Our Lady of Angels Association

by Michael January 9, 2013

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from my call for help, from my cries of anguish?
My God, I call by day, but you do not answer; by night, but I have no relief.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the glory of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted and you rescued them.

To you they cried out and they escaped; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm, hardly human, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me:
“You relied on the Lord – let him deliver you; if he loves you, let him rescue you.”

As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has designated in the church to be, first apostles; second, prophets; third teachers; then, mighty deeds; then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

I Corinthians 12:12-13, 27-31

I praise you, Lord, for you raised me up and did not let my enemies rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I cried out to you and you healed me. Lord, you brought me up from Sheol; you kept me from going down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful; give thanks to God’s holy name. For divine anger lasts but a moment; divine favor lasts a lifetime. At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing.

Psalm 30:1-6

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen.

I Peter 5:8-11

How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me? I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Too costly in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. Lord, I am your servant, the child of your maid-servant; you have loosed my bonds. I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord, in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Psalm 116 continued – verses 12-19

God, who struck down great kings, God’s love endures forever; Slew powerful kings, God’s love endures forever; Sihon, king of the Amorites, God’s love endures forever; Og, king of Bashan, God’s love endures forever; And made their lands a heritage, God’s love endures forever; A heritage for Israel, God’s servant, God’s love endures forever. The Lord remembered us in our misery, God’s love endures forever; Freed us from our foes, God’s love endures forever; And gives food to all flesh, God’s love endures forever. Praise the God of heaven, God’s love endures forever.

Psalm 136: 17-26

Happy those whose way is blameless, who walk by the teaching of the Lord. Happy those who observe God’s decrees, who seek the Lord with all their heart. They do no wrong; they walk in God’s ways. You have given them the command to keep your precepts with care. May my ways be firm in the observance of your laws! Then I will not be ashamed to ponder all your commands. I will praise you with sincere heart as I study your just edicts. I will keep your laws; do not leave me all alone.

Psalm 119:1-8

Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you have gone astray like sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

I Peter 2:21-25

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

Galatians 5:19-21

Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; cry out to the rock of our salvation. Let us greet him with a song of praise, joyfully sing out our psalms. For the Lord is the great God, the great king over all gods, Whose hand holds the depths of the earth; who owns the tops of the mountains. The sea and dry land belong to God, who made them, formed them by hand. Enter, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. For this is our God, whose people we are, God’s well-tended flock.

Psalm 95:1-7

Malicious witnesses come forward, accuse me of things I do not know. They repay me evil for good and I am all alone. Yet I, when they were ill, put on sack-cloth, afflicted myself with fasting, sobbed my prayers upon my bosom. I went about in grief as for my brother, bent in mourning as for my mother. Yet when I stumbled they gathered with glee; they gathered against me like strangers. They slandered me without ceasing; without respect they mocked me, gnashed their teeth against me.

Psalm 35 continued – verses 11-16