A Wee Discovery in the Wee Worship Book

This morning, while doing my usual morning prayers, I decided to use the resource "A Wee Worship Book," from the Iona Community of Scotland. I have been cycling through their morning liturgies, and this morning, I happened upon Morning Liturgy D (This will only be helpful or interesting to you if you happen to own the book. If you don't--go get it!)

Anyway, this morning's prayers included a line that struck me as I read it:
"Let us pray for those who may be born today and bless them in Jesus' name." It struck me partly because of the novelty of the thing, but also because of the concept. Obviously, I don't know anyone who might be born today, but that shouldn't stop me from pausing to think about those who do, and giving thanks before God for them. What a way to embody the Body of Christ, which includes even the smallest and most helpless among us!

The prayer also calls for us to remember those who may face death today. Again, I can't say I know anyone who fits that category (although we might all be said to be facing death all the days of our lives), but it's been uplifting to my spirit to lift up those who might be in that situation, and to remember them before the throne of God's grace.

I was also blessed by the closing words of the liturgy:

Leader: The peace of God,
The peace of God's people,
The peace of Mary mild, the loving one,
and Christ, King of human hearts,
God's own peace. . .

All: Be upon each thing our eyes take in,
Be upon each thing our ears take in,
Be upon our bodies which come from the earth,
Be upon our souls which come from heaven,
Evermore and evermore, Amen. (a)

What earthy spirituality are the prayers of the Celtic peoples! Thanks be to God for their gifts to us.

Evermore and Evermore,

David

(a) A Wee Worship Book by the Wild Goose Worship Group; Glasgow:Wild Goose Publications; 1999. The introduction to this liturgy states that the prayers in the liturgy came originally from Alexander Carmichael's book Carmina Gadelica (Songs of the Gaels), which was published at the end of the 19th century.