During Lent we gathered as a group on Wednesday evenings to
share a simple meal and to reflect on the most familiar of Christian
prayers. We took this Lord’s Prayer line
by line and reflected on what each petition means to us and how we might better
incorporate the words into our lives.
The conversations were rich and flowed easily.
Our curriculum was one provided by the Society of St John
the Evangelist in Cambridge MA. Each
week one of the brothers offered a reflection from which we would begin. Unexpectedly, in one reflection there was a
rendering of the Lord’s Prayer that really resonated with us. Br Sean Glenn, SSJE wrote, “…as with anything
we hold in close proximity, the very familiarity of these words can sometimes
obscure the prayer’s true power to transform us, and can dull the challenge by which
it seeks to summon us beyond our illusory sense of self-dependence…”
Familiarity can be the death knell for creativity unless we
stop and really consider what we are saying.
One way that resonated with us we changing the wording of the
prayer. Now if experience has taught me anything
it is that the liturgist can mess with anything on Sunday morning EXCEPT the
Lord’s Prayer. So it is with great trepidation
that I agreed with the group to use a new version of the prayer during the
Easter season. So heads up St Patrick’s there
is uncharted road ahead. Here’s a sneak
peak…
Holy One, our only home,
Blessed be your name,
May your day dawn,
Your will be done,
Here, as in heaven,
Feed us today and forgive us,
As we forgive each other,
Do not forsake us at the test,
But deliver us from evil,
For the glory, the power,
And the mercy are yours
Now and forever. Amen
Mother Jane
