September Taize: New Beginnings

Welcome! As we gather for prayer today, the celebration of Labor Day just happened. There is dignity to our work, not just physical work, but also our work for peace and justice in order to further God’s Kingdom on earth.

Unofficially, Labor Day marks the end of summer and the beginning of Fall. The new school year has begun for some; or will begin shortly for others.

The new beginning is not simply a repetition of what happened a year ago. We may engage in some similar activities, but we do so as new people, with new awarenesses.

Let’s pray for God’s blessings and guidance on those new beginnings.

Download a copy of the program for our next service here: Sept 5 2024 Taizé Worship Aid.

All the videos of our Taize prayer services are available here.

Chimes

Chant 5x: Come and pray in us, Holy Spirit

Reading: Isaiah 32:15-18
Until the spirit from on high is poured out on us.
And the wilderness becomes a garden land and the garden land seems as common as forest.
Then judgment will dwell in the wilderness and justice abide in the garden land.
The work of justice will be peace; the effect of justice, calm and security forever. My people will live in peaceful country, in secure dwellings and quiet resting places.

Chant: Peace on earth; refrain by all; verses by cantors

Reading: The Church’s Teaching on Human Work
The Church is concerned with the work of men and women because, simply stated, work is an essential component of human dignity. It is through work that humans develop an understanding of their purpose in life and of where they stand in relation to other people and to God. Good work helps to make us fully human and fully alive.

Moreover, we work not for ourselves alone but to contribute to the greater social economy. We are to see ourselves as “co-workers” with God.

It is important to consider that the Judeo-Christian tradition has elevated the value of human labor. This stands in stark contrast to the ancient Greeks, for example, for whom manual labor was considered degrading for a free man and was relegated to slaves. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, human beings act as co-workers with God.

Peter Maurin wrote:
“God is our creator. God makes us in his image and likeness. Therefore, we are creators, he gave us a garden to till and cultivate. We become co-creators by our responsible acts, whether in bringing forth children, or producing food, furniture or clothing. The joy of creativeness should be ours.”

In summary, work is necessary for human beings for both objective and subjective reasons. Objectively work supplies the means for the survival of the human race, allowing people to support themselves with the basic necessities and to contribute to the greater community. Subjectively, work empowers human beings to recognize their role as co-workers with almighty God in the ongoing creation of the world and to realize their full humanity, which is reflected in the image and likeness of God.

Now we sit in silence for a few minutes

Petitions
May the leaders of the Church and all who guide us in the way of faith seek to promote the basic rights of dignity and respect as the foundation for a sure and lasting peace in our world, we pray:

May all elected officials and those entrusted with the duty to watch over people exercise their role with humility as they seek to unite together in friendship the hands of those who have lived as enemies, we pray:

May the poor and the oppressed, and all those who feel as if their voice is not heard, be recognized as valuable members of society with the right to participate fully in our common life, we pray:

May the Lord continue to call holy men and women to exercise prophetic roles of calling our local, national, and global communities to more fully embody the peace of God’s kingdom, we pray:

Please add other prayers as you light a votive candle on the altar.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon: where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Chant 5x: Come and fill our hearts with your peace.

Closing Prayer
O God, who through human labor never cease to perfect and govern the vast work of creation, listen to the supplications of your people and grant that all men and women may find work that befits their dignity, joins them more closely to one another and enables them to serve their neighbor. We pray through Christ our Lord.
Closing Song: Spirit Blowing through Creation by Marty Haugen

Thank you for coming. Please join us again on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. central time.

Music in this Worship Aid was reprinted with permission under onelicense.net, #A-725830

ID 63455798 | New Beginnings © Charlieaja | Dreamstime.com

What is Taizé?

Taizé prayer is practiced throughout the world. It is a meditative candle-lit form of community prayer that includes simple chants sung repeatedly, silence and prayers of praise and intercession. In prayer, we enter the silence, stilling the mind, opening the heart, surrendering to the action of the Spirit ever molding us into the image of Christ. The candles used in the service symbolize the presence of the risen Christ, who conquered darkness and sin and offers new life to all humankind.

From the depths of the human condition, a secret aspiration rises up. Today many are thirsting for the essential reality: an inner life, signs of the Invisible. Nothing is more conducive to communion with the living God than meditative common prayer. When the mystery of God becomes tangible through the simple beauty of symbols, when it is not smothered by too many words, then a common prayer awakens us to heaven’s joy on earth.

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