Prayer During the Day (Christmas Season) - Thursday, 31 December 2020 (John Wyclif, Reformer, 1384)

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with my whole heart; 
I will tell of all your marvellous works.        Psalm 9.1

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

The Word of God - Psalm 127
If the Lord does not build the house, the work of the builders is useless;
if the Lord does not protect the city, it does no good for the sentries to stand guard.
It is useless to work so hard for a living, getting up early and going to bed late.
For the Lord provides for those he loves, while they are asleep.

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a real blessing.
The sons a man has when he is young are like arrows in a soldier's hand.
Happy is the man who has many such arrows.
He will never be defeated when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.

Galatians 4.4-7 
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

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

John Wyclif, 1384

John was a member of the Wyclif family of Richmond in Yorkshire and was born in about the year 1330. 

He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford, and Master of Balliol, but his expulsion from the Wardenship of Canterbury Hall (later incorporated into Christ Church) in favour of a monastic foundation led to a lawsuit and a life-long hatred of things monastic. 

He was much in favour with members of the royal family and, when disputes arose owing to his attacks on the clergy of the day, he was protected by them from the otherwise inevitable consequence of deprivation of his posts. However, he went on to deny the Church’s teaching of the presence of Christ at the eucharist, the doctrine known as transubstantiation, and it was this that lost him his royal protection. 

His opinions were formally condemned in 1381 and he was forced out of office by the university the following year. John had already moved to Lutterworth in 1380 and from there he gave his support to such projects as the translation of the Bible into contemporary English. He died on this day in 1384, whilst at Mass.   

 

Intercessions

In addition to our thanksgiving and praise and general prayers, our prayers may include these concerns:  

  ¶ The Church, especially in places of conflict

  ¶ The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation

  ¶ Refugees and asylum seekers

  ¶ Homeless people

  ¶ Families with young children

   
Lord in Your mercy        Hear our prayer.  

The Collect

Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us through your Son Jesus Christ: grant that, as he came to share in our humanity, so we may share the life of his divinity; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

May the grace of Christ our Saviour be with us all. Amen.

Today is the seventh day of Christmas

Prayer During the Day (Christmas Season) - Wednesday, 30 December 2020

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your marvellous works. Psalm 9.1

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

The Word of God      Psalm 110 

 The LORD said to my lord, “Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies under your feet.”

From Zion the Lord will extend your royal power. “Rule over your enemies,” he says.

On the day you fight your enemies, your people will volunteer.
Like the dew of early morning your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

The Lord made a solemn promise and will not take it back:
“You will be a priest forever in the priestly order of Melchizedek.”

The Lord is at your right side; when he becomes angry, he will defeat kings. He will pass judgment on the nations and fill the battlefield with corpses; he will defeat kings all over the earth. The king will drink from the stream by the road, and strengthened, he will stand victorious.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen. 

A Short reading
The shepherds went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. 

Intercessions
Prayers may include these concerns:

¶ The Church, especially in places of conflict

¶ The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation

¶ Refugees and asylum seekers

¶ Homeless people

¶ Families with young children

Lord in your mercy          Hear our prayer.

The Collect
God in Trinity, eternal unity of perfect love: gather the nations to be one family, and draw us into your holy life through the birth of Emmanuel, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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.

May the grace of Christ our Saviour be with us all. Amen.

Prayer during the day (Christmas Season) - Tuesday, 29 December 2020 (Thomas Becket)

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your marvellous works.        Psalm 9.1

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

The Word of God

Psalm 97

The Lord is king! Earth, be glad! Rejoice, you islands of the seas!

Clouds and darkness surround him; he rules with righteousness and justice.
Fire goes in front of him  and burns up his enemies around him.

His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees it and trembles.
The hills melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the nations see his glory.

Everyone who worships idols is put to shame; all the gods bow down before the Lord. The people of Zion are glad, and the cities of Judah rejoice because of your judgments, O Lord. Lord Almighty, you are ruler of all the earth; you are much greater than all the gods.

The Lord loves those who hate evil;  he protects the lives of his people;
he rescues them from the power of the wicked. Light shines on the righteous, and gladness on the good.

All you that are righteous be glad because of what the Lord has done!
Remember what the holy God has done, and give thanks to him.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.

Matthew 1.20b-23

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means,‘God is with us.’

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

THOMAS BECKET, 1170
Thomas was born in London in 1118, of a family of merchants. After a good education he served as clerk to another burgess then entered the service of Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Thomas proved himself an excellent administrator and skilled diplomat. In 1155 he was appointed Chancellor by Henry II. For several years king and chancellor worked harmoniously together in mutual admiration and personal friendship. As a result, the king nominated Thomas as Archbishop of Canterbury to succeed Theobald in 1161. 

From the start there was friction, with Thomas insisting on every privilege of the Church. The conflict worsened until 1164 when Thomas fled to France. Encouraged by the pope he pursued his arguments from exile, sending letters and pronouncing excommunications. Three efforts at mediation failed before an apparent reconciliation brought him back triumphant to Canterbury in 1170. But the nobility still opposed him, and words of anger at court led four knights to journey to Canterbury where they finally chased Thomas into the cathedral, and murdered him there on this day in 1170. 

Thomas was undoubtedly a proud and stubborn man, for all his gifts, and his personal austerities as archbishop were probably an attempt at self-discipline after years of ostentatious luxury. His conflict with Henry stemmed from their equal personal ambitions, exacerbated by the increasingly international claims of the papacy, played out in the inevitable tension between Church and State.   

A Response

                        
Thomas Becket, you were not a person to do things by halves. Whether it was living life lustily with the king or throwing yourself into the work of the Church, you did it with zeal.

We pray that we may not become tepid or timid in the mission God has for each one

of us.

Intercessions 

Thanksgivings may be made for the day; prayers may include these concerns:   

 ¶ The Church, especially in places of conflict

 ¶ The Holy Land, for peace with justice, and reconciliation

 ¶ Refugees and asylum seekers

 ¶ Homeless people

 ¶ Families with young children

 Lord in Your mercy        Hear our prayer.

 The Collect

Merciful Lord, cast your bright beams of light upon the Church:

that, being enlightened by the teaching of your blessed apostle and evangelist Saint John, we may so walk in the light of your truth that we may at last attain to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ your incarnate Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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.

May the grace of Christ our Saviour be with us all. Amen.

   

 

Prayer during the day - Monday, 28 December 2020 (Holy Innocents)

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

I will give thanks to You, Lord, with my whole heart.

I will tell of all Your wonderful works.            Psalm 9.1

Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.

Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,

we worship you, we give you thanks, we praise you for your glory.

Psalm  87

The Lord built his city on the sacred hill;

more than any other place in Israel he loves the city of Jerusalem.

Listen, city of God, to the wonderful things he says about you:

“I will include Egypt and Babylonia when I list the nations that obey me;
the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Of Zion it will be said that all nations belong there and that the Almighty will make her strong. The Lord will write a list of the peoples and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem. They dance and sing, “In Zion is the source of all our blessings.”

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit;

as it was in the beginning is now and shall be for ever. Amen.

Isaiah 9.2, 6, 7

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. 

They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them.

A child is born to us!  A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler.

He will be called, “Wonderful Counsellor,” “Mighty God,” 

“Eternal Father,” “Prince of Peace.”

His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace.

He will rule as King David's successor, basing his power on right and justice, 

from now until the end of time. The Lord Almighty is determined to do all this.

Blessed are the pure in heart, 

For they will see God

THE HOLY INNOCENTS

Herod ‘the Great’ was appointed King of the Jews by the Roman authorities in Palestine and he proved to be ruthlessly efficient in his thirty-three years of dealing with his subjects. 

In Matthew’s gospel, he tried to persuade the Magi, to whom he played the host on their journey seeking the one ‘who has been born king of the Jews’, to bring word of where they had found him. His desire was to eliminate Jesus and, when he realised that the Magi had tricked him and left the country.

Herod had killed all the children under the age of two, in and around Bethlehem.
These were God’s ‘innocent’ ones, paralleling the story of Pharaoh slaughtering the Hebrew children in Egypt.

A RESPONSE

The Lord says,  “A sound is heard in Ramah,  the sound of bitter weeping. 

Rachel is crying for her children; they are gone, and she refuses to be comforted. 

Jeremiah 31.15

Intercessions

Thanksgiving may be made for the day. Intercessions are offered for:

¶ the Church, especially in places of conflict

¶ the Holy Land, for peace with justice and reconciliation

¶ refugees and asylum seekers

¶ homeless people

¶ families with young children

Lord, in your mercy        hear our prayer

The Collect

Heavenly Father, 

whose children suffered at the hands of Herod, though they had done no wrong:

by the suffering of your Son and by the innocence of our lives 

frustrate all evil designs and establish your reign of justice and peace;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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 sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.

Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.

For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yours

now and for ever. Amen.

May the grace of Christ our Saviour be with us all. Amen.

THIS WEEK

There will be a service of daily prayer posted

on the St Francis’ and other pages of the parish for 

you to engage with whenever you have time

available for you to engage with it.

We pray that you have a blessed Christmastide

and

A safe, peaceful and happy New Year.