Praying at home today: ploughshares into swords

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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

Beat your ploughshares into swords,
and your pruning-hooks into spears.
let the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”

Concidite aratra vestra in gladios,
et ligones vestros in lanceas.
Infirmus dicat: Quia fortis ego sum.

De vos socs de charrue forgez des épées,
et de vos serpes des lances!
Que le faible dise: “Je suis fort!”

Joel 3:10

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

• Joel 3 (4):9-21; Psalm 62 (63); Matthew 24:29-35

Separate links to each reading

• Joel 3 (4):9-21
• Psalm 62 (63)
• Matthew 24:29-35

Short Reflection

Ploughshares into swords?

In a reversal of what we normally think of these three words, we read of Jerusalem being prepared for war.

This time, with God promising victory to Jerusalem. its enemies are on the run.

This concept reminds us of the saying of Qoheleth (the preacher) that

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…

a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1,8 

The Hebrew text for “Prepare war” (Joel 3:9) is “Sanctify war”.

There’s no time here to go into a discussion of the Just War, except to say that there are circumstances when war is permissible.

Taking that as read, participants would need to be prepared and, indeed, the weak person would need to say “I am strong”.

For us today

Although some “non-religious” people think that being a person of faith entails being wishy-washy, the converse is true: we are called to be strong in fighting injustice, in seeking out and calling out the truth, in using all of our strength to fight for true peace, built on justice.

Then, and only then, can the swords be beaten back into ploughshares and we learn to live at peace with one another.

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Prayer Suggestions

On this day when the Church celebrates Martin of Tours (Bishop), we pray at home today, bringing before God the needs of the world.

• we continue to pray for the United States at this critical time
• for those remembering loved ones who have died in conflict
• we pray for those who are being tested for Covid-19 and for those doing the testing
• we pray for those facing unemployment
• we pray for all who are working to make our lives better.

(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for those caring for War Cemeteries across the world.)

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

O God,
our refuge and strength,
the very author of devotion:
hear the prayers of your Church;
and grant that what we seek in faith
we may in fact obtain;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen.

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 Bookshop.org

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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