Tag: Patmos

Morning Prayer: 12 July – Psalm 124:1-5; Isaiah 35:3-4; Revelation 5:11-12 ~ on the indescribable

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.

San Giovanni evangelista a Patmos Jacopo Vignali, 17th century
San Giovanni evangelista a Patmos
Jacopo Vignali, 17th century

Pilgrimage

Psalm 124:1-5 NLT

What if the Lord had not been on our side? Let all Israel repeat: What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us?

They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger. The waters would have engulfed us; a torrent would have overwhelmed us. Yes, the raging waters of their fury would have overwhelmed our very lives.

Isaiah 35:3-4 NLT

With this news, strengthen those who have tired hands, encourage those who have weak knees. Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

Revelation 5:11-12 NLT

Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered — to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”
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Reflections

PATMOS

‘Your task is a simple one, walk with Me, show mw to those who have seen Me, and to those who have been near, but are afraid,’ says the Lord.

And as he spoke he no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them.
(From The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis)
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John, at the end of his Gospel, says, ‘I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.’

Then, once again, he was chosen to describe the indescribable: not just what he had felt and touched, but what he had seen in a vision.

Liz Bell shares with us some of her memories of a visit to Patmos where John the Apostle was exiled, and where he received his Revelation:

Worship in the cave itself – this small cave some 2,000 years ago gave shelter to the beloved disciple of Jesus. Patmos – God’s love just drenched the place like the ‘thousand stars’. We walked two or three miles in the pitch dark down a rocky track with our candles, singing for joy and hearts burning with love.

On our final day we went looking for the Holy Well where God had provided the spring:

All men from all lands, kneel before you go, Bend down low, lost son, sad daughter, bend down and drink; I am the water of the well.

Aidan Readings – Aidan of Lindisfarne
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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.

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

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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.
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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.
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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.

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 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.