Rogation Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

 Yesterday was the Fifth Sunday after Easter, commonly called Rogation Sunday in the Anglican tradition. The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Day have been called Rogation Days. These days seem to date from the sixth century at Rome where Christian prayers for crops were appointed. Early processional litanies were associated with this observance, and other prayers of supplication were included during times of disaster. At the time of the English Reformation, the Rogation Days continued to be observed. In 1544, Thomas Cranmer first published the English Litany (based on Medieval and Lutheran sources). Although the Litany was originally said weekly, the Rogation Days were notable occasions for saying or singing the Litany in procession.

Books of Common Prayer from 1549 onward continued to include the Litany petition "that it may please thee to give and preserve to our use the kindly fruits of the earth so that in due time we may enjoy them." There were also other prayers related to nature and weather, and the American Prayer Book has incorporated a collect, epistle, and gospel on this theme (see !928 BCP, pp. 261-263).

Although many modern people are far removed from the agricultural cycle of life, we should continue to be aware of and pray for the natural cycle that provides food and sustains earthly life. Furthermore, as we  approach Ascension Day on Thursday, it is also appropriate that we be especially aware of Christ as our heavenly Intercessor and Mediator. So on these days and every day, let us pray for both natural and spiritual needs in Christ's name, in His spirit, and for His purposes.

Trinity X- Luke 19: 41-47

The Gospel for Sunday is from Luke 19:41-47. In particular, Luke 19:41 says, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it…” In the first century, Jerusalem was so corrupt that our Lord wept over it/ It did not live up to its calling to be a truly holy city, and it chose the path that led to its destruction. 

Of course, no human city ever has been or will be completely pure. Sin is always present in this world, and various forms of moral, social, and political corruption will resist God's higher purposes till the end of the age. Nevertheless, there are degrees of corruption, and we live in times when the cities of what used to be called Christendom have become more corrupt than usual. Many of our leaders and institutions go beyond particular human failings and actually promote anti-Christian values. Such corruption even permeates many religious institutions.

Such turning from divine purposes has gone beyond the big cities to the small towns and villages. Local elites and many religious leaders seem more concerned about social and political "correctness" than about Biblical principles of belief and behavior. So surely Christ must weep over our cities, towns, communities, and congregations. We are in a sad predicament.

Yet, even as Christ weeps over us, He also prays for us and keeps working for our salvation. So let us turn to Him and repent of our own failings. Let us seek Christ's guidance, pray for those around us, and do our small parts to live in the ways God wants. No matter how corrupt a society and its institutions become, there is always hope for a faithful remnant.

A Prayer for All Conditions of Men

This morning, it dawned on me that I had never written a post about one of the most beloved Anglican prayers, A Prayer for All Conditions of Men. It reads:

O God, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are any ways afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; [* especially those for whom our prayers are desired;] that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them, according to their several necessities; giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen

Although quintessentially Anglican, this prayer was not yet written at the time of the earliest editions of the Book of Common Prayer. During the seventeenth century, a longer form of this prayer was written by the Reverend Dr. Peter Gunning, a Cambridge high churchman.  Dr. Gunning  (later bishop) intended this prayer for use in Evening Prayer when the Litany was not said. In 1662, revisers of the BCP edited out some redundant intercessions and included this intercession among the occasional prayers provided after the Daily Offices and Litany. The 1789 American BCP included this prayer among the basic options for Morning and Evening Prayer (perhaps because Americans tended to use the Litany, the Bidding Prayer, and the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ's Church infrequently).

The Prayer for All Conditions of Men includes three general petitions- 1) for divine grace and enlightenment, 2) for the universal Church and its mission and unity, and 3) for all those afflicted in any way. When employed with other office prayers for guidance, for civil authority, and for clergy and congregations, the most common intercessions are included in Morning or Evening Prayer. Furthermore, the phrase in brackets allows for more specificity to local or personal needs. So although every Anglican recitation of the Daily Office does not require the use of this prayer, it is beautiful and useful, and it deserves to be said frequently (and not hidden among numerous prayers at the back of a book),