Tag: Worship

21st Ordinary Sunday: Isaiah 22:19-23; Psalm 138:1-2, 3, 6, 8; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20 ~ “Who do you say I am?”

21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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

Opening prayer:

Come into the presence of God – Father, Son and Spirit – whose mystery we can never comprehend. All we have comes from God; we can only bow down in awe, and bring forward the praise that is His due.

Living God, You sent Your Son among us to reveal Your wisdom and make known Your ways. Increase our faith, that we may confess Jesus as your Son, take up His work on earth, and trust His promise to sustain us. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You.
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A Reading from the Old testament: Isaiah 22:19-23 (NLT)

“Yes, I will drive you out of office,” says the Lord. “I will pull you down from your high position. And then I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah to replace you. I will dress him in your royal robes and will give him your title and your authority. And he will be a father to the people of Jerusalem and Judah. I will give him the key to the house of David—the highest position in the royal court. When he opens doors, no one will be able to close them; when he closes doors, no one will be able to open them. He will bring honor to his family name, for I will drive him firmly in place like a nail in the wall….”
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A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 138:1-2, 3, 6, 8 (NLT)

I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart; I will sing your praises before the gods. I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.
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As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength.
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Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud.
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The Lord will work out his plans for my life — for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.
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A Reading from the Letters: Romans 11:33-36 (NLT)

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?

For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
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A Reading from the Gospels: Matthew 15:21-28 (NLT)

jesus head mosaic

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.”

Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”

Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
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Intercessions:

Almighty and Faithful God: Your Love for us is eternal… hear our prayers –

+ For our Church leaders – that they may preach Your word with wisdom and faith, in season and out of season…
Lord, hear us.

+ For all in positions of authority, civil and ecclesiastical – that they may serve with humility, gentleness and sound judgement…
Lord, hear us.

+ For those who have suffered through the abuse of power, civil and ecclesiastical – that healing and new strength may be theirs…
Lord, hear us.

+ For those who have suffered and died because of their faith, especially in the Middle East and Africa – that they may join their saintly predecessors in the Father’s house…
Lord, hear us.

+ For those who are persecuted and dispossessed because of their faith – that protection and provision may be theirs…
Lord, hear us.

+ For Christians around the world – that they may profess their faith to their neighbors and be a source of hope and help…
Lord, hear us.

+ For people who are travelling at summer’s end – that they may travel safely and return home refreshed…
Lord, hear us.

+ For our own needs and for the needs of those we love…
Lord, hear us.

God of love, You never discard the work of Your hands: hear our prayers we offer, in trust, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 23 August – Psalm 101:4-5; Proverbs 30:12-13; John 8:3-9 – on my need for prayer

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 101:4-5

We prostrate ourselves before the life-giving cross.
We prostrate ourselves before the life-giving cross.

I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. I will not tolerate people who slander their neighbors. I will not endure conceit and pride.

Proverbs 30:12-13

They are pure in their own eyes, but they are filthy and unwashed. They look proudly around, casting disdainful glances.

John 8:3-9

As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.

Reflection

IONA

‘Pray for me. I ask you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me.’ If ever you go to a black church that’s a phrase you’ll hear almost every person use when they stand up or come forward to testify – sometimes it’s just like punctuation, not heart-felt at all, but it’s still an important reminder.

If you attend mass you will say, ‘I ask… all the angels and saints and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.’

And George MacLeod, founder of the Iona Community, as he quotes the old spiritual, echoes the same words:

It’s not my brother or my sister
but it’s me, O Lord:
standing in the need of prayer.
We are so warm in our own self-esteem
that we freeze the folks around us.
We get so high in our own estimation
that we stand isolated on a mountain
top of self-righteousness.
That is why you came: Lord Jesus:
not to save the lecherous but to turn
the righteous to repentance
And it is me, O Lord.

From Where Freedom is and Laughter
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Before the world began one Word was there; grounded in God he was, rooted in care; by him all things were made; in him was love displayed; through him God spoke and said, ‘I am for you.’

Life found in him its source; death found its end; light found in him its course, darkness its friend, for neither death nor doubt nor darkness can put out the glow of God, the shout: ‘I am for you.’

The Word was in the world which from him came; unrecognized he was, unknown by name; one with all humankind, with the unloved aligned, convincing sight and mind: ‘I am for you.’

All who received the Word by God were blessed; sisters and brothers they of earth’s fond guest. So did the Word of Grace proclaim in time and space and with a human face, ‘I am for you.’
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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 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: 22 August – Psalm 51:18; Haggai 1:2-5; Matthew 17:24-27 – on rebuilding

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 51:18

Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Huts were erected on the east side of the Abbey © Iona Community, from Outside the Safe Place: An oral history of the early years of the Iona Community.
Huts were erected on the east side of the Abbey
© Iona Community, from Outside the Safe Place: An oral history of the early years of the Iona Community.

Haggai 1:2-5

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: The people are saying, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.’”

Then the Lord sent this message through the prophet Haggai: “Why are you living in luxurious houses while my house lies in ruins? This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you!”

Matthew 17:24-27

On their arrival in Capernaum, the collectors of the Temple tax came to Peter and asked him, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the Temple tax?”

“Yes, he does,” Peter replied. Then he went into the house.

But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?”

“They tax the people they have conquered,” Peter replied.

“Well, then,” Jesus said, “the citizens are free! However, we don’t want to offend them, so go down to the lake and throw in a line. Open the mouth of the first fish you catch, and you will find a large silver coin. Take it and pay the tax for both of us.”

Reflection

IONA

In 561 Columba arrived on Iona with his twelve; in 1938 MacLeod arrived with another band of twelve, half craftsmen without jobs, half students for the ministry. They built a wooden shed to live in by the fallen monastery and began the work of re-building.

abbeymoon_0075

MacLeod recounts that the group needed money with which to get its project started. ‘I wrote to the richest man I knew. He replied that I should go see a psychiatrist at once. Then I asked – me a pacifist, mind you – Sir John Lithgow, a builder of warships at his Govan shipyard. He was interested, but asked if I would give up my pacifisn if he gave me the £5,000. I said “Not on your life.” “Then,” he said, “I will give you your £5,000.” Materials were hard to obtain: ‘The war was on and the government commandeered all timber. But a ship coming from Canada struck a storm and jettisoned its cargo of lumber in the Atlantic. The timber floated 80 miles, finally landed on Mull, opposite Iona – and all the right length! It roofs the Iona library today.’

James H. Forest
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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: 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: 21 August – Psalm 48:1-3, 12-14; Isaiah 61:4; 2 Peter 3:8-9 – on God’s patience

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

Iona Abbey, founded by St Columba in 563 AD
Iona Abbey, founded by St Columba in 563 AD

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

IONA

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’
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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: 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: 20 August – Psalm 123:2; Numbers 24:16-17a; Revelation 22:16-18 – on watching and waiting

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 123:2

woman-in-prayerWe keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.

Numbers 24:16-17a

… the message of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:

I see him, but not here and now. I perceive him, but far in the distant future. A star will rise from Jacob; a scepter will emerge from Israel.

Revelation 22:16-18

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this message for the churches. I am both the source of David and the heir to his throne. I am the bright morning star.”

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life. And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book.

Reflection

IONA

Iona Nunnery Ruins dates to thirteenth century
Iona Nunnery Ruins
dates to thirteenth century

The nunnery on Iona (now ruined) was established at the beginning of the thirteenth century, and the nuns were at first Benedictine, then later of the Augustine order.
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DAWN IN THE NUNNERY
Day breaks behind the Bens of Mull
streaming across the restless Sound
blessing with thy shadows
pillars and the ruined arches of the Nunnery.

Holy place of ancient silence
basking in prayers of countless years
etching in the early sky
a benediction while a North wind snatches
the Abbey bell.

With deep compelling resonance it sounds
evoking in hearts a hidden longing
echoes of a vocation long-locked
within the rosy glow of this rough granite –
a sacred call.

Eyes uplifted, elated in expectation,
our sinful human-ness suffused with
transforming grace, we glimpse
in fleeting simplicity of soul
our Morning Star. (Fiona Martin)
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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: 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.