Transcendence is what comes to mind, when I think of joining in the very prayers the Church has made from its earliest days. One type of prayer expresses what is in our hearts. Another type of prayer lifts us into an expanse far transcending the confines of our limited self. Prayers and hymns whose life extend [...]
The Book of Common Prayer was so radical a book, its author got burned at the stake. Phrases from its pages like “Speak now or forever hold your peace,” “Till death us do part,” or “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” have become enshrined in the consciousness of virtually all English speakers. Together with the writings [...]
Celebrating the Christian Year has been by far one of the most significant, dynamic and moving spiritual practices that I have ever engaged in.
It may seem strange that to begin guiding you in how to pray the Daily Office from the Book of Common Prayer, I am not going to be talking about the [...]
This is the third part in a series on the practical side of prayer. Much can be said about the theoretical side of prayer – what is prayer exactly, what does it do, etc. Also, the subject of how God feels and responds to our prayers is a VASTLY significant subject. Many people have difficulty [...]
In my experience, whether talking to evangelicals or charismatics (or evangelical-charismatics), there seems to be a fairly strong opposition to using pre-written forms in either corporate or personal prayer. By this I am mostly referring to using prayers written by someone else. Even more specifically, I am speaking of using something akin to the historic [...]
For some time I’ve been pondering the notion that we become like what we worship. Recognizing this as a biblical principle (2 Cor. 3:18, amongst others), I’ve wondered how exactly it works. I’ve come up with a theory, not attempting to fully explain the concept, but perhaps to give perhaps one reason why worship has a transformative effect.
**The full text of the Great Litany can be found at http://www.richardliantonio.com/prayer/?p=169
One of the most curious occurrences within the season of Lent in the Anglican Tradition is the praying of the Great Litany. Traditionally, this is done on the first, second, third and fifth Sundays of Lent, although in many churches it [...]
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…” Luke 11.1
The question of ‘how to pray’ in terms of ‘what to pray,’ is often treated in a mystifying sense. In some circles you get the sense that we are waiting [...]
What we believe about God dynamically affects the way we relate to and interact with Him. This is most certainly true about our human relationships. If I believe (explicitly or implicitly, consciously or unconsciously) something about another person I will act and react accordingly regardless of whether or not it is actually true. My [...]
Narcissim: Denial of the True Self is a fascinating book by Alexander Lowen, a leading psychoanalyst discussing the problem of narcissism. Though commonly thought of as simply the dilemma of an over-inflated ego in which one loves themselves excessively, Lowen contends that narcissism is rooted in emotional numbness. The narcissist does not love themselves excessively, [...]
