Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

December 16, 2009

In the first moments of his life,
You showed us the paradox of your love...
Let the heights of heav’n adore him;
Angel hosts, his praises sing;
Pow’rs, dominions,b ow before him
And extol our God and King;
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Ev’ry voice in concert ring
Ever more and ever more.
---Prudentius---

Advent Witness

Sunday’s reading tells the story of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth’s house. Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, is six months pregnant with that enigmatic son of hers, John, called the Baptizer.

And as Mary enters her house, the babe in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy.

Even in the womb, John the Baptizer pointed the way to Christ. Later in his ministry, he made it clear that he himself was not the One that Israel was waiting for; he was sent ahead of the Messiah, to point the way. He continued to point the way until he was imprisoned, and eventually beheaded.

John was the first witness to Christ, a man of principal who was not afraid to give a hard message. He told of this Messiah as one who would come both in love and judgment, and he did it unapologetically.

Leonardo DaVinci’s painting of John shows him pointing up, as though to Christ. In this, he is a perfect role model for us. We can point the way to Christ daily, through our actions and words. We can invite others into this community of St. James. We can witness to the goodness of God, and be, like that first Advent prophet, a light in the darkness.

Praying the Hours: None

How the Work of God is to be performed during the day As the prophet says, "Seven times in the day I have given praise to Thee," so we shall observe this sacred number of seven if at the hour of Lauds, Prime, Tierce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Complin we fulfill the duties of our service.
Chapter 16-Rule of Benedict

This week we look at the ninth hour of prayer known as None.

None, which means the ninth hour of prayer, around 3 pm, has traditionally been the time for the end of work. The early church remembered the death of Christ at this hour. It is a sober time for prayer, a bridge between the activities of the day and the preparation for the evening. Many people talk about the "sinking feeling" of the afternoon when it seems that all of the energy for work has simply vanished. Some of us have a cup of coffee or a cup of tea to boost our flagging spirits.

When St. Benedict was writing his rule and setting out the specifics for the work of God, known as the Opus Dei, he wasn’t talking about plowing or studying, he was talking about prayer and praise. It changes my orientation to the day if I think that the work I am to do is to stop 7 times and turn my attention to God in prayer, doesn’t it?

What would my day look like if prayer was my focus rather than my "to do" list? At first, I might think I wasn’t being productive enough—or I might wonder how others would perceive my prayer. It might even seem a bit fanatical-stopping for 10 minutes at 3 pm to remember Christ’s death and to pray.

Any one of our divine hours of prayer could be incorporated into an otherwise busy day, but this one seems to be the hardest, to me. Stopping at 3-which for most of us is not the end of the day but rather somewhere in the middle-would require a consistent deliberate halt. The picture that comes to mind is pulling on the reins of a runaway team of horses.

But once they’ve stopped it might just be the perfect moment for a cool drink of water!

It is precisely those unexpected moments of stopping and looking inward that make up a day of prayer and a lifetime of communion with God.

So-shall we try stopping? Shall we try looking heavenward in the afternoon rather than down at our desks or into our tasks? For a few moments?

Blessings,
Debra

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.

God our Father,
You sent your Son
To free mankind from the power of Deawth.
May we who celebrate the coming of Christ as man
Share more fully in his divine life,
For he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever. AMEN
--from the Liturgy of the Hours--

In Closing:

For he is our lifelong pattern;
Daily, when on earth he grew,
He was tempted, scorned, rejected,
Tears and smiles like us he knew.
Thus he feels for all our sadness,
And he shares in all our gladness.
 
And our eyes at last shall see him,
Through his own redeeming love;
For that child who seemed so helpless
Is our Lord in heaven above;
]and he leads his children on
to the place where he has gone.
--Cecil Francis Alexander--

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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