Month: March 2020

Prayer for 16 Mar 20, the Eve of the Feast of Saint Patrick and the ongoing pandemic.

~ Philosophical Haligonian ~ Leave a comment

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

O Almighty God, who in thy wrath didst send a plague upon thine own people in the wilderness, for their obstinate rebellion against Moses and Aaron; and also, in the time of king David, didst slay with the plague of pestilence threescore and ten thousand, and yet remembering thy mercy didst save the rest: Have pity upon us miserable sinners, who now are visited with great sickness and mortality; that like as thou didst then accept of an atonement, and didst command the destroying Angel to cease from punishing, so it may now please thee to withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Tonight we pray for all those affected by this coronavirus pandemic. We confess that we have sinned against you with our hubris, thinking plagues were no longer something that affected our society.

We pray for the sick, for their comfort and their speedy recovery from illness.

We pray for those at risk and vulnerable to this disease, may they be lucky enough not to be infected by this sickness.

We pray for the physicians, nurses, and other medical and healthcare workers who care for the sick and are working relentlessly to prevent the disease from spreading to the healthy.

We pray for travellers across this globe who are scared, lost, or unable to return home at this time.

We pray for all those who are directly and indirectly affected by this pandemic, including those in the travel industry, the food and service industry, and other small businesses and industries, that have seen reductions in their business, may they have the strength, resources, and ability to weather these uncertain times. May the world be restored to its former glory in due course, and our lives return to normal, without fear of disease or uncertainty.

We pray that people listen to the direction and advice of physicians, government leaders, and health authorities. That they do not live in fear or panic but able to find calm and be humbled, showing neighbourly love and care, especially to those in need, sickness, or suffering; and not acting in selfishness, greed, or personal desire or gain.

We are humbled before thee, meekly upon our knees, and ask for forgiveness and mercy for us miserable offenders. Grant us thy peace and comfort through faith in our saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Third Sunday in Lent (Morning Prayer)

~ Philosophical Haligonian ~ Leave a comment
Solemn Morning Prayer at home

O Almighty God, who in thy wrath didst send a plague upon thine own people in the wilderness, for their obstinate rebellion against Moses and Aaron; and also, in the time of king David, didst slay with the plague of pestilence threescore and ten thousand, and yet remembering thy mercy didst save the rest: Have pity upon us miserable sinners, who now are visited with great sickness and mortality; that like as thou didst then accept of an atonement, and didst command the destroying Angel to cease from punishing, so it may now please thee to withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
-Prayer in the time of any common plague of sickness, Book of Common Prayer (1662)

While Sunday services haven’t been cancelled in Nova Scotia yet because of the COVID-19 pandemic (at the time of writing, Nova Scotia is the only Canadian province not to have any confirmed cases of COVID-19), I made the difficult decision that it would be more prudent for all that I celebrated a solemn Morning Prayer on this Third Sunday in Lent at home rather than potentially exposing more vulnerable people at church.

I used recordings of Tallis and generous use of incense to compensate for the less than formal setting (some would argue that I would use any excuse to burn incense, but I digress). God is within all of us, and the church is not a physical place, but a place of mind.

Please pray for all our health service workers, the sick, the dying, the vulnerable, the scared, and those who need our prayers during these uncertain times.