Wednesday in Holy Week: Prayers and Meditation on the Lessons of the Day.

Good Evening Dear Family !

I hope everyone is well and ready for the intensity of days coming up this Holy Week. These days aren't easy and that is why we are going to do a simple meditation and vigil tonight.. 

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Let us begin with our Peace Be Stills!

Peace Be Still
Peace Be.
Peace.

Inhale
Hold
Exhale gently 
Pause

Repeat.

Let us light our candles and be at prayer!

Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

14 A Song of Penitence Kyrie Pantokrator

Prayer of Manasseh, 1-2, 4, 6-7, 11-15


O Lord and Ruler of the hosts of heaven, *
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
and of all their righteous offspring:
You made the heavens and the earth, *
with all their vast array.
All things quake with fear at your presence; *
they tremble because of your power.
But your merciful promise is beyond all measure; *
it surpasses all that our minds can fathom.
O Lord, you are full of compassion, *
long-suffering, and abounding in mercy.
You hold back your hand; *
you do not punish as we deserve.
In your great goodness, Lord,
you have promised forgiveness to sinners, *
that they may repent of their sin and be saved.
And now, O Lord, I bend the knee of my heart, *
and make my appeal, sure of your gracious goodness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned, *
and I know my wickedness only too well.
Therefore I make this prayer to you: *
Forgive me, Lord, forgive me.
Do not let me perish in my sin, *
nor condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For you, O Lord, are the God of those who repent, *
and in me you will show forth your goodness.
Unworthy as I am, you will save me,
in accordance with your great mercy, *
and I will praise you without ceasing all the days of my life.
For all the powers of heaven sing your praises, *
and yours is the glory to ages of ages. Amen.



Psalm 70

Deus, in adjutorium

1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me; *
O Lord, make haste to help me.
2 Let those who seek my life be ashamed
and altogether dismayed; *
let those who take pleasure in my misfortune
draw back and be disgraced.
3 Let those who say to me "Aha!" and gloat over me turn back, *
because they are ashamed.
4 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; *
let those who love your salvation say for ever,
"Great is the Lord!"
5 But as for me, I am poor and needy; *
come to me speedily, O God.
6 You are my helper and my deliverer; *
O Lord, do not tarry.

16 The Song of Zechariah Benedictus Dominus Deus

Luke 1:68-79


Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the
shadow of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Lord God has given me
the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain
the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens--
wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.

The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious,
I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me,
and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face
from insult and spitting.

The Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set my face like flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.

Who will contend with me?
Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?
Let them confront me.

It is the Lord God who helps me;
who will declare me guilty?

The Song of Hannah

1 Samuel 2:1-8

My heart exults in you, O God; *

my triumph song is lifted in you.

My mouth derides my enemies, *

for I rejoice in your salvation.

There is none holy like you, *

nor any rock to be compared to you, our God.

Do not heap up prideful words or speak in arrogance; *

Only God is knowing and weighs all actions.

The bows of the mighty are broken, *

but the weak are clothed in strength.

Those once full now labor for bread, *

those who hungered now are well fed.

The childless woman has borne sevenfold, *

while the mother of many is forlorn.

God destroys and brings to life, casts down and raises up; *

gives wealth or takes it away, humbles and dignifies.

God raises the poor from the dust; *

and lifts the needy from the ash heap

To make them sit with the rulers *

and inherit a place of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are God’s *

on which the whole earth is founded.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.

A Song of Christ’s Humility

Philippians 2:6-11

Though in the form of God, *

Christ Jesus did not cling to equality with God,

But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, *

and was born in human likeness.

Being found in human form, he humbled himself *

and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him *

and given him the name above every name,

That at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow, *

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, *

to the glory of God the Father.

John 13:21-32

At supper with his friends, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and declared, "Very truly, I tell you, one of you will betray me." The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he was speaking. One of his disciples-- the one whom Jesus loved-- was reclining next to him; Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask Jesus of whom he was speaking. So while reclining next to Jesus, he asked him, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So when he had dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, "Do quickly what you are going to do." Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. Some thought that, because Judas had the common purse, Jesus was telling him, "Buy what we need for the festival"; or, that he should give something to the poor. So, after receiving the piece of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.

When he had gone out, Jesus said, "Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once."

A Prayer attributed to St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is

hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where

there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where

there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where

there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to

be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;

to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is

in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we

are born to eternal life. Amen.

Loving and gracious God, we  pray for peace in the world and that we may become peace makers and Children of God.

Gentle and compassionate God, we pray and  remember all those who have died and those who are mourning.

Holy God, help us to  remember and pray that we may always acknowledge the sacredness of life and that each day is holy.

Loving and creator God, we  pray for children that they may be protected from harm.

God of many names we  pray for strong bonds of love and friendship may grow among all faith communities.

God  we pray for peace in our hearts, minds, and spirits as we prepare for the coming days of Holy Week when we follow Jesus into Jerusalem, the Upper room, the foot of the Cross, and on Easter Morning at the entry of the Empty Tomb,

God of Health and healing, we  pray for all those who are ill and those who are in need of healing.  May we remember especially this night___________

God who loves us and includes us all we pray for all the least of these and that we may lovingly respond to their needs. Help us always to remember they are our family members too.


Loving God we lift these our prayers in the Name of Your Son Jesus. Amen.

Or these:




Thank you God for placing us on this journey towards you and by giving us time to reflect how we would prepare our selves for the Last Supper and Jesus' Betrayal.

God we pray that we may allow Jesus tomorrow to wash our feet and that we may call Jesus friend and yes that we may finally know that God is Love and that Love is the key to healing this world's misery and discord. 

God we pray that we may be surefooted as we follow Jesus on the Way of Sorrows and not be afraid to help carry His Cross and Wipe His bloody and sweaty brow.

God we pray that as we draw ever closer to the Foot of the Cross we may not be afraid but see this as an opportunity to check in with you and our lives.

God tonight may we find ourselves resting and praying and taking time to be with you  and listening for your still small voice. 

God teach us to love and be loving and shine your light to a world that seems only to know darkness.

God teach and show us how to be peacemakers so that we may be called Children of God.

God thank you for this day, a day to remember you and continue to be on this holy journey with you.

God we offer our prayers and thanksgivings in the silence of  our hearts for ourselves and on behalf of others: 

Jesus accept these our prayers in your most Holy Name. Amen.

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Good Night Dear Ones! I love you! I wish you all a blessed and holy Triduum. Rest well dear family this week makes our emotions raw and this is when we need each other now more than ever.


With love and blessings,

Sara

Resources:
Enriching our Worship
Book of Common Prayer


Missed last evening's blog? Here it is!



Tuesday in Holy Week! Receiving our Go words , Go Actions, and Go deeds, from God in the form of scripture and being at prayer!