Yesterday's Reading

There was SO much good stuff packed into yesterday's reading from Ecclesiastes.  LEARN in the Temple, rather than offering foolish sacrifices.   Don't promise God anything.  You may not be able to keep it.  If you lust after riches, you will NEVER be satisfied.  And, rich people will only lose sleep worrying about losing what they have.  We leave this world with what we entered it with.  It is a terrible thing when people lose what they have worked for and pass nothing on to their children.  Life is hard.  Enjoy what God has given you that you have worked for.  It is a gift from God.

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Ecclesiastes 7

Today's reading contained much wisdom; don't try to be perfect, avoid extremism, and have reverence for God.  Many will speak ill of you, as you will of others. Don't be foolish and thereby cut your life short.  Enjoy the success God has given you.  The opposite sex will cause you many grievances, regardless of the attractiveness of the prospect of affection. 

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Sadness

Sometimes, maybe without meaning, we can harm others.  We can do it with something as seemingly iniquitous as careless words.  Sometimes they hit like a blow struck.  Sometimes, their effects are felt for decades after.

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Oops

So, the feast of St. Luke was a double and I read the Evening Prayer readings at Morning Prayer today. Maybe I was meant to read them after all...

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Office

It's very easy to fall off the wagon.  During the pandemic lockdown, which lasted eight weeks for me, I learned to pray the Anglican Breviary.  It was a rich and rewarding--yet time consuming--practice.  I reverted to the BCP offices when I returned to work...briefly.  Then, I fell away from praying the Office altogether. It's easy to do.  

A friend of mine once said that if you miss two consecutive workouts, you are no longer working out.  The office is much the same way.

I still kept praying at bedtime, a short--very--prayer.  I kept giving thanks over my meals.  I kept praying for protection prior to running.  But, my prayer life still suffered.

I didn't have that rich and rewarding experience of praying the Office.  It's very much like exercise for your soul.  

As you might have suspected, I prayed Morning Prayer today...after months of neglect (negligence).  Immediately, a feeling--a unique to The Office feeling--of joy grasped me.  Why had I waited so long?

Today is the moved Feast of St. Luke The Evangelist.  Fitting, he heals and I was being healed.  Today, not coincidentally, is my first day of two weeks of vacation--also moved (relocated) due to COVID.  

Isiah 55 was the designated Old Testament reading for Morning Prayer today.  It's a great way to start back.  God, according to the passage, is merciful and forgives quickly.  His ways are not our ways.  He gives us the water that quenches our thirst.

Maybe, with God's help, I can keep it up.  The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step after all. 

As a side note and afterthought, I prefer the BCP in many ways to the Breviary. I love the sanctification of time with the Anglican Breviary, and the structure and also the dedication or discipline too.  But, the BCP has more--at least as I perceive it--intercessory prayer (which I adore and need to pray).

Pax Vobis

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