Praying at Home Today: Monday 19 October 2020
Praying at home today: Luke, a physician bringing Good News of Mercy
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
While he was still far off,
his father saw him and was filled with compassion;
he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.Cum autem adhuc longe esset,
vidit illum pater ipsius, et misericordia motus est,
et accurrens cecidit super collum ejus, et osculatus est eum.Alors qu’il était encore loin,
son père le vit et fut rempli de compassion,
il courut se jeter à son cou et l’embrassa.
Luke 15:20b
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 on St Luke
Luke, a physician bringing Good News to the Poor
Transferred from Sunday 18th October, as the weekly celebration of the Resurrection takes precedence over most feasts and memorias.
Several facts of Luke’s life can be gathered from both Acts and Paul’s Epistles.
By tradition, he is the author of the Gospel bearing his name, where he shows a clear interest in the healings by Jesus, and of Acts, parts of which read like a travel journal with Paul (the “we” passages).
Luke, a Gentile physician from Antioch, has been called “the evangelist of mercy”; indeed many favourite stories and parables of Jesus’ mercy appear in the Third Gospel, including the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the merciful (“prodigal”) father.
Dante referred to Luke as the ‘scriba mansuetudinis Christi’, the faithful recorder of Christ’s loving-kindness.
The prodigal father
This sublime parable tells of a young person who has gone his own way and, eventually, realises that he is lost and destitute.
He decides to return to his father, in the hope that he may get a job as a servant.
While he was still far off, his father sees him “with eyes of mercy” and runs to welcome him home: ” we are going to have a celebration, for my son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.
His mercy does not stop there. His elder son, who had never asked for anything and had always done what he was asked, was angry and jealous, perhaps rightly perturbed by this sight.
His father, again with compassion, says to him,
My son, you are with me always
and all that I have is yours.
But it only right that we should celebrate and rejoice,
because your brother here was dead and has come to life;
he was lost and is found.
Luke 15: 11-32
Immediately after his election, Pope Francis stated:
Feeling mercy, that this word changes everything.
This is the best thing we can feel: it changes the world.
A little mercy makes the world less cold and more just.
We need to understand properly this mercy of God,
this merciful Father who is so patient.
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni:
The Return of the Prodigal Son (1773)
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Prayer Suggestions
On this day when we commemorate Luke (Evangelist and Physician),
we pray at home today, bringing before God the needs of the world:
- for all who care for others
- for those who, like the elder son, have always tried to do what is right
and are challenged by others who “come to their senses” and seek another chance - for those who seek sensitive and supportive ways of challenging others’ behaviour
- for Pope Francis, who has dedicated his ministry to mercy.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for the staff at your local medical practice.)
We pray for all who have asked for our prayers.
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
Almighty God,
who inspired your servant Luke the physician
to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son:
graciously continue in your Church
this love and power to heal,
to the praise and glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen.
Collects 2015
Scottish Episcopal Church
Returning to the world
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.
In these strange times, we are called to trust
* 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
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 related 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.
English Bible texts are usually 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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