My Family Prayer Book

 2026-05-17 Ascension of Our Lord    Acts 1:1-11 by St Luke Acts opens with a prologue (verses 1–5), which parallels the Gospel’s prologue (Luke 1:1–4), by addressing an otherwise unknown person, Theophilus (either Luke’s benefactor or a shorthand term for any believer, since the name means “lover of God”).  Jesus orders the disciples to stay in Jerusalem “to wait for the promise of the Father,” which is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit they will experience 10 days later, on the day of Pentecost.  “This power will have a purpose, to make these ordinary people into Jesus’ witnesses first to the Samaritans, their kinfolk who have a deep inter-generational hatred for each other, then to the Gentile across the Roman empire and finally to the ends of the Earth. The preaching of the Gospel will include impure spirits being cast out of many, and many who were paralysed or lame were healed by Philip in Samaria (Acts 8:6-7), rabid persecutors like Saul become blind to g...

  The Most Holy Trinity Reading 1: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Pentateuch or the Jewish Torah (the first four being Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). It contains the sermons of Moses and songs of praise but most scholars believe it was written long after the actual events by Levites. Christian theology holds that the Mosaic covenant with Yahweh was superseded by faith in Jesus Christ and the Gospel Psalm 33 Is a song of praise by an unknown psalmist. But it also has a reference to the Holy Spirit. In Genesis, we find that the Father, the Word, and Holy Spirit were all involved in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. Breath in Psalm 33 verse 6, refers to the Holy Spirit. The Word of the Lord was made flesh in Jesus.  Reading 2: Romans 8:14-17 Through the Holy Spirit we enter into a filial relationship as sons of a loving God (Abba, Father) not out of bondage or fear but out of love and grace Gospel Matthew 28:16-20 Ma...