CMP Review 2025-04-20

The Book of Common Prayer provides this Collect, or prayer of invocation, for Easter Sunday:

Almighty God, who through thine only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; We humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace preventing us thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end.

In 1921 Charlotte Mason commented on this prayer:

What a grand opening to the Collect for Easter Day!—“opened the gate of everlasting life.” We rather expect after going through all the hopes of Easter to pass on to something large and great and wonderful, and we find a prayer that any one can use at any time—“Put into our minds good desires.”

This is indeed a prayer that anyone can use at any time — a prayer that God would enable us to desire the good and shun the evil. It is a prayer involved with repentance, which is the theme of the poem we share today from her sixth volume of poetry. Read or hear it here.

@artmiddlekauff

🖼️: Pilate Washing His Hands by Mattia Preti