Message from Pastor Mori
Dear RFUMC Family
We must always remember, therefore, what the Prophet says: Serve the Lord with fear, and again, Sing praise wisely; and In the presence of the angles I will sing to you.
Let us consider then bow we ought to behave in the presence of God and his angels and let us stand to sing the psalm in such a way that our minds are in harmony with our voices.
The Rule of St. Benedict
Have you ever heard about St Benedict? St. Benedict of Nursia (c. 480- c. 550) is a monk who may have been the first person to use the written liturgy to pray. He is considered the father of Western monasticism and wrote the famous liturgical prayer called the "the Work of God." The word liturgy comes from the Greek meaning, "the people's work" and refers to any scripted service for worship. In this view, we gather in God's presence, and we join our voices in unison to respond with prayer, praise and thanksgiving.
Benedict specified seven hours in the daytime for prayer and a long vigil in the middle of the night. However, we are not monks and do not live in a monastery. When a person follows the several times of prayer which Benedict discussed, it is called praying the "divine office."
First, praying the office can bring order to our busy life and with the divine office prayer begins to give the day its structure.
The basic practice is simple. You decide what time of day you want to pray. Find a place of quiet and calm for yourself. Then turn to your prayer book. Then you read the liturgy, speaking the words to God, letting it guide the order and content of your prayer.
Today, we have access to all kinds of prayer books. The book Kneeling with Giants shares the information on the liturgy of daily prayer.
For Protestants – we can start with a modern-language version of the Book of Common Prayer. Here is the daily office of the Church of England online www.churchofengland.org. The American version can be found at www.missionstclare.com
It is great to have a Morning and Evening prayer version because we do not live in a monastery and so we can find a shorter version of the Benedictine hours for our daily life. If you are Catholics, here is the current official version of Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours. Here is the website www.universalis.com If you dislike denominational liturgies, there are also versions by individuals. Like Phyllis Tickle's four-volume Divine Hours, or the Northumbria Community's Celtic Daily Prayer is good resource, too.
Pick one prayer book and find a time and join to "Work of God".
St Benedict said, "We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that in every place the eyes of the Lord are watching the good and the wicked. But beyond the least doubt we should believe this to be especially true when we celebrate the divine office." Amen.
Mori
| 
No comments:
Post a Comment