Good Friday: Reframing our Existence

It is almost two months since my last post. I have needed this time away from the computer terminal to allow a few spiritual practices to leave a substantial enough residue in my life to be worth commenting on. It is Good Friday and it seems a good time to try drawing a few reflections together.

Over the past two months my wife and I have set aside time morning and evening to pray the Daily Office of the church according to the Anglican tradition. At first I thought having two children under the age of five buzzing around would make this discipline nearly impossible. However this isn’t the case. Instead I ensure I rise by 6.30am to provide myself some childfree space for the morning office. This is an office I pray alone. A few times my son has heard me chanting the psalms and come out to listen to me. Having given him the choice of playing in his room or sitting quietly beside me, he ususally chooses the latter option. One morning a few days ago Ailan sat in absolute silence during ten minutes of centering prayer! Evenings are even simpler to negotiate; children are read to and put to bed by 7.15pm and Anna and I meet for Evening prayer at 7.30pm. This office has recently incorporated 20 minutes of centering prayer following the Magnificat and before our intercessions. So far the mechanics of this are achievable; it requires a reasonable but not unrealistic degree of intentionality.

“How do you find the time?” a friend asked me recently. Well I guess the rudiments of this kind of daily pattern are not new to me so it didn’t require too much manipulation to create space. I have found that if we make space for daily prayer then the fruit of prayer will make space for every other neccessary thing. It is best not to approach this endeavour with clenched teeth, regretting all the television or internet hours we will lose. Rather allowing the discipline of the Daily Office to reframe our existence provideds us with a doorway to liberation from all those “things” that daily separate us from the presence of God. This is not to say that praying the Office guarantees a realised presence of God in our lives. The only guarantee is that there will be times of spiritual dryness in our lives. This is where the Daily Office comes into its own; by providing us with a framework within which to faithfully present ourselves before God regardless of whether we feel good.