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Intercessions for Trinity Sunday Year C: 26 May 2013

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The Collect

Almighty and everlasting God, you have given us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the divine  majesty to worship the Unity: keep us steadfast in this faith, that we may evermore be defended from all adversities; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

¶ The Liturgy of the Word

First Reading: Proverbs 8.1-4,22-31

Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?  On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the  entrance of the portals she cries out: ‘To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.  The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth – when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world’s first bits of soil. When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,  when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.

Psalm 8

O Lord our governor, * how glorious is your name in all the world!
Your majesty above the heavens is praised * out of the mouths of babes at the breast.
You have founded a stronghold against your foes, * that you might still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, * the moon and the stars that you have ordained,
What are mortals, that you should be mindful of them; * mere human beings, that you should seek them out?
You have made them little lower than the angels *and crown them with glory and honour.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands *and put all things under their feet,
All sheep and oxen, *even the wild beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea *and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.
O Lord our governor, *how glorious is your name in all the world!
We bless you, master of the heavens, for the wonderful order which enfolds this world; grant that your whole creation
may find fulfilment in the Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Second Reading: Romans 5.1-5

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

 

Gospel Reading: John 16.12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.’


You might like to read the meditation I put together on Andrei Rublev’s icon for Trinity Sunday 2011.

I don’t usually include jokes in the intercessions, but there is a serious side to the following YouTube extract: proceed with great caution in any allusion to the doctrine of the Trinity.

Here St Patrick only gets it right when he refers to the Trinity as a mystery and more or less leaves it at that. I propose we do the same in the intercessions.


Prayers of Intercession

Lord, you who are three Persons yet one God,  Father, Son and Holy Spirit, living and reigning in the perfect unity of love: hold us firm in this faith, that we may know you in all your facets and rejoice in your eternal glory,  now and for ever.

¶The Church of Christ

Today we pray for the Church, not as a physical entity but as the manifestation of God’s love in the world. Christ has no body now but ours. It is our eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world, our feet with which he walks to do good, and our hands with which he blesses all the world. Lord, pour down upon us your grace as together we strive to serve you as you deserve. Enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth, and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love, that we may truly worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Holy Triune God, ever one and sacred three: in your mercy hear our prayer

¶Creation, human society, the Sovereign and those in authority

Lord God beyond us, with wide-embracing love your Spirit changes, sustains, dissolves, creates and rears. Though Earth and moon were gone, and suns and universes ceased to be,
every existence would exist in you. God The Father, you send God the Son; God the Son sends God the Spirit. And the circle of your creation outflows into us as it draws us into you. We celebrate the mystery and joy at the heart of creation. Holy God beyond us, we celebrate the mystery and joy which is found even in us.

Holy Triune God, ever one and sacred three: in your mercy hear our prayer

¶The local community

Lord God beside us, who knows of every sparrow that falls to the ground,  you are with us in all that we undertake. You walk with us along the path of our life and have promised never to leave us comfortless. We ask you to bless those who are unaware of your presence, or who have chosen to ignore you. We ask you to bless the lonely and the sad, and those unable to find comfort in sharing their joys and sorrows with you.

Holy Triune God, ever one and sacred three: in your mercy hear our prayer

¶Those who suffer

Lord God within us, fill our lives and all those who suffer in body or in spirit with your peace and your strength.  May your spirit hover over the broken, lost, and grieving, and may they find your love in their neighbours’ responses to them. Merciful God, thinking particularly of Oklahoma,  hear our cry for mercy in the wake of wind and water. Reveal your presence to the victims in the midst of their suffering. Help them to trust in your promises of hope and life so that desperation and grief will not overcome them.

Holy Triune God, ever one and sacred three: in your mercy hear our prayer

¶The communion of saints

Lord, we rejoice that you are our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer. You leave no room for victory by Death, nor atom that his might could render void. As you are Being and Breath, you have given us life eternal. We pray for those that have gone before us to that place where we shall be united with you.

Holy Triune God, ever one and sacred three: in your mercy hear our prayer

 


You may recognise several elements in these prayers, including Emily Bronte’s splendid poem ‘No Coward Soul Is Mine‘, which seemed in keeping with the theme of the day.

9 comments on this post:

UKViewer said...
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Thanks Laura

23 May 2013 05:53
Lay Anglicana said...
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With great pleasure 🙂

24 May 2013 07:32
Annette said...
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Many thanks. We will be praying your prayers in church on Sunday

24 May 2013 11:35
Tim said...
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Awesome! Thank you for this inspiration for the prayers of the people

Lay Anglicana said...
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Thank-you so much Tim. It is really good to know you find them helpful. 🙂

Tim said...
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We scheduled an Intercessions training session for this morning and only I and the Priest turned up!!! We recognized that Saturday morning was probably not the most suitable time so we re-arranged for after communion 2nd June. (captive audience??) In the mean time my priest and I talked about the prayers of the faithful and we actually agree. I did get thrown in the deep end as the current rota ended last Sunday. I normally prepare three days before and then update!! Thank you again for relieving my panic and also for such beautifully constructed prayers.

25 May 2013 15:40
25 May 2013 13:24
25 May 2013 11:43
Jean said...
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Thank you very much for your suggestion for prayers for Trinity Sunday. Well well thought out. Jean

Lay Anglicana said...
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Thank-you so very much Jean 🙂

25 May 2013 21:53
25 May 2013 19:34
Michelle said...
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I love your prayers. Thank you. x

27 May 2013 16:48

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