Praying at Home: Thursday 25 June 2020
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Here you can find some worship 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.
If this is your first visit to this website, then you might like to read about the common elements and the suggested structure for each day’s prayer.
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 reading
Faith working through love.
Fides, quae per caritatem operatur.
Galatians 5:6
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
The New Testament reading, from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Galatia, is talking about the ritual practice of circumcision (another health practice that developed into identity meaning).
Paul’s point seems to be that if you subscribe to a way of life then you are bound to that way of life, you join the club and are obliged to obey the entire law, including all its minor regulations:
You who want to be justified by the law
have cut yourselves off from Christ;
you have fallen away from grace.
He contrasts this with freedom in Christ:
For through the Spirit, by faith,
we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
Indeed, the contrast is between being bound by minor regulations and being free and faithful in Christ.**
Remember, Jesus told us that he had not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.
The ultimate law of Love is the fulfillment of all other commandments.
Prayer Suggestions
Let us pray for the Church, that she may always proclaim and live the Love of God, made visible in Jesus Christ.
We pray for those who cannot feel love, that they may be touched by God’s loving-kindness.
We pray for those who pour out their lives in service of others.
And as we seek to grow in love,
we remember those affected by the SARS-CoV-2:
those who are seriously ill
those who worry about them
and those who care for them.
We pray that we may do our part to keep others safe from the virus.
We pray for our politicians seeking to guide a path of safety for us,
for scientists who try to advise them;
we pray for those who work in our countries’ National Health Services,
for essential workers,
for those in care homes,
for all of us.
Music for reflection *
At Holy Trinity, Stirling, we use the tune of this Noël for the Iona Community song ‘We who live by sound and symbol’ (words by John L. Bell & Graham Maule).
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
God of boundless time and space,
you see us and our weaknesses
and yet you love us
with a love wider than the sea.
Give us this day a generous heart
to share some of that love
with those we meet today.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Benedicamus Domino.
Deo gratias.
Thank you for joining us today.
Oremus pro invicem.
* 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)
** This reminds me of Bernard Häring’s excellent three-volume Moral Theology text books: Free and Faithful in Christ.
Häring, one of the finest moral theologians in the 20th century, was a medical doctor serving with the German army during World War II (Embattled Witness relates some of his experiences on the front line).
He writes with deep compassion and understanding of the human person in all our many facets.
You can see some of his books on Amazon (some are available as e-books on Kindle – other stores are available).
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. Currently, we’re following the complementary readings (Track 2).
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.
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