Praying is for people with time
During our last discernment workshop we were encouraged to start doing the daily office which is a cycle of daily prayer that is the discipline of many christian orders today. The franciscans (SSF) use a book called ‘Celebrating Common Prayer’ which is based on the Anglican Prayer Book.
Technically there are nine times of the day to pray but for those of us who work, twice or three times a day is the most practical. Morning prayer, evening prayer and night prayer. I’ve decided to just attempt morning and night prayer. A couple of years ago I kept this going for six months and walked down to St Philips to join the SSF Brothers. But it made me late for work and I found I was not getting my chores done at home after work.
My new regime is to do my morning prayer in the middle of getting ready for work. So far it has been a bit rushed but I’ve managed to still meet my obligations with regards to getting everyone ready and out of the house on time.
At night I am doing it after I’ve done the housework but before I sit down to relax and read (except for tonight because I’m blogging – but I’ll do it in a minute).
I’ve also decided to drop the lectionary and just use the one year cycle in the prayer book – it’s one less book to juggle. I can start getting more technical later. Tommorrow I’ll post some advice that James sent me for getting started doing daily prayer. And then maybe on the weekend I’ll write more about what I get from doing the office (no I don’t just do it to punish myself).
Posted: July 6th, 2006 under Big Questions, Formation.
Comments: 3
Comments
Comment from Nathan
Time: 8/7/2006, 12:58 pm
Hey Matt. Just to get on my latest soap box… I think it is important that we as ‘church’ move from thinking of prayer as being only those occasions when one pauses to recite a ritualised set of ‘prayers’ and see prayer as being expressed through our Being-in-the-world in solidarity with those who are ‘recipients of our prayer’; the sick, the lonely, the marginalised, the poor, the hungry, those affected by war and dictatorships etc. Prayer happens not only when one pauses for ‘offices’ and ‘liturgies’ pray happens when we live out our Baptismal promises and care for the least among us. Prayer is, or should be, an active rather than passive verb. Prayer that remains in the confines of prayer books and liturgies is not prayer… true prayer is incarnational, it is prayer that dwells in us and in the way we engage in everyday activities of Being in the World. So our aim should not be 3, 6, or 9 times a day of prayer… our aim should be to pray without ceasing. We should be come so infused with ‘prayer’ that we pray always.
Pax
Nathan.
Comment from James the cat
Time: 13/7/2006, 10:51 am
What Nathan says is true.
However, constant prayer without ceasing need nurture, and discipline. We learn to run by first crawling, then standing, then small steps – and there is no way to avoid this stage. In the same way, constant prayer as acts of solidarity with the poor only occurs after we have developed the habit of prayer during a protected and undistracted time, when we can pray the office day in and day out. Service is part of our prayer – I agree, a vital part of our prayer – but certainly not an alternative to liturgical prayer. Church ministers must watch out, lest their busy pastoral duties encroach on their formal prayer time.
Comment from James the cat
Time: 7/7/2006, 11:35 am
The SSF office book came before celebrating common prayer. CCP is the Church of England daily office book, and it is a modified verision of the book that the Franciscans produced.