Praying at Home Today: Monday 12 April 2021
Praying at home today:
Learning and discipleship
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.
Christ is risen, alleluia.
He is risen indeed, alleluia.
Short reading
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have eyes, but they do not see.Simulacra gentium argentum et aurum, opera manuum hominum.
Os habent, et non loquentur; oculos habent, et non videbunt.Les idoles des nations, ce n’est que de l’argent et de l’or; elles sont faites par la main des hommes.
Elles ont une bouche mais ne parlent pas, elles ont des yeux mais ne voient pas.
Psalm 134(135):15f
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
Worshipping human-made things
Idolatry is easier than we might at first think.
It’s so easy to chase after what entices me, rather than pursuing the things of heaven.
Yet, this attraction and pursuit of the ephemeral is ultimately futile.
We read in today’s psalm of these idols that have eyes and mouth and ears, yet they cannot see or speak or hear.
Remember Elijah’s battle with the prophets of Baal, which ended with him mocking them, “Perhaps he is asleep or gone on a journey!”
I remember when I was at seminary, listening to a friend deliberately mixing up these idols’ attributes:
They have mouths but they cannot see,
ears but they cannot smell,
mouths but they cannot walk.
He’s now the bishop of my former diocese!
Today the Church celebrates another bishop, William Forbes, the first Bishop of the Diocese of Edinburgh (albeit only for two months), formed from the Diocese of St Andrews after the Reformation.
You can read a bit about him at the Dead Anglican Theologians Society website.
From it, I noted that Forbes was learned and able, had published nothing before his death and written very little.
He once said: Lege plura, et scribe pauciora>
“Read more, and write less.”
Dead Anglican Theologians Society
A good saying for anyone, especially bloggers!
Let us aim to follow his example of dedication to learning and discipleship.
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Music for reflection
Prayer Suggestions
As the Church celebrates the life and ministry of William Forbes (Bishop, 1634),
we pray at home today, bringing before God the needs of our world:
- for peace and justice in Northern Ireland,
in Ukraine and Russia
and other places of conflict - for a fair distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine
- that we may bring healing and hope to others.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for Ian our Bishop.)
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:
in your great goodness,
grant that we, as pilgrims through the Easter mysteries,
may hold them fast in our lives;
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.
Alleluia.
Benedicamus Domino.
Deo gratias.
Alleluia.
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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