laudable Practice

Today's post follows a conversation with someone who has experienced a sense of unease in their home at night. There has been nothing dramatic about it, but they have known an unease associated with nights that they cannot easily explain. It is not (yet) at the level that one would consult with a cleric responsible for the ministry of deliverance. The situation is presently at the stage of prayer and pastoral conversation.  The matter has, however, also prompted me to think about how BCP daily prayer provides a significant and potent context for reflecting upon and addressing such matters.  We begin with Morning Prayer. In the Te Deum, we are reminded that, in the words of Elisha, "they that be with us are more than they that be with them": To thee all Angels cry aloud : the heavens, and all the powers therein. To thee Cherubin and Seraphin : continually do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of Sabaoth; Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty : of thy glory. The glorious c...

Last week the news headlines here in the UK were profoundly grim. A child serial killer was found guilty and sentenced to whole-life imprisonment. The appalling suffering of the families whose little children had been cruelly murdered was reported in terms which left most of us deeply moved. The sense of incomprehension in the face of evil could also be detected in the reporting. Many of us will, quite naturally, have found praying for such dark, tragic circumstances very difficult. I certainly found it futile to rely on my own resources, my own thoughts, my own words. What was I to pray for? What could be said?  On Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday, however, the Litany was said. And it was in the Litany, once again , that I found the words that gave meaning and shape to my attempts to pray for a dark, tragic situation. From all evil and mischief ... from the craft and assaults of the devil; from thy wrath, and from everlasting damnation, Good Lord, deliver us. Evil. Devil. Wrath. Dam...