Monday 21 September 2026 - Given grace

Monday 21 September 2026 Today is Monday the 21st of September, the feast of Saint Matthew, in the 25th week of Ordinary Time. Today, we remember our friend Margaret Rizza, whose recent death we mourn. We are deeply grateful for Margaret’s music and many gifts, and for the support and contribution she gave to Pray As You Go over the years, which brought us such joy. Today, our time of prayer will also end with a piece by Margaret Rizza. Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. We hear our first piece by Margaret to welcome us into prayer: Silent, surrendered, calm and still. Open to the word of God. In all that is going on around you, all the movement, all the noise, can you find a moment of calmness and stillness now? Can you feel God’s presence here and surrender to it, opening your heart to listen to God’s word? Today’s reading is from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. St Paul begins here by begging those who hear his words to live lives worthy of their calling. What is your first response to this invitation? Does it sound encouraging, or challenging, or threatening, or what? This is the same call that St Matthew, whose feast we celebrate today, heard while he was still a despised tax-collector, collaborator with the Roman oppressors. What do you sense that his own first response might have been? Paul lists some of the roles God calls people to, “to build up the body of Christ”: apostles, evangelists (like Matthew), pastors and teachers. How would you describe your own role in building up Christ’s body? Listen, as the passage is read again, for Paul’s proclamation of the different kinds of unity which holds all these gifts and roles together. Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13 I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. As we end this prayer with Margaret Rizza’s Sanctus Dominus, speak, in your own words, in these final moments of prayer, to the God who has called you to this worthy way of life. 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