16 September 2009
A Loehe Gem Via Fast
Fr. Fast has posted up on his facebook an insight from Loehe, that the Church is not liturgical because she possesses certain beautiful and ancient texts, but because she intercedes for the world. How utterly right on! One of my Treasury joys is the manner in which the daily prayers lead us weekly to pray for all sorts and conditions. Today, Wednesdays, we devote to praying for the dying. I'm so thankful when one of my parishioners dies that I've been asking these things for them together with countless others who are praying with me. Tuesday we remember prisoners of war and especially all who are persecuted for the faith. Thursday we remember the communicants and pray for a fruitful use of the Sacrament among us and in our own lives. On and on. Each day there is something we are particularly interceding about and by the time the week is done, we've done what Schmemann once described: taking the world in our hand as an apple and handing it to God. This is how we live the Christian life - we intercede - for our life is union with Him who lives to intercede for us, and as the Larger Catechism confesses: "All our shelter and protection rest in prayer alone."
Come on, William! Wouldn't you rather wear one of those "off the chain" little microphones, put on a Hawaiian shirt, grow one of those teeny little beards under your lower lip, and hold your hands in the air to a Jesus My Boyfriend anthem by a lady "pastor" or "worship leader" contorting her face into back-arching ecstasy as you strut around blurting out ex corde "wejustwanna" prayes?
ReplyDeleteHow can you be praying those old-fashioned prayers when we're supposed to be Ablaze!(tm) with what the new old-timers are calling "CoWo"?
You just don't have a heart for the lost. How could you?
- sarcasm indicator off -
LOL. But do think of it: is there intercession going on in such gatherings? In my experience, not so much. If there is, there is intercession MERELY for the concerns of that assembly. It is a mark of the Church that she intercedes for all; it is the mark of the world that she is concerned only about herself.
ReplyDeleteSaid in the Luther way:
ReplyDeleteIf the Christian lives outside of himself; living in God by faith and in his neighbor by love, then intercession is the first and primary form of living outside of ourselves, because in love it takes the needs of the neighbor and presents them to God in faith.
I was struck in praying the litany today in how that prayer does precisely that.
Ah, but how much more your prayers would accomplish if you'd paid to attend the Pray 2009 event! Why, you could have then joined others in praying for "those who have not ACCEPTED Jesus"!!!
ReplyDelete