Praying at Home Today: Wednesday 24 March 2021
Praying at home today:
Confronting the darkness
Oscar Romero
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
Jesus said to them, “The light is with you for a little longer.
Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you.
If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going.
While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’Dixit ergo eis Jesus: Adhuc modicum, lumen in vobis est.
Ambulate dum lucem habetis, ut non vos tenebrae comprehendant;
et qui ambulat in tenebris, nescit quo vadat.
Dum lucem habetis, credite in lucem, ut filii lucis sitis.Jésus leur dit: «La lumière est encore pour un peu de temps parmi vous.
Marchez pendant que vous avez la lumière afin que les ténèbres ne vous surprennent pas,
car celui qui marche dans les ténèbres ne sait pas où il va.
Pendant que vous avez la lumière, croyez en elle afin de devenir des enfants de lumière.»
John 12:35-36a
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
In these days leading up to Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week, the words of Jesus in our Short Reading take on added significance.
He had little time before he was betrayed and murdered by the state.
The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified; rejected first, yes, but then glorified.
St Oscar Romero
Today we remember Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, martyred on this day just 41 years ago.
Praised for feeding the hungry, this man known as ‘Monsenor’ was condemned by the state for asking why the poor are hungry.
Inevitably, there was a collision course between this human rights campaigner and the right-wing government, supported by the USA.
Between 1979 and 1981, around 30,000 people were killed by army-backed, right-wing death squads.
It would have been so tempting for Romero, like some other priests and church leaders, to conform to the status quo, to say his prayers and turn a blind eye to the violence and state terror.
But he couldn’t keep silent while this was going on.
A church that does not provoke crisis,
a gospel that does not disturb,
a word of God that does not touch
the concrete sin of the society
in which it is being proclaimed
– what kind of gospel is that?
Confronting the evil, he met an assassin’s bullet whilst celebrating Mass in a convent.
Like his Master facing his death, he wrote
If they kill me,
I will rise again
in the people of El Salvador.
Oscar Romero was canonised in Rome by Pope Francis on 14 October 2018.
A musical tribute to ‘Monsenor’
Two of my former colleagues, George Daly and Liam Bauress, wrote a sympathetic and heartfelt tribute to ‘Monsenor’: ROMERO the Musical.
Performed by schools and youth music groups in venues ranging from theatres to cathedrals, it is a universal, human message that goes way beyond the “Church” box.
And this message for all of humanity deserves to be heard again – once we get out of lockdown!
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Music for reflection
Prayer Suggestions
On this day when the Church celebrates the life and witness of St Oscar Romero (Bishop and Martyr, 1980),
we pray at home today, bringing before God the needs of our world:
- for the Church in El Salvador
- for those who confront evil
- for those living in darkness and fear
- for those who bring God’s loving-kindness to others.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for Bishop Ian’s Lent Appeal, “Start Up Stirling”.)
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
Merciful God,
look upon your family as we travel to the foot of the cross:
and, by your great goodness, guide us in body;
that, by your protection, we may also be preserved in heart and mind;
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
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.
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