Time to get back to our Catholic roots

(Ironically, my ad column changed before I posted this...)

How many protestants have ever read the Book of Common Prayer? Let's see those hands. Anyone ever used a rosary? I thought not.

I was thinking about this last night after getting myself into a twit over the loss of my precious time. (Ooh, and C.S. Lewis' writings convicted me again...From Screwtape Letters on peevishness and our possessiveness about OUR time being wasted.) The prayer that came to mind was from the Book of Common Prayer (the Anglican service book). You can read that text here.

By blowing off Catholicism as unbiblical, don't we lose out on many things that would be beneficial? Granted, I cannot believe that Mary was a perpetual virgin, nor that she was sinless. I think it's pretty obvious that Jesus did have half brothers and sisters. And I don't believe church authorities are infallible.

But.

Read through the Book of Common Prayer sometime. The only thing that seemed even questionable to me was the idea of praying for the dead...And if you substitute a "with" (used elsewhere in the liturgy) instead of "for" it's passable. Beyond the Liturgy, there are prayers for personal use as well. For every situation. For special occasions. Days of the week, morning and evening. Have trouble remembering what all to pray? The Prayers of the People cover governments, world leaders, the poor, the sick, the homeless, and anyone in trouble. Our friends and family, our enemies, our neighbors. It's a great place to start if you're at a loss. And that brings me to:

The Rosary. I don't have a "real" one, though Pam does. I made my own because I liked the idea. (Playing a mystic nun sold me on it) Mine has three kinds of beads with a cross at the bottom. I have alternating ornate silver beads and oval rose stone beads, with five seed beads between. I used the silver beads for "Our Father's," the pink ones to pray for individuals, and the seed beads for thanks for blessings, prayer requests, and anything that falls in the "other" category. I try to use them mostly for praise and thanks. There are around 75 seed beads on my rosary. It's amazing what you can find to be thankful for around number thirty-five. "And for....Shoes. Thank you also for......Kitchen appliances that don't burst spontaneously into flames..." And, if I'm confessing here...I have one little round pink stone bead to pray for the welfare of my husband. If he's out there. My ONE concession to girlish fantasies. Otherwise I don't spend much time pining.

Confession. There's a concept. Not to a priest, but mutual confession keeps you humble. My friend Wendy often tells me where she's failed in her day, and vice versa. Person to person, it keeps you from needing to maintain the "perfect Christian" image all the time. Since they know you aren't, anyway...

And there's more, but my rant is long enough. Hymns. Solitude....

Anyone have anything to add?