Our Lady of Angels Association

by Michael January 9, 2013

I said, “I will watch my ways, lest I sin with my tongue;
I will set a curb on my mouth.”
Dumb and silent before the wicked, I refrained from any speech.
But my sorrow increased; my heart smoldered within me.
In my thoughts a fire blazed up, and I broke into speech:

Lord, let me know my end, the number of my days,
that I may learn how frail I am.
You have given my days a very short span; my life is as nothing before you.
All mortals are but a breath.

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

If we say, “We are without sin,” we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing. If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

I John: 1:8-10

Beloved, do not trust every spirit but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ come in the flesh belongs to God, and every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that, as you heard, is to come, but in fact is already in the world. You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

I John 4:1-4

How lovely is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. My heart and flesh cry out for the living God. As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, My home is by your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God! Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you.

Psalm 84: 2-5

Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.

James 5:1-6

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading kept in heaven for you who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time. In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

I Peter 1:3-7

How precious to me are your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them! Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands; to finish, I would need eternity. If only you would destroy the wicked, O God, and the bloodthirsty would depart from me! Deceitfully they invoke your name; your foes swear faithless oaths. Do I not hate, Lord, those who hate you? Those who rise against you, do I not loathe? With fierce hatred I hate them, enemies I count as my own. Probe me, God, know my heart; try me, know my concern. See if my way is crooked, then lead me in the ancient paths.

Psalm 139: 17-24

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

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths but speak not; they have eyes but see not; they have ears but hear not; No breath is in their mouths. Their makers shall be like them, all who trust in them. House of Israel, bless the Lord! Houses of Aaron, bless the Lord! House of Levi, bless the Lord! You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord! Blessed from Zion be the Lord, who dwells in Jerusalem! Hallelujah!

Psalm 135:15-21

I have fulfilled your just edict; do not abandon me to my oppressors. Guarantee your servant’s welfare; do not let the arrogant oppress me. My eyes long to see your salvation and the justice of your promise. Act with kindness toward your servant; teach me your laws. I am your servant; give me discernment that I may know your decrees. It is time for the Lord to act; they have disobeyed your teaching. Truly I love your commands more than the finest gold. Thus I follow all your precepts; every wrong way I hate.

Psalm 119 continued – verses 121-128