Morning Prayer for Tuesday 3.24.26

Today in Morning Prayer we remember Oscar Romero and the Martyrs of El Salvador. Here is a link to our liturgy: Morning Prayer 3.24.26, Oscar Romero, Archbishop and Martyr, 1980, and the Martyrs of El Salvador | Daily Office Network 

Transcript

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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 Monday through Friday. We use the 1979 Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer as our guide. We mix an artwork, a news story, and we have a video at the end. All are welcome here where we do our best to exercise tolerance and decency with one another. Now let's settle in and begin morning prayer. Today is the 24th of March, 2026. In the life of the church, our saint is Oscar Romero, an archbishop and a martyr who died in the year 1980, and also the martyrs of El Salvador. If you're looking for our podcast, there are links here on our homepage. You can click on either one of those. That's been up now since September. Let's begin. When the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk. What a photograph of some of our military members that are taking the um our military members as they stand and take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony in Seattle back in August of 2023. Serving in the United States military does not guarantee you citizenship. In a number of recent cases, immigration attorneys and veterans advocates have found themselves navigating a complex legal system where military service alone is not enough to secure non-citizen veterans a place in the country. Today, more than 40,000 non-citizens serve in the United States military, and an estimated 115,000 non-citizen veterans live in the United States, according to congressional research and defense personnel data cited by military policy analysts. According to the U.S. Decensor Citizenship and Immigration Services, service members must still, even though they've served, submit an application for naturalization, complete background checks, and meet legal and administrative requirements. While the details differ in each case, each case reflects the same underlying reality. Military service does not automatically shield non-citizens from immigration enforcement. And these brave souls put their lives on the line for our country. I'll lead us in the confession of sin, after which I'll ask Mother Angel to pronounce absolution. First 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've 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.

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

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Amen. Addie, would you lead us in the invitatory and the Psalter this morning? Lord, open our lips, and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

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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 pastor and the sheep of your hand. Oh that today we would hearken to your voice.

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Thank you, Addie. Our Psalms appointed for this morning are number 121, number 122, and number 123. I'm going to ask Jill and Martha to lead our psalms. Jill, would you start?

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I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where is my help to come?

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My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth.

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The Lord will not let your foot be moved, and the one who watches over you will not fall asleep.

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Behold, the one who keeps watch over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

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It is the Lord who watches over you. The Lord is your shade at your right hand.

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So that is some shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

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The Lord shall preserve you from all evil. The Lord shall keep you safe.

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The Lord shall wash over your going out and your coming in from this time forevermore.

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I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord.

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Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

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Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity with itself.

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The assembly of Israel to praise the name of the Lord.

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For there are the thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.

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For the seek of my kindren and companions, I pray for your prosperity.

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Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek to do you good.

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To you I lift up my eyes. To you enthrone in the heavens.

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As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, and the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress.

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So our eyes look to you, O Lord our God, until you show us your mercy.

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Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy. For we have had more than enough of contempt.

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And of the duration of the proud.

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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.

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Thank you, Jill and Martha. That was a great reading. This is a painting by William Brassie Hole entitled Israelites Making Bricks in Egypt. Our reading comes from Exodus chapter 5, verse 1 through chapter 6, verse 1. Chad, would you lead this?

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Afterward, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness. But Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. So they said, The God of the Hebrews has revealed himself to us. Let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the Lord our God, or he will fall upon us with pestilence or sword. But the king of Egypt said to them, Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get to your labors. Pharaoh continued, Now they are more numerous than the people of the land, and yet you want them to stop working. That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people, as well as their supervisors, you shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves, but you shall require of them the same quantity of bricks as they have made previously. Do not diminish it, for they are lazy. This is what they cry. Let us go and offer sacrifices to our God. Let heavier work be laid on them, then they will labor at it and pay no attention to deceptive words. So the taskmasters and the supervisors of the people went out and said to the people, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go and get straw for yourselves wherever you can find it, but your work will not be lessened in the least. So the people scattered to the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. The taskmasters were urgent, saying, Complete your work the same daily assignment as when you were given straw. And the supervisors of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, Why did you not finish the required quantity of bricks yesterday and today as you did before? Then the Israelite supervisors came to Pharaoh and cried, Why do you treat your servants like this? No straw is given to your servants, yet they say to us, Make bricks. Look how your servants are beaten. You are unjust to your own people. He said, You are lazy, lazy. That is what you say. Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. Go now and work, for no straw will be given to you, but you shall still deliver the same number of bricks. The Israelite supervisors saw that they were in trouble when they were told, You shall not lessen your daily number of bricks. As they left Pharaoh, they came upon Moses and Aaron, who were waiting to meet them. They said to them, The Lord look upon you and judge. You have brought us into a bad odor with Pharaoh and his officials, and have put a sword in their hand to kill us. Then Moses again turned again to the Lord and said, O Lord, why have you mistreated this people? Why did you ever send me? Since I first came to Pharaoh to speak in your name he has mistreated this people, and you have done nothing at all to deliver your people. Then the Lord said to Moses, Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. Indeed, by a mighty hand he will let them go. By a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land. The word of the Lord.

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

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Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers. You are worthy of praise. Glory to you. Glory to you for the radiance of your holy name. We will praise you and highly exalt you forever. Glory to you in the splendor of your temple on the throne of your majesty. Glory to you. Glory to you, sweet, seated between the cherubim. We will praise you and highly exalt you forever. Glory to you, beholding the dance in the high vault of heaven. Glory to you. Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We will praise you and highly exalt you forever.

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Thank you, Mother and Joe. Everyone has a hymn. This is choir rehearsal at St. Margaret's in Washington, DC, back in 2017. Our next reading is from First Corinthians chapter fourteen, verses twenty through thirty-three and thirty-nine through forty. Paul, would you lead this?

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Brothers and sisters, do not be children in your thinking. Rather be infants in evil, but in thinking be adults. In the law it is written, by people of strange tongues, and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this people. Yet even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord. Tongues then are a sign not for believers, but for unbelievers, while prophecy is not for unbelievers, but for believers. If therefore the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your mind? But if all prophesy, an unbeliever or outsider who enters is reproved by all and called to account by all. After the secrets of the unbeliever's heart are disclosed, that person will bow down before God and worship him, declaring, God is really among you. What should be done then, my friends? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there only be two or three at most three, and each in turn, and let one interpret. But if there is no one to interpret, let them be silent in church and speak to themselves and to God. Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. If a revelation is made to someone else sitting nearby, let the first person be silent, for you can all prophecy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged. And the spirits of prophets are subject to the prophets, for God is a God not of disorder, but of peace. So my friends, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues, but all things shall be done decently and in order. The word of the Lord.

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Thanks be to God. Thank you, Paul. Our next canticle is a song to the lamb, Mother Unjell.

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Splendor and honor and kingly power are yours by right, O Lord our God, for you created everything that is, and by your will they were created, and have there been, and yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, for with your blood you have redeemed for God, from every family, language, people and nation, a kingdom of priests to serve our God, and so to him who sits upon the throne and to Christ the Lamb, be worship and praise, dominion and splendor forever and forevermore. Splendor and honor and kingly power are yours by right, oh Lord our God.

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Thank you, Mother Angel. NACL Sodium chloride, more commonly known as table salt. Our next reading is from Mark chapter 9, verses 42 through 50. Deacon Elizabeth, would you lead this?

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Sure. Jesus said, if any one of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great milestone were hung around your neck and you and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It's better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It's better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out, it's better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, and where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in your lives, have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another. The word of the Lord.

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Thank you, Deacon. And now the Apostles' Creed. John R., would you lead us in the creed?

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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 and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 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.

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

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The Lord be with you.

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And also with you.

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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 forever. Amen. Show us your mercy, O Lord, and grant us your salvation.

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Clothe your ministers with righteousness.

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Let your people sing with joy.

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Give peace, O Lord, in all the world.

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For only in you can we live in safety.

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Lord, keep our nations under your care.

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And guide us in the way of justice and truth.

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Let your way be known upon earth.

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You are saving health among all nations.

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Let not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten. Create in us clean hearts, O God.

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And sustain us with your Holy Spirit.

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Thank you, Carol. An icon of our saint of the day. Oscar Romero was Archbishop of San Salvador. He was a reliable conservative until he started seeing what the right wing government backed by the United States was doing to the poor, including death squads and torture. He was shot to death while celebrating Mass near his cathedral. Nine months later, four Mary Knowles' sisters were killed by the army, and nine Jesuit priests were murdered in 1989, along with their housekeepers and their daughter. That would be the martyrs that we celebrate as well, or we remember as well. This uh icon is by Robert Lentz. And now two prayers, the collect of the day for Oscar Romero and Archbishop, and for the martyrs of El Salvador from 1980, and a collect for our nation, or for the nation. Deacon Diana, would you lead this?

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Almighty God, you called your servant Oscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope. Grant that, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the martyrs of El Salvador, we may without fear or favor witness to your word who abides, who abides, your word who is life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be praise and glory now and forever. Amen. Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace. Give to the people of our countries a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

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Amen. Thank you, Deacon. And now it's time for our report on military news called They Have Names. It was started in 2007 by our honorary deacon, Clint Gillilin, a retired Navy medic. They have names, our soldiers, our service members at home and abroad. They're in the danger from the minute that they take the oath. If there are casualties, we speak their names. We tell of their heroism, and we tell of their lives when we know. Here's where things stand today. We do have four, six casualties to report as of the week of March 24th. These actually happened a couple of weeks ago, but we didn't have names and we didn't have pictures. In researching this, I was not able to find a military.com story. However, all of their families have released their information. All of their families have posted things in other forums. These are the six, and it'll become a little clearer when we get to the end, but six airmen and women died on March 12th, 2026, when their KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq. Those lost in the Operation Epic Fury are from the top left. Tech Sergeant Ashley B. Pruitt, 34 years old. From Bardstown, Kentucky. The top right one is Captain Seth R. Cobel, 38 of Mooresville, Indiana. In the middle left is Tech Sergeant Tyler H. Simmons, 28 of Columbus, Ohio. In the middle right, that's Captain Ariana G. Savano, 31 of Covington, Washington. From the bottom left, Major John A. Kleiner, 33 of Auburn, Alabama. And from the bottom right, Captain Curtis J. Angst, 30 of Wilmington, Ohio. Kenner, Salo, and Pruitt were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. Povel, Angst, and Simmons were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacher Air Force Base, or Air National Guard Base at Columbus, Ohio. The Department of War announced that the incident is under investigation and they did not release any further information. And the photos that you see above are from various sources, Facebook, assorted news agencies, etc. So the fact that they're not releasing any other information is why it's not on military.com and why we don't have a report from them. My guess is they don't have all the facts yet. But these are the six brave souls who lost their lives in service to the United States. Let us pray for them. Let us pray for their families. And let us pray for all of those who serve on active duty. We name just a few here. Father David, who is a chaplain serving, Logan, Arnold, Dudley, Raleigh, Janelle, Amanda, and Rob, a married couple who are both serving. And a collect for the uh those in the armed services of our countries. Almighty God, we come into your gracious care in keeping all of the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace, strengthen them in their trials and their temptations, give them courage to face the perils which beset them, and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. And a colic for peace. O God, the author of peace and the lover of concord, to know you as eternal life and to serve you as perfect freedom, defend us your humble servants in all assaults of our enemies, that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Six brave souls. Let's remember to pray for our service members at home and abroad, their families, their friends, those who keep the home fires burning. And I'm going to ask Patricia to to lead this. You'll have to unmute yourself again. Thank you. And then I'll bless the Lord and bless us.

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Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself. We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your name, for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever. Amen.

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Let us bless the Lord.

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Thanks be to God.

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Now go in safety, for you cannot go where God is not. Go in love, for love alone endures, and go in peace, for that is God's gift to those whose hearts and minds are in his Son Jesus. And God's blessing be with you. Christ's peace be with you. The Spirit's outpouring be with you now and always. Amen. And that is morning prayer on this Tuesday. Thank you for coming to pray today. Wherever you go, take that love of Jesus that lives inside of you. That Jesus you carry in your heart. Share that Jesus with the world. Show that Jesus to the world. We could use that peaceful Jesus right now. Hope to see you back with us tomorrow safe and sound.