Praying at home today:
As our faith is tested,
that we may recognise God’s presence within 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

Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.

Proba me, Domine, et tenta me;
ure renes meos et cor meum.

Examine-moi, Eternel, mets-moi à l’épreuve,
purifie au creuset mes reins et mon cœur.

Psalm 25(26):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

• Obadiah 1:10-16; Psalm 25(26); Revelation 8:1-5

Separate links to each reading

• Obadiah 1:10-16
• Psalm 25(26)
• Revelation 8:1-5

Short Reflection

Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and mind.

Words from Bianco da Siena’s mystical poem (in its English translation by Richard Frederick Littledale) again come to mind.

O let it freely burn,
till earthly passions turn
to dust and ashes in its heat consuming;
and let Thy glorious light
shine ever on my sight,
and clothe me round,
the while my path illuming.

Perhaps its the idea of fire purifying matter that brings this verse to mind.

Its not that everything human is bad; far from it, but with everything seen as part of God’s vision for us and for God’s world, some things need to be purified.

The Psalmist is reminding us of this meaning of testing.

Bianco goes on:

Let holy charity
mine outward vesture be,
and lowliness
become mine inner clothing:
true lowliness of heart,
which takes the humbler part,
and o’er its own shortcomings
weeps with loathing.

This might remind us of John the Baptist who pointed the way to Christ; “I must grow less”.

It’s precisely in this pointing to Jesus that our lives take on their fullest meaning: he is the vine, we are the branches, and we receive a wholesome life from being grafted onto that true vine.

And we become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, building a living temple as God’s own people.

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Music for reflection

Prayer Suggestions

In this Hate Crime Week
and as the Church celebrates the life of Elizabeth Fry (Social Reformer, 1845),
we continue our journey in faith today:

• for all involved in the life of prisons, residents and their families, and staff
• for those unjustly detained
• for anyone wronged by someone serving their sentence in prison
  and those who care for them
• for all who inspire us.

(In Holy Trinity, Stirling, we invite you to pray today
for Prison Inspectors and Reformers.)

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

O Lord,
since without you we cannot please you:
let the work of your mercy in all things guide our hearts;
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 20

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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