Our Lady of Angels Association

by Michael January 7, 2013

But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. He gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.

Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.

I rejoiced when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” And now our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem, built as a city, walled about. Here the tribes have come, the tribes of the Lord, as it was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. Here are the thrones of justice, the thrones of the house of David. For the peace of Jerusalem pray: “May those who love you prosper! May peace be within your ramparts, prosperity within your towers.” For family and friends I say, “May peace be yours.” For the house of the Lord, our God, I pray, “May blessings be yours.”

Psalm 122

Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth; sing of his glorious name; give him glorious praise. Say to God: “How awesome your deeds! Before your great strength your enemies cringe. All on earth fall in worship before you; they sing of you, sing of your name.” Come and hear, all you who fear God, while I recount what has been done for me. I called to the Lord with my mouth; praise was upon my tongue. Had I cherished evil in my heart, the Lord would not have heard. But God did hear and listened to my voice in prayer. Blessed be God, who did not refuse me the kindness I sought in prayer.

Psalm 66:1-4; 16-20

Lord, your love reaches to heaven; your fidelity, to the clouds. Your justice is like the highest mountains; your judgments, like the mighty deep; all living creatures you sustain, Lord. How precious is your love, O God! We take refuge in the shadow of your wings. We feast on the rich food of your house; from your delightful stream you give us drink. For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light. Continue your kindness toward your friends, your just defense of the honest heart.

Psalm 36:6-10

We are fools on Christ’s account, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands. When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond gently. We have become like the world’s rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment. I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Therefore, I urge you, be imitators of me.

I Corinthians 4:10-16

Lord, you have probed me, you know me: you know when I sit and stand; You understand my thoughts from afar. My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar. Even before a word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it all. Behind and before you encircle me and rest your hand upon me. Such knowledge is beyond me, far too lofty for me to reach.

Psalm 139:1-6

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. I make a solemn vow to keep your just edicts. I am very much afflicted, Lord; give me life in accord with your word. Accept my freely offered praise; Lord, teach me your decrees. My life is always at risk, but I do not forget your teaching. The wicked have set snares for me, but from your precepts I do not stray. Your decrees are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. My heart is set on fulfilling your laws; they are my reward forever.

Psalm 119 continued – verses 105-112

In you, Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue and deliver me; listen to me and save me! Be my rock and refuge, my secure stronghold; for you are my rock and fortress. My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the clutches of the violent. You are my hope, Lord; my trust, God, from my youth. On you I depend since birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength; my hope in you never wavers.

Psalm 71:1-6

Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. Happy those to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit. As long as I kept silent, my bones wasted away; I groaned all the day. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength withered as in dry summer heat. Then I declared my sin to you; my guilt I did not hide. I said, “I confess my faults to the Lord,” and you took away the guilt of my sin.

Psalm 32:1-5

May the eyes of your heart be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way.

Ephesians 1:18-23

Listen, my beloved brothers! Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? Is it not they who blaspheme the noble name that was invoked over you? However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.

James 2:5-9