Isaiah, Chapter 26

(1) In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. (2) Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. (3) Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. (4) Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: (5) For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust. (6) The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy. (7) The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just. (8) Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee. (9) With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (10) Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD. (11) LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them. (12) LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us. (13) O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name. (14) They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish. (15) Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. (16) LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. (17) Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD. (18) We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen. (19) Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (20) Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. (21) For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

A Random Prayer...

A Prayer to the North American Martyrs (Feast, September 26)

Dear Saints Isaac Jogues, John Brebeuf, Noel Chabanel, Gabriel Lalemant, Anthony Daniel, Charles Garnier, Rene Goupil and John Lalande, we beg of you, pray for the people of this vast country ours. You are the first canonized saints of the United States and Canada. We are glad to have you. We are happy to honor you. You know our country and its needs, and we know you are in heaven praying for us. There is one very special favor we wish to ask of you. Dear Saints of North America, pray God to send us another saint, or better still, a number of them. Ask Him to have soon--a man or a woman, a boy or a girl from this country of ours raised to the honors of the altar. Let it be a farmer or a laborer, a housewife or a schoolboy, born and bred in these United States. Let it be some one who lived his whole life here--a Saint Joseph of Carville County, or a Saint Mary of Middletown, or a Saint William of New York. We do not wish to displace you in our affections, but to add to your glorious number. You understand our desires in this, and we feel sure that we will obtain this great blessing for the salvation of the people of this land. Remember us now, and obtain this great blessing for us from God. Help us always to cooperate with the graces that God so richly and generously gives us, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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