At least I have learnt more about the controversial altar cloth. it can be viewed at:
http://www.christchurchcathedral.co.nz/news/media_releases.html
Apparently the offending section is in Sanskrit and comes from Hindu writings (Surely Christians can learn from others) and reads:
"From the unreal, lead me to the real. From darkness lead me to the light. From death lead me to immortality."
This is a similar concept to what is found in A New Zealand Prayer Book/He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa (p.164).
World Peace Prayer
Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth;
lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust;
lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart,
our world, our universe.
A beautiful prayer in my opinion whatever its origins.
3 comments:
During some periods for variety, I pray my daily office using the "Glenstal Book of Prayer," a Benedictine Prayer Book used by the monks of Glenstal Abbey, Limerick, Ireland.
The "Morning invocation of the light" for Daily Prayer is:
Glory be to God who has shown us the light!
Lead me from darkness to light,
Lead me from sadness to joy,
Lead me from death to immortality.
Glory be to God who has shown us the light!
This Christian prayer does not seem that different from the Sanscrit one, does it?
Thank you for this boocat. My evangelical background emphasised extempore prayer and I really must investigate more prayers written by various sources
brianR,
I was brought up in the Southern Baptist Church. The Episcopal Church with its Book of Common Prayer and learning to pray the Daily Office has been particularly enriching to my spiritual life. Finding prayers and prayer books from other traditions only adds to the experience. The New Zealand Prayer Book is particularly beautiful.
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