Maybe the nearest I have to a home office is the shambles that it my side of the dining room table...
But, this Sunday evening, it's not that kind of office I was thinking about.
Monasteries and Convents and Priests and many Lay People are familiar with idea of the Daily Office, sets of prayers said at set times of the day. Members of the various Christian communities and organisations often commit to praying, using the given forms and scripture readings that their community prescribes.
If you have read Rev Richard Cole's books, or watched 'Murder at Evensong', you might remember that the priest, Canon Clements, always says the service of morning prayer in the church.
Here's the AI overview;
Over the decades I've used many different daily prayer books and study guides, and various apps on my phone. My problem is that I just don't like to stick to any one for any length of time.
Now I'm in between... I've finished taking a couple of weeks thinking about The Lords Prayer
looking at all the pictures, drawn in the 1980s
For now I shall choose a short poem for each day, and see where that leads me, as my daily office for the rest of November.
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams
For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
by Langston Hughes
From poemhunter
I think replacing the word 'dreams' with 'hope' might make it less of a poem, but more of prayer.
('Office' is in my November scavenger hunt)
Prelude in A minor op 11 no 2
Hello. You can get free apps of daily morning, noon, evening prayer and compline from the CoE and hear them said/chanted on the Daily Prayer app - also by the Church of England. My husband listens every day as he gets up. You might enjoy them.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I have the cofe app, and used it for quite a while. I think it's the one I like best.... I have also used lectio.
DeleteThank you for the Langston Hughes poem! Looking it up has been on my "to do" list for almost two weeks, ever since the last zoom meeting of the monthly zoom "spiritual group" meeting from my former (now geographically distant) congregation, which I join whenever other things allow. Topic for the evening was hope, and one member who holds fast to this poem recited it from memory. I think she did recite it as written and my memory of it substitute "hope", as the poem felt so on-topic. Now, thanks to you, I've copied and pasted the words and will see if I can memorize it myself.
ReplyDeleteWell...! Synchronicity! I found it at random looking for 'shorter poems'.
DeleteI read the poem first as it is written, with dreams. then again substituting the word hope. It makes it even more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I felt too.
DeleteThe poem is like a prayer I have Proverbs 31 Ministries daily.
ReplyDeleteProverbs 31 Ministries looks a very helpful site, I've just had a look. Thank you.
DeleteOff topic but did you see a Bargain Hunt a few weeks ago where a lady had a collection of 100's of Ladybird books - I had no idea there were so many and don't think I've ever seen the Prayer one you have.
ReplyDeleteI have read about her, and seen various displays of her collection on news items. There are - thousands? I had no idea! People like to collect whole series - fairytales, or nature, or whatever. They have been updated over the years but I vividly remember some of the old ones from when I was little, particularly one called The Party.
DeleteI read it several times, and concluded that 'hope' is stronger than 'dreams' though I can't quite fathom why. More thought needed.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree, to me 'hopes' is stronger than 'dreams', and I don't know why... it has a more active content, maybe? Dreaming is a sort of wishy washy idea in my mind.
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