The Book of Common Prayer. New York: Seabury Press, 1979, p. 355.
Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
2 comments:
I have heard this passage from the Episcopal service all my life. It is so familiar that I almost don’t hear it anymore when it is read. Yet each time I hear it, I unconsciously and automatically take a deep breath at the words “the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,” as if I were cleansing my heart by breathing in the Spirit. This movement seems to me to express so many things about prayer: its cleansing power, its sometimes comforting familarity, its effects on the body, its transformative effects on our hearts, the way it connects us with the Spirit, the way it can work on us in ways of which we are not conscious.
Loving God, please cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name. Help us to breath you in with each breath, and to bring your love into the world with each exhalation.
What a beautiful if familiar prayer. Through Your own breath, Holiest Spirit, inspire our thoughts, emotions, words and actions. Awomen.
Post a Comment