the night,
and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.
Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love,
and bear infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed are those who endure in peace
for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no one living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,
for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks
and serve Him with great humility.
AMEN

The Canticle of the Creatures (adapt. from St Francis of Assisi)

Praised be my Lord God for all his creatures,
especially for our brother the sun,
who brings us the day and the light.
Beautiful is he and shines with great splendour; O Lord he shows you to us.
Praised be my Lord for our sister the moon and for the stars,
which he has set clear and lovely in the heavens.
Praised be my Lord for our brother the wind
and for the air, cloudy and serene, and for all kinds of weather,
by which You uphold the life in all creatures.
Praised be my Lord for our sister the water
who is useful and humble and precious and clean.
Praised be my Lord for our brother the fire
who, giving light in the darkness, is beautiful and playful and mighty and strong.
Praised be my Lord for our mother the earth,
who sustains us and keeps us with fruits and many-coloured flowers and grasses.

Praised be my Lord, through all who forgive and bear infirmity and suffering.
Blessed are all who endure in peace, for by You, my Lord, they shall be rewarded.
Praised be my Lord, through our sister Death, from whom no one living can escape.

All praise and bless the Lord and give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.
AMEN

The Divine Praises

Blessed be God.
Blessed be his holy name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Blessed be the name of Jesus.
Blessed be his most Sacred Heart.
Blessed be his most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most holy.
Blessed be her holy and immaculate conception.
Blessed be her glorious assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, virgin and mother.
Blessed be St Joseph, her spouse most chaste.
Blessed be God in his angels and his saints.

Amen.

The Exhortation of the Praises of God (St Francis of Assisi)

Lord God:
you alone are holy,
you who work wonders! You are strong, you are great,
you are the Most High,
you are the almighty King,
you, holy Father, King of heaven and earth.
Lord God: you are Three and you are One,
you are goodness, all goodness,
you are the higest Good,
Lord God, living and true.
You are love and charity, you are wisdom,
you are humility, you are patience,
you are beauty, you are sweetness,
you are sefety, you are rest, you are joy,
you are our hope
and our delight,
you are justice, you are moderation
you are all our wealth
and riches overflowing.
You are beauty, you are gentleness,
you are our shelter, our guard
and our defender,
you are strength, you are refreshment,
you are our hope.
you are our faith.
you are our love,
you are our complete consolation,
you are our life everlasting,
great and wonderful Lord,
all powerful God, merciful Savior!
Amen.

The Praises of God (St Francis of Assisi)

You are holy Lord God Who does wonderful things.
You are strong. You are great. You are the most high.
You are the almighty king. You holy Father,
King of heaven and earth.

You are three and one, the Lord God of gods;
You are the good, all good, the highest good,
Lord God living and true.

You are love, charity; You are wisdom, You are humility,
You are patience, You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are security, You are rest,
You are gladness and joy, You are our hope, You are justice,
You are moderation, You are all our riches to sufficiency.

You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are the protector, You are our custodian and defender,
You are strength, You are refreshment. You are our hope,
You are our faith, You are our charity,
You are all our sweetness, You are our eternal life:
Great and wonderful Lord, Almighty God, Merciful Saviour.

Amen.

You are Christ

(Attr. St Augustine of Hippo, 4th Century)

You are Christ, my Holy Father, my Tender God, my Great King, my Good Shepherd, my Only Master, my Best Helper, my Most Beautiful and my Beloved, my Living Bread, my Priest Forever, my Leader to my Country, my True Light, my Holy Sweetness, my Straight Way, my Excellent Wisdom, my Pure Simplicity, my Peaceful Harmony, my Entire Protection, my Good Portion, my Everlasting Salvation.

Christ Jesus, Sweet Lord, why have I ever loved, why in my whole life have I ever desired anything except You, Jesus my God? Where was I when I was not in spirit with You? Now, from this time forth, do you, all my desires, grow hot, and flow out upon the Lord Jesus: run… you have been tardy until now; hasten where you are going; seek Whom you are seeking. O, Jesus may he who loves You not be an anathema; may he who loves You not be filled with bitterness.

O, Sweet Jesus, may every good feeling that is fitted for Your praise, love You, delight in You, adore You! God of my heart, and my Portion, Christ Jesus, may my heart faint away in spirit, and may You be my Life within me! May the live coal of Your Love grow hot within my spirit and break forth into a perfect fire; may it burn incessantly on the altar of my heart; may it glow in my innermost being; may it blaze in hidden recesses of my soul; and in the days of my consummation may I be found consummated with You!

Amen.