Nepsis

Category: Time to Pray

  • Luke 22 54-65

    So they arrested Jesus, took him off, and brought him into the high priest’s house. Peter followed at a distance.

    They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter sat in among them. A servant-girl saw him sitting by the fire. She stared hard at him. ‘This fellow was with him!’ she said. Peter denied it. ‘I don’t know him, woman,’ he said. After a little while another man saw him and said, ‘You’re one of them!’ ‘No, my friend, I’m not,’ replied Peter.

    Tissot – The Second Denial of Peter

    After the space of about an hour, another man insisted, ‘It’s true! This man was with him; he’s a Galilean too!’ ‘My good fellow,’ said Peter, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ And at once, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.

    The master turned and looked at Peter, and Peter called to mind the words the master had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows, this very day, you will deny me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.

    The men who were holding Jesus began to make fun of him and knock him about. They blindfolded him. ‘Prophesy!’ they told him. ‘Who is it that’s hitting you?’ And they said many other scandalous things to him.

    Wright, Tom. The Bible for Everyone . SPCK. Kindle Edition.

    O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
    O Love, who redeemed me,
    fill up in me whatever part of your love
    has fallen into neglect within me.
    O Love, O God, who first loved me,
    grant that with my whole heart,
    and with my whole soul,
    and with my whole strength,
    I may love you.

    Gertrude the Great

  • Luke 22 39-53

    So off they went. Jesus headed, as usual, for the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. When he came to the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you won’t come into the trial.’

    He then withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down to pray. ‘Father,’ he said, ‘if you wish it – please take this cup away from me! But it must be your will, not mine.’ An angel appeared to him from heaven, strengthening him. By now he was in agony, and he prayed very fervently. And his sweat became like clots of blood, falling on the ground.

    Then he got up from praying, and came to the disciples and found them asleep because of sorrow. ‘Why are you sleeping?’ he said to them. ‘Get up and pray, so that you won’t come into the trial.’

    While he was still speaking, a crowd appeared. The man named Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He came towards Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas! Are you going to betray the son of man with a kiss?’

    Jesus’ followers saw what was about to happen.

    ‘Master!’ they said. ‘Shall we go in with the swords?’ And one of them struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. ‘Enough of that!’ said Jesus, and healed the ear with a touch.

    Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests, the Temple guardsmen, and the elders who had come after him. ‘Anyone would think I was a brigand,’ he said, ‘for you to come out with swords and clubs! Every day I’ve been in the Temple with you and you never laid hands on me. But your moment has come at last, and so has the power of darkness.’

    Wright, Tom. The Bible for Everyone . SPCK. Kindle Edition.

    Teach us, good Lord,
    to serve thee as thou deservest;
    to give and not to count the cost;
    to fight and not to heed the wounds;
    to toil and not to seek for rest;
    to labour and not to ask for any reward,
    save that of knowing that we do thy will,
    through Jesus Christ our Lord.
    Amen

    St Ignatius

  • Luke 22:7-22

    The day of unleavened bread arrived, the day when people had to kill the Passover lamb. Jesus dispatched Peter and John. ‘Off you go,’ he said, ‘and get the Passover ready for us to eat.’ ‘Where d’you want us to prepare it?’ they asked him.

    ‘Listen carefully,’ said Jesus. ‘As you go into the city a man will meet you carrying a jar of water. Follow him, and when he goes into a house, go after him. Then say to the householder there, “The teacher says, ‘Where is the living-room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?’” And he will show you a large upstairs room, laid out and ready. Make the preparations there.’ So they went and found it as he had said to them, and they prepared the Passover.

    When the time came, Jesus sat down at table, and the apostles with him. ‘I have been so much looking forward to eating this Passover with you before I have to suffer,’ he said to them. ‘For – let me tell you – I won’t eat it again until it’s fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’ Then he took a cup, and gave thanks, and said, ‘Take this and share it among yourselves. Let me tell you, from now on I won’t drink from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’ Then he took some bread. He gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them.

    ‘This is my body,’ he said, ‘which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.’ So too, after supper, with the cup: ‘This cup’, he said, ‘is the new covenant, in my blood which is shed for you. ‘But look here! The hand of the one who will betray me is with me at this table. The son of man is indeed going, as it is marked out for him; but woe betide that man by whom he is betrayed!’ They began to ask each other which of them was going to do this.

    The Bible for Everyone . SPCK. Kindle Edition.

    Grant, Lord,
    that we may hold to you without parting,
    worship you without wearying,
    serve you without failing;
    faithfully seek you,
    happily find you,
    and forever possess you,
    the only God,blessed now and for ever.
    Amen

    St Anselm

  • Matthew 7:24- 29

    Everyone who hears these words of mine
    and does them
    will be compared to a wise man,
    who builds his house on bedrock.
    and rain fell
    and the rivers came
    and the winds blew
    and beat on that house, 
    and it did not fall,
    for it had foundations on bedrock. 

    And whoever hears these words of mine, 
    and does not do them
    will be compared to a foolish man, 
    who builds his house on the sand.
    And rain fell
    and rivers came, 
    and the winds blew
    and beat on that house,

    and it fell 
    and the fall of it was great. 

    And it happened that when Jesus finished these words
    the crowd were amazed because of  his teaching.
    For he was teaching them as having authority
    and not as their scholars.

    Thank you, dear Jesus,
    for all you have given me,
    for all you have taken away from me,
    for all you have left me.

    Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

  • Matthew 7 15-23

    Watch out for false prophets, 
    who come to you all
    in sheep’s clothing,
    but inwardly they are savage wolves.

    From their fruit
    you will recognise them.

    They do not gather figs from thorn plants, do they?
    Or grapes from briars?

    In this way every good tree produces lovely fruit,
    but the bad tree produces evil fruit.

    A good tree cannot produce evil fruit,
    nor a bad tree produce lovely fruit.

    Every single  tree not producing good fruit is cut down
    and thrown into the fire. 

    Then, you will recognise them from their fruit. 

    Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’
    will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
    but the one doing the will of my Father in Heaven.

    Many will say to me in that day:
    ‘Lord, lord, did we not
    by your name –  prophesy,
    and  – by your name – cast out demons,, 
    and  – by your name – do many works of power?

    And then I will say plainly to them:
    ‘I have never known you.
    Go away from me, workers of lawlessness.’

    Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
    Where there is hatred, let me 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,
    For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

  • Matthew 7 12-14

    Therefore
    everything that you wish that people would do for you,
    in the same way,  do for them.
    For this is the Law and the Prophets.

    Enter through the narrow gate.
    because wide is the gate
    and spacious the road
    which leads to destruction
    and many are those who entering through it.

    Mark! Narrow is the gate
    and narrowed the road
    which leads into life
    and few are those who find it. 

    Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
    Where there is hatred, let me 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,
    For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

  • Matthew 7 7-11

    Ask and keep on asking 
    and it  will be given to you, 
    Seek and keep on seeking
    and you will find,
    Knock and keep on knocking 
    and the door ll be opened to you. 
    For everyone
    who is asking, receives,
    and who is seeking,  will find
    and who is knocking it will be opened to them.

    Or

    is there one of you who
    if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
    Or if he asks for also a fish, will give him a snake?


    So if you even though you are  evil
    know how to give good gifts to your children,
    how much more your Father who is heaven
    will give good things to those who ask him.

    God, give me grace to accept with serenity
    the things that cannot be changed,
    Courage to change the things
    which should be changed,
    and the Wisdom to distinguish
    the one from the other.

    Living one day at a time,
    Enjoying one moment at a time,
    Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
    Taking, as Jesus did,
    This sinful world as it is,
    Not as I would have it,
    Trusting that You will make all things right,
    If I surrender to Your will,
    So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
    And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

    Amen.

  • Matthew 6:25-34

    Because of this 

    I say to you, stop  worrying  about your life
    what to eat
    nor about your body
        what you will wear.

    Is not your life more than food, 
    and your body more  than clothing?

    Think about the birds of the sky
    because they neither plant seeds 
    nor harvest crops, 
    nor gather into barns, 
    and your Father who is in heaven feeds them. 

    Are you not worth more than them?

    Which of you is able, by worrying,
    to add one hour to their life?

    And why do you worry about clothing?

    Consider the flowers of the field
    how they grow. 

    They neither work or spin,
    But  I say to you not even Solomon in his greatest glory
    put on clothing like one of these. 

    If God clothes in this way
    the grass of the field
    which exists today, 
    and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,
    much more surely he will clothe you,
    you people of little faith. 

    So do not worry saying
    ‘What shall we eat?’
    or
    ‘What shall we drink?’
    or
    ‘What shall we wear?’

    For all these things, the pagans chase after.

    For your Father who is in heaven knows
    that you need all these things. 

    But you seek above all else the Kingdom of God
    and his righteousness
    and all these things will be given to you. 

    Stop worrying about tomorrow,
    for tomorrow will worry about itself. 

    Enough for the day is its evil.

    Lord, you have given me so much,
    I ask for one more thing –
    a grateful heart.

    George Herbert

  • Matthew 6:19-24

    Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, 
    where moth and vermin ruin
    and where thieves dig through (your walls) and steal. 

    But store up treasures in heaven for yourselves
    where neither moth nor vermin ruin
    and where thieves do not dig through and steal. 

    For where your treasure is, there also will be your heart. 

    The light of the body is the eye. 
    So if your eye is healthy,
    the whole of your body will be full of light. 
    But if your eye is bad, 
    the whole of your body will be in darkness.

    So if the light which is in you is darkness –
    how great the darkness!

    No one can slave for two masters.
    For they will hate one and love the other.
    Or they will be loyal to one, and despise the other. 

    You cannot serve God and wealth.

    Be thou a bright flame before me,
    Be thou a guiding star above me
    Be thou a smooth path below me
    Be thou a kindly shepherd behind me
    Today – tonight -forever
    Amen.

    St Columba

  • Matthew 6:16-18

    Whenever you fast, 
    do not be sad  like the hypocrites,
    for they make their faces unsightly 
    to be seen by people, 
    while they are fasting.

    Truly I say to you they receive their reward in full. 

    But you, while fasting, put oil on your head, 
    and wash your face,
    so you are not seen fasting by people
    but by  your father who is in secret,
    and your father who sees in secret
    will reward you.

    O Love, O God who created me, in your love recreate me.
    O Love, who redeemed me,
    fill up in me whatever part of your love
    has fallen into neglect within me.
    O Love, O God, who first loved me,
    grant that with my whole heart,
    and with my whole soul,
    and with my whole strength,
    I may love you.

    Gertrude the Great