Praying at Home Today: Tuesday 4 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
They devoted themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
to the breaking of bread
and the prayers.Erant autem perseverantes
in doctrina Apostolorum,
et communicatione fractionis panis,
et orationibus.Ils persévéraient
dans l’enseignement des apôtres,
dans la communion fraternelle, dans la fraction du pain
et dans les prières.
Acts 2:42
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
A primitive liturgy
They devoted themselves
to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
to the breaking of bread
and the prayers.
We can recognise in this verse what seems to be a “primitive” shape of the Christian liturgy.
We have four elements, corresponding to three of our contemporary liturgical sections in the Eucharist (different Churches have slightly different naming terms):*
- The Gathering
– we gather from our homes - The Liturgy of the Word
– readings from scripture, sermon/homily, creed and intercessions - The Liturgy of the Sacrament
– the four-fold action of taking, blessing, breaking and sharing (as described in Gregory Dix’s classic The Shape of the Liturgy).
Mission
The one element that’s not explicitly mentioned in Acts is The Sending, although that element of mission is of course implied throughout the whole book.
Just as we gathered to listen, to bless and to share,
so we disperse, renewed in our mission to be Christ in the world.
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* Of course, this four-element form of worship will also have parallels in other religions.
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Prayer Suggestions
As we gradually ease from lockdown
and begin to gather for common worship once again,
we give thanks for the varied forms of worship
in which we share as members of Christ’s body, the Church.
We give thanks
for the precious gift of the Eucharist,
the remembering of Jesus’ sacrifice
to redeem us and all the world.
And we pray that we may rediscover
the joy of celebrating this wonderful sacrament,
food for our journey.
We give thanks
for bishops, priests and deacons
and all who dedicate their lives in serving us.
a moment of silence
Pray for us all.
Music for reflection *
Blessed Jesus, we are here
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 Jesus Christ,
we thank you that in this wonderful sacrament
you have given us the memorial of your passion:
grant us so to reverence the sacred mysteries
of your body and blood
that we may know within ourselves
and show forth in our lives
the fruits of your redemption;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
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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