Myers Briggs and Prayer.

This is for all of us who ever had to be cod-analysed by Myers-Bloody-Briggs fans during our training or selection.

At least we now have some idea of what to pray!

Rattling the Beads.

 

I have been inveigled into presiding over a celebration of the Mass with Rosary in a week or two.  Which naturally sent me hunting for some suitable material of an intercessory nature to use with the beads.  Online I had very little luck, as most of the stuff I found seemed to dwell almost exclusively on "my sins", "my needs".  I know it is essentially a personal devotion, but you'd have thought someone out there might have thought up a Rosary of Intercession.  I did unearth something rather more useful from my personal collection of devotional literature (or "Holy Keekh" as I call it) in the shape of a Mirfield booklet by the late Fr Harold Ellis CR entitled "A Simple Way of Prayer".  The pattern is adaptable and, allowing for it being Pre-Vatican II Anglo-Catholic in tone and language (prayers for "native clergy" sound rather odd - but, hey, they produced Desmond Tutu so...), quite OK.  But there was one sentence in it that made me pause and ponder. And here it is:

"The Rosary is the next best and safest method, after the offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass, by which we can interceede for persons and causes".

Safest?  Prayer is safe?  My gut instinct is to describe prayer as anything but safe.  If it is a genuine encounter with the One, True, Living God, then safe is the last thing it is.  Exciting, disturbing, frightening.  Life enriching, consciousness deepening.  These are all adjectives which accurately describe prayer.  But "safe"?  If it's safe, then you can safely assume you're doing it wrong.  Prayer ultimately takes us out of our personal "safe space" and away from our comfort zone.  Prayer may be marked by a sense of being comforted or consoled (Ps 23); it can be a place of tears and darkness (Ps 130) or even of transcendent, near orgasmic, ecstasy (Bernini's marble "Ecstasy of St Theresa " being a stunning depiction of this).  

 

But safe?  Never.  Dull sometimes, empty for ages, intense for moments and dazzlingly clear for a few seconds, if you are truly lucky and blessed.  

I value the Rosary, not because it is safe, but because it stretches me, disciplines me and liberates me.  It stretches my inherited Scottish Protestantism by being so definitely and defiantly "Catholic" and by pushing me to reflect on incidents I can find utterly uncomfortable (like the Sorrowful Mysteries).  It disciplines me to concentrate on what I am praying, as I find fumbling with beads tricky and to reflect on scripture not of my choice.  It liberates me by giving me a mantra to recite to centre me and release my spirit to engage with the Divne reality in moments of meditative release.  Safety has absolutely nothing to do with praying the Rosary.

The Eucharist excels as a pattern for prayer: penitence, Scriptural reflection, intercession, self-offering and thanksgiving.  The Rosary offers a different but equally useful structure: credal grounding, imaginative reflections on gospel incidents, a mantra to focus the "inner eye of the soul" on God and a sense of praying with others of the Company of the Kingdom (particularly Mary, the Mother of God and Queen of the Saints).  It is a tool to help us pray.  One I might use from time to time as an aid to my faltering efforts.

Midweek.

Today, after a horribly healthy breakfast (muesli, fruit salad, cherry yogurt, brown bread and apricot jam), it was off to celebrate the Eucharist at Murrayfield according to the 1929 Liturgy. St Richard of Chichester was commemorated and then it was home on a very muggy morning made sweaty by clericals via Costa Coffee (brie and tomato chutney pannini and double macchiato elevenses), the barbers (I am shorn, but not shriven) and Boots the Chemist ( smelly stuff and shaving gel). Backshift from 2-10 and the same again tomorrow. Had a good meeting last night (small but very strong - like a decent coffee!) and will probably go again on Friday.

Here's a famous prayer for today:

The Prayer of St Richard of Chichester

St Richard, who was Bishop of Chichester for eight years in the mid-13th century, was well acquainted with both hard work and suffering. Though a gifted scholar and lawyer, he did not flinch from physical labour; and as Bishop he found himself a homeless outcast in his own diocese, until King Henry III finally accepted his appointment by the Pope. His prayer reflects the commitment and 'stickability' needed by anyone who seeks to be a true follower of Jesus.

---

Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits which you have given us,
for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us.
Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,
may we know you more clearly,
love you more dearly,
and follow you more nearly,
day by day.
Amen.

To think about.....

• How do you feel about the idea that Jesus Christ endured pains and insults for your sake? Does it help you to cope with suffering and rejection in your own life?
• 
  
• Is your knowledge of the Lord's presence becoming clearer as you go through life? Would you like it to? What do you think helps - praying? reading the Bible? being with other Christians? anything else?

The prayer acknowledges that Christians don't become saints overnight! Instead, there is a gradual (and sometimes uncomfortable) re-orientation of our lives into God's way. Why not use this prayer (or your own words) to ask Jesus to help you take just one small step forward in the Christian life?