Praying at Home Today: Saturday 5 December 2020
Praying at home today: the cycle of salvation
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
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.Veritas de terra orta est,
et justitia de caelo prospexit.La fidélité pousse de la terre,
et la justice se penche du haut du ciel.
Psalm 84 (85):11
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
Advent hope
We can see the cycle of salvation in our readings today; this is especially recognisable in the Short Reading, above, from Psalm 84 (85).
(The English translation “sky” perhaps isn’t the best; the French and Latin texts refer to the heavens.)
As we saw the other day, God sends the Son into the world to gather up the human race and bring it home.
Although this event happened in time (c. 6BC), it is continually occurring in one eternal now. This καιρος (kairos) presents itself as a moment of grace, and we can enter it into it at any time.
Some theologians, notably Max Thurian of Taizé, have referred to it as a constantly flowing river; although we can choose not to enter it, preferring the apparent safety of the riverbank, the invitation is always there to plunge into the torrent of God’s faithfulness and love.
In that sense, Brother Max tells us, we are predestined, not through any effort of our own, but solely by the grace of God, which requires a willing (if perhaps a hesitant) response.
Then we learn, as God speaks to us through Ezekiel,
A new heart I will give you,
and a new spirit I will put within you;
and I will remove from your body the heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.I will put my spirit within you,
and make you follow my statutes
and be careful to observe my ordinances.Then you shall live in the land
that I gave to your ancestors;
and you shall be my people,
and I will be your God.
Maranatha
Come, Lord Jesus
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Music for reflection *
Prayer Suggestions
We pray at home today, bringing before God the needs of the world:
- for theologians and all who help us in our journey in faith
- for the Community of Taizé,
especially the thousands of young people who visit there every year - for those who are feeling overwhelmed at this time
- for teachers and students.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for those attending the Meeting of the General Synod today by Zoom
and for better recognition for all carers and understanding of what they do.)
For all who have asked for our prayers.
a moment of silence
Pray for us all
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
Stir up our hearts, Lord,
to prepare the way of your only-begotten Son:
that, in his coming,
we might serve you with our hearts made pure;
through the same 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
Maranatha!
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
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
Other worship resources
Praying at Home Today: Acknowledgements
* The lectionary for weekdays in Ordinary Time is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, 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 usually 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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