The Morning Offering, Rethought

Lea McCarthy extends the invitation to rethink your morning offering with a novel analogy. 

Recently, I was lamenting to a priest that I am really lousy at keeping God in mind throughout the day. I aspire to practice the presence of God, but when I’m in the middle of a long line of tasks I am usually thinking about what things I need to pick up from the grocery store, what time to put the toddler down for a nap, or anticipating “happy hour” when I get some quiet time in the evening with my husband after a busy day entertaining Das Baby!  

It’s rare that I mindfully offer up a task to the Lord when I’m doing it. If you equated my successes with a batting average, I wouldn’t even make it into the Little Leagues! 

The Secret Recipe (Hint: It’s Not Really a Secret) 

This wise priest reminded me of a simple truth I had forgotten. Did you know that there is a way to promise God in advance the tasks, prayers, blessings, and crosses of the day ahead and consecrate them all to Him? That may be a novel concept, or it may bring to mind the words “morning offering.”  

There are many variations on this simple prayer, but the general concept is that you offer all prayers, works, joys, and sufferings in the day ahead of you to God. Not only have saints like Saint Thérèse and Saint Louis de Montfort promoted the morning offering and even created their own versions of the prayer, the concept of offering everything to God is also found in Scripture. Saint Paul writes: 

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) 

Sounds great, but usually my attempts at a morning offering involve me rolling out of bed and yawning my way through the prayer as I struggle to put my slippers on the correct feet. It’s such a short prayer, it’s easy to rattle off without truly thinking about the importance of what is being said.   

However, if I truly mean what I say in that offering, nothing that happens in the day is lost, even if I forget in the moment to be mindful of my desire to offer it to Him. The priest also reminded me that the morning offering is connected to the examination that can be made at the end of the day. This is an opportunity to reflect on what kind of gift was offered to God. If there were any “weeds” in the bouquet, aka any moment of lost temper, unkind words, or other imperfections, you can ask the Lord for forgiveness and make a resolution to improve on your offering tomorrow.  

A Gift for the Lord 

This is the time of year when my family has a lot of birthdays and anniversaries. One day I was mulling over what I had just re-learned about the morning offering while also thinking about mailing out cards and packages to family members, and somehow the Holy Spirit reached down into my mind and stirred all these thoughts together. What resulted was a somewhat silly analogy but one that made complete sense to me (a somewhat silly person) and helped me understand the morning offering more deeply. 

When you give a gift to someone to make them feel loved, you can give it one of two ways: You can mail it, or you can deliver it in person. It’s always particularly delightful to be given a gift in person, but both ways show that you care and that you are thinking about the recipient.  

Praying the morning offering is like sending a gift in the mail to God. You have prepped ahead of time to make sure it arrives when it is supposed to, and even if you aren’t present at the exact moment the package is opened, your gift still makes it to the Lord and He appreciates it. If you offer up a task mindfully as you are doing it, it’s an extra-special way of connecting with God as if you are giving Him your gift in person and seeing His face as He opens it.  

Let’s commit to making this conscious decision to serve and love God throughout the day. There’s no need to be anxious about whether you can achieve uninterrupted contemplation as you go about your daily duties. Anyone who can do that while attending to dishes and temper tantrums is probably well on their way to their own canonization, but it certainly isn’t me!  

There’s no need to feel that because you can’t stay mentally attuned to God, opportunities slip through your fingers and are missed. Consider anew what you are saying in your morning offering and have confidence that it is a powerful and meaningful prayer that consecrates everything to the Lord. He will receive your gift and will delight in it.  

Share your thoughts with the Catholic Mom community! You'll find the comment box below the author's bio and list of recommended articles.

Copyright 2025 Lea McCarthy
Images: Canva