journey

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Everyday prayer…

Posted by David Ward on 03/05/2013
Posted in: Books/Articles, Prayer and liturgy. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

One of the editors of Anamchara Books (www.anamcharabooks.com) has very kindly sent me a couple of their books to read and review.

Anamchara Books are a small publisher of books on inclusive Christian spirituality, based in New York. Their catalogue includes the writings of authors from the USA and the UK, with a definite bias towards books on Celtic Christian spirituality.

The first of the two books that I have been sent is:

“Earth Afire with God – Celtic Prayers for Everyday Life” Earth Afire2011, Anamchara Books, New York ISBN978-1-933630-96-0.

Collections of prayers are very much a matter of personal taste; in this instance the compilers (staff at Anamchara Books) have managed to collect together prayers ancient and modern that will appeal to a wide variety of people.

There is a wonderful selection of prayers collected from original Celtic sources, all of them adapted in language that is fresh and contemporary and updated with images that resonate with life today. There are prayers from classic sources such as the Carmina Gadelica, the “Poem Book of the Gael and Hebridean Alters as well as some from Kuno Meyer’s Ancient Irish Poetry.

Intermingled with these are prayers by a number of contemporary American writers; the prayers of Ellyn Sanna, who seems to have mastered the feel and form of Celtic prayers so well, are among my favourites.

The Celts had a deep sense of the immanence of God, and these prayers recognise the presence and concern of God for even the smallest detail of our lives. They are arranged thematically, taking us on a prayer journey through the day, through special times and seasons and in some of the people and places that are important in our everyday journey with God and each other.

I would happily recommend this collection, both as an aid to our personal devotional life and as a resource for those who are involved in leading others in prayer. It provides us with the tools to gain a fresh sense of the presence of God in every part of our everyday lives.

A little late Lent…

Posted by David Ward on 20/02/2013
Posted in: Events, Monastic spirituality, Personal thoughts, Prayer and liturgy. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

book cover

With utter disregard for the traditions of the church I’ve started Lent today…one week late! I have a good reason for this…the book I ordered for my morning prayers during Lent has only just arrived, and rather than hurry the process of simplifying and re-ordering my life I’ve taken the decision to start as if today was Ash Wednesday, rather than quickly catching up by reading the days I missed.

I’m being guided through Lent by Paula Huston, a Benedictine oblate from America, using her book “Simplifying the Soul”. In her introduction, Paula speaks about her trips to the monastery to which she’s attached as a way to ‘re-calibrate’ her spiritual life, and free it from what she calls our ‘bondage to complexity”…I need some of that!

Every so often we seem to lose our spiritual way and, like Peter, we follow Jesus “at a distance”, with all the perils that entails, and it is, Paula suggests, only after our recalibration that we realise just how out of sight Jesus has become, and how far from the path we have strayed.

This week’s heading is: “Beginnings – simplifying space”. Each day gives a practical task, as well as a readings and a meditation…today’s task is ‘clean out a junk draw or cupboard’. Wendy and I have been doing a fair amount of this just lately, but I still think another look at my personal drawers and wardrobe would not go amiss.

It struck me that when I die, I’d rather that my legacy was a lot of shared memories, than a houseful of stuff to be picked over and shared out.

I think I’m also learning that sometimes (for me at least…you may be different) treasured items can tie us in an unhealthy way to times, places and events that are long gone (and should be consigned to history rather than constantly dragged up). Those same items also have the propensity to trip us up and tie us down as we try to move forward on life’s way.

A time of change…

Posted by David Ward on 07/10/2012
Posted in: Pilgrimage, Prayer and liturgy, Solitude and silence. Tagged: , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Lord, help me now to uncluttered my life, to organise myself in the direction of simplicity. Lord, teach me to listen to my heart; teach me to welcome change, instead of fearing it.

Lord, I give you these stirrings inside me. I give you my discontent. I give you my restlessness. I give you my doubt. I give you my despair. I give you all the longings I hold inside. Help me to listen to these signs of change, of growth; help me to listen seriously and follow where they lead through the breath-taking empty space of an open door.

 

Quoted from: “Common Prayer – a liturgy for ordinary radicals”