One of my favorite prayers in our wonderful Book of Common Prayer comes at the end of the service of Holy Baptism. It is a prayer for the newly baptized, and in its last line especially it expresses wonderful qualities that I hope that all of us come to embody more and more.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that by water and the Holy Spirit you have bestowed upon these your servants the forgiveness of sin, and have raised them to the new life of grace. Sustain them, O Lord, in your Holy Spirit. Give them an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love you, and the gift of joy and wonder in all your works. Amen. (p. 308)
We are planning to have several baptisms at the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday, April 4 ─ I hope you will join us and hear this prayer “in action.” And we might pray it for ourselves any time!
Also, I have a request: During Mother Anna’s sabbatical, we will be sharing favorite prayers from the Book of Common Prayer twice a month in these meditations. We’d love to know what your favorite prayer is! Please email me ([email protected]) and let me know which one and why. Your choice could be featured in a future meditation. Thank you!
Title: Baptism of Jesus; Date: 1950; Artist: Castera Bazile; Building: Cathedrale de Sainte Trinite; Object/Function: Fresco; City/Town: Port-au-Prince; Country: Haiti; Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:4-11, Luke 3:15-17, 21-22, Acts 2:14a, 36-41. Notes: Artwork in Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral, Port au Prince Haiti — mostly destroyed by earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010. Castera Bazile painted this section celebrating Christ’s baptism. Attempts are underway to retain as many sections of the damaged murals as possible, so that reconstruction attempts can eventually begin, when appropriate and when funding has been secured. The entire cathedral interior was covered with murals painted by Haitian artists during the period from 1950-1951. Permalink: https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54305 (Use this link to refer back to this image.)
