Let’s face it: to the modern ear, “Daily Office” sounds more like your workplace than your prayer routine. However, while this “office” is not the workplace that it sounds like, it is, in a certain sense, a task or, more appropriately, a vocation. The odd name comes from the Latin officium divinum, which means “divine…
Family Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Do you want to introduce the Daily Office into the life of your family, but the length of those prayer times is a bit daunting for your small children? Or do you want a quick version to do yourself when you have a busy workday? Family Prayer is here to help! It is for exactly…
Midday Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Our days are busy. Life is a nonstop hustle from the time we finish breakfast until we get home from work or school. Lunch itself may be eaten on the go. In the midst of it all, we often neglect Paul’s instruction to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17). However, Midday Prayer is here to…
When Two or Three Are Gathered: Reflections on the Prayer of St. John Chrysostom
Introduction Few preachers in the Patristic Church are as admired and enduring as John Chrysostom.[1] Born in A.D. 349, John developed a love for the written word that his mentor, Diodore, heavily influenced. In response to the rising trend of allegorical interpretation, Diodore and his apprentice emphasized that the Bible should be taken in its…
Compline: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Compline as Night Prayer Many of us are accustomed to saying a quick prayer before bed. The church has a formal tradition of doing this called Compline, the final of four prayer times collectively called the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer. Unlike the two principal offices, Morning and Evening Prayer, Compline (as…
Evening Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Evening Prayer can be a great way to transition from the busy rhythms of work or school into a more restful, reflective last chapter of the day. Multiple authors have explained the value of such prayer for finding God, emotional stability, and even verse memorization. Like all our offices of daily prayer, it can be…
An Introduction to The Daily Office Podcast
Finding time for prayer can be really difficult. I’m an Anglican priest (which means I pray for a living, right?), and I know that as well as anybody. It feels like, as our culture of work takes over our lives more and more, we have to fight tooth and nail to spend time with the…
How to Do Morning Prayer in the ACNA’s 2019 Book of Common Prayer
Where Do I Start? Whether you’re a Rookie Anglican or just “Angli-curious,” perhaps you’ve heard of this new Book of Common Prayer 2019 (BCP 2019) and are asking yourself, “What is this thing?” or “How do I use it?” Learning how to use the BCP is a little like learning to drive a car. It…
The Daily Office Lectionary: A Rookie Anglican Guide
A lectionary is, in simple terms, a Bible reading plan. It tells you which scripture passages to read on specific days, and the Daily Office Lectionary guides you through the scriptures each morning and evening of the year.
Last Minute Instructions for Lent
Lent is drawing near! The word “Lent” comes from the Old English “lencten,” meaning springtime, when the days lengthen. You’ve probably already noticed that! Lent spans the 40 days, excluding Sundays, leading up to the great Paschal Feast of Easter. It is always celebrated in the Western Church on the First Sunday after the first…
Compline To Complete the Day
The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end. Amen. 2019 Book of Common Prayer, Compline, p. 57 Thus begins Compline, the final service of the Daily Office. We ask for the grace and peace of God during the long night hours ahead. We ask for “a perfect end.” Then follows a…
What is a Collect? A Rookie Anglican Guide
As you gather for worship on Sunday, you encounter the Collect for Purity and the Collect of the Day. At Morning or Evening Prayer, you encounter “the Collects.” What are these strange things called “Collects,” and how do you pronounce this word? What is a Collect? A collect is simply a prayer meant to combine…
