One of my favourite prayers is among the most simple. It’s the night prayer from Compline, the service prayed before bed: Save us, O Lord, while waking, and guard us while sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ and asleep may rest in peace. Something that those of us who have grown up in … Continue reading Protection and Promise: The Night Prayer
As I’ve written about before, we’re in an awkward place in contemporary Christianity with the idea of sin. Burnt out or turned off after an over-emphasis on sinfulness, whether from childhood or from cultural baggage, to a lot of people today, any mention of sin is tantamount to an obsession with sin. There can be … Continue reading Keeping the Night Without Sin: Our Evening Prayer
One old tradition that seems to have survived the Church’s many schisms and reforms is the practice of singing The Song of Simeon (often called ‘Nunc Dimittis’ from the first two words of the hymn in Latin) towards the end of evening prayer. If we think back on the prayers we’ve reflected upon so far, … Continue reading Sweet Release: The Song of Simeon
I don’t need to tell anyone that we live in anxious times. A lot of people are genuinely afraid right now, and not without reason. To put it mildly, as a rule, we don’t like fear. It is by definition deeply uncomfortable. But fear serves a purpose. It alerts us to danger and acts as … Continue reading Fear Is the Beginning, Not the End: A Reflection on John 3.1-17
Anyone who takes a lot of photos knows all about Golden Hour. It’s that time just before sunset (or after sunrise) when the light turns soft and warm, and hits everything at just the right angle to transform even the most ordinary object into something beautiful. At Golden Hour, the world seems a little bit … Continue reading Leave a Light On: Gladsome Light
Matthew Root 