The Book of Common Prayer

 

     A book that is important to me is the 1662 Book of Common Prayer,  mediated by the revised Canadian edition of 1962. The Book of Common Prayer has a complex history tied in with the history of England and its church which I won’t go into. Suffice to say that it has become part of the language of the English speaking world, as much as Shakespeare and the Authorized version of the Bible. Even when becoming a Roman Catholic,  I kept my mothers Anglican prayer book close to me and recited the offices of Matins and Evensong. What joy it was recently when I received a prayer book or breviary containing the hours of prayer as contained in the Anglican BCP officially approved by the Catholic Church with the offices and the readings of the lectionary all in one book. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer is designed for lay people,  being a simplified version of the Catholic prayer service. It has two principle offices, morning and evening prayer. In the Catholic Church the offices were traditionally recited by priests and religious who prayed all six or seven hours of the offices. I experienced this when living at a Trappist monastery in Holland, Manitoba. For good or Ill the Church of England suppressed the monastic orders,  and its liturgy was designed by Thomas Cranmer for all Christian’s to pray. After Vatican II the Catholic Church also simplified its official prayer book, the Liturgy of the Hours, and is now often prayed by lay people and not just priests or religious.
Anyways recently the Book of Common Prayer has become my principal form of devotion. I am not always sure if I prefer the psalter of Miles Coverdale, compared to the Grail translation. But I particularly still like the prayers and collects of the traditional language of Thomas Cranmer. I enjoy reading the language of the service of matrimony and deeply appreciate the service of burial with all the expressions that have made its way into our culture.

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