Praying at Home Today: Saturday 29 May 2021
Praying at home today:
Caring for the poorest, the outcast, the persecuted – those with no voice
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.
Short reading
Ah, you who call evil good and good evil,
who put darkness for light and light for darkness
who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!Vae qui dicitis malum bonum, et bonum malum;
ponentes tenebras lucem, et lucem tenebras;
ponentes amarum in dulce, et dulce in amarum!Malheur à ceux qui appellent le mal bien et le bien mal,
qui changent les ténèbres en lumière et la lumière en ténèbres,
qui changent l’amertume en douceur et la douceur en amertume!
Isaiah 5:20
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
Woe to the perverse
The English translation of the first word in today’s Short Reading is a bit tame: “Ah”.
The Latin text’s “Vae” (“Woe”) is considerably stronger!
The prophet denounces those who would attempt to deceive their listeners.
As Tolkein spoke of the Great Deceiver, the one who would attempt to lead others astray, so did Jesus himself, strongly denouncing those who would lead little ones astray, saying,
If any of you put a stumbling-block
before one of these little ones
who believe in me,
it would be better for you
if a great millstone
were fastened around your neck
and you were drowned
in the depth of the sea.Woe to the world
because of stumbling-blocks!
Occasions for stumbling are bound to come,
but woe to the one
by whom the stumbling-block comes!
Here, “little ones” isn’t just children but anyone who believes in him. This term is reminiscent of the anawim, an Aramaic word referring to the poorest, the outcast, the persecuted – those with no voice.
Jesus, like many of the OT prophets, was no stranger to the poor, choosing their company rather than those who had it easy.
And where Jesus went, there we are challenged to go.
Whilst researching today’s post, I came across the Anawim website.
Anawim was founded by two pioneering nuns, Sister Magdalene Matthews and Sister Maisie Nevin, who moved into a red light district in Balsall Heath in Birmingham, England – at the time described as ‘Britain’s busiest cul-de-sac’.
They decided to open their home as a drop-in centre to women in the local community who were involved in prostitution and vulnerable to exploitation.
The Sisters were struck by the difference it made for women to have a safe space, a warm drink and a listening ear, a place they could go without fear of judgement, to meet other women who cared deeply about their wellbeing.
What a wonderful, inspiring mission!
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Music for reflection
Prayer Suggestions
On this Ember Day
we pray at home today for the needs of our world.
- for the courage to seek the truth
- for vulnerable women
and those who minister to them - for refugees from lands affected by the climate emergency.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for Vocations to Christian Ministry
and for the Church of Holy Trinity and its “house” in Stirling.)
For all who have asked for our prayers.
a moment of silence
Pray for us all
Amen.
Prayer for Palestine and Israel
O God the creator of all life,
we bring before you all the people who call Israel and Palestine home.
We particularly remember those living in Jerusalem and Gaza
whose lives are marred by restrictions to their freedom,
the threat of eviction from their homes
and the constant fear of armed conflict.
We ask your forgiveness for the anger, hatred and violence
that all of us have the potential to carry within us.
We beseech you to soften hearts and open minds
so that the sanctity of life is always protected,
the right to freedom of worship upheld
and the security of a safe home defended.
We pray that justice will flow like rivers,
that human dignity will be respected
and that each of us may strive
to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you our God.
Amen.
Embrace the Middle East
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
O God, the King of Glory,
hear our prayer:
that as we believe your Son Jesus Christ
to be exalted with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven;
so also we may know his presence with us now,
and to the end of time;
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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