Category: Prayer

Prayer

WEDNESDAY PRAYER- 23rd June, 2021

Psalm 15

Preserve me, God, I take refuge in you.
I say to the Lord: ‘You are my God. My happiness lies in you alone.”
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel,
who even at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord ever in my sight:
since he is at my right hand, I shall stand firm.
And so my heart rejoices, my soul is glad;
even my body shall rest in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead,
nor let your beloved know decay.
You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence,
at your right hand, happiness for ever.

LITANY OF PRAISE:

Preserve me God, I take refuge in you!

SCRIPTURE READING:  Ephesians 4:11-16
Some, God has appointed to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, or pastors or teachers. They are to order the lives of the faithful, minister to their needs, build up the frame of God’s body, until we all realise our common unity through faith in the Son of God . . . On him all the body depends; it is organised and unified by each contact with the source which supplies it; and thus, each limb receiving the active power it needs, it achieves its natural growth, building itself up through charity.  The word of the Lord.

REFLECTION:  (Michel Quoist)
This evening at the stadium the night was stirring, peopled with ten thousand shadows. And when the floodlights had painted green the velvet of the great field, the night intoned a chorale, filled by ten thousand voices.
The master of ceremonies had given the signal to begin the service. The impressive liturgy moved forward smoothly. The ball flew from celebrant to celebrant, as if everything had been minutely planned in advance. It passed from foot to foot, slipped along the field, and flew away overhead. Each was at his post, taking the ball in turn, passing it to the next one who was there to receive and pass again. And because each one did his part in the right place, because he put forth the effort required, because he knew he needed all the others, slowly but surely the ball gained ground and made the final goal!
In this world, Lord, we each have our place. You, the far-sighted coach, have planned it for us. You need us here, our brothers need us, and we need everyone.
It isn’t the position I hold that is important, Lord, but the reality and strength of my presence. What difference whether I am forward or back, as long as I am fully what I should be?
Here, Lord, is my day before me . . . Did I sit too much on the sidelines, criticising the play of others, my hands in my pockets? Did I play my part well?  And when you were watching our side, did you see me there? Did I co-operate with my team without seeking the limelight? Did I play the game to obtain the victory, so that each one should have a part in it? Did I battle to the end in spite of set-backs, blows and bruises? Was I troubled by the demonstrations of the crowd and of the team, discouraged by their lack of understanding and their criticisms, made proud by their applause?
Did I think of praying my part, remembering that in the eyes of God this human game is the most religious of ceremonies?
I come in now to rest in the dressing-room, Lord.
Tomorrow, if you kick off, I’ll play a new position. And so each day . . .
Grant that this game, played with all my brothers, may be the imposing liturgy that you expect of us, so that when your last whistle interrupts our lives, we shall be chosen for the championship of heaven!

INTERCESSIONS:  Lord, in your mercy . . . Hear our prayer

CLOSING PRAYER:  Glory be to the Father . . .

Prayer

WEDNESDAY PRAYER

– Feast of St.Anthony – 13th June 9th June, 2021 

Psalm 88
I will sing forever of your love, O Lord; through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.
Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,

that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.

The Heavens proclaim your wonders, O Lord;

the assembly of your holy ones proclaims your truth.

For who in the skies can compare with the Lord

or who is like the Lord among the sons of God?

Justice and right are the pillars of your throne,

love and truth walk in your presence.

Happy the people who acclaim such a king,

who walk, O Lord, in the light of your face,

who find their joy every day in your name,

who make your justice the source of their bliss.

LITANY OF PRAISE:

Blessed be the Lord for ever.

SCRIPTURE READING:  Isaiah 61:1-3

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken; to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison; to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord, a day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all those who mourn and to give them for ashes, a garland; for mourning robe, the oil of gladness, for despondency, praise.

The word of the Lord.

REFLECTION:   a) (St.Anthony of Padua)

A person who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaks several languages. These several languages are the various ways of witnessing to Christ, such as humility, poverty, obedience and patience, with which we speak when we practise them towards our neighbour. Language comes alive when it speaks by deeds. Enough of talking; let actions speak.

b) (Leonard Foley OFM)

The Gospel call to leave everything and follow Christ was the rule of Anthony’s life. Over and over again, God called him to something new in his plan. Every time Anthony responded with renewed zeal and self-sacrificing to serve his Lord Jesus more completely.

                His journey as the servant of God began as a very young man when he decided to join the Augustinians, giving up a future of wealth and power to be a servant of God. Later, when the bodies of the first Franciscan martyrs went through the town, he was again filled with an intense longing to be one of those closest  to Jesus himself: those who die for the Good News.

                So Anthony entered the Franciscan Order and set out to preach to the Moors, but an illness prevented him from achieving his goal and he returned to Italy. The call of God came again at an ordination where no one was prepared to speak. The humble and obedient Anthony hesitatingly accepted the task. Anthony’s sermon was astounding to those who expected an unprepared speech and knew not the Spirit’s power to give people words.

                Anthony should be the patron of those who find their lives completely uprooted and set in a new and unexpected direction. Like all saints, he is a perfect example of turning one’s life completely over to Christ. God did with Anthony as God pleased – and what God pleased was a life of spiritual power and brilliance that still attracts admiration today.

He who popular devotion has nominated as finder of lost objects, found himself by losing himself totally to the providence of God.

INTERCESSIONS:   Lord, in your mercy . . . Hear our prayer

CLOSING PRAYER:  (St.Anthony of Padua)

A fish is not hurt by the constant pounding of the sea,

nor is faith destroyed by life’s adversities.

Lord Jesus Christ, may we sing the song of your praise, rejoice only in you, live modestly, abandon our worries, and tell you all our needs,

so that in the refuge of your peace,

we can live in the heavenly Jerusalem, with your help,

who are blessed and glorious for eternal ages. Amen.

Bidding Prayers, Prayer

WEDNESDAY PRAYER- 2nd June, 2021

PSALM OF PRAISE:  Psalm 116
Alleluia! O praise the Lord, all you nations,
Acclaim him all you peoples!

Strong is his love for us;

He is faithful for ever.

LITANY OF PRAISE:
Our response to our prayers of praise and thanks is:
We praise you, we bless you, we thank you!
SCRIPTURE READING: John 13:1-5
Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were his in the world, loved them to the end.
They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from the table, removed his outer garments and, taking a towel, wrapped it around his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. . . .

The Gospel of the Lord

REFLECTION:  (Richard Leonard S.J.)

John, in his Gospel, writes that Jesus gathers his disciples at the Passover, but records nothing of the action of Jesus at the meal but focuses on what happened after it was over. John is the only Gospel to tell us how Jesus got up from the table and washed the feet of his disciples.

                While that washing of a guest’s feet was a custom in Jesus’s day, a Jewish host certainly never did it. Indeed, not even Jewish servants usually performed this act. If possible, it was the task of the least in the house, one for the Gentile, or non-Jewish servant. The household code tells us that it was not done regularly, but only on those occasions where guests who had completed a long trip were received into the home at journey’s end.

                By doing this act, Jesus announces the end of the road for weary travellers. For him and his disciples, the journey they had embarked upon years before was about to take a final turn. Indeed, it was to be a definitive rite of passage. And in doing so, Jesus also demonstrated what he had preached – that anyone who wants to be first must be the last of all and servant of all. In this ritual action, he walks the talk and does the job of the most-lowly slave in the house.

                Because dusty, weatherworn feet were objectionable in Jesus’s day, I like to think his action at the Last Supper also reveals that, as Christ welcomes us to his table, he also says there is not a part of any of us that is untouchable or shameful, that nothing is beyond God’s loving touch – not one part – and that our God, revealed in Jesus, “gets down and dirty” so that, following his lead, we can rise up to claim our dignity as his disciples and commit ourselves again to acts of loving service that sets other people free. “So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet”.

                By celebrating the Eucharist, we pray that Christ will continue to “Easter in us” and that there is no service too small, no act of kindness too insignificant, and no moment of love inconsequential in our service of all God’s people. We look for opportunities to take up the commission to serve all those who feel spent with the brokenness of their lives. And when we do this, we discover it has an extraordinary effect on us. With our brothers and sisters whom we serve, we can recognise the face of the rising Son and praise God together on our knees.

INTERCESSIONS:

Lord, in your mercy . . . Hear our prayer

CLOSING PRAYER:

Let us break bread together on our knees.

Let us break bread together on our knees.

When I fall on my knees with my face to the rising Son,

O Lord, have mercy on me.