Praying at Home Today: Wednesday 24 February 2021
Praying at home today:
For food that lasts
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’s optional!
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
Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that I need.Vanitatem et verba mendacia longe fac a me;
mendicitatem et divitias ne dederis mihi:
tribue tantum victui meo necessaria.Éloigne de moi la fausseté et le mensonge,
et ne me donne ni pauvreté ni richesse,
mais accorde-moi le pain qui m’est nécessaire!
Proverbs 30:8
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
Jesus fasts for forty days in the desert, after which, unsurprisingly, he is famished.
This is a beautiful, human aspect to Jesus, easily overlooked in reading the whole story.
Matthew tells us that Jesus faces a triple test: bread for his hunger, great signs for, and power over the world.
These temptations parallel Joshua’s testing as the people of Israel journey in the desert to the promised land. The second and greater Joshua (Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua) refuses the visible, material answers that human beings crave: powers of display that would ensure that people followed him as their superhero.
Instead, he finds new strength in resisting these ephemeral and surface-level attractions, instead proclaiming the realm of God in healing mind, body and spirit.
Naturally, Jesus needs physical food and we read of him eating and drinking. Nevertheless, Jesus is aware of the lasting food that he needs and finds in communion with his Father.
And it is this communion that we are invited to, each and every day, as we pray at home, or wherever we are.
Benedicamus Domino!
advertisement
Music for reflection
Prayer Suggestions
As the Church celebrates the life and witness of Matthias (Apostle),
we pray at home today, bringing before God the needs of our world:
- in this Fairtrade Fortnight, we give thanks for all who labour in the hope of a just wage
and for all helping to make work and trade more equitable - for peace and stability in the Middle East, in Myanmar and other places of conflict
- for those caring for the sick, in hospital and at home.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for Rev Canon Dr Keith Riglin, the newly appointed Bishop of Argyll & the Isles,
together with the people and clergy of the Diocese.)
For all who have asked for our prayers.
a moment of silence
Pray for us all
Amen.
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;
sanctificetur 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 offenses,
comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés.
Et ne nous laisse pas entrer en 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,
whose Son fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet did not sin:
give us grace to discipline ourselves in submission to your Spirit,
that, as you know our weakness,
so we may know your power to save;
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
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
Other worship resources
Praying at Home Today: Acknowledgements
The lectionary for weekdays is taken from the Vanderbilt Divinity Library.
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.
advertisement
Affiliate disclosure
This website is free to use but it is not cheap to run.
If you make a purchases by clicking links on this website, these will cost you no more than buying directly from the supplier; we may receive a small commission, which helps with the costs of maintaining and running this website.
Praying at Home (part of The Art of Music) is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
Liturgy | Lectionary | Celtic Spirituality
Amazon Music Unlimited (30 days free)
