Praying at home today:
The Season of Creation – Pope Francis’s Laudato si’

For four weeks, following the first Sunday in September until the day before Harvest Sunday, we will be focussing on the season of creation, in preparation for the COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow.

Although we will follow our usual form of prayer, our readings and some other material will follow those given in Daily Prayer of the Scottish Episcopal Church for this Season of Creation.

This is a good time to be grateful for our beautiful, yet fragile world, and to dedicate ourselves anew as faithful stewards to its protection.

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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.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
And it was very good.

Genesis 1:1,31

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.

All things came into being through the Word,
and without the Word not one thing came into being.

What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

John 1:1-5

Short reading

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for God has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.

Domini est terra, et plenitudo ejus;
orbis terrarum, et universi qui habitant in eo.
Quia ipse super maria fundavit eum,
et super flumina praeparavit eum.

C’est à l’Eternel qu’appartient la terre avec tout ce qu’elle contient,
le monde avec tous ceux qui l’habitent,
car Dieu l’a fondée sur les mers
et affermie sur les fleuves.

Psalm 23(24):1f

The Liturgy of the Word

Here is today’s Bible reading.

• Psalm 23(24)

Short reflection

During these next four weeks, I am reading Pope Francis’s encyclical letter Laudato si’, mi’ Signore – Praise to you, my Lord (LS) – and I hope to share with you a few nuggets from his thoughts on Creation and our stewardship of this planet we call our home.

Francis reminds us (LS16) that there is an intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet, everything is connected (as indeed Daniel Barenboim has told us), there is a need to critique new forms of technology.

Furthermore, we need forthright and honest debate if local and international policy will help us to deal with the throwaway culture.

Above all, we need a new lifestyle (LS16).

The issue of water

Given how much water there is, it seems strange to us that water is one of a number of depleting natural resources.

Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

See also ‘Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink’, on the research by Aashima Sharma.

Pope Francis reminds us that fresh drinking water is indispensable for human life and for supporting ecosystems on land and at sea. It is also necessary for health care, agriculture and industry.

Many parts of the world, especially Africa, experience greater demand than available supply at great human cost (LS28).

And this human cost disproportionately affects the poor, with unsafe water killing many people each and every day through dysentery, cholera and other water-related diseases.

Underground water is also threatened by pollution produced by some mining, farming and industrial activities; additionally, detergents and chemical waste continues to pour into our rivers, lakes and seas (LS29).

What’s worse is that this diminishing resource is often privatised, turning it into a profitable commodity, going against the basic human right of safe drinking water for each and every human person, since it is essential for life.

This is not only a commercial matter, it is also an ethical issue: when the poor are “denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity” (LS30).

Furthermore, greater scarcity of water will lead inevitably to an increase in the cost of food and other dependant products.

These lead not only to environmental repercussions affecting billions of people but also to greater risk of conflict as multinational corporations hoard what belongs to all (LS31).

What can we do?

We can avoid wasting water and not buy bottled water except when essential.

We can learn from non-Christian religions.
Islamic tradition urges people to sip water, not to gulp it.
By exercising mindfulness, we can choose to be conscious of what we are doing when we drink.

Visit WaterAid for fun and educational ideas, get involved and support its vital work.

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Ask the animals, and they will teach you;
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
Ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you;
the fish of the sea will declare to you.

Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.

Job 12:7-10

Music for reflection

Prayer Suggestions

As the Church celebrates the birthday of Mary, the Mother of the Lord,
we continue our journey in faith today:

• for new-born children, that they may bring joy to their siblings and families
• for all preparing for the COP26 Climate Conference
• for those in most danger from the climate emergency
• for our sisters and brothers driven from their homeland seeking refuge
• for all seeking to preserve our oceans, our forests and our land
• for scientists and politicians
• for all who inspire us.

(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for St Mary’s, Aberfoyle
and their new Rector Jon Connel & family.)

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.

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

God Most High,
maker of heaven and earth,
you created humankind in your own image
and entrusted the whole world to human care:
give us grace to serve you faithfully,
that we might be trustworthy stewards of your creation,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Collect for the Season of Creation

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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