Praying at Home Today: Tuesday 15 June 2021
Praying at home today:
The Kingdom of God, present in mystery
and growing throughout the world
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
In the middle of the City and on either side of the river is the tree of life
with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month;
and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.In medio plateae ejus, et ex utraque parte fluminis, lignum vitae,
afferens fructus duodecim per menses singulos, reddens fructum suum
et folia ligni ad sanitatem gentium.Au milieu de la place de la ville et entre les deux bras du fleuve se trouvait l’arbre de vie
qui produit douze récoltes; il donne son fruit chaque mois
et ses feuilles servent à la guérison des nations.
Revelation 22:2
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
The Book of Revelation (or the Apocalypse) is a difficult book with many sections that seem unintelligible.
However, other sections are extraordinarily lucid.
The section in Chapters 21 and 22 about the City of God is luminous in its clarity.
Its gates will never be shut by day—
and there will be no night there.People will bring into it
the glory and the honour of the nations.But nothing unclean will enter it,
nor anyone
who practises abomination or falsehood,
but only those who are written
in the Lamb’s book of life.
There is no need for fear: the gates are never shut; there is no night.
The City is pregnant with riches and glory, not only God’s glory but also the true riches and glory that humanity has brought about. Sharing in God’s creation, the human race has contributed to God’s creation and this is all brought to fulfilment in the City of God.
But just as it is true riches and glory that are brought into the City, so it is that there is no place in it for uncleanness, here called “abomination”, and falsehood.
This is a warning to the human race:
truth will prevail
falsehood has no place in God’s Kingdom.
Christians, indeed every one of goodwill, must call out injustice and falsehood, lies and untruth.
The Kingdom of God is not just a future event, however, although much is still to be fulfilled; the Kingdom of God is present here and now “in mystery” and “grows visibly through the power of God in the world”. (Lumen Gentium, 3).
The leaves of the tree
are for the healing of the nations.
Every one of our actions, our thoughts and deeds, contribute to the growth – or lessening of that growth – of the Kingdom, and thus God’s plan to unite all things in heaven and on earth.
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Music for reflection
Prayer Suggestions
We pray at home today for the needs of our world.
- for refugees and political prisoners
- for those who opened their doors and hearts to refugees
- for India, with its improved Covid situation
but now facing mucormycosis (‘black fungus’).
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for ‘Start-Up Stirling’ and the Food Bank.)
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 Lord,
you always guide your people
whom you build up on the foundation of your love:
make us ever stand in awe of your Holy Name,
and love you in equal measure;
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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