MORNING PRAISE – 7-COURAGE

March 11, 2024

I. Call to Worship (Reader 1)

The Benedictine value
for this week is Courage and our Patron is St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
Courage is defined as the virtue of bravery in facing difficulties, especially in
overcoming the fear of consequences in doing good. As moral courage, it enables a
person to pursue a course deemed right, through which one may incur contempt,
disapproval, or opprobrium. As physical courage, it is simply bodily or emotional
strength to withstand opposition.
Courage is an integral part of a life of faith, a component we are reminded of
through the life of Christ and the apostles. Their many acts of grace and mercy
required courage, so they could lead extraordinarily different lives than those
around them—giving up their everyday lives to follow Jesus, striving for a daily
focus on God and good works based in faith. We need courage, too, to live a
Christian life, and ultimately to be the agents of God’s love, light, and truth.
It can be a challenge to summon what’s needed to take risks, make sacrifices, face
difficulty with faith, and be focused on the needs of others. But the fruits of
fortitude, perseverance, and strength feed our ability to develop new strengths,
face things that can seem insurmountable at first, and cultivate a confidence in our
own courage for when it is needed again (and we know it will be needed again,
and again). Courage in the face of adversity is not easy, but it usually has a
cumulative effect. The more courageous we are today—experiencing the strength
courage nurtures—the more increasingly courageous we are likely to be
tomorrow.
Certain aspects of human nature can drain us of courage. Common examples are
cynicism, when we seem to be compelled to see the worst in people and
situations; material excess, which opposes our call to sacrifice for others in need

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and places a priority on the comfort of things; and fear, which clouds our balance
and often steers us to be more timid, closed-off, or aggressive than courageous. A
focus on and trust in God helps keep these negatives at bay, allowing us to
recognize and then draw more readily on the courage that is very much within us.
The gift of courage—a blessing God gives us all—enables us to live larger, more
hopeful, and energetically faithful lives.

Our Class Patron Saint, St. Kateri Tekakwitha is the first Native American to be
recognized as a saint in the Catholic Church. St. Kateri’s mother was a Christian
Algonquin, taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the
Mohawk clan, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations. When she was four,
Tekakwitha lost her parents and little brother in a smallpox epidemic that left her
disfigured and half blind. She was adopted by an uncle, who succeeded her father
as chief. He hated the coming of the Blackrobes—Jesuit missionaries—but could
do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French required their
presence in villages with Christian captives. She was moved by the words of three
Blackrobes who lodged with her uncle, but fear of him kept her from seeking
instruction. Tekakwitha refused to marry a Mohawk brave, and at 19 finally got the
courage to take the step of converting. She was baptized with the name Kateri–
Catherine–on Easter Sunday.
Now she would be treated as a slave. Because she would not work on Sunday,
Kateri received no food that day. Her life in grace grew rapidly. She told a
missionary that she often meditated on the great dignity of being baptized. She
was powerfully moved by God’s love for human beings and saw the dignity of each
of her people.
She was always in danger, for her conversion and holy life created great
opposition. On the advice of a priest, Kateri stole away one night and began a 200-
mile walking journey to a Christian Indian village at Sault St. Louis, near Montreal.
For three years she grew in holiness under the direction of a priest and an older
Iroquois woman, giving herself totally to God in long hours of prayer, in charity,

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and in strenuous penance. At 23, Kateri took a vow of virginity, an unprecedented
act for a Native American woman whose future depended on being married.
Her dedication to virginity was instinctive: Kateri did not know about religious life
for women until she visited Montreal. Inspired by this, she and two friends wanted
to start a community, but the local priest dissuaded her. She humbly accepted an
“ordinary” life. She practiced extremely severe fasting as penance for the
conversion of her nation. Kateri Tekakwitha died the afternoon before Holy
Thursday. Witnesses said that her emaciated face changed color and became like
that of a healthy child. The lines of suffering, even the pockmarks, disappeared and
the touch of a smile came upon her lips. She was beatified in 1980 and canonized
in 2012. Her memorial is celebrated every July 14.
(Gong 3x)
II. Opening Prayer (Reader 2)
Benedicite!
Let us remember that we are always in the Most Holy Presence of God.
To those coming from other faith traditions you may now make your sign of faith
as we make ours.
+In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Let us sing our opening song

Let us pray,
O God, who willed the Virgin Saint Kateri Tekakwitha to flower in a life of
innocence among the Native peoples of North America, grant, through her
intercession, that all gathered in your Church from every nation, tribe, and tongue,
may glorify you in a single canticle of praise. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your
Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and
ever. Amen.

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III. Scripture Reading (Class Adviser)

Our Scripture Reading is taken from the Gospel of Matthew

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the
waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came
toward them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea
they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once
Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in
reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said,
“Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward
Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and,
beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out
his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you
doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the
boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
(PAUSE)

The Gospel of the Lord

Response: ALL: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

REFLECTION (Reader 3)
Let us pause for a while as we reflect on today’s scripture reading. (Pause for 10
seconds)
Let us deepen our reflection of the reading guided by the following questions for
Reflection:
1. Amidst life’s worries and troubles, do we find solace in Jesus’ words “Take
courage, it is I; do not be afraid”?
2. As a Scholastican, how do we imbibe courage as we continue living out our
mission of being and becoming empowered for social change?

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IV. Intercessory Prayers (Reader 4)
God’s constant love for us is the source of hope for our salvation. Trusting in His
merciful love, we pray:

R. Lord, graciously hear us.

1. For the Universal Church and all people of goodwill: May they always respond
promptly to God’s call to conversion. Let us pray!
2. For the Holy Father and all our spiritual leaders, the prophets of God in our
midst: May all Christians hear their call to an ever-greater faithfulness. Let us pray!
3. For all parents and teachers: May they succeed in leading their children and
students to appreciate God’s love and respond to it with constant fidelity. Let us
pray!
4. For those who are entangled in the web of their bad habits: May they, in the
example of the saints, find the encouragement they need to break their chains. Let
us pray!
5. That all those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world
may inflame the Church with their courage and missionary enthusiasm. Let us
pray!
God of holiness and compassion, we thank You for Your merciful love. Keep us
faithful to our commitments and make us instruments of Your saving love for our
neighbor, through Christ our Lord.

ALL: AMEN.

V. The Lord’s Prayer (Reader 5)

As one Scholastican community let us pray the prayer that our Lord Jesus Himself
taught us.

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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.

Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica, pray for us.

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, pray for us.
Mary with her loving son, +bless us each and every one.

That in all things God may be glorified!

VI. Lupang Hinirang

Ilagay natin ang ating kanang kamay sa kaliwang dibdib at ating awitin ang
Pambansang Awit ng Pilipinas
Song Leaders:

VII. Panunumpa sa Watawat at Panatang Makabayan (Pledge Leader)

Itaas ang kanang kamay at ating bigkasin ang Panunumpa sa Watawat at
Panatang Makabayan
Panunumpa sa Watawat ng Pilipinas
Ako ay Pilipino, Buong katapatang nanunumpa sa watawat ng Pilipinas, At sa
bansang kanyang sinasagisag, Na may dangal, katarungan at kalayaan, Na
pinakikilos ng Sambayanang Maka-Diyos, Maka-kalikasan, Maka tao at Maka
bansa.

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 Panatang Makabayan
Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas, aking Lupang sinilangan.
Tahanan ng aking lahi, kinukupkop ako at tinutulungan
upang maging malakas, masipag, at marangal.
Dahil mahal ko ang Pilipinas,
Diringgin ko ang payo ng aking mga magulang.
Susundin ko ang tuntunin ng paaralan,
Tutuparin ko ang tungkulin ng isang mamamayang makabayan;
Naglilingkod, nag-aaral, at nananalangin ng buong katapatan.
Iaalay ko ang aking buhay, pangarap at pagsisikap sa bansang Pilipinas.

VII. College Hymn / Let’s Cheer for St. Scholastica

(Song Leader)