Month: August 2014

Morning Prayer: 11 August – Psalm 55:22; Isaiah 62:1; Acts 5:14 – on God’s care

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.

Psalm 55:22

Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.

Mount Zion Jerusalem
Mount Zion, Jerusalem

Isaiah 62:1

Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.

Acts 5:14

Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord — crowds of both men and women.

Reflection

IONA

A few places in the world are held to be holy, because of the love which consecrates them, and the faith which enshrines them. One such is Iona… It is but a small isle, fashioned of a little sand, a few grasses salt with the spray of an ever-restless wave, a few rocks that wade in the heather, and upon whose brows the sea-wind weaves the yellow lichen. But since the remotest days, sacrosanct men have bowed here in worship. In this little island a lamp was lit whose flame lighted pagan Europe. From age to age, lowly hearts have never ceased to bring their burthen here. And here Hope waits. To tell the story of Iona, is to go back to God, and to end in God.
(Fiona Macleod)
_____

Oban Cathedral, Scotland RC Diocese of Argyll & the Isles
Oban Cathedral, Scotland
RC Diocese of Argyll & the Isles

Many churches in the region of the Picts trace their origin to the Religious Houses settled by Columba:

Thus through the hills long clothed in heathen night
Columba’s rule took root with wid’ning sway.
New homes of love beneath its mystic light
learnt by Iona’s discipline to pray.
New hearts obey. The hallowing skies
send benedictions down, with God’s own life to rise.
(R. M. Benson)
__________


__________

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

_____________________________________

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 August. 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.

19th Ordinary Sunday: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13; Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:22-33 ~ “Take courage. I am here!”

19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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

Opening prayer:

Beautiful God, You revealed Yourself to Elijah as a gentle breeze and You calmed the storm on the lake. Take away our fears and give rest to our souls.

God of all power, Your sovereign word comes to us in Christ. When Your Church is in danger, make firm our trust; when Your people falter, steady our faith. Show us in Jesus Your power to save, that we may always acclaim Him as Lord, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
__________


__________

A Reading from the Old testament: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a (NLT)

girl-stretching-1

There [Elijah] came to a cave, where he spent the night.
_____

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
__________

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 85:9, 10, 11-12, 13 (NLT)

Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, so our land will be filled with his glory.
_____

Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!
_____

Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven. Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
_____

Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.
__________

There is a place of quiet rest, Near to the heart of God;
A place where sin cannot molest, Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release, Near to the heart of God;
A place where all is joy and peace, Near to the heart of God.
O Jesus, blest Redeemer, Sent from the heart of God;
Hold us, who wait before Thee, Near to the heart of God.
__________

A Reading from the Letters: Romans 9:1-5 (NLT)

westernwallpermission

With Christ as my witness, I speak with utter truthfulness. My conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed — cut off from Christ! — if that would save them. They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
__________

A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 14:22-33 (NLT)

Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

“Yes, come,” Jesus said.

Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.
__________

Intercessions:

God is our helper, ever-present in our time of need: Lord hear our prayers –

+ That all who are part of the Christian family may find help and hope in praying to our gentle God….
Lord, hear us.

Iraqi Christians congratulate each other after Easter mass at Mar Youssif Chaldean Church in Baghdad on Sunday. (photo credit: AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)
Iraqi Christians congratulate each other after Easter mass at Mar Youssif Chaldean Church in Baghdad on Sunday. (photo credit: AP Photo/ Karim Kadim)

+ That nations who live in mistrust of each other, especially in the Middle Easy, may learn to resolve their differences peacefully….
Lord, hear us.

+ That all who go to sea, for work or leisure, may be spared from violent storms….
Lord, hear us.

+ That those who staff lifeboats, and take part in search and rescue missions, may themselves enjoy God’s protection….
Lord, hear us.

+ That all the people of God may know Christ’s calming presence in the troubles of life, especially those who are refugees of wars and violence…. Lord, hear us.

+ That the dead, particularly those who have been lost at sea, may know the calm peace of the Father’s House….
Lord, hear us.

+ We also remember those who died recently and especially those whose anniversaries occur….
Lord, hear us.

O God, our help and our refuge, You guide Your people according to Your wisdom: accept our prayers and come to our aid, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
__________

Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!

Eternal Father, grant, we pray To all Marines, both night and day
The courage, honor, strength, and skill Their land to serve, Thy law fulfill
Be Thou the shield forevermore From every peril to the Corps.
__________

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

Morning Prayer: 9 August – Psalm 107:29-30; Proverbs 25:25; Acts 27:15 – on running before the wind

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.

Psalm 107:29-30

Columba's prayer: “Lord of the wind and waves, take us your servants to where you will.”
Columba’s prayer: “Lord of the wind and waves, take us your servants to where you will.”

He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!

Proverbs 25:25

Good news from far away is like cold water to the thirsty.

Acts 27:15

The sailors couldn’t turn the ship into the wind, so they gave up and let it run before the gale.

Reflection

IONA

COLUMBA’S JOURNEY IN THE CORACLE
AMIDST THE LAKES

… His hide-bound boat
bore him and his where lofty forests frown
reflected in the lake. With joy they float,
their hearts aye buoyant with the truth they own.
No sunlit breeze has ere such glory known.
Yea, when the stormy waters have denied
their progress, still in prayer they labour’d on.
They sang that heav’n might hear!

Their song was mightier than the howling wind:
from the deep cavern of the soul it sprang,
as taught by God, and form’d by Him to find
mysterious echoes. While the strugglers sang,
demons took flight, and angel-trumpets rang,
op’ning men’s weary hearts in regions wild
to hail the strangers’ tidings. Awed they hung
on words so new, so welcome.
(R. M. Benson)
__________


__________

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

_____________________________________

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 August. 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.

Morning Prayer: 8 August – Psalm 36:5-6; 1 Kings 18:43; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 – on looking and seeing

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.

Psalm 36:5-6

Bay at the Back of the Ocean Iona, Scotland
Bay at the Back of the Ocean
Iona, Scotland

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.

1 Kings 18:43

Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.”

The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.”

Seven times Elijah told him to go and look.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. I came to you in weakness — timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

Reflection

IONA

For most monastic centres the visible characteristics of landscape have altered in the course of only a few generations.

With Iona the case is very different. We may be sure that what we now see is very much what Columba saw. Its distinctive features depend upon the enduring sea… Nothing, therefore, can be more certain than that, when we look upon Iona, or when we range even the wide horizon which is visible from its shores, we are tracing the very outlines which Columba’s eye has often traced, we follow the same winding coasts and the same strormy headlands, and the same sheltered creeks, and the same archipelego of curious islands, and the same treeacheroius reefs – by which Columba has often sailed.
From Iona by the Duke of Argyll (1878)

__________


__________

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

_____________________________________

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 August. 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.

Morning Prayer: 7 August – Psalm 97:1; Isaiah 52:7; Galatians 6:14 – on bearing Good News

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.

Psalm 97:1

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad.

Isaiah 52:7

St Columba's footprints, Keil, Kintyre. St Columba is credited with bringing Christianity to Scotland way back when and these are supposed to be his footprints.
St Columba’s footprints, Keil, Kintyre.
St Columba is credited with bringing Christianity to Scotland and legend has it that these are his footprints.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!

Galatians 6:14

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.

Reflection

IONA

The conflict must be long. Through many a year
Columba‘s feet those distant hills must tread,
strengthen’d by penance still to persevere;
oft ‘neath their sores the rocky path grew red:
in winter oft the snow became his bed:
but love still bound him to the Crucified.
(R. M. Benson)
_____

The names of ninety churches and monasteries are associated with Columba‘s name; thirty-seven of these are in Ireland, but fifty-three are in Scotland and the Western Isles. Even if allowance for error is made, the number of his foundations, especially in the Western Isles and on the western coast, is tremendous, from Wigtown in the south to Butt of Lewis in the north and as far west as Saint Kilda.

From these Christian colonies the light of the Gospel spread far and wide throughout the area.
(Reeves and E. W. Stinson)
__________


__________

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

_____________________________________

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 August. 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.