Wise Words on Wednesday: William Cowper
“Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon their knees”
– William Cowper
Tag: Prayer
Eastern Mariology
Earlier this week it was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It reminded me of a conversation I had with a member of the Eastern Catholic parish I often visit. I mentioned the fact that I always feel more comfortable with Mary when I’m praying in the Eastern Rite, but I wasn’t sure why…
He then made the observation that in Eastern Christianity, when Mary is mentioned, Christ is almost always mentioned explicitly in the next breath, whereas in the West He is more often implied. I realised he was right! That’s exactly why I found it so much easier when praying in the Eastern liturgy! For example, this is the Eastern form of the Hail Mary:
“Theotokos (God-Bearer) and Virgin, rejoice, Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, for thou hast given birth to the Saviour of our souls“
I have often thought that if we (Western) Catholics allowed our Christology to be seen more clearly in our Mariology, fewer non-Catholics to get upset by the honour we give to Mary. Just a thought.
Honour the art and you honour The Artist
“I’ll pray for you…”
The other day, after a rather difficult meeting with a friend I parted with the words “I’ll pray for you”.
It got me to thinking – how many times do I say that and I never actually do it? How many times do I use it as just a farewell, or as code for “Stop talking to me about your problems”?
That’s all I have to say. Please consider that as your thought for the day…
With great accent comes great responsibility
While we’re on the subject of great power and responsibility, I just wanted to share with you a recent post I saw over at “Stuff Christians Like” entitled People who pray with British accents:
“When I hear someone pray with a British accent, they sound like it’s coming out of their mouth in cursive…”
– John Acuff
Having an English accent in America is something of a blessing and a curse.
It’s constantly assumed that I’m from Australia. I’m regularly asked to repeat myself while on the phone because people can’t understand what I’ve said. I’m often asked if I know so-and-so who lives in London. I regularly have to explain the difference between England, the UK and Great Britain.
On the plus side, people assume that I’m more intelligent than I actually am… 🙂
Friday Frivolity: Christians are a weird bunch…
(FYI – Church of Christ don’t use musical instruments)
The Empty Vessel
This is one of my favourite prayers:
Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled.
My Lord, fill it.
I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.
I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor.
I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust you altogether.
O Lord, help me.
Strengthen my faith and trust in you.
In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have.
I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor.
I am a sinner; you are upright.
With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.
Therefore I will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give. Amen
This was written by Martin Luther.
I think I’ll give him this one… 🙂
Covered By The Cross
I recently told this story to a friend of mine. As I was driving home afterwards, I thought that it might be worth sharing here too…
When I was living back in England, my parish had a Hospital Visiting Ministry with which I was involved, run by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Every Saturday we would hand out free newspapers, identify the patients who would like to receive Holy Communion the following day and spend some time speaking with them. This would be done by two different people every week, each covering half of the hospital.
Out of all the wards we visited, the one I hated visiting the most was the ASU, where stroke victims were treated. I think I disliked visiting this ward more than any other because it was often a very frustrating experience.
I’ve always placed a very high premium on communication, and those in the ASU usually had difficulty with speaking, a common consequence of suffering a stroke. It frustrated them not being able to make themselves easily and fully understood and it frustrated me in not always being able to understand them.
