A Franciscan Order of Morning Prayer

We adore you,
most holy Lord Jesus Christ,
Here, and in all your churches throughout all the world;
and we bless you because, by your holy cross,
you have redeemed the world.
Amen.

O Lord, open our lips
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise

The Canticle of the Sun:
Most High, all powerful, good Lord,
to you be praise, glory, honour and all blessing.
Only to you, Most High, do they belong
and no one is worthy to call upon your name.
May you be praised, my Lord, with all your creatures,
especially brother sun, through whom you lighten the day for us.
He is beautiful and radiant with great splendour;
he signifies you, O Most High.
Be praised, my Lord, for sister moon and the stars:
clear and precious and lovely, they are formed in heaven.
Be praised, my Lord, for brother wind
and by air and clouds, clear skies and all weathers,
by which you give sustenance to your creatures.
Be praised, my Lord, for sister water,
who is very useful and humble and precious and pure.
Be praised, my Lord, for brother fire, by whom the night is illumined for us:
he is beautiful and cheerful, full of power and strength.
Be praised, my Lord, for sister, our mother earth,
who sustains and governs us and produces diverse fruits
and coloured flowers and grass.
Be praised, my Lord, by all those who forgive for love of you
and who bear weakness and tribulation.
Blessèd are those who bear them in peace: for you, Most High, they will be crowned.
Be praised, my Lord, for our sister, the death of the body,
from which no one living is able to flee; woe to those who are dying in mortal sin.
Blessèd are those who are found doing your most holy will,
for the second death will do them no harm.
Praise and bless my Lord and give him thanks
and serve him with great humility.

A Reading from the Rule of the First Order...


Now is the time to awake out of sleep,
For the night is far spent and the day is at hand

Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed
For the night is far spent

Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light,
For the day is at hand

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh,
For the night is far spent and the day is at hand

Cross Prayers:
Having in mind Saint Francis’ devotion to the passion of Christ
and looking upon our Lord’s cross,
with arms outstretched,
let us pray to the Lord.

(We will begin by naming people, places or issues for which we wish to pray and will then continue in silent prayer for a couple of minutes)

You have sealed, O Lord, your servant Francis,
With the signs of our redemption.

Most High and glorious God,
enlighten the darkness of our hearts
and give us a true faith, a certain hope
and a perfect love.
Give us a sense of the divine
and knowledge of yourself,
so that we may do everything
in fulfilment of your holy will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
Our Father in heaven...

Conclusion:
May the life-giving cross
be the source of all our joy and peace.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

My changing story...

‘Please God, not again!’ Do I have to tell yet another person where I’m from, what degree I’m doing and the seemingly accidental spiritual meanders that have brought me to this place? Could I not just get a T-shirt printed covering the basics? You too may be at this point.

This time last year, I arrived, unpacked, told my story to new found friends and at the end of my first week started to feel a little more secure in my institutional life. If that is your experience, I’m afraid that I have some bad news because now that story will all start to move beneath your feet.

Over the last year I have met people with whom I have prayed and sung, debated and argued, danced and drank, sometimes whilst outlining exactly how I would have improved on the last Federation Service. If only they had listened.

I have read things that questioned long-held beliefs but also challenged more of my doubts. I have been asked to do things which I thought myself unable to achieve and was encouraged by generous people when I didn’t get it right.

In-between all of these experiences- in times of prayer, in the Eucharist or just staring out of the study window across a lawn. In these moments things have clicked, I have suddenly understood why things happened many years ago and what it means for where I go next. And so, my story has changed.

So I would advise you to share your story but not cling to it. To know that the ground will shift beneath you but that it is Holy Ground. And to know that God has brought us here, now, with these people for a purpose, if only we will make the time to discover it.