Praying at Home Today: Tuesday 20 July 2021
Praying at home today:
The Holy Spirit brings us the message of the God of all consolation
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
The dreamers tell false dreams, and give empty consolation.
Therefore the people wander like sheep;
they suffer for lack of a shepherd.Et somniatores locuti sunt frustra, vane consolabantur:
idcirco abducti sunt quasi grex:
affligentur, quia non est eis pastor.Les rêves mentent et leur consolation est illusoire.
C’est pourquoi ils sont errants comme un troupeau,
ils sont malheureux parce qu’il n’y a pas de berger.
Zechariah 10:2bc
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 tree roots on the path in today’s photo are fairly typical of what we see when walking in a wood.
They can be a reminder of the fragility of something that seems so stable and yet has only loose connections to the earth.
Given enough wind, they can easily tear away from the ground, causing the tree to fall.
We might also observe this phenomenon in human beings, especially the most powerful.
Although they, like us, are flawed, they seem to be invincible.
And yet, we see time and time again how many of them fall. When we see this happening, the German word schadenfreude may come to mind.
The prophet Zechariah, in a long line of prophets (both in the Old Testament’s Hebrew Scriptures and more recently), warns about the dreamers who give empty compassion, telling people what they want to hear, rather than what they need to hear.
And so the people, confused and bereft of genuine leadership, do the most stupid things. (We see this very thing on this island today.)
They suffer for lack of a true shepherd, one who will “give it to them straight”.
Consolation is not just something to give us a warm, cuddly feeling; it is there to guide our paths so that we may truly experience what we need.
It is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit is also known as the Consoler.
It is the Holy Spirit who brings us the message of the God of all consolation, to lead us on the right path, the narrow path, the path of wisdom and insight, not being led astray by false prophets after a “quick buck”, populists lining their own pockets while the anawim are left to fend for themselves.
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Music for reflection
Prayer Suggestions
We pray at home today for the needs of our world.
- for those easily led astray
- for true prophets who call out governments’ and leaders’ self-interest
- for those who still suffer from the pandemic
- for all of us,
that we may learn the paths of wisdom
and nurture one another.
(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for Helen Kemp, Holy Trinity’s Safeguarding and PVG Officer.)
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 of power and might,
all good things belong to you:
sow in our hearts the love of your name,
and make us grow in the life of faith;
nurture the things that are good,
and tend them with your loving care;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end.
Amen.
Pentecost 8
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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