Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

November 18, 2009

The light of friendship is like the light of phosphorus,
Seen plainest when all around is dark.
---Crowell---
As you reach out to bless mankind,
I feel Your embrace drawing me close.
I rise with You, dear Jesus,
And You rise with me.
---ancient Celtic song---

Hilda of Whitby

Today I met with three colleagues, terrific women priests in the Diocese of Maryland. We get together each month for support, prayer, and friendship. Each woman has her own strengths and challenges, both as priests and as women trying to balance the two-pronged world of so many these days - careers and family life. These women are tremendously gifted, and I am thankful to be part of such a group.

Today is the feast day of another formidable woman, Hilda of Whitby, an abbess born in 614, and destined to live through a time of change and upheaval in the Church. After spending the first 20 years of her life at the court of King Edwin, who was her great uncle, Hilda entered monastic life in East Anglia. After a year there, Bishop Aiden appointed her Abbess of Hartlepool. She established a rule of life for the abbey, and was considered wise beyond her years.

Several years later, she founded the Abbey of Whitby, where both men and women lived in monastic solitude. While there, she oversaw the education of many who later became Bishops, and in 663, history met her at the door. Whitby was the site of the famous meeting in which the future of the Church of England was decided – would the church stay near to its Celtic roots, or would it begin to follow the Roman order of things? Hilda’s position was to stay with the Celtic way, but when the church went with Rome, she remained obedient to the synod’s decision.

This gifted woman influenced many who came to study and pray at Whitby. In a time when there were few choices for women, she found a means to use her gifts in leadership for the glory of God.

Like Hilda, we all have gifts to offer. We all have challenges to overcome. In what way can we find our heart in service? In what ways can we find our own balance in our spiritual life?

O God of peace, by whose grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and strength to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household, and to become a trusted and reconciling friend ot leaders of the Church: Give us the grace to recognize and accept the varied gifts you bestow on men and women, that our common life may be enriched and your gracious will be done; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN
---From Lesser Feasts and Fasts---

Praying the Hours: Lauds

Arise, shine, for your light has come,*
and the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.

We continue our series on praying the hours by reflecting upon Lauds-the second hour.

The word Lauds, which means praise, points to the focus of this hour of prayer. We arise with the sun and while early morning sunlight beautifies the land with its striking light, we glorify God by singing praises.

This is the day that the Lord has made, and our service of Lauds helps us to rejoice and be glad.

The morning light which slips in through trees and clouds reminds us of the presence of the Christ light, dispelling darkness and illuminating grace. Each morning I honor the coming day by taking my first cup of coffee to the rectory porch to watch the sunrise. I say a silent prayer of thanksgiving for the beginning of day. I like to rise with the dawn and witness each nearby branch and lawn become more alive with each successive increment of sunlight. I am connected to the rhythms and weather of each new day when I stand on my porch, feeling the cold and the breeze, breathing in the air of the morning. I move from sleepiness to wakefulness in those first minutes. It is a time of quiet, but it is also a time of rich communion with God.

When we pray the vigil hour we are praying in darkness and our focus is hope-the coming light. Lauds is our prayer of thanksgiving for the light. Lauds reminds us of Resurrection, and all the promise of new life. Each morning we have a new beginning where we can focus on the resurrected life that Christ is inviting us into.

Let us pray in newness.
Let us pray in thanksgiving.
Let us Praise the Lord!
Blessings,
Debra

Lord God,
Almighty and everlasting Father,
You have brought us in safety
To this new day;
Preserve us with your mighty power,
That we may not fall into sin,
Nor be overcome by adversity;
And in all we do,
Direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose;
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. AMEN
---From Morning Prayer, BCP---

Daily Morning Prayer

Daily Morning Prayer

This Week at St. James

Prayers Etc.

For those on our prayer list:

For Matt Rogers, our Postulant
For those who are deployed and their families.

Thou, Lord, alone, art all thy children need
And there is none beside;
From thee the streams of blessedness proceed;
In thee the blest abide.
Fountain of life and all-abounding grace,
Our source, our centre and our dwelling place!
---Mme Guyon---

In Closing:

Go from this place renewed
by being among your community of faith.
May the Lord continually remind you
Of the love that is always available to you and others...
Celebrate God’s creation as reflected in each member
Of the community.
Peace to you.
AMEN
---from Worship Feast---

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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