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Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

"For Each New Morning"

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
I thank thee.
(From a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson)

For Each of Us in Our Work

Almighty God, heavenly Father, who makes it possible for me to work and gives every creature its food, declaring your glory and showing your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth; Deliver me, I pray, in my work, from coveting material goods, from falling into the temptation of serving mammon and putting money in the forefront of my life. Help me to perform the work which you have put at my hand, in truth, in beauty, and in righteousness, with singleness of heart as your servant, and to the benefit of my fellow men as well as myself; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lived and died only to serve us.

Penitential Prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore Thee, a heart to delight in Thee, to follow and enjoy Thee, for Christ's sake,

Blessing

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face to shine upon us, and be gracious unto us. The Lord lift up his countenance upon us, and give us peace, this day and evermore.

(Additional prayers may be found at Prayers for All Occasions.)

God be with you 'til we meet again.

Proverbs 3:33

John 9:24-34 (CEV)

Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind [4]

The leaders called the man back and said, "Swear by God to tell the truth! We know that Jesus is a sinner." The man replied, "I don't know if he is a sinner or not. All I know is that I used to be blind, but now I can see!"

"What did he do to you?" the Jewish leaders asked. "How did he heal your eyes?"

The man answered, "I have already told you once, and you refused to listen. Why do you want me to tell you again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"

The leaders insulted the man and said, "You are his follower! We are followers of Moses. We are sure that God spoke to Moses, but we don't even know where Jesus comes from."

"How strange!" the man replied. "He healed my eyes, and yet you don't know where he comes from. We know that God listens only to people who love and obey him. God doesn't listen to sinners. And this is the first time in history that anyone has ever given sight to someone born blind. Jesus could not do anything unless he came from God."

The leaders told the man, "You have been a sinner since the day you were born! Do you think you can teach us anything?" Then they said, "You can never come back into any of our meeting places!"

Notes on the Scripture

It is pretty easy to see that this group of Pharisees knows what they want to find; they are searching for support to condemn Jesus, not enlightenment. Having already questioned the blind man once, his neighbors, and his parents, trying to shake their story and prove he was never blind, they go after the blind man again, trying to strong arm him into changing his story. It's a witch hunt.

But the blind man has some "attitude"! He asks them why they are asking him question he has already answered -- is it because they want to become disciples of Christ themselves? He begins to trade insults with them; and remember, they are the leaders of the community. Clearly he can "see" more clearly than the Pharisees, who are still blind in the metaphorical sense; they cannot see the light of God, which is Jesus. Finally he tells them the obvious truth that they refuse to accept: Jesus could not have healed his blindness unless he (Jesus) came from God.

And so he is expelled from the religious life of his community.

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