+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening sentences:
Come, O Creator Spirit, come, and make within our hearts Your home; to us Thy grace eternal give, who of Your breathing move and live.
A Reading from Letters: Hebrews 5:1-10 (NLT)
Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other people in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins. And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and wayward people because he himself is subject to the same weaknesses. That is why he must offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as theirs.
Christ the High Priest, Bodruzal, district Svidnik, Slovakia, from the wooden Church of St. Nicholas, 1650-60
And no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was. That is why Christ did not honor himself by assuming he could become High Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” And in another passage God said to him, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue him from death. And God heard his prayers because of his deep reverence for God. Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
__________
The word of God is living and effective, able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
__________
A Reading from the Gospels: Mark 2:18-22 (NLT)
Once when John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”
Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. They can’t fast while the groom is with them. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.
“Besides, who would patch old clothing with new cloth? For the new patch would shrink and rip away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger tear than before.
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”
__________
__________
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 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 the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
+ In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening sentences
God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.
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.
Glory to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Revelation 2:18-28 (ESV) – to be read aloud
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
“Countess Jezebel” Painted by Joan Baez
“‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
“‘But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
Thyatira was noted as a trading center… the trade controlled by her many trade guilds… which enjoyed common meals probably dedicated to some pagan deity that typically ended in unbridled licentiousness. It would be nearly impossible for a citizen to participate in trade and industry without membership in the appropriate guild. That’s where the problem arose for the Christians in Thyatira. (Ladd, p.50)
Son of God…
This is the only occurrence of this title in Revelation…. Christ is described as the one whose eyes flash with anger and who is prepared to tread under his feet the enemies of the Christian faith. (Ladd, p.50)
I know your works…
The church in Thyatira has much to commend it… love and faith have produced service and patient endurance in the face of the problems of living in a pagan culture and environment… the church is growing in her display of Christian virtues. (Ladd, p.51)
Jezebel… a prophetess…
However, the church has tolerated evil, pernicious teaching from a woman who claimed to be speaking for God – a type of Jezebel. While the church recognized the evil character of her teaching, they apparently refused to deal with it. The result was full accommodation to pagan mores surrounding guild membership and participation in their pagan meals and immorality…. This false prophetess had been rebuked, but without success. (Ladd, p.52)
great tribulation…
The same affliction will befall the woman and those who have unreservedly accepted her teaching, adjusting their Christian profession to the immoral practices associated with the trade guilds….
Every generation of Christians must face the question, ‘How far should I accept and adopt contemporary standards and practices?’ On the one hand, Christians must not deny the faith. On the other, they must not deny their membership in society…. Christians live in the same world as their neighbors and face the same problems. They must find Christian solutions.
The woman and her followers had been so ready to conform to the lifestyle of their heathen neighbors that they had lost sight of the essential Christian position. They had exalted expediency over principle. (Morris, p.71)
to the rest of you… hold fast…
For those who have repudiated the false teaching Christ imposes no additional burden beyond that which they are currently bearing – service and patient endurance…. This does not mean that life is easy – a different quality of life is demanded from the Christian. It requires that they hold fast to what they have… until the glorious day when their Lord will appear. Perseverance is important… for the Christian life is not a battle but a campaign.
The reward for the overcomer is authority over the nations, a dazzling prospect but one that demanded great faith from a tiny church. (Morris, p.73)
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us… sinners that we are:
+ That the church will be characterized by good deeds and that those deeds will increase in number and effectiveness….
+ That Christian people will be characterized by godly love in our homes, at work, and in our communities….
+ That the church will be characterized by faith in Jesus Christ….
+ That Christian people will be characterized by service to others….
+ That the church will be characterized by perseverance in the face of societal opposition….
+ That the church will not tolerate false teachers and their attending practices….
+ That Christian people will hold fast to the faith and so become conquerors who hear and keep Your word….
We ask this for Your Name’s sake. Amen.
__________
__________
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: In September, we will begin reading through the Book of Revelation (ESV). Our purpose will be devotional, i.e. to discover the word of blessing that God has for us in these troubled times… to find hope and help for our daily lives.
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.) 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.
My eyes, my eyes have seen the King. The vision of His beauty has pierced me deep within. To whom else can I go?
My heart, my heart desires Him. He’s touched somerthing inside of me that’s now reaching out for Him. And I know that I must go.
My God is my love, my guard, my healing one; my bright love is my merciful Lord; my sweet love is Christ; His heart is my delight; all my love are You, O King of glory.
Morning reading
John 17:25-26 ESV
“O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Reflections:
bad news / good news
Jesus begins with the bad news: the world did not know, or recognize, the Father. In contrast, the good news is Jesus knew the Father and his disciples knew that the Father sent the Son. In contrast with the world’s ignorance of the Father is not the disciples’ knowledge of the Father, but their knowledge of the Son as sent by the Father. Again we see the primacy of Jesus’ role. It is precisely in and through the Son that they know the Father, for the Son has made known to them the Father’s name. Earlier in the prayer the name was an expression for the revelation brought by the Son that actually brings contact with God and not just information about him.
Jesus’ contimued presence
Jesus then pledges to continue to make the Father’s name known to his disciples in the future. On one important level he refers here to his imminent Passion and resurrection, for these events are the climax of his revelation of the Father, which shows most clearly the love of God. On another level he is speaking of his continued presence among the believers and his continued revelation of the Father to them after his ascension. He is repeating his promise to be with them in his resurrection appearances and beyond. His continued revelation parallels the activity of the Paraclete.
mediated intimacy
The purpose of Jesus’ making God’s name known to them is that they would have intimacy in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them. In his ministry Jesus revealed the Father’s love for them, and in the future he will continue to help his disciples actually receive this love within each of them and amongst them as a community. Jesus himself is the point of contact. It is precisely by his being in them that they will receive the love of the Father, for it is the Father’s love for the Son that they are enabled to share.
The Son’s coming to earth brought the presence of God’s love, and his coming into the lives of believers also brings that love, for God is love. Our relationship with the Father will always be mediated through the Son, even in eternity. Meditation on such truths begins to give us a faint glimpse of the Father’s glorifying the Son and the Son’s glorifying the Father. It also helps us understand why, in this final section of the prayer, Jesus addresses his Father as righteous. All that Jesus has done and all that he will continue to do are in response to God’s righteous will. He is righteous because he is truth itself and does only what is right. His purposes are perfect, reflecting his own characteristic life and light and love.
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: A brief word of explanation – 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.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’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.
O King of Kings, O King of the universe, King who will be, who is, may You forgive us each and every one. Accept my prayer, O King of grace.
Lord, let my memory provide no shelter for grievance against another.
Lord, let my heart provide no harbor for hatred against another.
Lord, let my tongue be no accomplice in the judgement of a brother.
Morning reading
John 17:20-24 ESV:
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world….”
Reflections:
unity of believers
Jesus speaks of the oneness of all believers and then links this with the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son. The NIV has this indwelling as the model for the relationship among believers: just as you are in me and I am in you. The word translated just as can signal not only comparison but cause. Both of these two meanings are appropriate here, for the mutual indwelling of the Father and the Son is both the reason that all may be one and the pattern for such oneness. This becomes clearer when Jesus adds “that they themselves also may be in us”. The oneness of believers is to be found in us, in their relation to the Father and the Son. The same twofold thought occurs when Jesus repeats that they may be one as we are one. The oneness of the Father and the Son is both the cause of and the model for the believers’ unity.
community of believers
The Father and the Son’s oneness includes both a unity of being and a distinctness of person, and it has been seen especially as a oneness of will and love. These are also the characteristics of the oneness that Jesus desires for his disciples to have in their relationship with one another in God. The believers have a mutual indwelling with the Father, but only by the Son, for no one comes to the Father except through the Son. So the oneness of the Son with the Father is unique, for Jesus shares in the deity of the Father. But in the Son believers have access to the Father and share in his very life, the eternal life.
Jesus seems to suggest that the actual outworking of the believers’ oneness with one another in the Father through the Son is a process that will take some time, for he adds, may they be brought to complete unity – more literally, “may they have been perfected into one.” He is speaking, in part, about the oneness that is further perfected as the “other sheep” and the “scattered children of God” are gathered in. But this oneness must also refer to the oneness that is present throughout the life of the community as the community makes “every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3), for it is something that the world can notice. So this is a spiritual oneness that comes from God, but it has to do with how the community of believers lives in the world.
living proof
Jesus says the purpose of this oneness is that the world may believe that you have sent me. Such belief is the key response Jesus has received from his disciples, so this is a reference to those who are still in the world yet are becoming believers. The disciples are sent on mission just as Jesus was sent, and the very purpose of their life together is to bear witness to the Father and the Son. This oneness flows from a common life that is characterized chiefly by love, and thus the world will see that the Father has loved the disciples as he has loved the Son.
The amazing transcendent love evident between the Father and the Son is not an exclusive glory that humans must be content only to admire from afar. The love the Father has for Jesus is the same love he has for believers, indeed for the whole world. The believers are to embody this love and thereby provide living proof of God’s gracious character, which is his mercy, love and truth. They will be an advertisement, inviting people to join in this union with God.
The love of God evident in the church is a revelation that there is a welcome awaiting those who will quit the rebellion and return home. Here is the missionary strategy of this Gospel — the community of disciples, indwelt with God’s life and light and love, witnessing to the Father in the Son by the Spirit by word and deed, continuing to bear witness as the Son has done.
shared future
Jesus’ request that they be with him… suggests strongly he is referring to heaven. This being the case, his prayer takes in the whole span of the believers’ life, from then on into eternity. Specifically, he wants them to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. We have already seen his glory, but there is a yet more complete vision of his glory awaiting believers. John later says that at his coming “we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2; cf. Col 3:4).
What begins at his second coming will continue on, for Jesus is talking not about his coming itself but about that which takes place afterwards. He has promised Peter, and, through him, his other disciples that they will follow him later, and here is what they will meet, the glory of the Lord — the glory that comes from the Father, who is the source of all, and that is a gift of love. That which Jesus has revealed in his earthly ministry is a mere glimpse of an eternal reality that existed before creation.
In his prayer, Jesus has been speaking of the future from an eternal perspective. Here in his final petition he looks on ahead to the ultimate future.
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: A brief word of explanation – 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.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’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.
In the true faith may we remain; in Jesus may we find hope; against exploitation of the poor may we help; against our faults may we fight; our bad habits abandon; the name of our neighbor may we defend; in the work of mercy may we advance; those in misery may we help; every danger of sin may we avoid; in holy charity may we grow strong; in the well of grace in confession may we wash; may we the friendship of our brothers and sisters win. Amen.
Morning reading
John 17:11-19 ESV :
“Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
“But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth….”
Reflections:
in God’s Name
The expression Holy Father is not found anywhere else in the Bible. Holiness refers to divine otherness, the realm of the divine in contrast to the mundane – this phrase captures beautifully God’s “purity and tenderness” (Westcott), the “transcendence and intimacy characteristic of Jesus’ personal attitude to God and of his teaching about God” (Beasley-Murray).
Name here refers to the reality that has been revealed — the Father himself. The name is the point of contact between Christ and his disciples in the Father. When Jesus says (again speaking from an eternal perspective) while I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me, he is referring to the protection they had by his own divine presence among them as the I AM. Jesus is asking God to continue to protect them by his powerful presence, a presence that will be mediated by himself and the Spirit.
what happened to Judas
Jesus points to two explanations:
1. Judas’ action fulfilled the scriptural pattern of the enemy of the righteous sufferer. This does not mean Judas was locked into some deterministic plan but rather “Jesus knew himself to be one with, and had to go the way of, the threatened people of God in the world to fulfill their God-given task” (Ridderbos). Thus, Jesus finds an assurance in the Scripture of the same sort he is offering his disciples, for they also are the threatened people of God.
2. Judas’s own character as “the son of destruction” – its basic idea is “to denote one who shares in this thing or who is worthy of it, or who stands in some other close relation to it” (Bauer, Gingrich and Danker). Judas had heard the words and seen the deeds and even been the recipient of special signs of love from Jesus, but in his heart he was not of the Father and so did not receive with humility, faith and obedience the one sent from the Father. When one rejects the offer of life one is left only with destruction.
The disciples have confidence because this same offer is made to them, as it is to everyone, and they have responded and received. Jesus is saying these things in the world, that is, in the arena of conflict, so that his disciples can have the full measure of his joy within them. This joy comes from total confidence in the Father and in his protection as well as in the intimate communion with him such as Judas lacked.
the Father’s protection
1. The Father’s protection is to be in the midst of the world, not through removal from it. In their identification with Jesus they draw upon themselves the world’s hatred of him, but they also share in his mission to the world.
2. The Father’s protection is from the evil one. Behind this world, which hates them, is the evil one, for “the whole world is under the control of the evil one”. The warfare motif runs throughout Scripture and is fundamental in Jesus’ own understanding of reality.
Although Jesus is about to complete his work of salvation, God’s warfare with the world will continue. Neither the Father nor the Son is going to abandon the world; rather they will continue to engage it, confront it and call it to repentance. “The disciples’ place in the world is not something that they can give up because the world is not something that God can give up” (Ridderbos).
the disciples’ consecration
Sanctifying is not the same as the cleansing, but it is related to the pruning. The word used here is related to the word “holy” that Jesus has just used of the Father. It means to consecrate, to set apart. It is used for the preparation necessary for entering the presence of God and for the commissioning for a divine task, e.g of a priest or a prophet. The whole people of God are set apart for God as a holy nation, answering the call to be holy as God is holy, in contrast to the foreign nations.
All three of these nuances are relevant to Jesus’ prayer. This sanctification is by the truth, that is, God’s word – i.e. Jesus’ revelation of God in word and deed. Jesus is himself the Word, as he is the truth. God’s word and truth correspond to what has already been referred to in this prayer as God’s glory and name. They are all manifestations of God that point to and actually enable contact with him in and through Jesus. As the disciples share in God’s glory and are in his name, so here this sanctification means being drawn “into the truth, into the unity between Father and Son, and into salvation in such a way that the Father’s being, his holiness, permeates them” (Tolmie).
Because the disciples have God’s truth they are set apart and sent into the world, just as Jesus was. Like him they are to be in the world but not of it, judging and calling the world by being the presence of God’s light, bearing witness to his love and offering his life in the midst of the world. They share in the very life of God in the Son of God through the Spirit of God, and thus they do the work of God as Jesus has done, revealing God’s love and life and light.
In this way, all three aspects of sanctification are evident: they are set apart to enter God’s presence, indeed, to have his presence enter them; they are commissioned for holy service; and they constitute the holy people of God, restored Israel, who are distinct from all others in the world because of the divine presence.
sacrificial love
Sanctification, like glorification, includes a reference to the cross, the moment of revelation when the truth of God — his heart of sacrificial love — is most clearly seen. The cross is the ultimate revelation of the truth, and thus his sacrificial death is necessary if the disciples are to be truly sanctified, an expression that could also be translated “sanctified in the truth”. The cross is also the final and supreme act of Jesus’ humility, obedience and death to self that have characterized his whole ministry and are at the heart of his relation with God. So his sacrificial death not only takes away the sins of the world and reveals God; it also completes the pattern of life that he will share with them.
The disciples are to have their life in Christ, as branches are in a vine, thus sharing in his very life with the Father, which includes a death of self. They will live out the life of Christ by receiving life from the Father and by dying to self and the world. And at the end, after walking as Jesus walked, their deaths, like Jesus’, will also be a glorification of the Father. Both sacrificial living and dying, whether by martyrdom or not, are part of the disciples’ sanctification (Chrysostom).
As the disciples bear witness to God in this way they will produce followers of God, just as Jesus has done. So the themes of consecration and sending lead naturally to the next section of the prayer, Jesus’ petition for those who will believe as a result of the disciples’ witness.
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: A brief word of explanation – 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.) The Scripture readings are primarily from the Gospel of John, with the intent to complete the reading by Easter. Other Scriptures which illuminate the Gospel of John will be included along the way.
Reflections from various saints will be included as their memorial days occur during the calendar year.
On Sundays, I’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.
The Peanut Gallery 