Listening to God and Entering into a time of prayer with another night of music

Good Evening Family of Love,

Happy Take Care Tuesday! Tonight I'm listening to The Prayer Cycle as I write and am feeling buoyed up by God and the gift of music and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Music is one of those ways that we can center into God's call. Listen to the melody that is guiding us on to the next leg of our journey.  Here is the music that will guide us into our meditation and prayer time tonight: Prayer Cycle by Jonathan Elias. We will be meditating upon the lessons for the Common of a Martyr in Commemoration of  Joan of Arc whose feast day is today!



Psalm 134 Ecce nunc

Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, *
you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.
Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; *
the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion.

Holy God, whose power is made perfect in weakness: we honor you for the calling of Jeanne d’Arc, who, though young, rose up in valor to bear your standard for her country, and endured with grace and fortitude both victory and defeat; and we pray that we, like Jeanne, may bear witness to the truth that is in us to friends and enemies alike, and, encouraged by the companionship of your saints, give ourselves bravely to the struggle for justice in our time; through Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
 

Sirach 51:1-12

Prayer of Jesus Son of Sirach *

51I give you thanks, O Lord and King,
   and praise you, O God my Saviour.
I give thanks to your name, 
2   for you have been my protector and helper
and have delivered me from destruction
   and from the trap laid by a slanderous tongue,
   from lips that fabricate lies.
In the face of my adversaries
   you have been my helper 3and delivered me,
   in the greatness of your mercy and of your name,
from grinding teeth about to devour me,
   from the hand of those seeking my life,
   from the many troubles I endured, 
4 from choking fire on every side,
   and from the midst of fire that I had not kindled, 
5 from the deep belly of Hades,
   from an unclean tongue and lying words— 
6   the slander of an unrighteous tongue to the king.
My soul drew near to death,
   and my life was on the brink of Hades below. 
7 They surrounded me on every side,
   and there was no one to help me;
I looked for human assistance,
   and there was none. 
8 Then I remembered your mercy, O Lord,
   and your kindness* from of old,
for you rescue those who wait for you
   and save them from the hand of their enemies. 
9 And I sent up my prayer from the earth,
   and begged for rescue from death. 
10 I cried out, ‘Lord, you are my Father;*
   do not forsake me in the days of trouble,
   when there is no help against the proud. 
11 I will praise your name continually,
   and will sing hymns of thanksgiving.’
My prayer was heard, 
12   for you saved me from destruction
   and rescued me in time of trouble.
For this reason I thank you and praise you,
   and I bless the name of the Lord.

Hebrew adds:


Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to the God of praises,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to the guardian of Israel,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to him who formed all things,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to the redeemer of Israel,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to him who gathers the dispersed of Israel,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to him who rebuilt his city and his sanctuary,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to him who makes a horn to sprout for the house of David,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to him who has chosen the sons of Zadok to be priests,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to the shield of Abraham,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to the rock of Isaac,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to the mighty one of Jacob,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to him who has chosen Zion,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


Give thanks to the King of the kings of kings,
   for his mercy endures for ever; 


He has raised up a horn for his people,
   praise for all his loyal ones. 


For the children of Israel, the people close to him.

   Praise the Lord!


A Song of the Wilderness
Isaiah 35:1-7,10
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, *
the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
It shall blossom abundantly, *
and rejoice with joy and singing.
They shall see the glory of the Lord, *
the majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weary hands, *
and make firm the feeble knees.
Say to the anxious, “Be strong, do not fear! *
Here is your God, coming with judgment to save you.”
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, *
and the ears of the deaf be unstopped.
Then shall the lame leap like a deer, *
and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness *
and streams in the desert;
The burning sand shall become a pool *
and the thirsty ground, springs of water.
The ransomed of God shall return with singing, *
with everlasting joy upon their heads.
Joy and gladness shall be theirs, *

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.


Psalm 126 In convertendo

1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, *
then were we like those who dream.

2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
and our tongue with shouts of joy.

3 Then they said among the nations, *
"The Lord has done great things for them."

4 The Lord has done great things for us, *
and we are glad indeed.

5 Restore our fortunes, O Lord, *
like the watercourses of the Negev.

6 Those who sowed with tears *
will reap with songs of joy.

7 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *

will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.

2 Corinthians 6:2-10

2 For he says,

‘At an acceptable time I have listened to you,

   and on a day of salvation I have helped you.’

See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation! 3 We are putting no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labours, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 in honour and dishonour, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

The Song of Mary- Magnificat

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in you, O God my Savior, *

for you have looked with favor on your lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed: *

you, the Almighty, have done great things for me,

and holy is your name.

You have mercy on those who fear you *

from generation to generation.

You have shown strength with your arm *

and scattered the proud in their conceit,

Casting down the mighty from their thrones *

and lifting up the lowly.

You have filled the hungry with good things *

and sent the rich away empty.

You have come to the help of your servant Israel, *

for you have remembered your promise of mercy,

The promise made to our forebears, *

to Abraham and his children for ever.

Matthew 5:1–125

When Jesus^* saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely^* on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

10 The Second Song of Isaiah Quaerite Dominum

Isaiah 55:6-11

Seek the Lord while he wills to be found; *

call upon him when he draws near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways *

and the evil ones their thoughts;

And let them turn to the Lord, and he will have compassion, *

and to our God, for he will richly pardon.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, *

nor your ways my ways, says the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, *

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

For as rain and snow fall from the heavens *

and return not again, but water the earth,

Bringing forth life and giving growth, *

seed for sowing and bread for eating,

So is my word that goes forth from my mouth; *

it will not return to me empty;

But it will accomplish that which I have purposed, *

and prosper in that for which I sent it.

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.

Dear Jesus, we pray that we may feel the warmth of your love and mercy.
May we be the light and show love and mercy to others and may they feel the warmth that we are giving.

Jesus, help us to learn to be more like you day by day.
May always remember these words:

Prayer of Saint Richard of Chichester

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits thou hast given me,
for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know thee more clearly,
love thee more dearly,
and follow thee more nearly, day by day.
Amen.

Jesus, we pray that we may be empowered to love, serve, and help the least of these.
Give us courage Jesus, when we do not know where to plant our feet and know what to do.

Jesus, help us to be peacemakers so that we may become and be the Children of God.

Jesus, heal and sooth our infirmities that we may rise and serve You and all our family members, as Peter's mother-in-law did. 
Give us the right amount of daily energy to do this.

Jesus, give us grace to see you in the eyes of our enemies, strangers, refugees, immigrants, the least of these and all those with whom there is division. May we sew seeds of love, compassion, mercy.


Jesus, we pray for all the warring areas in Your Father's world especially in the places where you proclaimed  Good News and told us not to be afraid.

Take away all the fear, terror, hate, and mistrust of all of our family members who live in Your homeland and all  of  the prophets, apostles, martyrs, Matriarchs, Patriarchs, Remembering our Abrahamic family members.

Lord Jesus we name before you all those who have requested prayers and we also lay before you all our worries at your feet remembering especially___________

Jesus, may we rise to the challenge of being loving and writing positive, loving, and reassuring posts in social media. We pray that our words may heal not harm. We also pray and pledge that we will speak truth to power and use words that will empower our family members to fight on behalf of the least of these and all those who are recipients of injustice and oppression.

Jesus, we pray for all who mourn this night and we pray especially for those who have died and are dying remembering especially_____________

Jesus we offer all our prayers, thanksgivings, remembrances, and celebrations to you and in your Name we pray. Amen.

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.

The Wisdom of God

the Love of God

and the Grace of God

strengthen you

to be Christ’s hands and heart in this world,

in the name of the Holy Trinity. Amen.

(source: Celtic)

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Have a blessed night and gentle rest! I love you all and give thank to God for you always.

May peace and love prevail upon Earth Always!

Here is information on the saint of the day: St. Joan of Arc

Resources:

Book of Common Prayer

Enriching our Worship

Satucket Lectionary : Common of A Martyr