This prayer comes from A Time To Pray, a little book given to me on the occasion of my ordination by Fr. Richard Fenn. It is copyrighted by The Church Pension Fund, 1981.
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This is another day, O Lord. I know not what it will bring forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be. If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely. If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly. If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently. And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit of Jesus. Amen.
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A wonderful prayer that I've been reading and praying often.
I recently finished reading, Thomas Howard's book, Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God In Liturgy and Sacrament. The book reminded me at some level of Robert Webber's, Worship Old and New. The difference resides in the personal narrative that Howard adds and the journey he undergoes as he moves from being the son of evangelical missionaries to becoming a full blown Catholic Christian. His work is appreciative of evangelicalism but views it as lots of others have - not the fullness of the faith, or a bare bones presentation of the gospel Jesus talked about.
His work was probably ground breaking at the time (1984) but is not now surprising. He does note that his acceptance of Catholicism is not merely a private journey but is large enough to warrant the phrase "a movement in the Church." He then adds rightly, "Observers who wish to find the phenomenon only a taste for pomp and stained glass may be asked most earnestly to pause and attend (149)." It's amazing to me that the tradition I've been in is not taking this work and others more seriously.
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