I think like a Roman Catholic (or not).

Over at Fr. Z’s blog, there is a poll asking the following:

Should the [Roman Catholic] Bishops of the USA have us return to obligatory meatless Fridays during the whole year and not just during Lent?

My thinking is that fasting is commendable and that the adult faithful should be encouraged to practice fasting when health permits.  But to make it obligatory once a week is going too far.  And, besides, the Roman Catholic Church in the U. S. has much bigger problems to deal with.  (Don’t get me started on those!)  So I answered “No, this would be a really bad idea.”

And 3% of Fr. Z’s audience agrees with me.  3%.

I guess I really don’t think like a Roman Catholic.

I’m not into rosaries either.  But I heartily agree with the call of Fr. Zed and associates to pray for the U. S. from August 15^th through October 7^th.  (I would take it through Election Day myself, but I’m nitpicking.)  To say my view of the United States’ future is pessimistic would be an understatement.  We need all the prayer we can get and not only because of the two major parties’ nominees for President.

I would not be surprised if the Lord’s answer is to let us eat our own cooking for a few years.  But we should nonetheless pray and trust God to answer in his justice and mercy in due time.

A Brief Note on Praying for the Dead

The tragic death of Robin Williams may prompt, as it does in me, the desire to pray for him even after his demise.  Is it appropriate to do so?

I would say yes.  God is not confined by time, nor by life and death.  So if we desire to pray for the dead, it is good to do so with trust that God will answer with his grace that transcends time and life and death.

Certainly, through the centuries, a lot of questionable practices and beliefs have gotten attached to prayers for the dead.  But I still think the instinct to pray for the dead is a good one and one which honors God’s transcendence over what for us are the barriers of time and death.

And it is a way our own love can reach over those barriers.

Tinkering with BCP Prayers?!?

Those who know that I am a liturgical freak may be surprised to know that I sometimes venture to tinker with the prayers of the Book of Common Prayer in my personal daily office. I know! Horrors!

The first time I can remember doing this is with the confession. “There is no health in us” struck me as ignoring that the Holy Spirit indwells believers and works to conform them to Christ’s righteousness. In that respect, we do have health in us. So I changed it to “There is no health in us apart from you” for a time.

I’m more comfortable with the original now, but still throw in an “apart from you” from time to time.

More recently, I became so provoked by the direction of the federal government that I felt our situation and my concern was not adequately addressed by my usual prayer from Morning Prayer:

O LORD our Governor, whose glory is in all the world; We commend this nation to thy merciful care, that being guided by thy Providence, we may dwell secure in thy peace. Grant to THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, and to all in Authority, wisdom and strength to know and to do thy will. Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness; and make them ever mindful of their calling to serve this people in thy fear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

So I added the following clause after “in thy fear”:

But as for those who stiffen the neck and continue to pursue evil, I pray that you would thwart their evil efforts, remove them from power, and replace them with better men and women.

This leaves room for repentance as well as honest mistakes since “stiffen the neck and continue to pursue evil” implies a continual refusal to repent or listen to God as one willfully pushes an evil agenda. And I think this addresses the issue of evil men in power without getting overly imprecatory about it.

I’ve been praying this for some months now.

Now I am not recommending that for public prayer (but am not discouraging it either). But this careful tinkering has enriched my personal prayer.

Don’t be too hard on me.

The Collect for Wednesday in Holy Week

ASSIST us mercifully with thy help, O Lord God of our salvation; that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts, whereby thou hast given unto us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

When I prayed this collect this morning, it struck me how appropriate it is for Wednesday in Holy Week. With the Triduum beginning tomorrow evening, we are about to enter the time of the year when we most focus on the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And who is adequate for such holy things? I most certainly am not. And I need and want God’s help as I seek to remember and mediate on these most holy and loving acts of Christ. Lord, assist us mercifully with thy help, indeed!

May the Lord indeed assist you as you seek to observe Holy Week and the Triduum in a worthy manner.

A Prayer for Ash Wednesday

I don’t know the occasion of the following prayer. But I find it very appropriate for Ash Wednesday. With thanks to Fr. Steel.

O my all-merciful God and Lord,
Jesus Christ, full of pity:
Through Your great love You came down
and became incarnate in order to save everyone.
O Savior, I ask You to save me by Your grace!
If You save anyone because of their works,
that would not be grace but only reward of duty,
but You are compassionate and full of mercy!

You said, O my Christ,
"Whoever believes in Me shall live and never die."
If then, faith in You saves the lost, then save me,
O my God and Creator, for I believe.
Let faith and not my unworthy works be counted to me, O my God,
for You will find no works which could account me righteous.

O Lord, from now on let me love You as intensely as I have loved sin,
and work for You as hard as I once worked for the evil one.
I promise that I will work to do Your will,
my Lord and God, Jesus Christ, all the days of my life and forever more.

Prayer of St. John Chrysostom

An Appropriate Collect

The 1662 BCP collect for this week is very timely.

O Lord, we beseech thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Amen indeed.