Evening Prayer Tuesday, 8 September 2020
Living With Dementia
By Annabel Sheila
She’s trapped inside the prison walls
That used to be her mind.
The woman that she used to be,
Has long been left behind.
There are times she’s quite alert,
Her memory’s still intact.
Then there are days when she disappears,
And we know it’s not an act.
No longer able to care for herself,
We couldn’t leave her alone.
Her safety had to be assured,
So we placed her in a home.
Good days are when we visit her,
And she calls us by our name.
She’s grateful for the company,
And thankful that we came.
Most of the time it’s difficult,
To see our Mom that way.
All we can do is love her now,
As we take life day by day.
Good evening and welcome to Evening Prayer
That this evening may be holy, good and peaceful,
let us pray with one heart and mind.
Silence is kept.
As our evening prayer rises before you, O God,
so may your mercy come down upon us
to cleanse our hearts
and set us free to sing your praise
now and for ever. Amen
Breathe in
Breathe out
Be still…
Come, O Spirit of God,
and make within us your dwelling place and home.
May our darkness be dispelled by your light,
and our troubles calmed by your peace;
may all evil be redeemed by your love,
all pain transformed through the suffering of Christ,
and all dying glorified in his risen life.
Amen.
Presence
I remind myself that, as I sit here now,
God is gazing on me with love and holding me in being.
I pause for a moment and think of this.
Freedom
Lord you gave me life and the gift of freedom.
Through your love I exist in this world.
May I never take the gift of life for granted.
May I always respect the right to life of others.
Consciousness
I am surrounded by your loving presence, Lord,
But I am aware of my fragility and weakness.
Thank you that I can face my shortcomings
In your merciful embrace.
THE WORD OF GOD
Luke 6:39-42
Jesus also told them a parable:
“Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher,
but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.
Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye,
but do not notice the log in your own eye?
Or how can you say to your neighbour,
‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’
when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye?
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye,
and then you will see clearly to take the
speck out of your neighbour’s eye.”
WORDS OF WISDOM
At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes of our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own will.
This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty is the pure glory of God in us. It is so to speak [God’s] name written in us, as our poverty, as our indigence, as our dependence, as our sonship [and daughtership]. It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the invisible light of heaven.
It is in everybody, and if we could see it we would see these billions of points of light coming together in the face and blaze of a sun that would make all the darkness and cruelty of life vanish completely . . . . I have no program for this seeing. It is only given. But the gate of heaven is everywhere.
Fr Thomas Merton
PRAYERS AND INTERCESSIONS
We pray for the world…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for the universal church of Christ…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for one another and all those known to us…
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
Final Prayer
Abide with us, Lord, for it is evening,
and day is drawing to a close.
Abide with us and with
your whole Church,
in the evening of the day,
in the evening of life,
in the evening of the world;
abide with us and with all
your faithful ones, O Lord,
in time and in eternity.
Amen.
THE BLESSING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt29wOTsZPE
Goodnight and God bless…by the grace of God tomorrow will be a better day!
Revd. Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga
