Day 1, Thy Kingdom Come
Dear People of Saint John’s,
Today is the Feast of the Ascension. In our Palm Sunday hymn, “Ride on, ride on in majesty,” we sing “Bow thy dear head to cross and pain, then take, O God, thy power and reign.” Today we celebrate Jesus’ Ascension to the right hand of God, where he takes his power to reign. We who follow him experience this power in our lives. This is a great day to celebrate: Alleluia!
Today is the first day of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s annual intercessory prayer initiative, which begins on Ascension and continues to the Feast of Pentecost. In this first video, he urges us to choose 5 people who we really care about and pray that they will hear the invitation of Christ to know his love and follow him. Watch it here. I have chosen my 5; I wonder who you will choose to renew the face of the earth.
If you have a few more minutes, you might enjoy this 8-minute C.S. Lewis YouTube in which Lewis discusses the efficacy of intercessory prayer. He quotes Blaise Pascal as saying, “God instituted prayer in order to allow his creatures the dignity of causality.” It can be found here.
With every blessing,
Mtr. Judith
