Morning Offerings (Time To Pray)

August 15, 2012 by Beatasum | 3 Comments

How do you start your day?

Sure, we all grab that first great cup of coffee.  Try and eat at least something healthy for breakfast, and keep ourselves neat and tidy – teeth brushed, hair washed and combed, dressed presentably when we head out the door in the morning, BUT  how about prayer?

Do you start your day with a prayer to our Heavenly Father, to ask for guidance and to thank him for all His blessings?

I must be honest,  I do fall short in this area.  I’m very good at making sure I say my evening prayers, and when I’m in my car, I usually say a prayer so that I won’t get into an accident, the tail-gater behind me will back off or turn at the next intersection, and very importantly,  I won’t hit a squirrel!

When it comes to the morning, we are often so busy with getting ourselves out to work, or getting the kids off to school, or making it to wherever we need to be that we forget to thank God in preparation for the day that lies ahead.

With this in mind, I did a quick search and came up with four very good prayers that can be used when you first wake up.  Sure, I know you can just “talk” to God, and make up your own words, but personally, I need a bit of structure and find that memorizing a prayer works best if I want to remember to do it every day.

Here’s a tip that works for me:  Got “Sticky Notes” on your computer?  I cut and pasted my favourite Morning Offering to a Note on my Desktop, so now when I open up my computer in the morning, the prayer is right there to remind me.  Do you have any suggestions for prompting you to pray? Let me know in the comments.

I found these online and none of them are very long, nor very difficult to remember and you have a choice of traditional, contemporary, or rather informal.

Here they are:

1. Morning Offering Prayer

(I like the way this one acknowledges God’s goodness prior to the saying of the prayer, and asks for continued blessings.  It is nice that it includes the Blessed Virgin as well.)

Almighty God, I thank you for your past blessings.
Today I offer myself – whatever I do, say, or think -
to your loving care.
Continue to bless me, Lord.
I make this morning offering in union
with the divine intentions of Jesus Christ
who offers himself daily inthe holy sacrifice of the Mass,
and in union with Mary, his Virgin Mother and our Mother,
who was always the faithful handmaid of the Lord.

Amen.

Morning Offering to the Sacred Heart

(This is the prayer my father said every single morning, and I remember it well.  It seems quite formal, and may not be for everyone.)

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all our associates, and in particular for the intentions of our Holy Father for this month.

Morning Offering

(Here’s one addressing the Trinity, which you may choose to do.)

Most Holy and Adorable Trinity, one God in three Persons, I firmly believe that You are here present; I adore You with the most profound humility; I praise You and give You thanks with all my heart for the favors You have bestowed on me. Your Goodness has brought me safely to the beginning of this day. Behold, O Lord, I offer You my whole being and in particular all my thoughts, words and actions, together with such crosses and contradictions as I may meet with in the course of this day. Give them, O Lord, Your blessing; may Your divine Love animate them and may they tend to the greater honor and glory of Your Sovereign Majesty. Amen.

Good Morning God! 

(I like this one because it seems familiar and I like the way it rhymes, which makes it even easier to remember.)

Good Morning God!
You are ushering in another day,
untouched and freshly new.
So here I am to ask you, God,
if You’ll renew me too.

Forgive the many errors that I made yesterday
and let me try again dear God
to walk closer in Your way.

But Lord, I am well aware,
I can’t make it on my own.
So take my hand and hold it tight,
for I cannot walk alone.

So, which will you choose?  It doesn’t really matter at all, whether you choose one of these, find one of your own, or make it up as you go.  Heck, you could sing your favourite hymn and it would be a prayer, wouldn’t it?  The important thing is to do it!

Until next time,

Beatasum (Kathleen)

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