Morning Prayer

+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening sentences

One thing I have asked of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life; to behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.

Pilgrimage

Psalm 131:3

O Israel, put your hope in the lord — now and always.

Isaiah 6:1-9

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.

They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Revelation 4:6-11

In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal. In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back.

The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out.

Day after day and night after night they keep on saying,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever).

And they lay their crowns before the throne and say,

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

Reflection

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Jennifer Lash, in her book On Pilgrimage, tells a story about Gustava’s son, Cornelius, who had said to her as she left to go on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, “I hope you find what you are looking for.”

At the end of her journey, I asked her what she had found. “I have sown seeds,” she said, “Now I must go home, live and work and wait for the harvest. I’ll tell you in two years. ”

As we ate together Gustava was full of tales; eager with all the adventurers, but she was also very happy to be going home. Certainly it had been difficult, sometimes grim. How had she coped? “I trained myself to remember the faces of the children; they were so clear, as if they were with me. ”

I asked Gustava why she had gone. “For my sins,” she replied smiling. Never hss anyone seemed so loving, open, caring and sinless. Gustava is a Catholic. She explained to me that, although you may be absolved of sin, the sin is itself a separation from God. She had wanted to work through that separation. “Also I wanted to thank, ” she said, “thank for my life and my immediate family and I wanted to pray for two particular people.”

I thought of Cornelius’s remark to his mother. One is always looking. Perhaps finding is simply looking further. ‘Looking’ is life. Maybe a pilgrimage puts that ‘looking’ into keener focus.
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Hillsong – You Are Worthy
http://youtu.be/1cP1w8MsTRM
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Canticle:

Christ, as a light
illumine and guide me.
Christ, as a shield
overshadow me.
Christ under me;
Christ over me;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Be in the heart of each to whom I speak;
in the mouth of each who speaks unto me.
This day be within and without me,
lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.
Christ as a light;
Christ as a shield;
Christ beside me
on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

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Peanut Gallery: The general format for Morning Prayer is adapted from the Northumbrian Community‘s Daily Office, as found in Celtic Daily Prayer (see online resources here.) Our Scripture readings and reflections will be taken from the Aidan Daily Readings (Celtic Daily Prayer) during the month of July. On Sundays, we’ll return to the USCCB readings (see online resources here) and various liturgical resources in order to reflect the Church’s worship and concerns throughout the world. Photo illustrations and music videos, available online, are included as they illustrate or illuminate the readings. I will try to give credit and link to sources as best I can.