Morning Prayer: 25 July – Psalm 132:1; Ruth 1:16; John 15:11-12 – on joy-filled living

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 132:1

Lord , remember David and all that he suffered.

Ruth 1:16

But Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”

John 15:11-12

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

Reflection

WESTON PRIORY

Whenever we go to New England we make a point of visiting Weston Priory in the Vermont hills. The peacefulness of the place itself, the wooden chapel, the beautiful songs of the brothers at prayer…

Peace I leave you with, My friends. ..
I have called you now…

and their involvement in the sanctuary movement and God’s heart for justice. ..

Because of our belief in God as Spirit
we choose to affirm and encourage
the prophetic voices
that recognize both the sin
and the need of our time.

Because of our belief in
the Church as community
we choose to have no superiors or
inferiors among us.

We choose to be a community
that dances and sings,
in spite of the tendencies of our times
to despair and cynicism.
(‘Renewal of baptismal vows’, Weston Priory)
_____

Be glad with dance and song,
let joy ring free:
God’s love renews our hope.
(Philip Franckiewicz, Weston )
_____

This renewal of hope is spoken of also in this description of life in another community.

This morning during the common prayer I suddenly became aware of the quality of my brothers and I am moved to the depths of my heart. They give their life – all their life. They pay dearly the price of their commitment. I know that better than any. Then I can no longer say if my admiration is for my brothers or for Christ who has to set his mark on thrm.
(Brother Roger of Taizé)
__________

__________

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 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.

Morning Prayer, 14 Mar – John 13:31-35 ~ love each other

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentences – Cuthbert of Northumbria (635-87)

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.

Morning reading

John 13:31-35 ESV:

love one another 1

When [Judas] was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

“My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Reflections:

the glory of God

In general the glory of God refers to his “own essential worth, greatness, power, majesty, everything in him which calls forth man’s adoring reverence” (Caird). This glory has been manifested throughout Jesus’ ministry, but now it comes to a climax on the cross. For the chief characteristic of God revealed in Jesus is his love, a self-sacrificial love. Thus, God is glorified in him through his death, “for in the cross of Christ, as in a splendid theatre, the incomparable goodness of God is set before the whole world” (Calvin).

the love of God

The love of God has now been mediated in a radically new way, through the incarnation. And the possibility of sharing in that divine love now becomes possible in a manner and to a degree unlike anything up to this point. The disciples are called to enter into the relation of love that exists between the Father and the Son. This love also is not new; it has existed from all eternity. But it has not been manifested or made available until the incarnation. Such love is the fruit of the disciples’ union with Jesus and, in Jesus, with the Father. The disciple, therefore, is one who is characterized by love, which is the laying down of life. The disciple, like the Master, reveals the Father.

the people of God

The love command focuses on relations within the new community – the divine love to be shared by the disciples, and extended to the whole world. Indeed, their love for one another is part of God’s missionary strategy, for such love is an essential part of the unity they are to share with one another and with God; it is by this oneness of the disciples in the Father and the Son that the world will believe that the Father sent the Son. The community is to continue to manifest God as Jesus has done, thereby shining as a light that continues to bring salvation and condemnation. Without this love their message of what God has done in Christ would be hollow.

The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

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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

_____________________________________

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.

Morning Prayer for Friday, Feast of St John, Apostle and Evangelist: 1 John 1:1-4; Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12; John 20:1-8 ~ share our joy

Morning Prayer

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

Opening sentence

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.

You will find the Lord Your God if you seek Him with all your heart… all your soul… all your mind… and all your strength.

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

Morning readings

02patmox-thumb-300x387-8132 — St John the Evangelist
on the Island of Patmos
Domenico Ghirlandaio, c1475

1 John 1:1-4 NLT:

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.

Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12 NLT:

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice! Let the farthest coastlands be glad. Dark clouds surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
__________

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; every nation sees his glory.
__________

Light shines on the godly, and joy on those whose hearts are right. May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord and praise his holy name!

John 20:1-8 NLT:

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed….

Reflection/Prayer:

John was Jesus’ closest disciple and is traditionally believed to be the only one of the Twelve who was not nurtured. He ended his days at an advanced age in Ephesus, and his tomb is in modern Selçuk. He was revered by the desert hermits and was thought of as the father of the emerging Celtic branch of the Church.

It is a long way from being eager to sit on a throne of power or to call down fire from heaven to becoming the man who could write:

“The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers” (1 John 3:16).

A persistent story has it that John’s “parishioners” grew tired of his one sermon, which relentlessly emphasized: “Love one another.” Whether the story is true or not, it has basis in John’s writing. He wrote what may be called a summary of the Bible:

“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 John 4:16).

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.

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 Morning Prayer readings are from the USCCB Daily Readings and the format from the Daily Office of the Northumbrian Community as available online here… and in the book form, Celtic Daily Prayer available on Amazon.com. The website and prayer book are rich in prayer resources and I commend them to you.

Samaritan’s Purse: Operation Christmas Child

Peanut Gallery: Here’s a quick, easy and inexpensive way to share the love of Christ with a child. It’s “love one another“ in action. And you can do it all online.

Here’s a link to the Samaritan’s Purse website w/ everything you need to know to get started-

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/# .

And here are some pictures of happy kids w/ their shoe boxes.