Morning Prayer
Opening
There are mornings when the world seems entirely ordinary. The kettle boils, the first light reaches the window, and the familiar duties of another day wait patiently for our attention.
Yet the Church reminds us today that the visible world is not the whole of creation.
On this feast of the three great archangels, we remember Michael, who defends; Gabriel, who announces; and Raphael, who guides and heals. Their work is not to draw our attention away from God, but to direct it toward Him.
In today’s Gospel, Christ promises Nathanael that he will see heaven opened and the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
Perhaps heaven is not nearly so far away as we imagine.
Opening Verse
Lord, open my lips. And my mouth shall declare thy praise.
Invitatory
Antiphon: In the presence of the angels, come, let us adore the Lord.
Psalm 94 (95)
Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us.
For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts:
As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works.
Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart.
And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: In the presence of the angels, come, let us adore the Lord.
Psalmody
First Psalm — Psalm 62 (63)
The soul thirsting for God.
Antiphon: With the angels of heaven, let us praise the Lord, whose mercy is better than life.
O God, my God, to thee do I watch at break of day.
For thee my soul hath thirsted; for thee my flesh, O how many ways!
In a desert land, and where there is no way, and no water: so in the sanctuary have I come before thee, to see thy power and thy glory.
For thy mercy is better than lives: thee my lips shall praise.
Thus will I bless thee all my life long: and in thy name I will lift up my hands.
Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness: and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
If I have remembered thee upon my bed, I will meditate on thee in the morning:
Because thou hast been my helper. And I will rejoice under the covert of thy wings:
My soul hath stuck close to thee: thy right hand hath received me.
But they have sought my soul in vain, they shall go into the lower parts of the earth:
They shall be delivered into the hands of the sword, they shall be the portions of foxes.
But the king shall rejoice in God, all they shall be praised that swear by him: because the mouth is stopped of them that speak wicked things.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: With the angels of heaven, let us praise the Lord, whose mercy is better than life.
Old Testament Canticle — Daniel 3:57–88, 56
All creatures, bless the Lord.
Antiphon: Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all for ever.
All ye works of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye angels of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye waters that are above the heavens, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye powers of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye sun and moon, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye stars of heaven, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O every shower and dew, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye spirits of God, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye fire and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye cold and heat, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye dews and hoar frosts, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye frost and cold, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye ice and snow, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye nights and days, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye light and darkness, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye lightnings and clouds, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O let the earth bless the Lord: let it praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye mountains and hills, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye things that spring up in the earth, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye fountains, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye seas and rivers, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye whales, and all that move in the waters, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye fowls of the air, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O all ye beasts and cattle, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye sons of men, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O let Israel bless the Lord: let them praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye priests of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye servants of the Lord, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye spirits and souls of the just, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O ye holy and humble of heart, bless the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
O Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, bless ye the Lord: praise and exalt him above all for ever.
For he hath delivered us from hell, and saved us out of the hand of death, and delivered us out of the midst of the burning flame, and saved us out of the midst of the fire.
O give thanks to the Lord, because he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.
O all ye religious, bless the Lord the God of gods: praise him and give him thanks, because his mercy endureth for ever and ever.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers: and worthy to be praised, and glorified, and exalted above all for ever.
And blessed is the holy name of thy glory: and worthy to be praised, and exalted above all in all ages.
In this canticle, the traditional conclusion replaces the usual Gloria.
Antiphon: Angels of the Lord, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all for ever.
Second Psalm — Psalm 149
The joy of the saints.
Antiphon: All the angels of heaven glorify the Lord; with one voice they sing His praise.
Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: let his praise be in the church of the saints.
Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: and let the children of Sion be joyful in their king.
Let them praise his name in choir: let them sing to him with the timbrel and the psaltery.
For the Lord is well pleased with his people: and he will exalt the meek unto salvation.
The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds.
The high praises of God shall be in their mouth: and two-edged swords in their hands:
To execute vengeance upon the nations, chastisements among the people:
To bind their kings with fetters, and their nobles with manacles of iron.
To execute upon them the judgment that is written: this glory is to all his saints. Alleluia.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: All the angels of heaven glorify the Lord; with one voice they sing His praise.
Short Reading — Genesis 28:12–13
And he saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and descending by it;
And the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac.
Short Responsory
The angels of the Lord stand before His throne.
And minister in His holy presence.
The angels of the Lord stand before His throne.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
The angels of the Lord stand before His throne.
Gospel of the Day
John 1:47–51 — Douay-Rheims
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him: and he saith of him: Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile.
48 Nathanael saith to him: Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered, and said to him: Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49 Nathanael answered him, and said: Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel.
50 Jesus answered, and said to him: Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, thou believest: greater things than these shalt thou see.
51 And he saith to him: Amen, amen I say to you, you shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise be to thee, O Christ.
Benedictus
Canticle of Zachary — Luke 1:68–79
Antiphon: Amen, amen, I say to you: you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Amen, amen, I say to you: you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
Intercessions
On this feast of the holy archangels, let us offer our petitions to the Father, who governs all creation in wisdom and love.
Response: Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For the Holy Father, our bishops, priests, deacons, and all who serve the Church: that they may proclaim the Gospel with the courage of Gabriel and remain steadfast in the truth.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For those who defend the innocent, protect the vulnerable, and stand against injustice: that through the intercession of Saint Michael, they may be strengthened in courage and governed by charity.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For those who are travelling, those far from home, and those beginning unfamiliar journeys: that Saint Raphael may accompany them and lead them safely to their destination.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For our families, especially our children and those entrusted to our care: that our homes may be places of peace, fidelity, forgiveness, and prayer.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For those who are sick, lonely, grieving, or afraid: that the Lord may send them comfort, healing, and the assurance that they have not been abandoned.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For our work today, whether in an office, classroom, workshop, field, kitchen, or home: that we may carry out our duties faithfully and recognize opportunities to serve others.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For the faithful departed, especially those who have died without the comfort of family or friends: that the angels may lead them into paradise and the light of God’s presence.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
For ourselves: that we may become less occupied with our own importance and more attentive to the quiet movements of grace.
Lord, send thy angels to guide us in thy ways.
Our Father
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.
Amen.
Concluding Prayer
O God, who in thy wisdom hast appointed the holy angels to serve before thy throne and minister to thy people, grant that we may rejoice in their protection and faithfully follow the guidance of thy grace.
Through the intercession of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, defend us in temptation, strengthen us in faith, and lead us safely through the duties and difficulties of this day.
May our earthly lives become a reflection of the praise offered continually in heaven.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
Amen.
Blessing
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The Paradox of the Day
Heaven is opened not when we escape the ordinary world, but when we discover Christ standing in the middle of it.
Chesterton for the Morning
“Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.”
— G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy (1908), Chapter VII, “The Eternal Revolution.”
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
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A Chestertonian Meditation
The Ladder That Reaches Heaven
There is something wonderfully peculiar about a ladder.
It is among the simplest of human inventions. Two long pieces of wood, a number of shorter pieces between them, and suddenly a man who could not reach the roof can repair it. A child who could not reach the apples can gather them. A painter can stand where ordinarily only birds are permitted.
A ladder does not abolish the distance between earth and sky. It simply provides a way across it.
And this morning, on the feast of the three great archangels, the Church gives us a ladder.
Jacob sees it in a dream, standing upon the earth with its top touching heaven. The angels of God ascend and descend upon it. Above it stands the Lord.
It is an extraordinary picture, but perhaps the most extraordinary thing about it is where Jacob happens to be.
He is not in a magnificent temple. He has not climbed a sacred mountain. He is a traveller, sleeping outdoors, with a stone for his pillow.
The revelation comes to him in the middle of a journey.
God has made a sanctuary out of an ordinary place.
The Angels Are Not the Destination
We might reasonably expect a feast of angels to direct our attention entirely toward the angels themselves.
After all, they are remarkable creatures.
Michael appears in Scripture as the great defender against the powers of evil. Gabriel announces the Incarnation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Raphael accompanies Tobias on his journey and brings healing to his family.
Each has a distinct mission. Each acts with an authority and power far beyond our own.
Yet none of them is the destination.
Michael does not defend his own kingdom. Gabriel does not announce his own greatness. Raphael does not seek to make himself the centre of the story.
Their greatness consists in their service.
The angels are magnificent precisely because they do not mistake themselves for God.
Here we discover something of Chesterton’s wonderful observation about their lightness.
A man can become terribly burdened by his own importance. He must defend his reputation, protect his position, preserve his dignity, and make certain that everyone understands the considerable significance of his opinions.
It is exhausting work.
The angels have no such burden.
Their joy is to serve the One who made them.
And because their attention is directed beyond themselves, they are free.
The Man Under the Fig Tree
In today’s Gospel, Nathanael receives a rather startling introduction.
Christ sees him approaching and declares that he is an Israelite without guile.
Nathanael naturally asks how Jesus knows him.
The answer is simple: Christ saw him beneath the fig tree before Philip called him.
We are not told what Nathanael was doing there. Perhaps he was praying. Perhaps he was resting. Perhaps he was thinking about matters that seemed important only to himself.
Whatever occupied him, Christ had already seen him.
Before the conversation began, before Nathanael recognized the Lord, before he understood what was happening, he was known.
This is an astonishing consolation.
We spend a great deal of life wondering whether anyone notices our efforts. The parent who quietly carries the worries of a household, the worker who performs an uncelebrated task, the student who struggles through another difficult assignment, the person who prays alone in a darkened room.
Much of what is good in the world happens without an audience.
But it does not happen unseen.
Christ saw Nathanael beneath the fig tree.
And He sees us.
The recognition leads Nathanael to confess that Jesus is the Son of God and the King of Israel. Yet Christ tells him that this is only the beginning.
He will see greater things.
He will see heaven opened.
The World Is Larger Than It Looks
Modern life has become extraordinarily skilled at explaining the physical world.
We can measure the distance to the stars, examine the structure of a cell, calculate the forces acting upon a bridge, and send messages across oceans in an instant.
These are genuine achievements, and there is no reason for a Christian to regard them with suspicion.
But an explanation of how something works is not necessarily an explanation of everything that exists.
A man may understand the construction of a violin without having exhausted the meaning of music.
He may understand the chemistry of bread without having explained the mystery of a family gathered around a table.
He may describe the movement of light through the atmosphere without having accounted for the gratitude he feels at sunrise.
The world is not made less wonderful by being understood.
It becomes more wonderful when we realize how much there is to understand.
The Church’s teaching about angels belongs to this larger vision of creation. We confess that God made all things visible and invisible.
The invisible is not necessarily imaginary.
Nor does the existence of angels mean that every coincidence is a secret message or every unexpected event a supernatural intervention. Christian faith does not require us to abandon ordinary judgment.
Rather, it asks us to remember that God’s providence is greater than our field of vision.
The angels serve that providence.
They do not compete with it.
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael
Each of today’s archangels offers a particular lesson for the ordinary Christian life.
Michael reminds us that goodness sometimes requires courage. Evil is not overcome merely by wishing it away. There are moments when we must defend what is right, resist temptation, and refuse to cooperate with what we know to be wrong.
Gabriel reminds us that the greatest news in human history arrived as an invitation. The Annunciation was not delivered to an emperor in a palace but to a young woman in Nazareth. Heaven’s message entered the world through humility, and Mary’s answer changed history.
Raphael reminds us that God’s guidance often accompanies a journey whose destination we cannot yet see. Tobias does not begin his travels knowing everything that will happen. He walks, receives help, encounters danger, and eventually discovers that he has been accompanied by more than an ordinary travelling companion.
Courage, obedience, and trust.
These are not merely qualities for extraordinary religious lives. They are needed in the kitchen, the classroom, the workplace, and the family.
They are needed when we must make a difficult decision, speak an uncomfortable truth, care for someone who cannot repay us, or continue along a road whose end remains hidden.
We need not perform extraordinary deeds to live faithfully.
We must be faithful in the deeds given to us.
Heaven Opened
The final words of today’s Gospel bring us back to Jacob’s ladder.
Christ tells Nathanael that he will see the angels ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.
The ladder is no longer merely a mysterious object in a dream.
Christ Himself is the meeting place of heaven and earth.
In the Incarnation, God does not remain at an inaccessible distance. He enters the world He has made. He accepts a human body, a human home, human labour, human friendship, and ultimately human suffering.
Heaven comes down to earth.
And through Him, humanity is called upward into the life of God.
This is why the Christian need not despise ordinary things in order to love heavenly things.
The Incarnation has made the ordinary world the place where grace may be encountered.
The morning light, the bread upon the table, the familiar road, the work waiting to be done: none of these is a substitute for God, but each may become an occasion for remembering Him.
We are not asked to spend the day searching the clouds for angels.
We are asked to live as people who know that heaven is real, that Christ has opened the way, and that our lives are held within a providence greater than we can see.
And perhaps we might carry a little of the angels’ lightness with us.
Not the lightness of indifference, which refuses to take anything seriously, but the lightness of humility, which no longer insists upon making everything about ourselves.
The burdens of life may remain. The work must still be done. The difficulties will not disappear merely because we have prayed.
But we need not carry the additional weight of believing that the whole world depends upon us.
It depends upon God.
The angels know this.
And that is why they can fly.
Closing
Saint Michael, defend us. Saint Gabriel, help us hear the word of God. Saint Raphael, guide us safely on our way.
May we walk through this ordinary Tuesday with the quiet confidence that heaven is open, Christ is near, and we are never beyond the reach of His providence.
Chesterton Radio