Morning Prayer for 7.21.26

Here is a link to our liturgy: Morning Prayer 7.21.26, Maria Skobtsova, Monastic and Martyr, 1945 | Daily Office Network  Our Vicar, Fr. Tom is at training for chaplaincy in Spokane, WA  Enjoy the break and our Lay Minister Tony Vitale

Transcript

SPEAKER_07 0:03

Good morning, everybody. My name is Tony Vietali, and this is Morning Prayer on the Daily Office Network. We are a community of Christians from several different faith traditions and several different countries who come together to pray morning prayer on a daily basis. We use the 1979 Episcopal Church Book of Common Prayer. We highlight a news story and we mix an artwork. Also, today is Military News Day. We share some news about our military. Sometimes it will be the death of a service member. If we know the names of the deceased, we will speak their names. We all are welcome here, where we do our best to exercise tolerance and decency with one another. Now settle in and begin morning prayer. Remember that we do post a service to our podcast Monday through Friday, and you can search on Daily Office and Network on either the Apple Podcast or Spotify Podcast. Our saint of today is Maria Skopsova. She's a monastic and martyr who died in 1945, and we'll tell you more about that. Get down to that part of this service. The Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the fighting and with you. Go up now to Ay. Our picture today is yes, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Sarah Malale. She's going to visit the Episcopal Church on September 25th through 28th, 2026. That's just a couple of months from now, right here in New York City. She'll make stops in the diocese of New York and Connecticut. Why not New Jersey? I'm just across the river. Well, and at the House of Bishop Spaul gathering at Camp Allen, Dalasota, Texas. Alally, who officially took office in January, has made a few trips outside the Church of England since her consecration in March. The first one was to Rome, Italy in April, where she preached during a choral eve song at St. Paul's Within the Walls, which is a part of the convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. In her sermon, she addressed what the church is called to be in an increasingly polarized world. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, by strength and I read heart. Morning, Addy. And your mouth shall proclaim your life.

SPEAKER_10 2:57

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 song. 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.

SPEAKER_07 4:09

Thank you. Our psalm today, there's only one, it's Psalm 45. And Robert and Carol, would you share the psalm starting with Carol?

SPEAKER_06 4:27

My heart is stirring with a noble song. Let me recite what I have fashioned for the king. My tongue shall be the open the pen of a skilled writer. You are the fairest of men. Grace follows flows from your lips because God has blessed you forever. Strap your sword upon your thigh, O mighty warrior, in your pride and in your majesty. Ride out and conquer in the cause of truth and for the sake of justice. Your right hand will show you marvelous things. Your arrows are very sharp, O mighty warrior. The peoples are falling at your feet, and the king's enemies are losing heart. Your throne, O God, endures forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your reign. You love righteousness and hate iniquity. Therefore, God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. All your garments are fragrant with mirror, aloes and cassia, and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad. King's daughters stand among the ladies of the court. On your right hand is the queen. Adorned with the gold of Oph. Here, O daughter, consider and listen closely. Forget your people and your friends, your father's house. The king will have pleasure in your beauty. He is your master. Therefore do him honor. The people of Tyra are here with a gift. The rich among the people seek your favor. All glorious is the princess as she enters. Her gown is cloth of gold. In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king. After her, the bridesmaids follow in procession. With joy and gladness, they are brought and enter into the palaces of the king. In place of fathers, O King, you shall have sons. You shall make them princes over all the earth. 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_07 7:51

Thank you. And Robert, I'm sorry we overlooked you. We'll call on you a little later. Don't go for coffee. Our house artist James Tissot, Jacques Tissot, actually. Uh this is from 1902. I don't know if you know this, but Tissot went to Palestine in the late 1800s. He wanted to get a really accurate representation of what these people would have looked like back in the day. His own historical research. Our painting is taken by Joshua. Chad, would you read the lesson from Joshua this morning?

SPEAKER_00 8:33

Then the Lord said to Joshua, Do not fear or be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you and go now up to Ai. See, I have handed over to you the king of Ai with his people, his city, and his land. You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. Only its spoil and its livestock you may take as booty for yourselves. Set an ambush against the city behind it. So Joshua and all the fighting men set out to go up against Ai. Joshua chose thirty thousand warriors and sent them out by night with the command, you shall lie in ambush against the city behind it. Do not go very far from the city, but all of you stay alert, and I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. When they come out against us as before, we shall flee from them. They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, They are fleeing from us as before. While we flee from them, you shall rise up from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will give it into your hand. And when you have taken the city, you shall set the city on fire, doing as the Lord has ordered. See, I have commanded you. So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the place of ambush, and they lay between Bethel and Ai to the west of Ai. But Joshua spent the night in the camp. In the morning Joshua rose early and mustered the people and went up with the elders of Israel before the people of Ai. All the fighting men who were with him went up and drew near before the city and camped on the north side of Ai with a ravine between them and Ai. Taking about five thousand men, he set them in ambush between Bethel and Ai to the west of the city. So they stationed the forces, the main encampment that was north of the city and its rear guard west of the city. But Joshua spent the night in the valley. When the king of Ai saw this, he and all his people, the inhabitants of the city, hurried out early in the morning to the meeting place facing the Arabah to meet Israel in battle. But he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city. And Joshua and all Israel made a pretense of being beaten before them and fled in the direction of the wilderness. So all the people who were in the city were called together to pursue them. And as they pursued Joshua, they were drawn away from the city. There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel who did not go out after Israel, but left the city open and pursued Israel. Then the Lord said to Joshua, Stretch out the sword that is in your hand toward Ai, for I will give it into your hand. And Joshua stretched out the sword that was in his hand toward the city. As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush rose quickly out of their place and rushed forward. They entered the city and took it, and at once set the city on fire. So when the men of Ai looked back, the smoke of the city was rising to the sky. They had no power to flee this way or that, for the people who fled to the wilderness turned back against the pursuers. When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city and that the smoke of the city was rising, then they turned back and struck down the men of Ai. And the others came out from the city against them. So they were surrounded by Israelites, some on one side and some on the other, and Israel struck them down until no one was left who survived or escaped. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_07 12:28

Thanks be to God. Our first canticle is a song of praise, and Mother Angela has graciously offered to be our cantor today.

SPEAKER_01 12:43

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 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.

SPEAKER_07 13:32

Thank you very much. This is the logo of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is a US-based worldwide denomination which stresses vegetarianism and the keeping of kosher dietary laws as well as the Hebrew Sabbath. The movement began in 1831 when William Miller published a study of the Book of Daniel, in which he predicted the return of Christ by 1844. When Jesus didn't show, Adventists called it the Great Disappointment, but didn't give up their belief in Christ's imminent return. Still waiting. The domination was formally established in 1863. A reading is from Paul's speech to the Church in Rome, Paul and Delaware. Would you read this, please?

SPEAKER_05 14:28

Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarrelling over opinions. Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat. For God has welcomed them. Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own Lord that they stand or fall, and they will be upheld for the Lord is able to make them stand. Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. But all be fully convinced in their own minds. Those who observe the day observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God, while those who abstain abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord's, for to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. So then each of us will be accountable to God. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_07 16:44

Thanks be to God. Our second canticle from Revelation, Mother Angela.

SPEAKER_01 16:51

Splendor and honor and kingly power are your spirite, O Lord our God, for you created everything that is, and by your will they were created, and have them being, and you spiralite, 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.

SPEAKER_07 17:51

Thank you so much. Our artwork that is going to tell us about the gospel reading is from Kaspar Eisenman. This is the betrayal of Christ. It is a panel of the Colmar altarpiece of the museum. Luther Little Deacon Elizabeth.

SPEAKER_08 18:26

Arrived. With him was a large crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priest and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying, The one I will kiss is the man. Arrest him, arrest him. At once he came up to Jesus and said, Greetings, Rabbi, and kissed him. Jesus said to him, Friend, do what you are here to do. Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his sword, his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the sleeve of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place. For all who take this word will perish by this word. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my father and he will at once send me more than twelve legends of angels? But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled? We say it must happen this way. At that hour, Jesus said to the crowds, have you come out with swords and claps to arrest me as though I were abandoned? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But all this has taken place so that the scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled. Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. The word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_07 20:25

Taking a chance on Gordon. Gordon, are you there with us? And would you lead the apostles' creed if not?

SPEAKER_03 20:42

Good morning, sir. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord, who is 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_07 21:29

Jacqueline, the Lord's Prayer. The Lord be with you.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

And also with you.

SPEAKER_07 21:36

Let us pray.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

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 God. Of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever.

SPEAKER_07 22:12

Amen. Help us, O God, our Savior.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

Deliver us and forgive us our sins.

SPEAKER_07 22:20

Look upon your congregation.

SPEAKER_02 22:23

Give to your people the blessing of peace.

SPEAKER_07 22:27

Declare your glory among the nations. And your wonders among all peoples. Do not let the oppressed be shamed and turned away.

SPEAKER_02 22:38

Never forget the lives of your poor.

SPEAKER_07 22:42

Continue your loving of kindness to those who know you.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

And your favor to those who are true of heart.

SPEAKER_07 22:51

Satisfy us by your loving of kindness in the morning.

SPEAKER_02 22:56

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

SPEAKER_07 23:02

Thank you so much. Our saint of the day, Maria Sova. Throughout her life, she was highly engaged with the philosophical, social, and political cross-currents of her time, from her birth into a Russian nobleman's family in Ryga, Latvia, her death in a Nazi concentration camp as a member of the French resistance. Her father died in her teens, and her mother moved her to St. Petersburg, where she became an atheist, married and divorced a Bolshevik, wrote poetry. She moved to southern Russia and began to draw back to Christianity. After the Russian Revolution, she and her second husband took the family to Paris, where she studied theology, engaged in social work. After a second divorce, an ecclesiastical annulment, she took the house as a solitary monastic. She opened her house to refugees, a priest came to assist her. The fall of Paris, a stream of Jews came asking for baptismal certificates, which the priest provided. Eventually the Gestapo came, put her household in concentration camps. She was guessed to death on Holy Saturday, 1945. She was glorified, which is the same as canonization in the Eastern Orthodox Church in 2004. Her saint of the day, Orias Kosova, monastic and martyr. Let's see. Martha Kelly, are you here with us and would you read to the colleagues for us?

SPEAKER_09 24:49

O creator and giver of life, you have crowned your matamaria with glory and giving her as an example of loving service to the suffering and poor, even to the point of death. Teach us to love Christ with all our being, to love one another in truth and action, and to strive against injustice and evil in the world, that we may shine with the light of the resurrection through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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 country 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 and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_07 26:10

It is Tuesday, so they have names. This is the week of July the 20th, 2026. Our source is military.com. And we share names. Some news stories, sorry. And military uh sometimes is the death of a service member. And today, unfortunately, it is one of those days. This is the picture of Isaac Benjamin Morris. He was 22 years old. The search for a missing sailor assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman ended in tragedy after authorities recovered his body near the naval station in Norfolk, Virginia, nearly a week after he disappeared. This is Isaac Benjamin Mars, 22 years old. He was found dead on Friday, June the 19th, just last month, in the water near the piers at a naval station at Norfolk, according to the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, NCIS. Morris had been reported missing after he was last seen on June 14th. Morris was an Engineman Fireman Apprentice from California, according to the Navy. He joined the Navy in October 2025 and reported aboard USS Harry S. Truman in April, meaning he had been assigned to the carrier for roughly two months prior to his disappearance. Cause of death has not been revealed. Photo above is from Google Images, as he may be has not released a photo. We pray for his soul, a rise of glory. Isaac Benjamin Morris. And we pray for those we love on Act of Duty, Father David, Ian, Logan, Arnold, Dudley, Gina, Raleigh, Janelle, and Amanda and Rob are a married couple. Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care in keeping all 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 temptations. Give them courage to face the perils which beset them. Grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be. Amen. And Martha, would you call it for peace, please?

SPEAKER_09 29:03

O God, the altar of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life, and to serve you is perfect freedom. Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies. That we truly surely trusting in your defense. May not fear the power of any adversaries through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

SPEAKER_07 29:39

Okay. Let's say I overlooked poor Robert before. Robert, are you with us? If you are, would you lead us in the college for mission? I see you're unmuted, but I don't hear you. Right, I'll do it quickly. Lord Jesus Christ, you stretched out your arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace. So clothe us in 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 through the honor of your name. Amen. And Mother Angel, would you take care of the blessing for us?

SPEAKER_04 30:55

Let us bless the Lord.

SPEAKER_07 30:58

Thanks be to God.

SPEAKER_04 31:00

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all evermore. Amen.

SPEAKER_09 31:09

Amen.

SPEAKER_07 31:10

Beautiful. Thank you so much. That was obvious. That is morning prayer for Tuesday, July the 21st, 2026. Have a blessed day today. Father Michael, hit the root. Stop.