I know and love her best from her four Crosswicks Journals, which are memoirs...but she has also inspired artists with Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art and captivated seekers of faith with her other thoughtful non-fiction. Madeleine, an Episcopalian in faith practice, served as Writer in Residence at the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for many years.
Today for your consideration, I offer a short passage from Book I of her Genesis Trilogy: "And It Was Good" (Northstone Publishing 1997). At this time, when we are being asked to make significant sacrifices in the way we relate to each other in person, and as a faith community, Madeleine reminds us...
We never pray alone. Ever. Even if there is no other human being around us who is willing or able to pray with us, we are in the company of angels and archangels. We are surrounded by a glorious cloud of witnesses. And, even when we feel most isolated, there are other human creatures, somewhere, who are praying with us...A quiet listening to the words of the Psalms, to the readings from both Old and New Testaments, to the great prayers of the collects and canticles, is often a prelude to the prayers which go beyond words, go deeper than words, leading us from reading to thinking to prayer.
The Psalm for Morning Prayer*
Monday, March 16, 2020:
Psalm 80
(p. 812, Book of Alternative Services)
Below, read aloud in the King James Version
(source: YouTube)
*Source: Online Lectionary - Anglican Church of Canada
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