- 2 weeks ago
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00:22Let us pray.
00:24Let us pray.
00:54Let us pray.
01:26Let us pray.
01:54May my heart find no relish except in and through you.
01:59May you alone possess my innermost soul.
02:03May I exceedingly hunger for you, the bread of heaven, and thirst for you, the fountain of life.
02:09So that this life's exile ended, I may deserve to be satisfied with the joys of your eternal perfection.
02:19Praise, honour, and glory be to you, O Christ, who, up until this time, has preserved and delivered me from
02:26countless dangers of soul and body, even when I abused your gifts, not deserting me.
02:35Illuminate my heart, I beseech you, with the brightness of your grace, the truly perceiving your goodness to me and
02:44my own ingratitude toward you.
02:47I may bemoan myself, I may be hateful in my own sight.
02:52But I may please you, my creator and my only redeemer, in all things.
03:01Praise, honour, and glory be to you, O Christ, who, when I lie immersed in the most loathsome vices, and
03:09was leading a most ungodly life,
03:11in your long suffering, and brought me to repentance, grant that my acceptable contrition and holy works, I may expiate
03:24the stains of my past sin,
03:26and that from now on I may lead a life of purity, and love you above all things, with most
03:33burning love.
03:36Praise, honour, and glory be to you, O Christ, who, when I was on the brink of the very precipice,
03:42and just within the jaws of hell,
03:45did not permit me to perish, but called me, though deaf, and trying to run from you to the way
03:51of salvation.
03:54Grant that from now on I may follow after you with humble devotion, and with a joyful heart, correspond to
04:02your holy inspirations,
04:04with, from my heart, farewell to all things, and may cleave inseparably to you alone.
04:14Praise, honour, and glory be to you, O Christ, who always directed me, the vilest of sinners,
04:21has protected me, has looked upon me with the eyes of mercy,
04:25and still so fondly supports and cherishes me with your goodness,
04:30despite my daily transgressions, as if forgetful of all others, you cared for me alone.
04:38Grant that I also may love you most ardently,
04:43leaving all transitory things for your sake,
04:46and may think of you alone, and may with a ready mind and in all places,
04:51follow and perform your holy will.
04:55Amen.
05:00O Lord, open our lips,
05:02and our mouths shall sing your praise.
05:11O be joyful in the Lord,
05:16O be glad,
05:18serve the Lord with gladness,
05:22and come in one's prayers and trigger strong.
05:28He is sure that the Lord needs God,
05:35He is God,
05:35He is He that can bring us and trust me ourselves,
05:40We are His people and the sheep of His master.
05:46O do your way to this district and tree,
05:53And in truth is God's great place,
05:59Be thankful unto Him and be full of His name.
06:06For the Lord is gracious,
06:11His mercy is everlasting,
06:17And His truth enjoyeth from generation to generation.
06:29Glory be to the Father,
06:34And to the Father,
06:37And to the Holy Ghost,
06:41As it was in the beginning,
06:44His love and ever shall be,
06:51World without end.
06:58Amen.
07:08The earth is the Lord,
07:12And all that's therein' is,
07:16The compass of the world,
07:19And faith and swell therein'.
07:22For He hath found it upon the streets,
07:28And with heritage upon the clouds,
07:33Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord,
07:38O who shall rise up in this holy place,
07:45He could give us and give hands and a pure heart,
07:50And that hath not lift up His mind unto vanity,
07:56Nor scorn to deceive His neighbor.
08:00He shall receive the blessing from the Lord,
08:06And righteousness from the God of His salvation.
08:13This is the generation of them that seek Him,
08:18Neither of them that seek Him,
08:23Neither of them that seek Him,
08:25And with love for He has a great place,
08:29And with love He ever thus in cross,
08:34And the King of glory shall come in.
08:40Who is the King of glory?
08:43Who is the King of glory?
08:48He will be the King of glory,
08:51And the King of glory shall come in.
09:08Who is the King of Glory?
09:13Even the Lord of hosts, He is the King of Glory.
09:22Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
09:32As it was in the beginning, it's now and never shall be, world's without end. Amen.
09:52A reading from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, chapter 6.
09:59Be careful not to display your righteousness, merely to be seen by people.
10:04Otherwise you will have no reward with your Father in heaven.
10:09Thus, whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you,
10:13as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets, so that people will praise them.
10:20I tell you the truth, they have their reward.
10:23But when you do your giving, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
10:28so that your gift may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
10:36Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,
10:39because they love to pray while standing in synagogues and on street corners,
10:43that people may see them.
10:47Truly, I say to you, they have their reward.
10:50But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the door,
10:53and pray to your Father in secret,
10:56and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
11:02When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the Gentiles,
11:05because they think that by their many words they will be heard.
11:09Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
11:14So pray this way.
11:18Our Father in heaven, may your name be honoured.
11:21May your kingdom come.
11:23May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11:27Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,
11:31as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors.
11:36Do not let us fall into temptation,
11:39but deliver us from the evil one.
11:42For if you forgive others their sins,
11:45your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
11:48But if you do not forgive others,
11:50your Father will not forgive you your sins.
11:54When you fast, do not look sullen like the hypocrites,
11:57for they make their faces unattractive,
11:59so that people will see that they are fasting.
12:04I tell you the truth, they have their reward.
12:07But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,
12:10so that it will not be obvious to others when you are fasting,
12:14but only to your Father who is in secret.
12:18And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
12:24This is the word of the Lord.
12:27Thanks be to God.
12:33Jesus here gave good practical advice,
12:36and turned to our outward appearances.
12:40He made it quite clear that our prayers should be private,
12:43personal things between us and God,
12:45as should our donations.
12:49It is not for us to attempt to impress
12:51with the size of our donations or the length of our prayers.
12:55What counts is the quality rather than the quantity.
12:58In other words, what is in our hearts.
13:03Quite clearly, Jesus was thinking of the Pharisees
13:06when he talks of those who walk about
13:08with their displays of moral righteousness and superiority.
13:13The point being, of course,
13:15is that we are all rotten on the inside,
13:18no matter how we appear to be on the outside.
13:22God knows all our thoughts and deeds.
13:25There are no secrets from him.
13:28Indeed, those who give themselves to airs and graces,
13:32to moral superiority,
13:35are effectively sitting in judgment of others
13:38and saying to themselves,
13:39let me thank God that I am not like them.
13:43How arrogant can we be?
13:45And what sin it is to think of us this way,
13:49of our brothers and sisters,
13:51whether they be of Christ or not.
13:57Indeed, as an aside,
13:59there is one thing surely that non-Christians
14:01find most off-putting
14:02about too many so-called Christians,
14:05and therefore forming a barrier
14:08to their conversion
14:10is this attitude of moral superiority.
14:16Jesus tells us quite clearly
14:18that we are to be humble in what we do,
14:22to pray in private,
14:24either on our own
14:25or in a small group,
14:26out of the sight of the world at large.
14:31Let us focus our attention
14:32on what we are praying,
14:34on what we are giving,
14:35on building our relationship with God,
14:38rather than showing others
14:40how much better we are than they.
14:44It does not matter how much
14:45we spend every day in prayer.
14:48What is important
14:49is that we have the spiritual exercise
14:52of prayer and Bible study,
14:54coupled with how we pray and study.
14:58If our focus is on our relationship
15:00with God,
15:01then with the passage of time,
15:03others will know we are Christian,
15:05from the way in which we behave
15:06and treat others,
15:08and more importantly,
15:10respect us for it,
15:11and possibly want to learn from us,
15:14so that they may also follow
15:16in our footsteps.
15:20Jesus provides us
15:21with very specific instructions
15:23as to how to pray.
15:26First of all,
15:27let us consider the opening part
15:28of verse 7.
15:30It is assumed
15:31that all Christians pray.
15:34Jesus clearly says,
15:35when,
15:36and not if,
15:38we pray.
15:39And to us,
15:40prayer should be as natural
15:41as breathing.
15:43It is a time
15:45of quiet intimacy
15:45with the Father.
15:47And if we have to be sincere
15:49in our giving,
15:50as we have already discussed,
15:52how much more
15:53should we be sincere
15:54in our prayer?
15:57There is a clear message
15:58that prayer should be
15:59about quality
16:00rather than quantity,
16:02as Jesus here
16:03openly criticised
16:04the Gentiles
16:05for their endless repetitions.
16:07As he says,
16:09our Father knows our mind
16:10before we start speaking.
16:12He just wants us
16:13to be open and honest
16:14with him,
16:15and to pray
16:16with a pure heart.
16:19There is a defined structure
16:21in the Lord's Prayer,
16:22as it is given
16:23and has been handed down
16:25over the generations.
16:28It starts with respect,
16:29as we either kneel
16:31or bow our heads
16:31and hearts to the Lord.
16:33It is right to remember
16:34who it is we are assuming
16:36to approach.
16:39Then it goes to our needs,
16:41both to our spiritual food,
16:43our daily bread
16:45and for forgiveness
16:45for the things
16:46that we have thought
16:47and done,
16:48as well as the thoughts
16:50that we have had
16:50since our last act
16:52of confession.
16:55Lastly,
16:56it asks for relief
16:58from temptation
16:59and deliverance
17:00from the clutches
17:01of the enemy.
17:05When we pray,
17:06we must do so
17:06in humility.
17:08For who are we
17:09to approach the glory
17:10of the Lord God?
17:12We who are defiled
17:14by our very bodies
17:15and their sinful nature
17:16must act accordingly
17:18in the presence
17:18of the Lord.
17:21Jesus drew a comparison
17:22with those who postured
17:23in public
17:24when they prayed,
17:25so that everyone
17:26could see them pray
17:27and hear their prayers,
17:28that they might know
17:29how righteous they were.
17:32He wanted none of that,
17:34for this was the way
17:36to pray at all.
17:38When we pray,
17:39we are quiet
17:40and respectful
17:40and absolutely
17:42do not make
17:43a spectacle
17:43of ourselves.
17:46This does not mean
17:47that we cannot pray
17:48in church
17:49or in groups,
17:50but we are also taught
17:51the power of group prayer,
17:53Matthew 18, 20.
17:55But it is a warning
17:57against praying
17:58out loud in public
17:59for no reason
18:00other than self-importance.
18:05As a final thought,
18:06we are warned
18:07against bubble
18:08or indecent repetition
18:10such as the Gentiles
18:11perform.
18:14This is a warning
18:15not against long prayers.
18:17For the many instances
18:18in the Bible
18:20of prayer-taking all night,
18:22Jesus,
18:23Solomon and Daniel
18:25give us examples.
18:27But against making prayers
18:29long for the sake
18:30of making them longer,
18:32as if in their length
18:33they might gain weight
18:34in the mind of God.
18:39This is, of course,
18:40a complete nonsense.
18:41For sometimes
18:42the most powerful prayers
18:44consist of merely
18:44a few well-chosen
18:46heartfelt words
18:47straight from our heart.
18:51Again,
18:51there is the element
18:52of boasting to consider.
18:54Let us never want
18:55to tell others
18:56of how long
18:57we have been in prayer.
18:59For that is solely
19:00between ourselves
19:01and God.
19:07In a similar way,
19:08how many of us
19:09perhaps associate
19:10fasting with being
19:11miserable?
19:14Let us consider
19:15for a few moments
19:16the purpose of fasting.
19:18For many of us
19:19it is perhaps
19:20an aspect of Christian life
19:21that is little practiced
19:23these days.
19:25For those in the early church,
19:27however,
19:27it was an important part
19:28of their life.
19:31Jesus criticised
19:32the Pharisees
19:33for the way
19:33in which they fasted
19:35twice a week,
19:36which was for sure
19:37and for nothing spiritual.
19:42They would not eat
19:43during the hours
19:44of daylight
19:44and would walk
19:45the streets
19:46looking as miserable
19:47as they could
19:47possibly manage.
19:49But as soon as
19:50it would be dark
19:51in the evening,
19:52they would gorge
19:53themselves
19:53on a tremendous feast.
19:58Fasting
19:58in its proper sense
19:59as practiced
20:00by the saints of old
20:01is a spiritual exercise
20:02today much associated
20:04with Lent,
20:05the period of preparation
20:07leading to Easter.
20:10Indeed,
20:10many of us
20:11will talk about
20:12what we have given up
20:13for Lent
20:14and then spend
20:15all our time
20:16boasting to everyone
20:17about how much
20:18they are craving
20:18for that particular thing.
20:23This is not quite
20:24what Jesus had in mind
20:25when he spoke about it
20:26all those years ago.
20:30It is not something
20:31that involves
20:32starving yourself.
20:34That would be foolish
20:35and anything
20:36that could harm our bodies
20:37is offensively gone.
20:39But rather,
20:40it is a time
20:41of abstinence,
20:42a time of simple living
20:44without excess.
20:46Perhaps a time
20:47when, for example,
20:49we could manage
20:49without eating meat
20:51or fatty food.
20:52A time when we stop
20:54doing things for pleasure
20:55and turn our attention
20:56to Jesus.
20:59We can and must
21:00still eat,
21:01of course,
21:03but more basic foods,
21:05perhaps just cereals,
21:07fruit,
21:07bread and soup
21:08as an example.
21:13Again, Jesus warns us
21:14against outward spectacle,
21:16not to show
21:17to or tell others
21:18what we are doing
21:19in order to make
21:21ourselves feel superior.
21:24Fasting is not
21:25about other people.
21:26It is about us
21:27and our relationship
21:29with God
21:30and God alone.
21:33Let us fast, then,
21:35during Lent
21:36and perhaps once
21:37or twice a week
21:38or whenever we feel led
21:39or during times
21:41of great spiritual need
21:42in our lives,
21:44but in private
21:45and making an effort
21:47when we go out
21:48to look our normal,
21:49happy,
21:50Christ-filled souls.
21:52Fasting is not
21:53about being miserable.
21:55It is about
21:55discovering the joy
21:57of a closer relationship
21:59with our Lord.
22:19We praise you, O God,
22:23and we acknowledge you
22:24to be our Lord.
22:27All year,
22:29thou pushest you,
22:31the Father,
22:32ever by and see.
22:35Till all angels cry out, and to God our journey.
22:44To His journey, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
22:52For the name of the people, I serve Him, Lord.
22:59For the name of the Lord, I serve Him, not in glory.
23:08For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
23:17For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
23:29For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
23:35For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
23:59For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
24:28For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
24:54For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
25:19For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
25:32For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
25:46For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
25:54For the name of the Father, I serve Him, not in glory to God.
26:20Let us pray
26:24Grant, O Lord, we beseech you
26:26that the course of this world
26:28may be so peacefully ordered
26:30by your governors
26:31that your church may joyfully serve you
26:34in all godly quietness
26:36through Jesus Christ
26:38our Lord. Amen.
26:45May the Lord bless us
26:47and keep us from all evil
26:48bringing us to
26:50everlasting life.
26:53Amen.