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...

But many of the faithful will be reassured by his conclusion to his address: the Hail Mary. That is to say, the most Catholic of prayers, invoking the Virgin. So said Melanie McDonagh in her Spectator article on the election of Leo XIV. Her comment led me to wonder what might be 'the most Anglican of prayers' for similar high profile situations. I am not, of course, talking about the very unmemorable 'topical prayers' produced, for example, for the Church of England website. Rather, the issue is what might be the Anglican equivalent to the place of the Hail Mary in Roman Catholic piety. Three prayers come to mind. They are prayers that should be routinely encouraged by Anglican churches on social media, in public pronouncements, and at significant national and international moments. Rather than instantly forgettable, newly-devised 'topical prayers', prayers which are rooted in and embody Anglican piety should be consistently provided and their use consistently ...

Almighty and most merciful Father, We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, We have offended against thy holy laws ... The general Confession at Morning and Evening Prayer opens by invoking our "most merciful Father", placing us alongside the Prodigal - ashamed, hungry, journeying back from the far country, utterly reliant on the Father's grace in Christ: And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 'Almighty' does not contradict this. In fact, it assures us that this love and mercy flows eternally from our "most merciful Father". In the words of Article XVII, this "is full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort". We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep ... It is a phrase deeply rooted in the scriptures of the Old and New T...

In some parts of the Anglican Communion, 15th August is marked as 'Saint Mary the Virgin' (TEC BCP 1979), 'The Blessed Virgin Mary' (Common Worship), or 'The Falling Asleep of the Blessed Virgin Mary' (Canadian BCP 1962). In the Church of Ireland, today is merely the Thursday of the Eleventh Week after Trinity. Our equivalent Marian observation is 8th September, celebrating the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a provision also permitted as an alternative to 15th August in Common Worship). This wisely avoids any confusion which may arise, in the Irish context, in light of our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters celebrating the Assumption on this day. Whether we, as Anglicans, are observing this day a Marian observance or not, however, is rather beside the point. We all rejoice that the Blessed Virgin Mary shares in the heavenly glory with "all thy saints departed this life in thy faith and fear", the hope of "all thy whole Church". This is se...

In a 1708 Visitation Charge to his clergy, Bishop George Bull outlined "the principal parts and branches of the Pastoral office", noting five of these. The list begins as follows: "First, Reading Divine Service, or the Prayers of the Church". Reading divine service is placed ahead of preaching and, indeed, administering the Sacraments. Bull continues: First, Reading Divine Service, or the Prayers of the Church. This some may think to be a slight and easy matter, that needs not any advice or directions; but they are very much mistaken. For to the reading of the Prayers aright there is need of great care and caution. The Prayers of the Church must be read audibly, distinctly, and reverently ... the Prayers of the Church are to be read with great reverence and devotion, so as to excite and kindle devotion in the congregation. Thus the Prayers of the Church are to be read, if we would keep up the reputation of them, and render them useful to the people. As laudable Pra...

When he reflects on the closing collect at Matins and Evensong in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), John Shepherd's delight in the prayer is obvious: This is called the prayer of St. Chrysostom, because it is almost literally taken out of a Greek Liturgy, commonly ascribed to him. The Church of England adopted it, and placed it here, not knowing where to find a prayer, or persons able to compose a prayer, more excellent, or better adapted to the conclusion of a daily service. He points to how the Prayer of Saint Chrysostom grounds the efficacy of our prayers in the evangelical promises of Matthew 6:8 and 18:20, thus gathering up all our petitions at Matins and Evensong into these evangelical promises: The preface contains two grounds and reasons for hoping, that our prayers will be accepted: Our present experience of God's grace, which has enabled us unanimously and devoutly to make our common, that is, ...

As we begin to draw to a close these weekly reflections from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we consider the General Thanksgiving. Shepherd begins by reminding us of a name associated with the General Thanksgiving, Robert Sanderson: In this admirable composition, attributed to Bishop Sanderson, we address God, as the father of all mercies, and give him thanks for his goodness to us, and to all men. Sanderson was rightly famous for his 1647 Oxford lectures On Conscience and Human Law . Appointed Bishop of Lincoln at the Restoration (after having taken the Engagement during the Interregnum), he wrote the Preface to the 1662 revision . He was consistently described as 'the judicious Sanderson', bearing witness to his eirenic, moderate, peaceable commitments. Something of this character is evident in the General Thanksgiving, a prayer which rejoices in the abundant goodness and generosity o...

Turning to the Prayer for the Clergy and People in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), John Shepherd addresses "these different orders, of which the community consists", as they are referenced in the prayer. What is perhaps particularly significant about Shepherd's commentary is the pastoral, rather than sacerdotal, emphasis throughout.  Consider his description of the pastoral nature of the episcopal ministry: The Bishops are the guides and governors of the church of Christ. With the highest dignity they have the weightiest charge. By being advanced above all, they become the servants of all. They are entrusted with the power of choosing and ordaining ministers ... their arduous employment is, to promote the peace of the church, and the interests of true religion, by overseeing both the clergy and the people. On them, in their respective dioceses, lies the daily care of all the churches. It is notew...

Loyalty to her king is the boast, and the glory of the Church of England. The spirit of Christian Loyalty breathes in her devotional offices, and has ever been displayed in the lives of her sons. When, in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), John Shepherd opens his discussion of A Prayer for the King's Majesty with the comment above, we might assume that this reflection on the prayer will be a straightforward example of a stereotyped muscular Anglican High Toryism.  Shepherd, however, presents a reading of the prayer much more nuanced than the stereotype. He notes how critics of Anglicanism and the Prayer Book misinterpret A Prayer for the King's Majesty: By the enemies of the established church, this and similar passages in our Liturgy have been misrepresented, as recommending aggrandizement and conquest. He goes on to provide a cautious, reserved reading of the prayer, emphasising that it seeks the "...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the Third Collect at Evensong, for Aid against all Perils. Strangely, and despite noting how the other daily collects are taken from ancient Latin sacramentaries, Shepherd does not refer to this Collect being found in the Gelasian Sacramentary. Instead, in a footnote, he roots it in a prayer from the Euchologion of the Greek Church, which includes the petition "dispel all darkness from our hearts, and vouchsafe to us the sun of righteousness". The quotation in the extract below is also from this prayer: Though their titles are different, the third collects at Morning and Evening Prayer bear a considerable resemblance to each other: and both of them are peculiarly well adapted for the situations they respectively hold. That for the morning, appears to be more immediately directed, against the dangers and temptatio...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the Second Collect at Evening Prayer. As with the second and third collects at Matins, Shepherd notes the antiquity of this collect, "translated, with little change, from a prayer in the sacramentary of Gregory the Great". Again we note how each day at Cranmerian Morning and Evening Prayer we pray in ancient words, offered by churches over centuries. While accepting the similarity with the Second Collect for Peace at Matins, Shepherd points to how the Second Collect at Evensong - "The second for Peace" - is particularly suited to the evening hour, after the day's labour, with the hours of darkness before us, the passing of another day marking the passage of our mortal lives: This collect has the same title with the second for morning prayer; "A collect for peace." And though the petitions ...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the Third Collect at Matins, for Grace. As with the Second Collect at Matins, Shepherd notes its antiquity and provenance: "The substance of this Collect was borrowed from an ancient form in the Eastern church". In other words, to pray this collect day by day at Matins is to place ourselves alongside the great Churches of the East. Shepherd focuses on the divine titles invoked at the opening of the collect, "our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God", reflecting upon these as grounding our daily prayer and reliance upon grace in the nature of God. Yet again, it is a commentary which brings us to recognise the theological richness and depths of words prayed each day. Grace being so essential to our happiness, we address ourselves to the inexhaustible fountain of grace, to him who is more ready to...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to the Second Collect, for Peace, at Mattins. Shepherd provides a pithy introduction to the collect: This Collect, copied with some little variation from a form in the Sacramentary of Gregory, is not more remarkable for its antiquity, than for its piety and comprehensive brevity. Having noted the antiquity of the collect - reminding us how its place in Matins draws us into an ancient Christian prayer - Shepherd then provides a beautiful reflection on the collect's meaning: The title of this prayer is a Collect for peace. Peace is the happiness of the earth, and a type of heaven. All earthly blessings are nothing without it, and in it all heavenly blessings are comprehended. Peace was the first legacy bequeathed to the world, through our blessed Redeemer, and peace was the last bequest of our dying Lord to his disciples. ...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we consider his commentary on the collects for Sundays and feast days. Quoting from the Catholic humanist Cassander, Shepherd notes the antiquity of this form of prayer: "the ancient church first called these prayers Collects, from their being used when the people were come together, and collected in religious assemblies". This emphasis on the antiquity of the collects is significant in light of how Shepherd organised the Sunday and feast day collects into three groups.  There are those - 14 in total - "taken from ancient models, but considerably altered and improved by our Reformers, and the Reviewers of the Liturgy". Amongst these, however, is the replacement for the pre-Reformation Breviary collect for the Annunciation, which had referred to her intercession. It was replaced with a collect from the Gregorian Sa...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we consider the versicles and responses after the second Lord's Prayer at Matins and Evensong. Shepherd begins by identifying the source of these versicles and responses: From the recital of the Lord's Prayer we proceed to the interlocutory petitions, all of which except two are taken out of the psalms.  These versicles, in other words, root the Church's daily prayer in the Psalter. In doing so, they also illuminate other characteristics of the Church's prayer, for - as Shepherd notes - they provide a summary of the Sunday and daily collects: Whether it be entirely the effect of design, or something must be attributed to accident, these versicles are an epitome of the collects that regularly follow. The duty of the congregation is to join in the one, and to listen with attention to the other. Shepherd then proceeds to...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we consider  the second Lord's Prayer at Matins and Evensong: When it was repeated in the beginning of the service, it was more particularly applied for the confirmation of our pardon, and absolution. Here it has respect to the following prayers, which we have reason to presume will be more acceptable on its account. And if on the former occasion we did not offer any petition with suitable earnestness, we have now an opportunity of compensating for the omission, by asking with greater fervency, what was too slightly passed over before. The reasons Shepherd provides for this second offering of the Lord's Prayer are useful reminders of why the practice has value.  The first and second Lord's Prayer at Matins and Evensong have different functions, with this second use framing the offering of prayer and intercession at this s...

This week's extract from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796) considers the Kyries - the Lesser Litany - before the second Lord's Prayer at Matins and Evensong. Shepherd described these Kyries as "a most pathetic address to each person of the Trinity" ('pathetic' was defined by Samuel Johnson's dictionary as "affecting the passions; passionate; moving") and praised the reformers for "their wisdom in retaining this ancient form of supplication, but at the same time translating it into English". He roots their use in the daily office in a canon of the second council of Vaison (539AD) in southern Gaul, adopting the practice from Byzantine usage in the East and in the churches of Italy (which then followed Byzantine practice): The second council of Vaison observes, that in the East, and the provinces of Italy, an useful and agreeable custom prevailed of ...

Continuing with extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we consider another often overlooked short form of words before the prayers at Matins and Evensong: "Let us pray".  This exhortation, which is often repeated in the ancient Liturgies, as well as in our own, may be considered as an invitation to prayer in general, to ardent and intense prayer in particular. In the ancient Liturgies the assistant deacon is directed frequently to call upon the people to pray, to pray earnestly, and to pray still more earnestly [a footnote refers to this exhortation in "Greek and Oriental Liturgies"]. And the same spirit of devotion our church breathes in her Liturgy by the frequent repetition of the words, "Let us pray." They here remind the people, that as they are now solemnly entering upon the grand duty of supplication and prayer, they should not suffer their thoughts t...

Resuming extracts from John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we turn to a quite beautiful section on the 'The Lord be you: and with thy spirit' after the Creed and before the prayers. Shepherd here expounds the deep meaning of this too-often overlooked versicle and response, and its particular significance before the offering of prayer at Matins and Evensong. In the ancient offices the words often denote a transition from one part of the service to another, and in this light they may here be considered. Our consciences absolved from sin by confession, our affections elated with praise and thanksgiving, our understandings enlightened by hearing God's word, and our faith strengthened by a solemn profession, we now enter more particularly upon the business of prayer, and proceed "to ask those things which are requisite and necessary as well for the body, as the soul."  Before we be...

Last week , we reflected on how John Shepherd, in his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), expounded the meaning of the place of the Apostles' Creed at Matins and Evensong. This week, we consider Shepherd's account of the ceremonies accompanying the Creed - that it is said by the congregation, standing, facing east, with the head bowed at the Name of Jesus.  Shepherd begins by noting that there is salvific significance to the congregation joining with the minister in the saying of the Creed: It is the confession of every person present, and therefore every one ought personally to pronounce it with the minister. It should be remembered, that our Creed does not, like our prayers, run in the plural number. The minister does not say in the name of the congregation, "We believe," but he for himself, and every individual for himself, is directed to say, "I believe" ... every man must believe for h...