MORNING EXAMEN in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Morning Adoration/Meditation by the courtesy of MBT
We place ourselves in the healing hands of God. We pray for unity within ourselves, with others. We are mindful of being in communion with many people around the world who are praying together, especially this week, for the greater visible unity of Christ’s Church.
As we prepare to begin the day, the new week, we thank God for this moment and for the new opportunities for grace, especially during this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
DESIRE
What desires do I have for today and for this week as I think of the unity of Christ’s Church?
FEELINGS
Let us now try to access our feelings. What are they right now as I think about the unity of all Christians? Do you I feel confident? Hopeful? Upset? Confused? Uncertain? Anxious? Anything else…? Pick one feeling and consider it in the loving presence of God.
FUTURE (LOOKING AHEAD)
God knows all our feelings well. As we begin today and this week, we go forth as God made us, with our gifts and talents. This is our identity in God. With this in mind, do we anticipate any challenges today? What are my hopes for the whole Christian Church?
COLLOQUY
Now let us take our desires, feelings, challenges, especially our need for forgiveness and healing -- and give them all to God. What would be your one-sentence to God right now in this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity? Say it right now….
BIBLICAL TEXT FOR 2018
Exodus 15:1-21
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power— your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’ You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendour, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples heard, they trembled; pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; trembling seized the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away. Terror and dread fell upon them; by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone until your people, O Lord, passed by, until the people whom you acquired passed by. You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O Lord, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. The Lord will reign for ever and ever”.
When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.
Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea”.
Reposition of the Blessed Sacrament Taize Chant: Ubi Caritas Let us pray together: Reader (R) 1: God of the Exodus, you led your people through the waters of the Red Sea and redeemed them. Be with us now and free us from all forms of slavery and from everything that obscures human dignity. All:Lay your hands on us, O Lord, that we may live. R2: God of abundance, in your goodness you provide for all our needs. Be with us now, help us to rise above selfishness and greed and give us the courage to be agents of justice in the world. All: Lay your hands on us, O Lord, that we may live. R3: God of love, you created us in your image and have redeemed us in Christ. Be with us now, empower us to love our neighbour and to welcome the stranger. All: Lay your hands on us, O Lord, that we may live. R4: God of peace, you remain faithful to your covenant with us even when we wander from you, and in Christ you have reconciled us to yourself. Be with us now and put a new spirit and a new heart within us that we may reject violence and instead be servants of your peace. All: Lay your hands on us, O Lord, that we may live. R5: God, One in Three Persons, in Christ you have made us one with you and with one another. Be with us now and by the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit, free us from the self-centredness, arrogance and fear that prevent us from striving towards the full visible unity of your Church. All: Lay your hands on us, O Lord, that we may live. Let us join our hands, bound not by chains but by the love of Christ that has been poured into our hearts, and pray to the Father in the words that Jesus taught us. Our Father…