Daily Primer — August 12, Iona — Inner Hebrides, Scotland
Each day you will be given:
A Florilegium entry
A Daily Prayer
and a Night Prayer.
A Florilegium entry
A Daily Prayer
and a Night Prayer.
Let me bless Almighty God, whose power extends over sea and land, whose angels watch
over all.
Let me study sacred books to calm my soul; I pray for peace, kneeling at heaven’s gates.
Let me do my daily work, gathering seaweed, catching fish, giving food to the poor.
Let me say my daily prayers, sometimes chanting, sometimes quiet, always thanking God.
Delightful it is to live on a peaceful isle, in a quiet cell, serving the King of kings.
over all.
Let me study sacred books to calm my soul; I pray for peace, kneeling at heaven’s gates.
Let me do my daily work, gathering seaweed, catching fish, giving food to the poor.
Let me say my daily prayers, sometimes chanting, sometimes quiet, always thanking God.
Delightful it is to live on a peaceful isle, in a quiet cell, serving the King of kings.
Words of Saint Columba as recorded in Van de Weyer, ed. p.64 Celtic Fire: The Passionate Religious Vision of Ancient Britain and Ireland.
Florilegium is the Medieval Latin word for bouquet, or more literally flowers (flos, flor-) which are gathered (legere). The word florilegium was used to refer to a compilation of writings, often religious or philosophical. These florilegium are literary flowers—beautiful words/prayers/thoughts I have gathered. During my sabbatical they will give me something to ponder each day. — PHL.
Lord God, you are the bread of life: in whom we have the assurance of our daily bread. It belongs to the great wonders of our existence that all creation looks to you for its food in due season and you, in mercy, satisfy the desires of every living thing.
And yet, even as we marvel before your generous provender, we acknowledge, as did your first disciples, that your claim to be the bread of life is a hard truth to accept. Truth be told, we often lack sufficient trust that you will provide our daily bread, and so we gather in a frenzy all we can reach. Our greed is simply the natural consequence of our anxiety. We know your warnings about trying to gather too much, but we feel a compulsion to gather more and more. We suspect that your creation is a zero-sum game — that you have no more gifts to give — and so we justify both our greed and our parsimonious attitude toward those in need.
Save us, Lord, from this failure to trust you, which fuels the greed which is killing us. Bring to full fruitfulness in us the virtues of hope and generosity. In your mercy, save us from the temptation to serve two masters. Feed our confidence in your capacity to provide everything needed for an abundant life. Win us to the vision of your ever-generative and fruitful creation which bestows its largess without resentment.
May our generosity mirror your generosity. May our hope remind us that we are status viatoris — so that we live today as those who know we are on the way to somewhere important, and that we have not yet arrived.
On this day you created the dry land and plants of every kind. As we enjoy the breads made from your many plants, may we be reminded that you are the bread of life, and that we do not live by the bread of this world alone, but by every Word from the mouth of God. We praise you for that Word-become-flesh dwelling among us full of grace and truth and offer our prayers in the name of the one who is the bread of life. Amen.
And yet, even as we marvel before your generous provender, we acknowledge, as did your first disciples, that your claim to be the bread of life is a hard truth to accept. Truth be told, we often lack sufficient trust that you will provide our daily bread, and so we gather in a frenzy all we can reach. Our greed is simply the natural consequence of our anxiety. We know your warnings about trying to gather too much, but we feel a compulsion to gather more and more. We suspect that your creation is a zero-sum game — that you have no more gifts to give — and so we justify both our greed and our parsimonious attitude toward those in need.
Save us, Lord, from this failure to trust you, which fuels the greed which is killing us. Bring to full fruitfulness in us the virtues of hope and generosity. In your mercy, save us from the temptation to serve two masters. Feed our confidence in your capacity to provide everything needed for an abundant life. Win us to the vision of your ever-generative and fruitful creation which bestows its largess without resentment.
May our generosity mirror your generosity. May our hope remind us that we are status viatoris — so that we live today as those who know we are on the way to somewhere important, and that we have not yet arrived.
On this day you created the dry land and plants of every kind. As we enjoy the breads made from your many plants, may we be reminded that you are the bread of life, and that we do not live by the bread of this world alone, but by every Word from the mouth of God. We praise you for that Word-become-flesh dwelling among us full of grace and truth and offer our prayers in the name of the one who is the bread of life. Amen.
Prayer of Tuesday Lauds - Liturgy of the Hours — PHL.
Lord, may our prayer rise before you as incense,
the raising of our hands as an evening oblation.
Lord, who is the light of the world:
You are the Sovereign over day and night — of morning brilliance and the warm glow of vesper-light — and now as the world is clothed in twilight we give thanks that you have graced us today with light. We thank you for the ways you have illumined our path and enlightened our minds. For new insight and deeper understanding, for instruction and intuition, for imagination and vision, we give you thanks.
At the hinge of evening we open our hearts and minds to an examination of the day, trusting that you can be found in both our consolations and desolations.
a few minutes of silence are observed for
the practice of the examen
For the the errors which our examination has revealed we seek your forgiveness, even as we forgive others at this hour. For our consolations over moments of enlightened discipleship we offer you thanks. Aware of our own propensity to choose the darkness and of the even greater strength of your redeeming love and light, we pray for a world in shadow.
As the daylight fades and we approach the dark of night, send your Spirit to calm any restlessness which churns deep within us. Let your Spirit sweep over us, giving form and substance to your love and granting us your deep and abiding peace. We ask this in the name of the one who comes — a light shining in darkness. Amen.
Dismissal - Blessing ascribed to Columba
And now, may kindly Columba guide you
to be an isle in the sea,
to be a hill on the shore,
to be a star in the night,
to be a staff for the weak.
the raising of our hands as an evening oblation.
Lord, who is the light of the world:
You are the Sovereign over day and night — of morning brilliance and the warm glow of vesper-light — and now as the world is clothed in twilight we give thanks that you have graced us today with light. We thank you for the ways you have illumined our path and enlightened our minds. For new insight and deeper understanding, for instruction and intuition, for imagination and vision, we give you thanks.
At the hinge of evening we open our hearts and minds to an examination of the day, trusting that you can be found in both our consolations and desolations.
a few minutes of silence are observed for
the practice of the examen
For the the errors which our examination has revealed we seek your forgiveness, even as we forgive others at this hour. For our consolations over moments of enlightened discipleship we offer you thanks. Aware of our own propensity to choose the darkness and of the even greater strength of your redeeming love and light, we pray for a world in shadow.
As the daylight fades and we approach the dark of night, send your Spirit to calm any restlessness which churns deep within us. Let your Spirit sweep over us, giving form and substance to your love and granting us your deep and abiding peace. We ask this in the name of the one who comes — a light shining in darkness. Amen.
Dismissal - Blessing ascribed to Columba
And now, may kindly Columba guide you
to be an isle in the sea,
to be a hill on the shore,
to be a star in the night,
to be a staff for the weak.
Psalm 141:2; John 8:12, 9:5; Luke 24:29; Revelation 22:20; Matthew 6:14. PHL
Blessing & Dismissal are as translated and found on p. 84, Iona Prayer Book by Peter Millar.
Blessing & Dismissal are as translated and found on p. 84, Iona Prayer Book by Peter Millar.