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 48:1-3, 12-14
How great is the Lord, how deserving of praise, in the city of our God, which sits on his holy mountain! It is high and magnificent; the whole earth rejoices to see it! Mount Zion, the holy mountain, is the city of the great King! God himself is in Jerusalem’s towers, revealing himself as its defender.
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Go, inspect the city of Jerusalem. Walk around and count the many towers. Take note of the fortified walls, and tour all the citadels, that you may describe them to future generations. For that is what God is like. He is our God forever and ever, and he will guide us until we die.
Isaiah 61:4
They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.
2 Peter 3:8-9
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.
Reflection
The woodwork on the buildings of the small village gathered near the pier is so weathered that it makes them look as timeless as seagulls. At a monkish distance to the north, amid wide fields grazed by the islands sheep, the monastery looks as it must have looked when the Benedictines finished the premises 700 years ago: the plain square tower of St Mary’s Cathedral and the austere rectangular masses of the adjoining buildings are all of enduring grey stone with deep-cut windows under steep slated roofs. So solid does the monastery appear that it is hard to picture the ruined state it was in for four centuries after the Scottish Parliament outlawed the monastic life in 1561. Had the Act of Suppression come two years later it would have been a full thousand years since the first monks landed on Iona and began spreading the Christian faith in Scotland.
James H. Forest,
Sojourners magazine, May 1980)
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The Celtic monks, knowing the same restlessness and provocation which issues from the Almighty, depicted the Holy Spirit both as a dove and a wild goose. But where in our contemporary devotions are there glimpses that God, in the twentienth century, can be expected to surprise, contradict, upset or rile us in order that the kingdom may come?
John L. Bell & Graham A. Maule
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… and I say a prayer,
that the Wild Goose will come to me.
Iona, ‘Here I stand’
__________
__________
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 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.
The Peanut Gallery 