Morning Prayer for April 28

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.

Call: Who is it that you seek?
Response: We seek the Lord our God.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your heart?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your soul?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your mind?
Response: Amen. Lord, have mercy.
Call: Do you seek Him with all your strength?
Response: Amen. Christ, have mercy.

Declaration of faith
To whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life,
and we have believed and have come to know
that You are the Holy One of God.

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

Scripture

Psalm 22:1-8  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? ² O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. ³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel. ⁴ In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. ⁵ They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.  ⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. ⁷ All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: ⁸ ”He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.”

 Isaiah 53:6-7 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

Matthew 5:11-12  “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Meditation for the day

PSALM 84
How lovely is Thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of hosts, to me.
My soul is longing and fainting
the courts of the Lord to see.
My heart and flesh, they are singing
for joy to the living God.
How lovely is Thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of hosts, to me.

Even the sparrow finds a home
where he can settle down,
and the swallow, she can build a nest
where she may lay her young,
within the courts of the Lord of hosts,
my King, my Lord, and my God;
and happy are those who are dwelling where
the song of praise is sung.

And I’d rather be a door-keeper
and only stay a day,
than live the life of a sinner
and have to stay away.
For the Lord is shining as the sun,
and the Lord, He’s like a shield;
and no good thing does He withhold
from those who walk His way.

How lovely is Thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of hosts, to me.
My soul is longing and fainting
the courts of the Lord to see.
My heart and flesh, they are singing
for joy to the living God.
How lovely is Thy dwelling-place,
O Lord of hosts, to me.

Prayers for others

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

Thank you Northumbria Community for providing online daily offices.

Compline for Tuesday night

*Indicates a change in reader (if you are doing compline in a group).

Begin with a period of silence.

* I will lie down and sleep in peace
for You alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.

O God, and Spirit, and Jesu, the Three,
from the crown of my head, O Trinity,
to the soles of my feet mine offering be.
Come I unto Thee, O Jesu, my King -
O Jesu, do Thou be my sheltering.

My dear ones, O God, bless Thou and keep,
in every place where they are.

* Whoever has chosen to make
the shelter of the Most High their dwelling place
will stay in His over-shadowing.

* He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I am trusting Him.

* He will rescue you from the traps laid for your feet,
and save you from the destroying curse.

* His faithful promises are your armour.
You need no longer be afraid of any terror by night,
or the death-arrow that flies by day.

* The Lord Himself is your refuge;
you have made the Most High your stronghold.

* Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe,
for You are my crag and my stronghold.

* How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

I will not lie down tonight with sin,
nor shall sin
nor sin’s shadow
lie down with me.

O God of life, this night,
O darken not to me Thy light.
O God of life, this night,
close not Thy gladness to my sight.
O God of life, this night,
Thy door to me, O shut not tight,
O God of life, this night.

* Be it on Thine own beloved arm,
O God of grace,
that I in peace shall waken.

* Jesu, Son of Mary!
my helper, my encircler.
Jesu, Son of David!
my strength everlasting.
Jesu, Son of Mary!
my helper, my encircler.

The peace of all peace
be mine this night
+ in the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Centering Prayer and the Incarnation

Thomas Keating writes,

“The Word of God in Scripture and incarnate in Jesus Christ is the the source of Christian contemplation. The Incarnation of the Word is the insertion of God into the human family and the insertion of the human family into God in the person of Jesus Christ. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are together, in one nature, both the Ultimate Mystery and the Ultimate Reality. Their interior relationship of total giving and receiving is the divine life that Christ was sent to share with us.”

I love the second sentence, “The Incarnation of the Word is the insertion of God into the human family and the insertion of the human family into God in the person of Jesus Christ.” What a beautiful picture of Jesus.

Centering Prayer and Our Trinitarian Beliefs

I have begun reading Intimacy with God: An Introduction to Centering Prayer by Thomas Keating. In the chapter concerning the theological basis of centering prayer Keating writes,

“Centering prayer presupposes a living faith that the sacred humanity of Jesus contains the fullness of the Godhead. Christ leads us to the Father, but to the Father as he knows him. In virtue of Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection, we participate by grace in Christ’s divinity. We are invited to worship the Father in spirit and truth. This is to follow Christ into the bosom of the Father, where, as the Eternal Son of God, he surrenders to the divine source from whom he eternally emerges–and returns–in the love of the Holy Spirit.”

Wow! Chew on that awhile!