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Holy Week: Spiritual Resources
Holy Week: Spiritual Resources
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES
You may find it helpful to have a cross of some sort and a candle as a
visual focus. You might like the challenge of making a cross out of
whatever materials you have to hand.
Some people may like to follow these services as they are shared ‘live’
on the Facebook Page for St Peter’s www.facebook.com/stpeterseb and
the times are shown beside each service. If you are not online, then
you may wish to make an act of Spiritual Communion in place of where
the Eucharist would be and it may be helpful, though not essential, to
use these liturgies at the same time as the services are broadcast for a
sense of connection.
If there is more than one of you taking part at home, you may wish to
share in leading the services or reading the Bible Readings. Some of the
services might encourage you to move a bit if you’re able. It’s probably
a good plan to have a flick through before you start a service just to
check what might be needed.
Above all, know and trust that we do not pray alone or in spiritual
isolation. We join our prayers with Christians around the world and
with the whole company of Heaven as we worship and adore God.
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Palm Sunday
You will need: a Cross, a Bible and the Spiritual Communion sheet.
This will be live streamed on facebook.com/stpeterseb at 9.30am
You may also wish to have a candle lit as a sign of Christ’s presence with you.
Introduction
‘Procession’
Let us go forth in our hearts, praising Jesus our Messiah.
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Hymn
All glory, laud, and honour …
Collect
Let us pray for a closer union with Christ in his suffering and in his
glory.
Silence is kept.
Reading
Read: Philippians 2.5-11
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Prayers of Intercession
Let us pray.
For those who make laws, interpret them, and administer them,
that our common life may be ordered in justice and mercy,
let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.
For those who have the courage and honesty to work openly for
justice and peace,
let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.
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For those who are tempted to give up the way of the cross,
let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
The Eucharist will be celebrated through facebook, but those not online you
may prefer to continue on the Spiritual Communion Sheet at The Lord’s
Prayer
Prayer after Communion
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Readings for Prayer During Holy Week
Monday Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
Prayer During the Day to be said, using the liturgy on page 10,
drawing from the readings set below.
Please find a candle, a quiet space, and find the correct readings in your
Bible before we begin.
Monday
Psalm 36
John 12.1-11
Tuesday
Psalm 71
John 12. 20-36
Wednesday
Psalm 70
John 13.21-36
Thursday
Psalm 116
Hebrews 10. 1-10
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Order for Prayer During the Day
Preparation
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
My heart tells of your word, ‘Seek my face.’
Your face, Lord, will I seek.
Praise
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as the Lord;
all creation worships you,
the Father everlasting.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven,
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Psalm
Use the Psalm set for the day on Page 7 ending with:
Scripture Reading
Use the Scripture reading set for the day on page 7, ending with:
Jesus said, I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever.
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Prayers
Prayers are said for the church, the world, our communities, our families,
those who suffer, and those who have passed away.
The Conclusion
May God who made both heaven and earth bless us.
Amen.
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Maundy Thursday Eucharist
You will need: a Bible and the Spiritual Communion sheet.
You may also wish to have a candle or other moveable source of light lit as
you begin. If it’s possible, think about whether there’s another room or part of
the house that you can pray in for part of this service.
It is traditional for this service to take place in the evening we will livestream
this at 6pm on www.facebook.com/stpeterseb.
Our Lord Jesus Christ says: ‘If you love me, keep my commandments.’
‘Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.’ ‘Let us confess to almighty
God our sins against his love, and ask him to cleanse us.
Against you only have we sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
Christ, have mercy.
Purge us from our sin and we shall be clean; wash us and we shall be
whiter than snow.
Lord, have mercy.
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Collect
Let us pray that we may love one another as Christ has loved us.
First Reading
Read: 1 Corinthians 11.23-26.
Gospel Reading
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
Love one another as I have loved you.
Praise to you, O Christ, King of eternal glory.
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Prayers
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Maundy Thursday Vigil
Ordinarily at this point, the Blessed Sacrament would be moved to the Altar
of Repose and the Church stripped of its adornments ready for Good Friday.
You may wish to light a candle we will livestream this at 8pm on
www.facebook.com/stpeterseb.
We simply to keep a period of silence as we watch and wait with Our Lord in
the Garden of Gethsemane.The candle signifying his presence.
When the disciples had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of
Olives. Jesus prayed to the Father, ‘If it is possible, take this cup of
suffering from me.’ He said to his disciples, ‘How is it that you were not
able to keep watch with me for one hour? The hour has come for the
Son of Man to be handed over to the power of sinners.’
We end in silence.
You may wish to depart to bed at this point but please ensure that the
candle is extinguished.
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Good Friday: 3 o’clock at the Cross.
You will need: a Bible, a Cross.You may also wish to have a candle lit at the
beginning.This is a solemn service of the last hour. We come to be with Jesus
in his hour of need, to remember his passion and death upon the cross and
to reflect on the deep themes that the cross evokes in us.Today we use the
three last words of Christ as recorded in John’s Gospel as the focus for our
reflection and prayer.
Those who are online may join The Rector for this service at 3pm
www.facebook.com/stpeterseb
Introduction
Almighty Father,
look with mercy on this your family
for which our Lord Jesus Christ was content to be betrayed
and given up into the hands of sinners
and to suffer death upon the cross;
who is alive and glorified with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Silence is kept.
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“Here is your son”
So we come to the first of our words from the cross, words spoken by
Jesus to Mary his mother and the beloved disciple, John.
Reflection
Consider the human heart of Jesus, shown in his care for his mother
and the beloved disciple John. These two have traveled with him all the
way and now they find themselves at the foot of the cross. Grief has
brought them together and now Jesus asks them to care for each other.
In the face of his own death, Jesus is creating new bonds of family and
interdependence. Not based on ties of blood and family, but upon
choice. A common endeavour and strong sense of belonging can be like
a family, creating a basic block for repairing communities. This
intentional community of love to which we belong, remains steadfast
even when we are separated from one another. Because it is formed in
the bond of love given right there from upon the cross.
Silence: We take into the silence: our own grief and sense of loss, our
aloneness.We surround these senses with the picture of our church family,
the Christians across the world with whom we are bonded through our
baptism.
Be strong, let your heart take courage all who wait for the Lord
Lord Jesus, son of the living God, have mercy upon us.
Holy God,
Holy and Strong,
Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.
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“I am thirsty”
So we come to the second word from the cross, Jesus cries out in pain
and need.
Reflection
The word from the cross speaks of real human need, the most basic
need of all. In the heat of the sun and wracked by pain, Jesus cries out ‘I
thirst’, I am thirsty, give me drink. He who is the living water, bubbling
up for others to fi nd life, he is thirsty - and these words, express that
need. Jesus lived a life of generous giving, he poured himself out for
others. But he was not afraid to name and know his own real needs. He
was not afraid to ask for help. In this cry from the cross ‘I am thirsty’,
we see his willingness to receive, and to be needy. In a world full of
competence, which prizes strength and self-reliance, these words can
encourage us to acknowledge our own incompetence and vulnerability,
our own real needs. It takes a certain level of humility to receive from
others; and we don’t fi nd it easy, yet it’s important to learn how to give
and receive with good grace.
Silence: We take into the silence: our own dryness and thirst, our own
deepest needs, an openness to receive. Our shared vulnerability with the who
of humanity.
Be strong, let your heart take courage all who wait for the Lord
Lord Jesus, son of the living God, have mercy upon us.
Holy God,
Holy and Strong,
Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us.
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“It is finished”
In our fi nal word from the cross, Jesus knows that the end is near and
calls out.
Reflection
The last word from the cross in St John’s Gospel: ‘It is fi nished’. The
horror is over, it is accomplished, the work is done. In the eyes of the
world, this is the moment of absolute failure; but in the purposes of
God, this is the consummation of an act of unconditional love for the
world. These words don’t imply a defeated sense of relief that Jesus’
suffering is over, his life is ending: the Greek word tetelestai is a word
with a strong, triumphant rung, ‘It is accomplished.’ ‘It is complete.’
For Jesus there is recognition in the words ‘It is finished’ that death
comes as the completion of a life lived to the full, offered for others.
And as we understand this more fully, perhaps it even helps us to face
our own death without fear. We may even ultimately see death as a
friend, leading us home: ‘and thou most gentle death, waiting to hush
our latest breath, thou leanest home the child of God, and Christ
himself that way has trod’ (St. Francis, Canticle of the Sun)
Silence: We take into the silence: our own sense of mortality, our own
accomplishments, an openness to what lies beyond our horizon.
Be strong, let your heart take courage all who wait for the Lord
Lord Jesus, son of the living God, have mercy upon us.
Holy God,
Holy and Strong,
Holy and Immortal, have mercy upon us
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The Proclamation of the Cross
You may like to look at a picture of, or hold a physical cross in your hand.
This is the wood of the cross, on which hung the Saviour of the world.
Come, let us worship.
O Saviour of the world, who by your cross and precious blood have
redeemed us, save us and help us, we humbly pray.
We end in silence.
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Holy Saturday
Easter Vigil from darkness into light.
You will need: a Bible, a candle, a Cross, maybe a bell, rattle or other
percussion instrument (improvised or otherwise!)
The customary time for this service is after sunset (though early risers may
prefer to start at dawn on Easter Day instead).
We will livestream this service at 8pm on www.facebook.com/stpeterseb
You may wish to work in low light to begin with, e.g. by a lamp rather than
the main ceiling light.
Gathering
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this most holy night, when our
Lord Jesus Christ passed from death to life, the Church invites her
children throughout the world to come together in vigil and prayer.
This is the Passover of the Lord. We remember his death and
resurrection by hearing his word and celebrating his mysteries,
confident that we shall share his victory over death and live with him
for ever in God.
Light the candle.The Rector will prepare the Paschal Candle on Livestream.
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Exsultet
we say or sing
Vigil
As we await the risen Christ, let us hear the record of God’s saving
deeds in history, recalling how he saved his people in ages past and in
the fullness of time sent his Son to be our Redeemer; and let us pray
that through this Easter celebration God may bring to perfection in
each of us the saving work he has begun.
First Reading
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Lord God our redeemer,
who heard the cry of your people
and sent your servant Moses to lead them out of slavery:
free us from the tyranny of sin and death
and, by the leading of your Spirit,
bring us to our promised land; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Easter Acclamation
(Whispered)
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
(Louder)
Alleluia. Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia.
(Louder still)
Alleluia. Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
You can celebrate! Ring bells, and if in low light, turn the lights back on.
We say together
Gloria in Excelsis
Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
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have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father.
Amen
Collect
God of glory, by the raising of your Son
you have broken the chains of death and hell:
fill your Church with faith and hope;
for a new day has dawned and the way to life stands open
in our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Gospel Reading
Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one;
I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.
Alleluia!
Almighty God,
we thank you for our fellowship in the household of faith with all who
have been baptised in your name. Keep us faithful to our baptism, and
so make us ready for that day when the whole creation shall be made
perfect in your son, our saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen
May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith, that you may be rooted
and grounded in love and bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.
Amen.
The Dismissal
The God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus
Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, make you perfect in every
good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in
his sight.
And the blessing of God Almighty, + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be upon us and with us this day and always. Amen
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Easter Day
The service for Easter Day will be a Eucharist.The service will begin with the
liturgy below and you may need a candle and a bible.The Eucharist will be
streamed on Facebook both at 6am and again at 9.30am on Easter morning
those not online may use their Spiritual Communion.
This is the day when our Lord Jesus Christ passed from death to life.
Throughout the world Christians celebrate the awesome power of
God. As we hear his word and proclaim all that God has done, we can
be confident that we shall share his victory over death and live with
him for ever.
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Collect
Let us pray that we may walk the risen life of Christ in glory.
Prayers
And the Blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain with you always Amen
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Times that we will be at prayer during Holy Week
Monday Tuesday
Midday Prayer at 12 Midday Prayer at 12
Breathing Space at 6 Compline at 8
Easter Sunday
Sunrise Mass at 6
Sunday Mass at 9.30
Evening Prayer with Benediction at 4
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