"As
over continent and island
the dawn leads on another day,
the voice of prayer is never silent,
nor dies the strain of praise away.
The sun that bids us rest is waking
Your people 'neath the western sky,
and hour by hour fresh lips are making
Your wondrous doings heard on high."
(Hymn from the Prayer of the Church - J. Ellerton 1826-93)
Have you ever noticed the small group
of people - Carmelite friars, lay women and men - reciting
prayers
in the church as
you arrive for the 10 am and 7 pm. Masses on weekdays? This
little group are joining the universal Church in the recitation
of Morning
and Evening Prayer, adding voices from Knocklyon to that "voice
of prayer which is never silent" all over the world. They
are praising God, using the same hymns, psalms, scripture and
intercessions that are recited in many other languages "over
continent and island".
Across the continents, through millennia,
the cycles of light and darkness, sun and moon, have controlled
the course of the
human journey. Countless generations of Christians have woven
a tradition of praying at significant moments of the day
into the very fabric of their lives. The first Christians built
upon
the tradition of their Jewish ancestors and prayed at sunset
and sunrise, at noon and at night, and later at other natural
breaks in the day. Of all these hours, sunrise and sunset
have come to be regarded as the two most important "hinges" of
each day.
For the past forty years or so since
Vatican II, the "Liturgy
of the Hours", as it is known, has been reclaimed
as the official prayer of the whole Church, and not just
for religious
and priests. The psalms and canticles of Morning and Evening
Prayer are our common cry of remembrance and hope, of praise
and despair, of confidence and fear. The human emotions
articulated so well by those who composed the psalms draw
us together;
we find ourselves echoing their cries, and praying for
one another
in their words. Take some examples:
"Out
of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,
Lord, hear my voice!
0 let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleading."
- from Psalm 129(130)
" Lord I am deeply afflicted:
by your word give me life."
-from Psalm 118(119)
"In the morning, fill us with your
love
we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to balance our affliction;
Give success to the work of our hands.
Give success to the work of our hands."
-from Psalm 89(90)
"Like the deer that yearns for running
streams
so my soul is yearning for you, my God."
-from Psalm 41(42)
"A pure heart create for me, 0 God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your Holy Spirit."
-from Psalm 50(51)
Perhaps you find that the words of these psalms echo your own
innermost thoughts, prayers or petitions right now.
Why not discover more of the riches of this most ancient form
of prayer? Why not take note of the following times and come
along and join with those who have gathered? After all, it is
meant to be the Prayer, not just of a few, but of the whole Church.