July 31, 2025: The Feast of the Three Hundred and Fifty Maronite Martyrs
While on the road, not far from home, the three hundred and fifty monks were martyred for their steadfast faith. These faithful sons defended truth and gave their lives so willingly for love of Christ, true God and man.
June 1, 2025 (Seventh Sunday of the Resurrection); June 2, 2025 (The Four Evangelists)
Praise, glory and honor to the One who ascended to heaven, but is always on earth in the mystery of his Church.
He seated himself at the right hand of the Father, but remains close to us in the sacrament of his love.
To the Good One is due glory and honor this morning, and all the days of our lives, now and for ever.
Amen.
From the Prayer of the Faithful, morning prayer Sixth Sunday of Resurrection
O Christ, you left the Father and you came into the world, then you left the world and returned to your Father, in your strength, you brought all creation to him.
To him you returned power over all things so that God might be all in all.
Grant that we may ascend to him with you and remain at his right hand, then we shall praise you, with him, and your Holy Spirit, for ever.
Amen.
From the Prayer of the Faithful, Morning prayers for the Ascension of Our Lord.
O Christ, may we always glorify your resurrection, especially on this day, with chaste heats, clear consciences and good deeds, so that we can sincerely proclaim it throughout the world.
May we live enlightened by it and die in the hope of our own resurrection.
Then we shall praise you in your heavenly kingdom, for ever.
Amen.
From the Prayer of the Faithful, Evening prayer.
Jesus Christ our Lord, during this season of your glorious resurrection, make us worthy to live in joy and give you praise. Renew us with your Holy Spirit that we may proclaim, in word and deed, the glory of your resurrection. With all those who have been clothed with you in holy Baptism we worship you , we give you thanks, and we glorify you, your Father, and your Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
As we praise and glorify with hymns the blessed ever Virgin Mary, Mother of God, we ask her to petition her divine Son, saying: O Lord, through the prayers of Your Mother, keep away from earth and all its inhabitants the scourge of wrath; eliminate all its dangers and disturbances; protect us from war, captivity, famine and plague. Have compassion on our weakness, comfort our sick, help the poor and deliver the oppressed; enable us to lead holy lives; give rest to the faithful departed and grant us a happy death that we may glorify You, now and forever.
Who can praise the greatness of your mercy, O Word of God, and what voice can bless you who are above all praise? Neither mind or tongue can describe the marvels you have performed on this holy day of your resurrection from the dead. With the psalmist David, we exclaim:
“This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice!”
This is the day which has no equal.
This is the great feast, crown and jewel of all feasts.
And now, Christ our God, on this day of your resurrection from the dead, we ask you to grant us the forgiveness of our sins and faults. Through the fragrance of this incense, which we offer you, grant justice to the oppressed and comfort to the afflicted. Bring back those far away, direct those who are near, and guide those who travel. Protect the priests, purify the deacons, and pardon the sinners; watch over the just, protect the orphans, and help the widows. Remember those who have died in the faith and grant them rest in your heavenly kingdom; may we celebrate with them the feast that never ends, and proclaim your glory, and that of your Father, and your holy and living Spirit, now and for ever.
Amen.
Glory to you, O holy One. You descended from the heavenly dwellings to the earthly depths. In your compassion you took the form of a slave to forgive your servants. You walked on the waves of the sea in order to sanctify Adam, who was created in the image of your majesty.
O Lord, you sanctified those who are impure and with your hyssop you purified sinners and made them whiter than snow. Through your powerful grace, forgive me and your servants, who ask you for the pardon of their faults and the forgiveness of their sins. As you forgave the family of Cornelius through the hand of Simon Peter, the Apostle, in the same way, may pardon of sins descend upon us and upon all the children of your flock, who have been redeemed by your precious blood.
We glorify you, your Father, and your Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
Amen.
From the Liturgy for Saturday of the Light (Prayer of Forgiveness)
O Lord and High Priest, fragrant incense of forgiveness, you offered yourself on the wood of the cross for foolish sinners.. You sacrificed yourself for our sake. Now, O Lord, cancel the debt of our guilt and save us from retribution. Remove the scourge of anger and all suffering from us. Encourage us with your joyful hope and your healing remedy. In your compassion, pardon the faithful departed, and we shall praise you with them, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
Amen.
O Judge of the living and the dead, who rewards and punishes, this morning we raise our prayers and thoughts to you. We share in your sufferings when you appeared before the judges, when you played the role of the accused, and were dragged from court to court. You lived among us and could not be conquered by sin. May we erase hatred, purify our thoughts, and follow your teachings. Thus, we shall receive pardon in this world and on the day of judgment receive your mercy, and glorify you, your Father, and your Holy Spirit, for ever.
Amen.
Look, O Lord, upon us, your worshipers standing before you, with souls in agony and bodies in affliction. Nothing can help and nothing can save, except your mercy, and no one can heal and no one can give life, except your love.
Since we bore your seal from the waters of baptism, believed in your name, and consumed your body and drank your blood, let your living cross be a rudder for our ship, and guide us through the storms which surround us.
Shine your salvific mercy upon us; and, by your grace, let there be a rest to our affliction. Let your mercy bring comfort to us as we bow before you, forgive our sins and blot out our offences from your book.
From Prayer of Forgiveness (Sedro) for the Rite of the Lamp.
The lenten weekday cycle of the Maronite rite reflects our estrangement from God and our need to coversion. We are called to take courage and to turn back. They Syriac fathers have traditionally spoken of this movement toward God as a nautical journey whose destination is the harbor of life. During the journey of Lent, we pray:
Bless, Lord, our fasing… Make it a journey which leads us to the harbor of salvation.
“Your King shall come to you, humble and riding on a donkey!”
Behold, the King of Sion rides a donkey and enters the city amid the songs of praise of little children and suckling babes. Everyone cries out:
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel.”
Waving olive branches, they praise the King of Israel. Today, the Church gathers her children from all peoples and nations; in the churches and convents they chant hymns of praise. In procession small and great alike go forth, singing in every language.
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,”
Christ the King.
O Our Lord, Jesus Christ, we firmly believe in all that our Mother the Holy Church believes in and teaches us to believe in because You are the One who revealed it to her, O You, who are the Truth which neither deceives nor is deceived.
We beseech You, through your love for Your Holy Mother, the Virgin Mary, and for Saint Joseph, Your chosen Just One, and through your the five wounds inflicted upon you because of our sins, grant us Your Grace so we may live and die with it.
O Our Lord Jesus Christ, we are sorry from the depth of our hearts, because we have sinned against You with our bad actions, deserved Your punishment by temporal sufferings and everlasting fire of Hell and lost the joys of Your Heavenly Kingdom. We are especially sorry for we have sinned because we have sinned against Your Fatherly Love, O You who are the Good God and deserve the love of all your lowly creatures. We firmly resolve not to return to sin and rather, to accept death one thousand times than to commit one mortal sin.
Jesus Christ our Lord, you carry the sins of the world and you forgave the sins of the paralytic. You cured him and had him carry his mat in front of the crowd. Make us worthy to meditate on your amazing miracles, and strengthen us with the power of your forgiveness. May we share in the grace of your redemption, to glorify and thank you, your Father, and your living Holy Spirit, now and for ever.
Today we commemorate the announcement to Mary that she is to be the Mother of God. The feast actually recalls two aspects of the same salvific mystery: the incarnation of the divine Word and the motherhood of Mary. With time, the incarnation of the Son of God was stressed on the feast of the Birth of Our Lord and today’s feast became a Marian feast.
