Tuesday 22 April 2025

Today is Tuesday the 22nd of April, in the 1st week of Eastertide. The monks of Glenstal Abbey sing Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Wherever love is true, God is there. If there are people around you, take a moment to look at them. (If you’re alone right now, perhaps reflect back on your last moment with others… ) Look into their faces. Think of the lives they lead, when they get off this bus or this train, their work, their worries, their passions, their loves. God is present here: the God who is love. Present, living, dwelling in every one of these people, and in you. Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. Exsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur: Ne nos mente dividamur, caveamus. Cessent iurgia maligna, cessent lites. Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus. Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est. Simul quoque cum beatis videamus, Glorianter vultum tuum, Christe Deus: Gaudium quod est immensum, atque probum, Saecula per infinita saeculorum. Amen. Where love is true, God is there. Love of Christ has gathered us into one. Let us rejoice in Him and be glad. Let us fear, and let us love the living God. And from a sincere heart let us love one. Where love is true, God is there. At the same time, therefore, are gathered into one: Lest we be divided in mind, let us beware. Let evil impulses stop, let controversy cease. And in the midst of us be Christ our God. Where love is true, God is there. At the same time we see that with the saints also, Thy face in glory, O Christ our God: The joy that is immense and good, Unto the World without end. Amen. Today’s reading is from the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 2:36-41 'Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’ Now when [the crowd] heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. This reading comes from Peter’s long speech to his fellow-Jews on that first Pentecost, after the Resurrection. You may reflect on what he was doing, almost the last time that we saw him, and with the most terrible oaths he insisted that “I do not know the man”. Take a moment to reflect on what happened to him since… The crowds ask, “What should we do?” Does this prayer come naturally to your lips, as you listen? What is your answer? Now listen as this passage is read to you once more. Does anything really touch your heart about it? Acts 2:36-41 'Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.’ Now when [the crowd] heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what should we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.’ And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.’ So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. “That day about three thousand were added”. This was clearly a monumental day for the advancement of the Gospel. Perhaps this is something you would like to pray for in our current world. Or, as we close this time of prayer, what would you most like to say to God about your reflection time? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World without end Amen Thank you for waiting around for this short announcement. We have been listening to our community for the last few years and are now making changes to our app. We will be simplifying your daily prayer journey and hope that these changes will allow for a better service and an even smoother time of prayer. From the 28th April, we will begin to phase in our new app experience over the coming weeks. This should happen automatically, so you don’t need to download a different app. We believe that prayer should be between you and God, therefore we have strong privacy policies in place. However, this unfortunately means that we won’t be able to carry forward any journal entries, favourited prayers or downloads into our new app, as we do not store any data, and therefore can’t migrate it. We are sorry for this and understand it will be difficult. However, we invite those who would like to save any journal entries to do so by copying and pasting the days they would like to move over to a personal digital notebook on their own device. Also, you can note down any favourite prayer days and re-favourite any of them on the new app. You can also get in touch with us through our website or by emailing feedback@pray-as-you-go.org and we can assist you. Although this is a new change, we hope that the app will bring about a fresh season and a steady home for your prayer life, and we have plenty of new content arriving for everyone too. Thank you for your support, and to everyone who has given financially towards this project. If you would like to support us in this new stage, please head over to prayasyougo.org/donate to take a look at our new website and to help grow prayer journeys for a global community. Thank you, and every blessing for Eastertide.