Day 5

My morning ritual.

As I typed the caption to the above photo, I realized how in just five days reading through the hours has become a ritual.  My morning ritual isn't so different, except that so far I have been much less likely to skip the Morning Office and peruse Facebook instead.  But I never did the Midday Office or Vespers and rarely did Compline.  Now I do.  And I love it. 

I love it that I am carving out time to write about my experience, too.  Right now, for example, I am sitting on my side porch with my coffee and laptop, watching a mama sparrow feeding her noisy and demanding babies.  She also seems to be interested in mating again, which, if she were to ask me my opinion, I might suggest she wait until her current babies are out of the nest.  Maybe she just needs a release from the daily grind of feeding hungry babies all the time.  I guess I understand that feeling. 

My goal for this week was to do some research on fixed-hour prayer, but what actually happened is that when I went to the library on Monday the new Anne Lamott book was on hold for me, and I abandoned all study of fixed-hour prayer to read her book.  No worries, though, because I am spending an inordinate amount of time reading through the book so I can soon buckle down to serious study.  Unless another really, really, really interesting book happens to come in for me at the library.  I am the queen of literary distraction. 

Since yesterday was 4th of July and all, I am going to leave you today with this morning's Concluding Prayer of the Church, an apt prayer for our nation and all nations and we the people within those nations who should be working for justice and for peace:

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle)