The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy
- Responsorial Psalm
- The gospel for the day
(a useful commentary on the reading
here) - Some optional questions for reflection
- Prayers of Intercession
- Cluster Prayer
- The gospel of the week ahead
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, I lift up my soul to you, O Lord.
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, I lift up my soul to you, O Lord.
Lord, make me know your ways
Lord, teach me your paths
Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:
For you are God my Saviour.
The Lord is good and upright
He shows the path to those who stray
He guides the humble in the right path;
He teaches his way to the poor.
His ways are faithfulness and love
For those who keep his covenant and will
The Lord’s friendship is for those who revere him;
To them he reveals his covenant.
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36 Your liberation is near at hand.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars;
on earth nations in agony,
bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves;
men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world,
for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
When these things begin to take place, stand erect,
hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened
with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life,
and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap.
For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth.
Stay awake,
praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen,
and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’
This the gospel of the Lord
Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.
Having read the gospel, you might want simply to reflect yourself on what you have read and how that might flow into your coming week. Some people have found it very helpful to meet with others and share their thoughts.
If you are interested in joining a small group to share your thoughts and feelings about God's Word from any of the
resources you have watched please email us. cluster.alpha@outlook.com
Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)
We start on another chapter of our faith journey.
Jesus invited lots of people in the gospels: sometimes just to listen to what he had to say; sometimes he invited himself to their homes.
Who will we invite to be part of our journey this year -
someone who will share fresh insights with us on our road to Emmaus perhaps.
- What are you doing at 7 pm this Monday evening?
Join our Advent session on Zoom.
- What have been the strengths of your prayer life?
What habit of prayer could you strengthen during this Advent season?
Prayers of Intercession
In these uncertain times, in a pandemic and on the brink of climate emergency
we ask that the spirit of God will inspire the leaders and teachers in our faith communities
to be people of vision, joy and hope.
May the whole faith community draw deeply from the wells of salvation
to be beacons of hope and love in our world.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For our brothers and sisters in Bethlehem ,
that the coming of the Christ child into an occupied country 2000 years ago
will give them hope and courage that God is living amongst them
as they strive to provide for their families.
We pray that violence and oppression will cease
and all people of the Holy Land will live in confidence and peace.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
As winter deepens, we bring before our heavenly Father
those making difficult and dangerous journeys to places of safety;
that they would encounter people of compassion
and encounter in their hearts Jesus, Mary and Joseph
who also fled danger as refugees.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We pray for our own neighbours, colleagues, friends and families
here in Scotland and abroad,
that they be inspired to hope and find security in the love of God,
by the presence of people of faith around them.
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For those who are unwell and all those who feel vulnerable,
that the loving kindness of God and their friends, family and faith communities
will bring them peace, healing and freedom from fear,
we remember those named in the cluster newsletter and the Prayer Foundation
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We bring before our heavenly Father all those who have died,
those who have no one to pray for them as well as those we remember in love,
in particular..
and those whose anniversaries occur at this time
Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.
