Prayers for healing - Rector's Rambling for February 28, 2021

     A great thing about being an Episcopalian is that we have the Book of Common Prayer to help us and guide us in the life of prayer.

There are prayers for healing and surgical recovery on page 597 in our 1928 Prayer Book, in a section titled “Family Prayer”.  Most of us know the Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Holy Communion, and Psalter portions of the prayer book, but there are other wonderful sections for the milestones in the life of a Christian.  Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, Thanksgiving for Childbirth, Visitation of the Sick, and Burial of the Dead, as well as the various ordination liturgies are all laid out for use and study.

The Family Prayer section includes shorter liturgies for Morning and Evening Prayer to be used in a family that isn’t quite up to the lengthier Daily Office discipline.  It also contains “Additional Prayers” such as the two listed above.  I encourage you to read through these prayers beginning on page 594, as well as the various Collects given in the section of “Prayers and Thanksgivings” beginning on page 35.

The two prayers above were helpful this week as I prepared for some laparoscopic surgery last Wednesday to repair a part of my abdomen wall that did not heal properly after my emergency surgery in Finland in September 2019.  Thank you for your prayers before, during, and after the procedure.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, our Lenten Classes are all recorded on video.  I hope that you are taking advantage of the Morning Meditations, Lenten Lunchtime Lessons, and our class on the Lord’s Prayer.  And although I have to take it a bit slower this week (I might take it easy while trying to genuflect), all liturgies are back on the schedule.