laudable Practice

Having expounded the theological and spiritual significance of the post-Communion portion of the 1662 rite, John Shepherd, his A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Book of Common Prayer, Volume II (1801), considers the first aspect of the post-Communion, the Lord's Prayer: The Post-communion, like the Ante-communion, begins with the Lord's Prayer, and we can at no time repeat this form more properly, or more effectually, than when we have just commemorated the meritorious sufferings and death of its divine Author.  It is a short but very insightful and powerful comment. That the very first words uttered in prayer by communicants, after receiving the holy Sacrament, are 'Our Father', profoundly embodies the grace given to us in the Supper of the Lord. This significantly echoes the opening words of the Prayer of Consecration:  Almighty God, our heavenly Father, who of thy tender mercy ... As the Prayer of Consecration sets before us the Lord's saving Passion a...

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 ...

One of the characteristics of what we might term Cranmerian orders for the Holy Communion is that the rite begins with the Lord's Prayer. Even some 20th century forms influenced by Anglo-Catholic thought - PECUSA 1928, England as Proposed in 1928, and Canada 1962 - begin with the Lord's Prayer. It is a feature which later 20th century liturgical revisers banished without hesitation, regarding it is an irrational use of the Lord's Prayer, distracting from our gathering for the Eucharist. By contrast, John Shepherd - in his 'The Order for the Administration of the Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion' in  A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Book of Common Prayer, Volume II (1801) - demonstrates how this placing of the Lord's Prayer at the outset of the Communion Office is both fitting and deeply resonant:  We begin this office with the Lord's Prayer; which, as many of the Fathers testify, the primitive Church always used in the celebration of the Euch...

Each week of Lent, laudable Practice is presenting words from Jeremy Taylor reflecting on fundamental practices shared by the Christian traditions. Today's practice is private prayer. Taylor here echoes the deeply patristic tradition of understanding the Lord's Prayer both as the Dominical prayer for all Christians and the form to guide all our prayer.  This extract begins by expounding the significance of private prayer to the Christian life, quoting patristic witnesses to this effect. Prayer here is a chief means of sanctification, making us a shrine of the Triune God. The commentary on the petitions of the Lord's Prayer demonstrates how this Prayer is "mysterious, and, like the treasures of the Spirit, full of wisdom and latent senses", a nourishing well from which we to drink deeply, as it guides and shapes our prayers.  The extract then concludes with Taylor addressing three practical aspects of prayer: when we are to pray, distractions in prayer, and postur...

Having considered the reflections on the Exhortation, Confession, and Absolution at Mattins and Evensong in John Shepherd's A Critical and Practical Elucidation of the Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church of England (1796), we now turn to the first Lord's Prayer in the daily office. Shepherd captures how the twice daily use of the Lord's Prayer following the confession and absolution has an "endearing sense". In a footnote accompanying this extract, he describes the title 'Our Father' as "this endearing appellation". It reminds us that the saying of the Lord's Prayer at this point is a quietly beautiful practice, comforting us that our fundamental identity is as children of God in Christ: Whatever may have been the reason for prefixing the Confession, Absolution, &c., to the Lord's Prayer, the propriety of the addition cannot be disputed. Till we had confessed, and repented of our sins, we could not, in the endearing sense, in w...

Richard Warner in his   The Sermon on the mount; in five discourses  (1840) - five sermons preached "on several successive Sunday afternoons" - offers a short catechesis on the Lord's Prayer, "that simple but sublime, that short but comprehensive, form of supplication adapted, and intended, for the use of all Christians", recognising its significance as a mainstay of popular Christian and Prayer Book piety and devotion: Commencing with an ejaculation to "the high and lofty one, that inhabiteth eternity" - the author and preserver of universal being -under the endearing name of "Our Father" - a name which embraces every idea of love; compassion; kindness; protection; long-suffering and forgiveness - this holy form of supplication goes on to combine and recognize, in a few sentences, all our duties to God and man - "Hallowed be thy Name: thy Kingdom come: thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven" - is a paragraph, which includes o...