Morning Prayer with Daily Office Network Live Community

Morning Prayer for Tuesday 7.7.26

• Father Tom

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SPEAKER_01

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 from the Episcopal Church's Book of Common Prayer. We mix in artwork. We have a news story. We come from several different faith traditions in several different countries. 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 7th of July, 2026, in the life of the church. It is a Tuesday in proper nine. The Daily Office Network is podcasting. I just got a notice from our podcast poster BuzzSprout yesterday that we had over 280 downloads of our podcast last month. Let's begin morning prayer. When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you. Photograph of some of our soldiers walking in a field with all of their gear and their weapons. In April of 2026, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military would no longer require annual influenza flu vaccinations for service members, framing the change around medical autonomy and personal choice. This ended a mandate that it existed in some form since World War II. Last month, June, large outbreaks of influenza occurred at training facilities, especially at Joint Base San Antonio Lackland Air Force Base, where hundreds of trainees got sick and several were hospitalized. One recruit died, and that one's under investigation whether the flu was a factor. In response to outbreaks and rising sickness among trainees, the Department of Defense restored mandatory flu shots for new recruits, and certain groups within the Army, Air Force, and other branches effectively rolling back the more permissive policy in practice. The change mirrored broader tensions in U.S. public health policy about vaccine mandates and individual choice. Supporters of the policy cited medical freedom, while opponents said it ignored scientific consensus on benefits of vaccination in close living environments like the military. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Addie, would you lead us in the inventory this morning?

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Lord, open our lips.

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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. Hallelujah. 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 songs. For you are a great God. You are great above all gods. In your hands 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 we would hearken to your voice.

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

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Give her ear to my words, O Lord. Consider my meditation.

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Talking to my cry for help, my sovereign and my God, for I make my prayer to you.

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In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice. Early in the morning I make my appeal and watch for you.

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For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, and evil cannot dwell with you.

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Braggrets cannot stand in your sight. You hate all those who work wickedness.

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You destroy those who speak lies. The blood dusty and deceitful.

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But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy, I will go into your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in awe of you.

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Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of those who lie in wait for me. Make your way straight before me.

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For there is no truth in their mouth. There is destruction in their heart.

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Their truth is an open grave. They flatter with their tongue.

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Declare them guilty, O God. Let them fall because of their schemes.

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Because of their many transgressions, cast them out. For they have rebelled against you.

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But all who take refuge in you will be glad. They will sing out their joy forever.

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You will shelter them so that those who love your name may assault in you.

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For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous. You will defend them with your favor as with a shield.

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Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger. Do not punish me in your wrath.

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Have pity on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are wrecked.

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How long, O Lord? How long?

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Turn, O Lord, and deliver me. Save me for your mercy's sake.

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For in death no one remembers you. And who will give you thanks in the grief?

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I grow weary because of my groaning. Every night I drench my bed and flood my couch with tears.

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My eyes are wasted with grief and worn away because of all my enemies.

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Depart from me, all evildoers, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

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The Lord has heard my supplication. The Lord accepts my prayer.

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All my enemies shall be confounded and quake with fear. They shall turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

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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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Amen.

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Thank you, Jill and Martha. That was a great reading. Chad, this one has your name on it.

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In the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Command the Israelites to give from the inheritance that they possessed towns for the Levites to live in. You shall also give to the Levites pasture lands surrounding the towns. The towns shall be theirs to live in, and their pasture lands shall be for their cattle, for their livestock, and for all their animals. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the Israelites and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, so that a slayer who kills a person without intent may flee there. The cities shall be for you a refuge from the Avenger, so that the slayer may not die until there is a trial before the congregation. The cities that you designate shall be six cities of refuge for you. You shall designate three cities beyond the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be the cities of refuge. These six cities shall serve as refuge for the Israelites, for the resident or the transient alien among them, so that anyone who kills a person without intent may flee there. If anyone kills another, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses, but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of a single witness. Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer who is subject to the death penalty. A murderer must be put to death, nor shall you accept a ransom for one who has fled to a city of refuge, enabling the fugitive to return to live in the land before the death of the high priest. You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no expiation can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites. The word of the Lord.

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Thanks be to God. Thank you, Chad. Our first canticle is a song of praise. Marcia, would you read this one for us?

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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, seated between the cherubim. We will praise you and exalt you forever. Glory to you, beholding the depths, 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, Marcia. Picture with Jesus or a piece of art of Jesus with someone with a across his shoulders and he's carrying them. You may have felt that way before. I know I have. Tucker, would you lead this one for us?

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What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies, who is to condemn it? And it is in it is Christ Jesus who died, yes, who was raised? Who is at the right hand of God who enter who indeed intercedes for us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all day. We are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us, for I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The word of the Lord.

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Thanks be to God. Thank you, Tucker. Our second canticle is a song to the Lamb. Marcia, would you read this one for us also?

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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 their being, 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 on the throne, and to Christ the Lamb, we worship and praise, dominion and splendor forever and forevermore.

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Thank you, Marcia. Piece of artwork that I can tell you without even looking at the caption is by James J. Tusot. This is from 1895 and it's called Woe to You Scribes and Pharisees. This is in the Brooklyn Museum. Our reading is from Matthew chapter 23, verses 13 through 26. Deacon Elizabeth, would you lead this?

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Sure. Jesus said, But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven, for you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Would you sorry, what to you? What are you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and when you make the new convert twice as much, and when you make the new convert twice as much a child or fell as yourselves? What to you, blind guides who say, Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath. You blind fools, for which is greater? The gold of the sanctuary that was made, that has made the gold sacred. And you say, Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the earth. How blind you are, which is greater? The gift of the altar that makes the gift sacred. So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it. What to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you tithe mint, deal and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith. It is this you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides, you strain out a nut, but swallow a camel. What to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean. The word of the Lord.

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Thank you, deacon. And now the apostles creed, 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. And now the prayers begin with our Lord's Prayer. Jacqueline, 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 this 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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Help us, O God our Saviour.

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Deliver us and forgive us our sins.

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Look upon your congregation.

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Give to your people the blessing of peace.

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Declare your glory among the nations.

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And your wonders among all peoples.

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Do not let the oppressed be shamed and turned away.

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Never forget the lives of your poor.

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Continue your loving kindness to those who know you.

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And your favor to those who are true of art.

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Satisfy us by your loving kindness in the morning.

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So shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.

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Thank you, Jacqueline. Photograph of a bunch of kids holding each other, hugging each other, smiles. Our caption reads Love one another. No, two prayers. The collect of the day for proper nine. Since we don't have a saint of the day, that's what we have for our collect today. A collect for the nation. Robert, would you lead these two prayers?

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Oh God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor. Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart and united with one another in pure affection. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. 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 the zeal for justice and strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will through Jesus Christ our Lord, who reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

SPEAKER_01

Amen. Thank you, Robert. Now it's time for our weekly report on military news, which is called They Have Names. It was started in 2007 by our late honorary deacon Clint Gillilan, a retired Navy medic. They have names, our service members at home and abroad, and they're in danger from the minute that they take the oath. If there are casualties, we speak their names. We pray for all of them, and we pray to God for peace in every nation. And here's where things stand this week. We have no deaths in war to report. I think there may be one coming uh in a week or two because there was a death. There was a sailor who fell overboard in the, I believe, the Arabian Sea, and his body was never recovered. They will be hopefully releasing his name, but it's been several weeks and they still haven't told us anything. But we do have a news story today. It involves our chaplains in the military. That's what this is a picture of as one of the chaplains. You notice the cross is on their lapels. Or their, yeah, their lapels. This week the U.S. Army, I'm sorry, the U.S. Army last week gave its chaplains 90 days to strip the rank from their uniforms in a move that puts a definitive timeline on a directive championed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegsith, who has sought to shift religious leaders' identities from their military grade to their faiths. Army chaplains have 90 days to remove rank from their Army combat uniforms and 180 days to remove it from their cold weather gear. The new guidance, which was signed by the Secretary of the Army, Dan Driscoll, also tells chaplains exactly where to attach religious branch insignia on their uniforms and their headgear. The move is seen by many as an attempt to put forth a Christian nationalism agenda and downplay Army chaplains' accomplishments that are battle-tested and were made with many sacrifices. Rank is how the military affords respect to a soldier's knowledge and experience. The chaplains are not losing their rank. They just cannot display them on their daily combat uniforms. And just a side note on this that we have many, many chaplains who have gone into battle with our units and never carry a weapon. We've had at least one who got the Congressional Medal of Honor, and there are hundreds and thousands that got bronze stars, silver stars, army commendations, military commendations because of their actions in combat. Taking the rank off their uniform really makes no sense, but that's what the directive is. We pray for all of those who are on active duty, and we specifically name Father David, who is a chaplain who is serving in a combat situation. Ian, Logan, Arnold, Dudley, Gina, Raleigh, Janelle, Amanda, and Rob, a married couple who are both serving. Almighty God, we commend to 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 collect for peace. O God, the author of peace and the lover of concord, to know you is eternal life, and to serve you as perfect freedom, defend us your humble servants, and 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. And that's our report, for they have names. Let's remember to pray for our service members at home and abroad and support those who keep the home fires burning. We'll continue with the colic for the mission of the church. And I'm going to ask John to lead us in the prayer for the mission of the church, and then I'll bless the Lord and bless us.

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So close us with your spirit, that we reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you, for the honor of your name. 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 the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and remain with you forevermore. 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, the Jesus you carry in your heart. Share that Jesus with the world. Show that Jesus to the world. Hope to see you back with us tomorrow safe and sound.