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Thursday, July 4th

Independence Day

Prayer for the Morning

In Christ is all freedom: let us give thanks and praise!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be for ever. Amen. Alleluia!

HymnMeter: 76 76 D
This hymn can be sung to the tune used for
I Sing the Mighty Power of God

In loving adoration
We come to worship thee,
Thou Author of Salvation,
So wonderful, so free;
Oh, teach us how to praise thee,
As we before thee stand,
And hear us, as we pray thee,
To bless our own dear land.

For millions still in darkness
Within this land of light,
For those who’ve wandered blindly
From God and home and right
And those who ne’er have seen thee,
Thou God of love and might,
We earnestly beseech thee
May they receive their sight.

Be thou our strong defender,
Our confidence alone,
Be with our country’s rulers,
Our nation’s cornerstone;
And thus led by thy Spirit,
And heeding thy blest Word,
From ocean unto ocean
All men shall call thee Lord.

Psalm 373-6, 27-28

Follow exactly the way prescribed for you by the Lord, your God, that you may live and prosper, and may have long life in the land which you are to occupy. (cf. Dt 5:33)

With the gift of a land and a nation comes responsibility to the Giver. As Christians, let us never forget that our founders’ vision of liberty, peace, and justice for all can only be realized through the reign of Christ in our hearts and in our society. God will bless us as a nation if we give him his due.

If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s desire.

Commit your life to the Lord,
trust in him and he will act,
so that your justice breaks forth like the light,
your cause like the noon-day sun.

Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for ever;
for the Lord loves justice
and will never forsake his friends.

Glory to the Father….

Word of God Hosea 10:12

Sow for yourselves justice,/ reap the fruit of piety;/ Break up for yourselves a new field,/ for it is time to seek the Lord,/ till he come and rain down justice upon you.

Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time
we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. (Gal 6:9)

Canticle of Zechariah(Text, back cover B)

The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. (2 Cor 9:10)

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet
of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father…

Intercessions

Let us pray for the gift of fidelity to all that God asks of us.

R/MFree us to follow your ways, O Lord!

Where complacency darkens our vision of your will for us: R/

Where greed for personal gain dims our commitment to the welfare of all people: R/

Where the failure of faith discourages us from pursuing your goals for us: R/

Personal intentions

Our Father….

God of all peoples and nations, you have called those who live in this land to pursue your vision of freedom, justice, and peace for all. Keep us faithful to your gifts, that we may use them for the world’s good and the good of our own nation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.