Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Obviously, God is not surprised and/or caught off-guard with what we are going through right now. In fact, Dorothy and I believe that God prepared us for this situation by giving us the “words” to pray on a daily basis. Our story below.
Around Christmas and New Years of this year, we received our traditional Christmas gift from our National Directors of FamilyLife Canada. It is the pocket edition of The Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle. This book is a compilation of ancient prayers and practices.
From the introduction of the book.
“Fixed-hour prayers, often known as observing the hours or keeping the offices, is one of the seven spiritual disciplines that came directly into Christianity from Judaism. Like tithing, observance of the Sabbath, fasting or following the liturgical year, it informed the spiritual life of Our Lord and of the twelve Apostles, just as it informs and shapes the faith and practices of millions of Christian today.”
The Prayer Appointed for the Day (Thursday)
“O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour out into my heart your greatest gift which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.”
Dorothy and I thank the Lord that we are able to be kind to one another and that Holy Spirit empowers us to go even further, to love our neighbors.