InvitatoryI lift my stained soul to you.
I lift my soiled hands to you.
I bring my dirt and deeds to your cross.
But i also bring the "yes" in my heart to follow your Word,
and the hope that you always love me.Bless me this moment where we will fellowship.
Psalm 139:1, 6 – 9
Lord, you have searched me out and known me: you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar.
Where can I go then from your Spirit? : where can I flee from your presence?
If I climb up to heaven, you are there : if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.
If I take the wings of the morning : and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand will lead me : and your right hand hold me fast.
There is a crack, a crack in everything : that’s how the light gets in.
+Glory be to the father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forevermore.
Confession
Take a moment to reflect on recent attitudes of the heart, negative words spoken, unforgiveness held, beliefs about God or self contrary to His Word, unholy agreements or alliances with the enemy, compromise, sinful actions, inaction, disobedience, and/or simple unbelief.
Let us confess our sins to our Great High Priest together...
You are absolved of your sin...in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ...by the power of his blood...You are restored into right relationship with God..believe it...receive it...now go and amend your life by showing the fruit of repentance, and be filled again with the Holy Spirit that you may be guided by grace and followed by the favor of the Lord.
Lectio Divina 1 Corinthians 5:7
"Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast..."
God the Father took His slaughtered son and pasted his blood upon the doorpost of our souls that death's angel might have no part in us. The great lamb laid down...that we might get up. And up, we must get, since such a noble act was committed on our behalf. We must keep the feast not only in sacrament, but should chew on Christ's body as we rise and as we walk. We must savor the sting of His blood in our mouth while we talk to our near ones, as we conduct the business of the day, and when we lay our heads down to slumber. It is a comforting thing to know that the sacrifice done once for all in the crucible of time, is recalled to present reality each time we eat and drink of Him.
Saints and Seasons
Today we remember Saint Catherine of Siena, Italy. As a young girl of 5, Catherine had a vision of Christ in which he smiled at her, blessed her, and left her in spiritual ecstasy. By the age of 7 she had fully committed herself to a life of prayer, fasting and chastity. Catherine grew up in the midst of a terrible plague and was no stranger to death, as half of the 25 children her mother, Lapa, bore died including her twin sister. Catherine learned the power of fasting as a young woman and rarely ate except for the Eucharist in which she partook of daily. When she was 19, she received the call from Christ to leave the anchoritic life and return to the public to be His witness to the poor and ill. She gained a small following in Siena, and began to travel throughout Northern and Central Italy preaching repentance and calling the church to reform. Her biography and letters survive her and speak of her extreme dedication and love for the Lord Jesus. At the age of 33, she died, apparently of malnutrition, but perhaps she was simply wounded by love and could not recover from such an illness. The Collect
Father, we pray together as one body and as individuals forgiven and loved by you, that we may so devote ourselves to the mystical marriage as Saint Catherine did, and thus be witnesses of you and agents of true change in our spheres of influence. May we continually keep the feast, by living lives that recall your sacrifice and make present your presence to a broken and confused world.
Our Father
Today's Readings
Daniel 12:1-4, 13
Acts 4:1-12
John 16:1-15
The Creed
Intercessory Focus
Our persecuted brothers and sisters who face torture, death and imprisonment in their witness to Christ.
The Blessing
My dear brothers and sisters, may you rise today and lay down tonight with the feast of Christ on your tongue. May you be counted worthy to partake in the heavenly feast that awaits those who are found in Him. May it not be said of us, depart from me you wicked and lazy servant, rather may it be said of us, well done. May the peace of Christ be yours and the strength of His protecting angels protect you and keep you from accident, injury and the predator's grasp. Go forth and conquer ignorance and darkness.
In the Lion, In the Lamb
Mark
