Morning Prayer for Thursday March 26, 2026

Om Thursday's we look at our gun violence stats in America. We also recognize the saint of the day Harriet Monsell, Monastic, 1883. Here is a link to our liturgy: Morning Prayer 3.26.26, Harriet Monsell, Monastic, 1883 | Daily Office Network

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Good morning and welcome. I'm Father Tom Roy, the Vicar of the Daily Office Network. Today is the 26th of March 2026. In the life of the church, we celebrate the Saint Harriet Monsell, a monastic who died in the year 1883. 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 Prayer as our guide. We mix an artwork and a news story. We have music at the end. All are welcome to join us here where we do our best to exercise tolerance and decency with one another. Now let's begin morning prayer. The Daily Office Network is podcasting. You can find us on Apple and Spotify. You can either search by the day by the keywords Daily Office Network, or you can click on one of the two links on our website, on our document here. Let's begin. I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will so also bring you up again, and Joseph's own hand shall close your eyes. The Episcopal Church of Liberia has elected two suffragan bishops for two additional dioceses in Liberia, pending confirmation by the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of the province of the West Indies. Those elected are pictured above. On the left is the Reverend Canon Wilmot T. Merchant, and on the right is the Reverend Canon Michael T. Psy. The election took place Friday, March the 13th, 2026, during the 90th Convention of the Episcopal Church of Liberia, currently being held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Bulahan, Lufa, Lofa County. More details are to follow at a later date. That's good news. Pray for the church. I'll lead us in the general confession, pronounce absolution, and then I'll ask Addy to lead us in the invitatory and the Psalter. First, the general confession. God of all mercy, we confess that we have sinned against you, opposing your will in our lives. We have denied your goodness in each other, in ourselves, and in the world you have created. We repent of the evil that enslaves us, the evil we have done, and the evil done on our behalf. Forgive, restore, and strengthen us through our Savior Jesus Christ, that we may abide in your love and serve only your will. Amen. Almighty God, have mercy on you, forgive you all of 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. Lord, open our lips, and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

SPEAKER_08 3:38

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. Shout with songs. 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 loaded 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 sheet of your hand. Oh, that today we would hearken to your voice.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Thank you, Addie. Our psalms appointed for this morning are Psalm number 131 and number 132. I'm going to ask Martha and Jill to lead our psalm. Martha, would you start?

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Oh Lord, I am not proud. I have no haughty looks.

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I do not occupy myself with great matters or with things that are too hard for me.

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But I steal my soul and make it quiet like a child upon its mother's breast. My soul is quieted within me.

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O Israel, wait upon the Lord from this time forth forevermore.

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Lord, remember David and all the hardships he endured.

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How he swore an oath to the Lord and vowed a vow to the mighty one of Jacob.

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I will not come under the roof of my house, nor climb up into my bed.

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I will not allow my eyes to sleep, nor let my eyelids slumber.

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Until I find a place for the Lord. A dwelling for the mighty one of Jacob.

SPEAKER_06 6:28

The ark, we heard it was in Ephrata. We found it in the fields of Jerum.

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Let us go to God's dwelling place.

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Let us fall upon our knees before God's post to arise, O Lord, into your resting place. You and the ark of your strength.

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Let your praise be clothed with righteousness. Let your faithful people sing with joy.

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For your servant David's sake, do not turn away the face of your anointed.

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The Lord has sworn an oath to David, and in truth will not break it.

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A son, the fruit of your body, will I set upon your throne.

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If your children keep my commandment and my testimonies that I shall teach them.

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I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.

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As for my enemies, I will clothe them with shame. But as for him, his crown will shine.

SPEAKER_06 8:50

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_01 9:29

Patricia, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_07 9:36

Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile. Then the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord, let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs. The river shall swarm with frogs. They shall come up into your palace, into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your officials and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. The frogs shall come upon you and your people and all your officials. And the Lord said to Moses, say to Aaron, stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals, and the pools, and make frogs come upon the land of Egypt. So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did not did the same by their secret arts and brought frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called Moses, and Aaron said, Pray to the Lord to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. Moses said to Pharaoh, Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile. And he said, Tomorrow, Moses said, As you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God, and the frogs shall leave you and your houses and your officials and your people, they shall be left only in the Nile. Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out, Moses cried out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon Pharaoh. And the Lord did as Moses requested. The frogs died in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields, and they gathered them together in heaps, and the land sten. And when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand and his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike. All the dust of the earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. The magicians tried to produce gats by their secret arts, but they could not. There were gnats on both humans and animals. And the magician said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Patricia. Our first canticle is the song of Moses. Jacqueline, would you lead this?

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I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted. The horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my refuge. The Lord has become my Saviour. This is my God and I will praise him. The God of my people and I will exalt him. The Lord is a mighty warrior. Yahweh is his name. The chariots of Pharaoh and his army has he hurled into the sea. The finest of those who bear armor have been drowned in the Red Sea. The fathomless deep has overwhelmed them. They sank into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in might. Your right hand, O Lord, has overthrown the enemy. Who can be compared with you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, awesome in renown, and worker of wonders? You stretched forth your right hand, the earth swallowed them up, with your constant love, you led the people you redeemed with your might, you brought them in safety to your holy dwelling. You will bring them in and plant them on the mount of your possession, the resting place you have made for yourself, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. 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.

SPEAKER_03 15:11

Amen. Amen. Thank you, Jacqueline.

SPEAKER_01 15:20

This is Moses with his face veiled on the mountain. Paul, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_05 15:44

Now, if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stone tablets, came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses' face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory. Indeed what once had glory has lost its glory, because of the greater glory, for if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent come in glory. Since then we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, like Moses not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds, but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, and all of us with unveiled faces seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, the Lord, the Spirit, the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

Thanks be to God. Thank you, Paul. Our second canticle is the song of the redeemed. Jacqueline, would you lead this as well?

SPEAKER_09 18:12

O ruler of the universe, Lord God, great deeds are they that you have done, surpassing human understanding. Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth. O King of all the ages. Who can fail to do your homage, Lord, and sing the praises of your name? For only you are the Holy One. All nations will draw near and fall down before you, because your just and holy works have been revealed. 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.

SPEAKER_03 19:06

Amen. Amen. Thank you, Jacqueline.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

Painting by Heinrich Hoffman from eighteen eighty-eight of Christ and the rich young ruler. Our reading is from Mark chapter ten, verses seventeen through thirty-one. Deacon Elizabeth, would you lead this?

SPEAKER_10 19:39

Sure. As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments. You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not defraud. Honor your father and mother. He said to him, Teacher, I have kept all this since my youth. Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, You lack one thing. Go sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven. Then come follow me. When he had this, he was shocked and went away, grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, How hard it will be for those who have work to enter the kingdom of God. And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. They were greatly astounded and said to one another, then who can be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, For morals it's impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible. Peter began to say to him, Look, we have left everything and followed you. Jesus said, Truly I tell you, there's no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or feels for my sake and for the sake of the good news who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age. Houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children and fills with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first. The word of the Lord.

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Thanks be to God. Thank you, Deacon. And now the apostles' creed. Robert, would you lead us in the creed?

SPEAKER_00 22:31

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_03 23:18

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 23:19

Thank you, Robert. And now the prayers begin with our Lord's Prayer. Marcia, 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 prayer. 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.

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Save your people, Lord, and bless your inheritance.

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Govern and uphold them now and always.

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Day by day we bless you.

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We praise your name forever.

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Lord, keep us from all sin today.

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Have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy.

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Lord, show us your love and mercy.

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For we put our trust in you.

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In you, Lord, is our hope.

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And we shall never hope in vain.

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Thank you, Marcia. This is our saint of the day, Harriet Monsell. Harriet Monsell was the widow of an Anglican priest and was the founder in 1852 of the community of St. John the Baptist, an order of Augustinian nuns dedicated to social service. They started with a home for fallen women and soon found themselves running 80 institutions. Their American branch is located in Metham, New Jersey. Harriet Monsell, our saint of the day. Now two prayers, the collect of the day for Harriet Monsell, a monastic who died in 1883. And a collect for guidance. Martha, would you lead these two prayers?

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Grant that we, inspired by her example, may grow in the life of prayer and a work of service, so that in sorrow or joy, your presence may increase among us and our lives. Reveal the mind of Jesus Christ to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be honor and glory now and forever. Amen. Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being. We only pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SPEAKER_01 26:51

Amen. Thank you, Martha. And now it's time to report on America's gun toll. Look at how many people get shot or killed each week in our country with all the guns that we have lying around. This is for the week that uh ended on Monday, the 23rd. Our spotlight is uh a compilation of several shooting locations in Texas above one of the three locations in Amarillo, Texas, where mass shootings occurred involving an AR-15. All of the locations that were in these shootings involved an AR-15. They police didn't have word of whether it was the same shooter at each one, but it sounds like it was all connected. The shootings happened in the span of about four hours and caused the Amarillo Police Department to activate their emergency operations center. At the last scene, a suspect wearing body armor and firing at police was killed by police. They gave very little details about this. They didn't have a lot of information. It sounds like these were each targeted, and that they may have killed a shooter at the last one after they went around to four different places and or three different places and killed people. AR-15s are not a gun that we need to have in the general public. So we look at our totals from this last week. Those killed by gunfire in the United States, the number went up just a little bit by six. It went to two hundred and forty-five people killed by gunfire. It was 239 the week before. It brings our total year-to-date killed to 2,725 people. Those injured by gunfire in the United States, 462. The week before it had been 372, so that went up by 90. And it brings our total year-to-date injured to 4,639. And so we pray a prayer to end gun violence. Jill, would you lead this?

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Oh Lord our God, we pray for the victims of the other pandemic as gun violence ravages our homes and streets and our businesses, schools, and houses of worship. We pray for the children killed and injured, for their families, classmates, teachers, and school employees. We pray for teenagers gunned down before their lives have really started. We pray for police officers who keep fighting a never-ending battle while trying to keep themselves and everyone else safe. And we pray for an end to racial profiling in law enforcement. We pray for all who are depressed or mentally ill, wanting to hurt themselves or others in a nations where guns are everywhere. We pray for the victims of crime who are forced to defend themselves and their loved ones. We pray for anti-violence activists and community leaders in a time when new methods of protest and reform must be created. Let your demands for justice and cries for peace be heard, O Lord, in our legislative chambers and in our hearts. May your healing grace overtake this land through our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER_03 30:27

Amen. Thank you, Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 30:35

We'll continue with the prayer for the mission of the church. And I'm going to ask Paul to lead that, and then I'll bless the Lord and bless us.

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Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus 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 treach 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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Life is short, and we don't have much time to gladden the hearts of those that make this journey with us. So be swift to love and make haste to be kind. 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 Thursday. Thank you for coming to pray today. Wherever you go, take that love of Jesus that lives inside of you. That Jesus that's in your heart. Share that Jesus with the world. Show that Jesus to the world. How many need Jesus now? Hope to see you back with us tomorrow, safe and sound.