The Daily Office. The BCP. I'd like to begin a daily round of dragging myself towards God, but everything I find is either two steps ahead or two behind in my understanding. Maybe my own approach is flawed; I should start with something simpler, but I can't help but think that I shouldn't have to re-invent the wheel. There must be a simple, honest, easily followed pattern to bring one closer to God thru daily devotions. We've got the BCP. We have two lectionaries in that, plus supplemental materials, plus the calendar, plus the Ordinary, plus, plus, plus... It takes me longer to work out which bits to use each day than it does to actually use them.
I'll start with Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families. The Lectionary for the Daily Office (Year Two, Proper 28, Monday), gives us Psalms 89:1-18(Morning) and again 89:19-52(Evening). Also for Readings we have Habakkuk 2:1-4, 9-20 (OT:Morning), James 2:14-26 (Epistle:Noon), and Luke 16:19-31(Gospel:Evening). Problem is, I have places in the daily devotions for FOUR readings and THREE psalms. So, who gets left out, or included? And what about the Collects? How do I choose those? Sure, there are collects for a variety of occasions and purposes, and for each Sunday in the calendar, and for Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays, but what about the rest of the week? Do I use the same collect for all four prayers?
Morning Prayer Noon Prayer Evening Prayer
Monday The Renewal for Peace (p. 69)
of Life (p.56)
Tuesday for Peace (p. 57) Aid Against Perils
(p. 70)
Wednsday for Grace (p. 57) for Protection (p. 70)
Thursday for Guidance (p. 57) Presence of Christ
Friday for Friday (p. 57) for Friday (p 69)
Saturday for Saturday (p. 57) for saturday (p 69)
Sunday for Sunday (p. 57) (appointed) for Sunday (p 69)
Beyond these, I got nothing.Still, I can't help but think this is a start, however badly, on the path i want to follow. If I can do this, maybe a regular exercise regimen can be next...
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