Praying at Home Today: Saturday 1 August 2020
A warm welcome to PrayingAtHome.com, where you can find some worship resources for praying at home today or wherever you are.
We hope these readings, prayers, music and the short reflection 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.
Everything is optional!
Please note that with effect from 29 June 2020, we have reverted to the Track 1 “semi-continuous” Old Testament readings (this also affects the psalm or equivalent response); the New Testament and Gospel readings remain unchanged.
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
Ask, and it will be given to you;
search, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened for you.Petite, et dabitur vobis:
quaerite, et invenietis:
pulsate, et aperietur vobis.Demandez et l’on vous donnera,
cherchez et vous trouverez,
frappez et l’on vous ouvrira.
Matthew 7:7
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
Ask, search, knock
Ask, and it will be given to you;
search, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened for you.
This passage can be difficult.
We ask and we don’t get.
We search and we find no answers.
We knock and the door isn’t opened.
Then, rightly, we’re upset and angry.
We trusted in God, why doesn’t God answer us?
Why doesn’t God give us what we want.
The Chronicles of Narnia
There’s a passage in The Magician’s Nephew where Digory asks Aslan what would have happened if he’d taken the fruit (as he’d been tempted to do) and given it to his dying mother.
Aslan replies that the fruit must do what it does; it would have cured his mother. But there would have come a time when they both would have wished that she had died.
That passage always brings tears to my eyes.
Sometimes we desperately, desperately want something,
but it isn’t to be.
We don’t know the mind of God.
What we can know, however, is this:
We know that in everything God works for good
with those who love him,
who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
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Prayer Suggestions
God’s time is the very best time (καιρος).
As the years and the seasons unfold,
we can recognise that there is a season for everything.
We pray that we may learn to live in the present moment,
the only time there is,
and decide to trust God,
who wants to bring us
to the fulness of humanity
and to share in God’s life
in one eternal now.
a moment of silence
Pray for us all.
Music for reflection *
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 day and God of darkness,
we come before you in this sacred moment;
help us to entrust our lives and those whom we love
to your loving presence
this day and always.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Benedicamus Domino.
Deo gratias.
Thank you for joining us in praying at home.
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.
You can buy ‘The Complete Chronicles of Narnia’ at Amazon
In these strange times, we are called to trust
Other worship resources
Praying at Home Today: Acknowledgements
* Beginning with the week after Pentecost, the lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. Currently, we’re following the semi-continuous readings (Track 1).
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.
English Bible texts 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.
Latin Bible texts are from Biblia Sacra Vulgata, and are in the Public Domain.
French Bible texts are from Version Segond 21, copyright © 2007 Société Biblique de Genève by Société Biblique de Genève.
Images, unless otherwise stated, are from lockdown in Scotland, by Alistair Warwick.
Music engraved by The Art of Music.
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