Praying at Home: Saturday 20 June 2020
Welcome to PrayingAtHome.com
Here you can find some resources for each day.
We hope these will help you stay in touch with the Church
and to sustain you on your journey through life.
Opening to the Word
You can spend a few moments in silence,
focussing on your breathing
to become more mindful of the present moment
and to open yourself more fully
to God’s presence within you.
In the name of the living God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Short scripture passage
Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.Exaudi me, Domine, quoniam benigna est misericordia tua;
secundum multitudinem miserationum tuarum respice in me.
Psalm 68 (69):16
The Liturgy of the Word *
Here are today’s Bible readings.
You can read just one, or all of them if you have time.
Short Reflection
There are two thoughts for us in today’s Gospel reading.
The first is the warning about hypocrisy: the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and its attractive danger for us too.
Jesus warns us that what is hidden will be revealed, indeed shouted from the rooftops.
The second is that thousands of people were trying to hear Jesus; indeed, they were trampling all over each other.
In these days of physical distancing this might bring a wry smile to our faces; nevertheless, it speaks to us of many people who are crying out to hear fresh, honest teaching about hope and how to live their lives – our lives anew.
Bernadette Farrell wrote a lovely hymn about the call to follow Christ.
1. If you would follow me,
follow where life will lead:
Do not look for me among the dead,
For I am hidden in pain, risen in love;
There is no harvest without sowing of grain.
All that is hidden will be made clear.
All that is dark now will be revealed.
What you have heard in the dark
proclaim in the light;
What you hear in whispers
proclaim from the housetops.
2. If you would honour me,
Honour the least of these:
You will not find me dressed in finery.
My Word cries out to be heard;
breaks through the world:
My Word is on your lips and lives in your heart.
3. If you would speak of me,
live all your life in me.
my ways are not the ways that you would choose;
my thoughts are far beyond yours,
as heaven from earth:
If you believe in me my voice will be heard.
4. If you would rise with me,
rise through your destiny:
do not refuse the death which brings you life,
for as the grain in the earth
must die for rebirth,
So I have planted your life deep within mine.
© Bernadette Farrell
(b. 1957)
Prayer Suggestions
So we pray.
We pray that we will willingly accept the way of the cross,
the “death that brings us life”,
like grain that must be buried in the earth to bring new life.
We pray that we will constantly seek God’s Way,
so different to what we expect,
that God may surprise us with fresh delights.
We pray that we will see the face of God in those society looks down upon,
and be hospitable to God’s poor and lowly ones
as Christ was poor and lowly in and for the human race.
On World Refugee Day,
we pray for those who have been displaced from their homes,
and pray that we will open our hearts to them.
And as we seek to grow through pain,
we remember only too well that the pandemic continues,
and so we pray for our politicians seeking to guide a path of safety for us,
we pray for those who work in our countries’ National Health Services,
for essential workers,
for those in care homes,
for us all.
Music for reflection *
Christ lay in death’s bonds
handed over for our sins,
he is risen again
and has brought us life.
For this we should be joyful,
praise God and be thankful to him
and sing Alleluia.
Original text by Martin Luther,
translated by Francis Browne
The Lord’s Prayer
We can say the Lord’s Prayer in any language or version we choose.
Here it is, in English, Latin and French.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever. Amen.
Pater noster, qui es in cælis;
sanctificatur nomen tuum:
adveniat regnum tuum;
fiat voluntas tua,
sicut in cælo, et in terra.
Panem nostrum cotidianum da nobis hodie:
et dimitte nobis debita nostra,
sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris:
et ne nos inducas in tentationem:
sed libera nos a malo.
Quia tuum est regnum,
et potestas, et gloria, in saecula.
Amen.
Notre Père qui es aux cieux,
que ton nom soit sanctifié.
Que ton règne vienne.
Que ta volonté soit faite sur la terre comme au ciel.
Donne-nous aujourd’hui notre pain de ce jour.
Pardonne-nous nos offences
comme nous pardonnons aussi
à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation,
mais délivre-nous du mal.
Car c’est à toi qu’appartiennent le règne,
la puissance et la gloire
pour les siècles des siècles. Amen.
Concluding prayer
Lord of our way,
we thank you for the example of your saints who have gone before us,
your saints who live among us,
who bring afresh the message of peace.
Give us a generous heart to accept your challenge for us today,
for the sake of all our sisters and brothers.
Amen.
* You can find more organ music from Holy Trinity Church, Stirling
on Alistair Warwick‘s website and on SoundCloud
There are several books by Brother Roger of the Taizé Community from many booksellers (Amazon link)
In these strange times, we are called to trust
Other worship resources
Acknowledgements
* Beginning with the week after Pentecost, the lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library (complementary readings).
In that lectionary, the readings are in the following order: Old Testament reading, Psalm, New Testament reading; we have changed the order to the more usual OT, Psalm and NT.
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Images, unless otherwise stated, are from lockdown, by Alistair Warwick.
Music engraved by The Art of Music.
You can buy ‘The Complete Chronicles of Narnia’ at Amazon.
Purchases made by clicking links on this website will cost you no more than buying directly from the supplier; we may receive a small commission, which helps with the costs of maintaining and running this website.
Praying at Home (part of The Art of Music) is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
