Praying at home today:
For those who inspire us

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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

Oh, how I love your law!
It is my meditation all day long.

Quomodo dilexi legem tuam, Domine!
tota die meditatio mea est.

Combien j’aime ta loi!
Je la médite toute la journée.

Psalm 118(119):97

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

• Nehemiah 9:1-15; Psalm 118(119):97-104; Ephesians 5:21-6:9

Separate links to each reading

• Nehemiah 9:1-15
• Psalm 118(119):97-104
• Ephesians 5:21-6:9

Short Reflection

I’ve just returned from a few days away in the North of Scotland, where we visited two communities: the Findhorn eco-community and Pluscarden Abbey.

Although I’d heard of the Findhorn community, I’d never been there and I was struck by the sense of calm, as well as enjoyment of their tasty, wholesome food.

This was my third visit to the Benedictine monastery at Pluscarden. I first went with the Panel of Monastic Musicians late last century (the trip included a pilgrimage to the Glenfiddich distillery) and I returned in 2009 to give a paper at a Symposium on Church Music.

The calm at both Findhorn and Pluscarden was authentic, similar yet different.

There is a deep spirituality in both places, thoroughly embracing the 21st century, and in different ways.

The liturgy from Pluscarden is livestreamed three times daily (Lauds, Mass and Vespers), and I was given an insight into the technology required to enable this service to those unable to attend the liturgy in person.

In some ways, Pluscarden, founded in 1230, destroyed at the Reformation in 1560 and reinvigorated with a new community in 1948, is more contemporary than Findhorn!

Nevertheless, many people gain from experiencing either community, or indeed both, as they feed the human person, albeit in different ways.

Nehemiah reminds us that 

For their hunger
[God] gave them bread from heaven,
and for their thirst
[God] brought water for them
out of the rock.

Nehemiah 9:15a

God works in many and varied ways, “at sundry times and in diverse places” (Hebrews 1:1).

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Music for reflection

Prayer Suggestions

We continue our journey in faith today:

• for the grace to keep God’s law very close to us
• for those who pray for us 
• for the communities at Findhorn and at Pluscarden
• for all who inspire us.

(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for the continuing valuable fellowship of the Tiny Tots Café.)

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.

The Lord’s Prayer

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

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.

La Prière du Seigneur (2017)

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.

L’Église Catholique de Paris

Concluding prayer

Almighty and eternal God,
by your generous love
you grant to those who pray more than is desired or deserved:
pour down your mercy upon us,
forgiving what our conscience fears,
and granting what we dare not ask;
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 13

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

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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