Evening Prayer Wednesday, 21 July 2021

Speech to the young
Speech to the
Progress-towards
by Gwendolyn Brooks

Say to them,
say to the down-keepers,
the sun-slappers,
the self-soilers,
the harmony-hushers,
“Even if you are not ready for day it cannot always be night.”
You will be right.
For that is the hard home-run.

Live not for battles won.
Live not for the-end-of-the-song.
Live in the along.

Good evening and welcome to Evening Prayers

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.

Breathe in
Breathe out
Be still…

When our faith is weak
you strengthen us,
when we lose our way
you rescue us,
when we fall into sin
you forgive us.

Gracious Father,
please remind us
as we forget,
that your love is
unconditional,
always moulding us
into what we could be,
always blessing us
that we might glorify you.
For love,
grace
and forgiveness,
we thank you.
Amen

Presence
May my heart rejoice in your love, O Lord.
Let me live each day anew.

Freedom
Your death on the cross has set me free.
I can live joyously and freely,
without fear of death.
Your mercy knows no bounds.

Consciousness
There is a time and place for everything, as the saying goes.
Lord, grant that I may always desire
to spend time in your presence.
To hear your call.

THE WORD OF GOD

John 15:1-8

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Prayer is the orientation of all the attention of which the soul is capable toward God.  —Simone Weil, Waiting for God

One of the simplest methods of contemplation is “to practice the presence of God” as described by Brother Lawrence (1614–1691), a French Carmelite monk of the 17th century. Lawrence was a gentle and humble man who, despite his lack of education, just radiated holiness—not from the abbot’s chair but from the kitchen where he worked. I quite agree with writer Ellyn Sanna who observes, “At its heart, Brother Lawrence’s practice was simply Zen—a focus on the present moment in order to wake up, to be able to see the Light.” [1] Here are some modern paraphrases of Brother Lawrence’s “maxims,” which offer readers no real methodology, but simple encouragement to be ourselves and to be aware of God’s presence: 

I don’t practice any particular prayer discipline. I have no specific technique I use to meditate. I know these methods work for many people. But for me, when I tried them, I just spent all my time rejecting my wandering thoughts, over and over. I’ve tried to practice these disciplines, but now I don’t worry about them anymore. Their only purpose anyway is to bring a person to union with God. Why should I fast or set aside particular prayer times or deny myself in some way when I’ve found the shortcut? If every moment I’m consciously practicing love, doing all things for God’s sake, then I don’t need to worry about these spiritual methods.

My thoughts are the biggest obstacles to this way of living my life. The little useless thoughts that drift through my head, making mischief, distracting me. I’ve learned to reject them as soon as I notice them. They have nothing to do with the reality at hand—nor with my eternal salvation—and once I stop paying attention to them, I can get back to communing with God.

I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention. I carry on a habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy.

When we walk in the presence of God, the busiest moment of the day is no different from the quiet of a prayer altar. Even in the midst of noise and clutter, while people’s voices are coming at you from all directions, asking for your help with many different things, you can possess God with the same serenity as if you were on your knees in church.

I can’t always maintain my focus on God, of course. I’ll suddenly discover that I’ve barely given God a thought in a good long while. Usually what gets my attention is that I’ll notice how wretched I’m feeling—and then I’ll realize I’ve forgotten God’s presence. But I don’t worry about it too much. I just turn back to God immediately. And having realized how miserable I am when I forget God, my trust in God is always that much greater.

The Divine Presence occupies the here and now. If you are not aware of this—become so!

Fr Richard Rohr

https://cac.org/practicing-the-presence-of-god-2021-07-15/
Copyright © 2021 by CAC. Used by permission of CAC. All rights reserved worldwide.

PRAYERS & 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.

Calm me, O Lord, as You stilled the storm.
Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm.
Let all the tumult within me cease.
Enfold me, Lord, in Your peace.
I will lie down this night with God,
and God will lie down with me;
I will lie down this night with Christ,
and Christ will lie down with me;

I will lie down this night with the Spirit,
and the Spirit will lie down with me;
God and Christ and the Spirit,
be lying down with me.
AMEN

The Blessing

This night and every night
grant to me light
This night and every night
grant to me peace
This night and every night
grant to me rest
This night and every night
grant to me grace
This night and every night
grant to me joy
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen

Thank you for join us. Goodnight and God bless!

Revd. Ernesto Lozada-Uzuriaga