Ash Wednesday.

[elisi]

Although I hardly ever post about my faith (being a private sort of person), I wanted to write something to mark the beginning of Lent. The thing I've always found incredibly helpful in Lent is The Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office), specifically the Morning and Evening Prayers. I like the structured format, the emphasis on the psalms (which I'd otherwise never get round to), and the fact that it's not changed significantly in centuries - apparently it was completed in it's current form towards the end of the Sixth Century. (Also I've got a proper book - leather bound, and with parchment-like paper - and I love it.)

Anyway, I am off to tidy the girls' bedroom (a suitable penance for the day), and shall probably return later with your regular programming. :)

Comments

[jerusha]

Oh, thank you so much for this! I was trying to figure out which discipline I was going to incorporate for Lent, and this should do very nicely. Just what I wanted.

[elisi]

My pleasure. :) I hope it'll work well for you - I tried to find a website that was fairly straightforward. (On the left hand side there's links. For the simplest way, just use the 'Morning Prayer' and 'Evening Prayer' ones.)

[debris4spike]

W are Brethren, but went to an Anglican Church for a few years - and I loved the formality of the prayers and Psalms ... there are some beautiful words.

[elisi]

Personally I *adore* liturgy, although I can certainly see the appeal of less formal gatherings. And the Psalms especially are just wonderful - it's just tricky to sit down and actually look at them. Hence Lent being a good opportunity. :)

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

I own a fancy copy of the Book of Common Prayer illustrated with pages from illuminated manuscripts. God knows why since I was raised Lutheran and am currently nothing but I like to look at the pages and read the prayers now and again.

[elisi]

There is something about wellcrafted books that I love. We have an old family Bible - huge, and unwieldy, but utterly gorgeous. We never use it, but it's wonderful to know that it's there. :)