A Day in the Office

Here we are in the last week of Epiphany, and next week we will gather in the evening for Shrove Tuesday dinner, and then burn the palms, and say farewell to including the Alleluias in our prayers until the Easter Vigil.

The Daily Office comprises Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline. The Invitatory Psalm, one of the opening portions of Morning Prayer, includes an Antiphon appropriate to the season, that is said before and after the Invitatory Psalm (an example of an Invitatory Psalm is Ps. 95:1-7). 

The Antiphon for Epiphany is:

The Lord has shown forth his glory. Come let us adore him.

The Antiphon for Lent is:

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Come let us adore him.

This change in Antiphon truly states where we are, not only in the church year, but in our lives.  If the times and the season are dark, Epiphany, and the beams of the Transfiguration that we celebrate this Sunday give us light. As we warm into spring and the days lengthen, Lent becomes a time to contemplate God, a time for spiritual restoration and readiness, a time to set aside that which can diminish God’s presence in our lives. That can be a hard work of discernment, and can even be a little scary. But, approach it only as you are able, and allow God to seep into your life and strengthen you, for,

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. Come let us adore him.

CJ+