NLF Staff Midday Prayer Sept. 26, 2012
Stillness and Silence – 2 minutes to be still First Reading: Ps. 146 1 Praise the Lord.Praise the Lord, my soul. 2 I will praise the Lord all my life;I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God 6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever…The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down... The Lord reigns forever, your God, O Zion, for all generations. Praise the Lord. Second Reading – Lamentations 3: 21-27 21 Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: 22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, To the one who seeks him, It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young.” Devotional Reading – Julian of Norwich Julian of Norwich lived in the 1300’s in Norwich, England. It was a time of political, social, and economic upheavals. She saw the beginning of the Hundred Years War between England and France and lived through the time of the Bubonic Plague/Black Death that was estimated to have killed 30–60 percent of Europe’s population (It took Europe 150 years to recover). It struck 3 different times in her lifetime. The church was divided as three different Popes, at one time, claimed to be the head of the church! One Pope hired mercenaries/soldiers to put down a rebellion in an Italian city and massacred 2500-3000 people! Moreover, the church was almost totally dependent on French king. The monasteries had become greedy and were in moral decline. Even the Franciscans had collapsed. John Wycliffe, the reformer, emerged in her time, preaching truth of Scripture and pointing out corruption. He was declared a heretic and killed. They not only burned him and his books, but they dug up his bones and body, burning them to ashes and scattered them on a river. Jesus’ Revelations to Her: HOPE: All shall be well,” and at another time He said, “You yourself shall see that all manner of things shall be well.” … As we see it there are many deeds evilly done. So great is the harm they cause, that it seems to us impossible that they should ever come to good…what about the angels who fell from heaven and those who reject Christ…Considering all this, it seemed to me impossible that all manner of things should be well, as our Lord had showed me at this time…Lord God showed me, “What is impossible to you is not impossible to me. I shall save My Word in all things, and I shall make all things well.” LOVE: AND WHEN WE FALL, QUICKLY he raises us up with his loving embrace and his gracious touch. And when we are strengthened by his sweet working, then we willingly choose him by his grace, that we shall be his servants and his lovers, constantly and forever. . . . And our falling is not evidence of divine negligence or lack of love. For we need to fall, and we need to see it; for if we did not fall we should not know how feeble and how wretched we are in ourselves, nor, too, should we know so completely the wonderful love of our Creator. .. . And by the experience of this falling we shall have a great and marvelous knowledge of love in God without end; for enduring and marvelous is that love which cannot and will not be broken because of offenses. . . . [Therefore] let us meekly recognize our weakness, knowing that we cannot stand for the twinkling of an eye except with the protection of grace, and let us reverently cling to God, trusting only in him. Silence – 7 minutes The Lord’s Prayer Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
