Praying at Home Today: Wednesday 7 October 2020
Praying at home today: blessings for God’s beloved
A warm welcome to PrayingAtHome.com, where you can find 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!
We follow the Track 2 “related” Old Testament reading and psalm (or equivalent response).
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
Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall.
Beatum dixerunt populum cui haec sunt.
Heureux le peuple comblé de ces bienfaits.
Psalm 143 (144):15a
The Liturgy of the Word *
Here are today’s Bible readings.
You can read just one, or all three if you have time.
One link to all three readings
Separate links to each reading
Short Reflection
Today’s Old Testament reading looks at first sight to be a jumble of writing, in which it’s hard to understand who’s doing the talking.
The opening verses (5-7a) consist of an opening question by the Chorus, followed by the Bridegroom’s response:
Love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave…
flashes of fire,
a raging flame.Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it.
The following section consists of a pithy observation:
If one offered for love
all the wealth of one’s house,
it would be treated with contempt.
Two epigrams follow. The first is considered to be about the weak, poorly-fortified state of Jerusalem, which, although it needs protecting, is ultimately under God’s care.
God’s protection is also shown, in the second statement, for the vineyard (related to Sunday’s First Reading).
This extraordinary love poetry has meanings on a number of levels.
Let’s enjoy it.
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