Morning Prayer for Wednesday 3.18.26

Our Saint today is Cyril of Jerusalem, a bishop who died in 386. Here is a link to our liturgy: Morning Prayer 3.18.26, Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Theologian, 386 | Daily Office Network

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Good morning and welcome. I'm Father Tom Roy, the Vicar of the Daily Office Network. The Daily Office Network is a community of Christians who gather together on a daily basis to pray morning prayer. We come from several different faith traditions in several different countries. We use the 1979 Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayers, our guide. We mix an artwork, a news story, and we usually have a video at the end. All welcome here, where we do our best to exercise tolerance and decency. Now let's begin morning prayer. Today is the 18th of March, 2026. In the life of the church, our saint is Cyril of Jerusalem, a bishop and a theologian who died in the year 386. If you're looking for our podcast, search Daily Office Network on Apple or Spotify. Let's begin. Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of services, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them and everyone. Photograph of a bombed-out building with school desks sitting outside. Footage has emerged that appears to show a U.S. missile targeting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base adjacent to the school, where Iranian state media says scores of children were killed. A video posted on Mir News, a semi-official Iranian news agency, is the first to show missiles striking the area in Minab, southern Iran, on February the 28th. The footage, which was filmed from a nearby construction site, shows ammunition that experts said is consistent with the American-made BGM or UGM 109 Tomahawk land attack missile striking a location inside IRGC. As the camera pans to the right, a huge plume of smoke can be seen from the direction of the Shaheraza Tayaba school, where about 168 children and 14 teachers were killed. According to the Iranian state media. The photo above shows the school after the attack. But if we confess our sins, God, who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I'll lead us in the confession of sin, after which I'll ask Mother Angel to pronounce absolution and Addy to lead us in the invitatory and the Psalter. First of the confession of sin. Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. Amen.

SPEAKER_09 3:45

Almighty God, have mercy on you. Forgive you all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthening you in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, keep you in eternal life. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Amen. Lord, open our lips and our mouths shall proclaim your praise.

SPEAKER_04 4:05

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before God's presence with thanksgiving and raise to the Lord a shout with Psalms. For you are a great God. You are great above all gods. In your hand are the caverns of the earth, and the heights of the hills are yours also. The sea is yours, for you made it, and your hands have molded the dry land. Come, let us bow down and bend the knee and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For you are our God, and we are the people of your pasture and the sheep of your hand. Oh, that today would hearken to your voice.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Thank you, Eddie. Our psalms appointed for this morning are Psalm number 101 and Psalm number 109. I'm going to ask Martha and Jill to lead our psalm. Martha, would you start?

SPEAKER_12 5:46

Do you, O Lord, will I sing praises?

SPEAKER_02 5:52

I will strive to follow a blameless course. Oh, when will you come to me? I will walk with sincerity of heart within my house.

SPEAKER_12 6:08

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes. I hate the doors of evil deeds. They shall not remain with me.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

A crooked heart shall a crooked heart shall be far from me. I will not know evil.

SPEAKER_12 6:31

Those who in secret slander the nail, those who I will destroy. Those who have a hotter look and a proud heart, I cannot abide.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

My eyes are upon the faithful in the world that they may dwell with me, and only those who lead a blameless life shall be my servants.

SPEAKER_12 6:58

Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house, and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

That I may root out all evildoers from the city of the Lord.

SPEAKER_12 7:24

Not your tongue, O God of my praise, for the mouth of the wicked, the mouth of the deceitful is open against me.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

They speak to me with a lying tongue. They encompass me with hateful words and fight against me without a cause.

SPEAKER_12 8:13

Deliver me.

SPEAKER_02 8:15

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

SPEAKER_12 8:24

I have faded away like a shadow when it lentes. I am shaking off like a locus.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh is wasted and gone.

SPEAKER_12 8:41

I have become a reproach to them.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Help me, O Lord my God. Save me for your mercy's sake.

SPEAKER_12 8:58

Let them know that this is your hand.

SPEAKER_02 9:08

Let those who rise up against me be put to shame, and your servant will rejoice.

SPEAKER_12 9:18

Let my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrap themselves in their shame as in a cloak.

SPEAKER_02 9:28

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my mouth. In the midst of the multitude will I praise you.

SPEAKER_12 9:39

Because you stand at the right hand of the needy to save their life from those who condemn them.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

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

SPEAKER_00 10:01

Amen. Thank you, Jill and Martha. The death of Joseph, the saga which took him and the Israelites from Canaan to Egypt, concludes the book of Genesis and sets up the defining event in the history of salvation, the exodus from slavery. Patricia, would you lead us?

SPEAKER_08 10:46

Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brother said, What if Joseph Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him? So they approached Joseph, saying, Your father gave this instruction before he died. Say to Joseph, I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong that they did in harming you. Now therefore, please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father. Joseph wept when they spoke to him. Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, We are here as your slaves. But Joseph said to them, Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. So have no fear. I myself will provide for you and your little ones. In this way, he assured them, speaking kindly to them. So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father's household, and Joseph lived 110 years. Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation. The children of Makiah, son of Manesseh, were also born on Joseph's knees. Then Joseph said to his brothers, I am about to die, but God will surely come to you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here. And Joseph died, being 110 years old. He was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 12:50

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Patricia. Our first canticle is a song of penitence. Mother Angel, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_10 13:14

You made them heavens and be with all the storm. All things quake with fear at your prominence. They tremble become of your palm. But your merciful prominences be on the promotion. It's a passage of the moments coming from. Oh Lord, you want a form of compassion. Long suffering and abounding in mercy. You hold back your hand. You do not punish as we deserve. In your great goodness, Lord, you have promised forgiveness to sinners that they may repent of their sin and be saved. And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart and make my appeal sure of your gracious goodness. I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, and I know my wickedness only too well. Therefore I make this prayer to you. Forgive me, Lord, forgive me. Do not let me perish in my sin, nor condemn me to the depths of the earth. For you, O Lord, I'm the God of those who repent, and in me you will show forth your goodness. Unworthy as I am, you will save me in accordance with your great mercy, and I will praise you without ceasing, all the days of my life. For all the powers of heaven sing your praises, and yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Deacon Elizabeth, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_11 15:44

Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. You know that when you are beacons, you are enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. Therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says, Let Jesus be cast, and no one can say, Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Now, there are varieties of gifts by the same spirit, and there are varieties of services by the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. To one is given through the spirit, the utterance of wisdom, and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another, faith by the same spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one spirit, to another, the working of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, the discernment of spirits, to another, various kinds of tanks, to another, the interpretation of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same spirit who alludes to each one individually, just as the spirit chooses. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 17:21

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Deacon. Our next canticle is Song of Zechariah, Mother Angel.

SPEAKER_10 17:32

Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel. You have come to your people and set them free. You have raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of your servant David. Through your holy prophets you promised of old, to save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our forebears, and to remember your holy covenant. This was the oath you swore to our father Abraham, to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship you without fear, holy and righteous before you all the days of our life. And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way, to give God's 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 and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

Thank you, Mother Angel. I found a different picture. We've been using the one of the people looking like trees walking, and then I found this one. This one's an actual photograph. Our next reading is from Mark chapter 8, verses 11 through 26. Peek and Diana, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_01 19:41

The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, asking him for a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation. And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to bring any bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, Watch out, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod. They said to one another, It is because we have no bread. And becoming aware of it, Jesus said to them, Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and fail to see? Do you have ears and fail to hear? And do you not remember when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand? How many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect? They said to him, Twelve. And the seven for the seven for the four thousand. How many baskets full of broken pieces did you collect? And they said to him, Seven. Then he said to them, Do you not yet understand? They came to Beth Zeda. Some people brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. And when he had put saliva on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, Can you see anything? And the man asked, looked up and said, I can see people, but they look like trees walking. Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again, and he looked intently with and his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Then he sent him away to his home, saying, Do not even go into the village. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Deacon. And now the Apostles Creed, John R., would you lead us in the Creed.

SPEAKER_07 22:01

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again, he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

Amen. Thank you, John. And now the prayers begin with our Lord's Prayer. Marcia in New Jersey, would you lead us in the Lord's Prayer and then we'll read the suffrages?

SPEAKER_03 23:04

The Lord be with you.

SPEAKER_00 23:05

And also with you.

SPEAKER_03 23:07

Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Show us your mercy, O Lord.

SPEAKER_03 23:38

And grant us your salvation.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

Clothe your ministers with righteousness.

SPEAKER_03 23:44

Let your people sing with joy.

SPEAKER_00 23:47

Give peace, O Lord, in all the world.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

For only in you we can live in safety.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Lord, keep our nations under your care.

SPEAKER_03 23:57

And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

SPEAKER_00 24:00

Let your way be known upon earth.

SPEAKER_03 24:03

Your saving health among all nations.

SPEAKER_00 24:07

Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten. Bless clean hearts, O God.

SPEAKER_03 24:16

And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Thank you, Marcia. Cyril, our saint of the day. Saint Cyril was a catechist of the early church whose teachings were largely codified in the Nicene Creed. Students entered into a period of intense instruction with him prior to baptism at the Great Vigil of Easter. Out of that, Cyril developed the liturgical observances we now know as Holy Week. Great crowds of pilgrims descended on Jerusalem to hear him and participate. The observance of this week of Christ's Passion spread throughout the world. The 1979 Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer rites are based on the model developed by Cyril and his successor, John. Saint Cyril, our saint of the day. And now four prayers. The collect of the day for Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 386, a collect on racism and injustice, a collect for joy in God's create. I'm sorry, a collect for grace and a collect for joy in God's creation. I'm going to split these up today. I'm going to ask Robert to take the first two prayers and Michael Brown to take the second two prayers.

SPEAKER_05 25:46

Strengthen, O God, your church and the sacraments of your grace, that we, in union with the teaching and prayers of your servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may enter more fully into your pastal mystery through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. Oh God, call us into a deeper relationship to be your church for the sake of the world. Help us to see with new eyes the injustices within church and society. Call us to have a loving heart that rejects and that respects and uplifts the humanity and dignity of every person. Open our ears to listen and learn from experience of people whose skin is different from ours. Open our mouths to speak up about injustices. Join us with others to work for racial equity and in and inclusion for all people. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

Thank you, Robert.

SPEAKER_06 26:53

For grace, Lord God, Almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day. Preserve us with your mighty power that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity. And in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of our of your purpose through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

Amen. Our photograph for joy in God's creation was sent to me by one of our congregants, Kara Gordon. This is a scenic view of the Sonoran desert with a mesquite or an ironwood tree in the foreground.

SPEAKER_06 27:34

For joy in God's creation. O Heavenly Father, you have filled the world with beauty. Open our eyes to behold your gracious hand and all your works. That rejoicing in your whole creation, we may learn to serve you with gladness. For the sake of Him through whom all things were made, your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Amen. Thank you, Michael. One look back at that scene that Kira sent us. Our Wednesday morning prayer list for healing of body, mind, and soul. Continue to pray for the essential workers in our world. Right now, I think about our people at the airports that are not getting paid, even though they are going to work. They're not figuring out how to pay for food. And so there's been food banks set up at the airport for the TSA workers. They're essential. Continue to pray for all of our essential workers. Pray for Josh Thomas, our founding vicar in a skilled nursing facility after a stroke. Pastor Stephen talked with Josh this past weekend, and Josh sounded in good spirits and strong and was coherent, and everything sounded great. Prayers of healing for Deacon Leilani and her health challenges. Tracy Kay is still awaiting a transplant. Pray for Tracy. Pray for Andrea with a brain tumor. She's in physical and occupational therapy and prayers for her healing. Pray for Beth and Jim. Jim has been slowly losing his eyesight. Recently gave up his driver's license because he can't see to drive anymore. Prayers for Addy and her husband Anthony. Pray for their continued health. Prayers for Stephen, Paul, Alexis, Peter, Jerry, G, Robbie, Zachary, Danielle. They all have cancer. Pray for all of those with cancer. Prayers for Don and Cheryl with dementia. Continue to pray for Patricia for her strength and her wellness. And pray for all of those who are in hospice or comfort care, anticipating and preparing for the end of their life. We also on Wednesdays pray for the caregivers, and we just name a few here: Jan, Marianne, Cheryl, Beth, Judith, Tina, Morgan, Pam, and Mark.

SPEAKER_04 30:21

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified. Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy church, that in their vacation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 30:54

Let us bless the Lord.

SPEAKER_04 30:56

Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_00 30:59

May the blessing of the God of Abraham and Sarah, and of Jesus Christ, born of our sister Mary, and of the Holy Spirit who broods over the world as a mother over her children be upon you now and remain with you always. Amen. Thank you for coming to pray today. Wherever you go, take that love of Jesus that lives inside of you, lives in your heart. Share that Jesus with the world. Show that Jesus to the world. We need more Jesus right now. Hope to see you back with us tomorrow, safe and sound.