A plaque on the ruins of Osney Abbey recalls the martyrdom Robert of Reading in 1222 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
Patrick Comerford
I was writing last night about my search last week for the ruins of Osney Abbey on the outskirts of Oxford, and how this had been the venue for the Synod of Oxford in 1222, when a number of tranches of antisemitic legislation were passed, leading eventually to the expulsion of Jews from England in 1290.
A plaque is fixed to a decaying wall that is part of the ruins of Osney Abbey in the grounds of Osney Marina at the far end of Mill Street, Oxford. This plaque was one of a number of plaques erected by Oxford City Council in 1931 and reads: ‘Near this stone in Osney Abbey, Robert of Reading, otherwise Haggai of Oxford, suffered for his faith on Sunday 17 April 1222 AD, corresponding to 4 Iyyar 4982 AM.’
The plaque has remained in place for almost a century, despite the further decline and decay of the abbey ruins and the continuing development over the past nine decades or more of Osney Marina and of residential, commercial and office buildings on the site.
The plaque makes no reference either to the context of events in Oxford in the 13th century, nor does it reflect context of the time this plaque and two similar plaques were erected in Oxford.
The story of the plaque in Osney is further complicated by the facts: it seems that there was not one but two clerical Roberts in Oxford – a Robert of Oxford and a Robert of Reading – who both converted to Judaism in the 13th century, who both took the name Haggai, and who both married a young Jewish woman. To complicate things, it seems one was burned to death for his principles, while the other survived, although it is not clear whether he was imprisoned or was expelled from England.
The plaque is a reminder of the 13th century stories of Robert of Reading and Robert of Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The stories behind the plaque and the stories of these two Roberts are set in a time when anti-Jewish feeling was rampant throughout England. The Jewish community of York had been massacred in Clifford’s Tower in 1190. In one of the worst antisemitic massacres of the Middle Ages, the Jewish community of York were trapped by a violent mob and many Jews chose to die by suicide rather than be murdered. It was the bloodiest outbreak of antisemitism in 12th century England.
The first Robert of Oxford appears on the scene a generation later in 1220. He was a young Christian deacon who was studying Hebrew at Oxford University when he decided to become a Jew, had himself circumcised and married a young Jewish woman.
Following his conversion to Judaism and his circumcision, this Robert was brought before the Archbishop of Canterbury, Stephen Langton. At his trial, it was seen that Robert the deacon had been circumcised. Despite interrogation, no argument would change his mind, and a crucifix was brought before him.
Robert reportedly defiled the crucifix, saying, ‘I renounce the new-fangled law and the comments of Jesus the false prophet.’ It was said he reviled and slandered the Virgin Mary and made a charge against her ‘not to be repeated.’
Robert’s outspoken responses cost him his life. One account says he was burnt alive for heresy. Another says he was taken out and decapitated. Although his wife was spared the same fate, the executioner reportedly lamented, ‘I am sorry that this fellow goes to hell alone.’
The story of this first Robert is often confused with a second, similar figure, Robert of Reading, who also converted to Judaism in Oxford around 1275 and also took the name Haggai. However, historians do not agree about the details of his fate.
Robert of Reading was a Dominican friar from London who lived in the second half of the 13th century. An excellent preacher, he was given the task of seeking to convert Jews to Christianity, and was sent to Oxford to learn Hebrew. But as Robert mastered more Hebrew and more Jewish texts, the more he was drawn to Judaism, and his decision to convert to Judaism was stimulated by his study of the Bible.
When this Robert became a Jew in 1275, he too took the name Haggai, and he too subsequently married a Jewish woman. One source speaks of ‘a priest who … desired a very beautiful woman’ He ‘would talk to her every day [but] she told him that she would not marry an uncircumcised one. The priest, who desired her and loved her and listened to her and secretly converted and married her. When his [fellow priests] heard about this thing, it was a disgrace – adding to their hatred of the Jews – and they demanded to harm the Jews.’
When Edward I heard of this, Robert, or Haggai, was summoned before the king and argued boldly. The king then handed Robert over to the Archbishop of Canterbury to deal with. Robert ‘defended his new faith with great warmth,’ according to the historian Heinrich Graetz, who believed his conversion was genuine and not undertaken for other motives, such as the desire to marry a beautiful Jewish woman.
The fate of this Robert remains unknown. Graetz believed that both he and his wife escaped to safety; other scholars suggest he died in prison.
According to Graetz, the Dominicans were so embarrassed by Robert’s conversion and marriage that they quickly approached the ‘bigoted, avaricious queen mother, Eleanor, [who] … first expelled the Jews from the town of Cambridge which belonged to her, and personally fostered the hostile feeling against them throughout the whole country, especially among Christian merchants.’
In 1275, the same year that Robert converted, King Edward decreed a number of new antisemitic laws known as Statutum de Judaismo (Statute of the Jewry), which restricted the types of occupations permitted to Jews and the areas in which they were allowed to live.
The causal connection between Robert of Reading’s conversion and marriage and the expulsion of Jews from England seems tenuous at best. His conversion in 1275 was a full 15 years before Edward I’s edict. It seems unlikely too that one friar converting and marrying a Jewish woman was the determining factor in the expulsion of all Jews from England.
The Edict of Expulsion was proclaimed in 1290, and Jews were legally barred from England for almost four centuries. In those centuries that followed, these stories from Oxford caught the imagination of Jewish writers across Europe.
The plaque was the initiative of Herbert Loewe before he moved from Oxford to Cambridge (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The story of this second Robert is retold in a popular early 16th century work, Shevet Yehuda, by Solomon ibn Virga, a Jewish chronicler who had been expelled from Spain. The historian Joseph Hacohen tells a similar tale in his Emek Habakha (‘Vale of Tears’), a chronicle of Jewish history traditionally read by some Italian Jews on Tisha B’Av. In that version, the priest even dresses up as a Jew in order to be able to speak with the woman of his desire.
A work attributed to a 16th century Italian Jewish scholar, Gedaliah ibn Yahya ben Joseph, may have mixed up the stories of the two Roberts, and taken additional poetic license. In that account, the king decreed that within three months Robert of Reading his wife should change their religion, that those who circumcised the priest were burned and that many Jews changed their religion.
The plaque to Robert of Reading at Osney Abbey is one of three plaques erected in 1931 commemorating the mediaeval Jewish history of Oxford. The plaques were the initiative of Dr Herbert Loewe (1882-1940), lecturer in Semitic languages at Exeter College, Oxford, from 1913 until 1931, when he moved to Cambridge as Curator of Oriental Literature and Reader in Rabbinics.
Before leaving Oxford in 1931, Loewe was responsible for erecting three plaques: the site of the mediaeval Jewish cemetery at the Botanic Gardens; the site of Great Jewry Street, currently St Aldate’s; and the ruins of Osney Abbey. When Loewe died in 1940, his library of 5,000 items was given to the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies.
Loewe’s plaques celebrated the centenary of the birth of Neubauer, a noted Jewish librarian in the Bodleian. When these plaques were erected, fascism was on the rise across Europe. Mussolini was in power in Italy, Hitler was about to take power in Germany, and Oswald Mosley was forming new far-right parties in Britain, with funding from the Oxford industrialist Lord Nuffield, who held strongly antisemitic views. Five years after the plaques were erected, these trends in Britain reached their climax with the Battle of Cable Street in 1936.
The plaque in Osney was erected beside the archway that is a surviving fragment of and the only remaining trace of Osney Abbey, founded in the 12th century, and the 15th century buildings of Osney Mill. The plaque is on the north-east outer wall of a Scheduled Ancient Monument (SAM), but – as I found last week – there is limited, restricted public access to the site and signs warnings that this is a private area.
Shabbat Shalom
The ruins of Osney Abbey and Osney Mill stand beside Oxford Marina (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
22 December 2023
Daily prayers in Advent with
Leonard Cohen and USPG:
(20) 22 December 2023
Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who by Fire’ is inspired by a traditional Yom Kippur prayer … ‘Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur,’ Maurycy Gottlieb (1856-1879), Vienna, 1878, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Patrick Comerford
We are in the final stages of countdown to Christmas, with just three days to go to Christmas Day. The last week of Advent began on Sunday with the Third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday (17 December 2023), and this is a very short Advent this year.
Before today begins, I am taking some time for prayer, reflection and reading this morning.
Throughout Advent this year, my reading and reflection each day include a poem or song by Leonard Cohen. These Advent reflections are following this pattern:
1, A reflection on a poem or song by Leonard Cohen;
2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
‘Who in the sunshine, who in the night time’ (Leonard Cohen) … in the streets of Prague at night (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen: 20, ‘Who By Fire’:
‘Who by Fire’ by Leonard Cohen was released in 1974 on the B side of the album New Skin for the Old Ceremony, sung as a duet with Janis Ian.
‘Who by fire’ is inspired by the Hebrew prayer Unetanneh Tokef (ונתנה תקף) chanted in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish New Year, and especially on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The prayer describes God reviewing the Book of Life and deciding the fate of each and every soul for the year to come – who will live, and who will die, and how.
Jewish tradition dates this prayer to the 11th century when, it is said, Rabbi Amnon of Mainz was punished for not converting to Christianity by having his hand and feet cut off on Rosh Hashanah.
As he was dying from his wounds, he had a vision of God sitting and writing in a book. In his dying hours, Rabbi Amnon wrote the prayer that begins with ‘Who by fire? And who by water?’ The prayer concludes:
Who will live and who will die;
Who in his due time and who not in his due time;
Who by water and who by fire,
Who by the sword and who by beasts,
Who by famine and who by thirst,
Who by earthquake and who by plague,
Who by strangling and who by stoning.
Who will rest and who will wander,
Who will be tranquil and who will be harassed,
Who will be at ease and who will be troubled,
Who will be rich and who will be poor,
Who will be brought down and who will be raised up?
But Repentance, Prayer and Charity avert the severe decree.
In Jewish tradition, the Book of Life lays open between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the greeting among Jews in those days is: ‘May your name be written in the Book of Life.’
Leonard Cohen heard this traditional prayer as a child in the synagogue. In Montreal In his own words, he recalls the tradition: ‘On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by strangulation, and who by stoning.
‘Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquillity and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted.’
At the age of 39, the poet and singer was famous but unhappy and imagined he had reached a creative dead end. In October 1973, he left his home on the Greek island of Hydra for the chaos and bloodshed of the Sinai desert during the Yom Kippur War.
Cohen travelled around the war front with of local musicians, entertaining the troops. In his book Who by Fire, the journalist Matti Friedman told the story of those weeks Cohen spent in the Sinai, with a kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, formative moment for both a country at war and a singer at a crossroads.
The war transformed Cohen. Instead of abandoning his music career, he returned to Hydra and to his family, had a second child, and released his album New Skin for the Old Ceremony. References to war can be heard in a number of the songs, including ‘Lover, Lover, Lover,’ written during fighting, and ‘Who by Fire,’ inspired by the Yom Kippur prayer about human mortality.
The traditional catalogue or listing includes deaths that are natural, accidental, punishment, by decree, and that are unjust. Like the original, Cohen’s Who by Fire,’ tells of a litany of ways and reasons one might meet their death: to this he adds avalanche, greed, hunger, suicide, drugs and the abuse of political power, to the original prayer, and even the cruelty of failures in love: ‘Who by his lady’s command.’
When Cohen introduced the song live in Melbourne, in March 1980, he explained the melody is based on the one he ‘first heard when I was four or five years old, in the synagogue, on the Day of Atonement, standing beside my tall uncles in their black suits.’
He continued: ‘It’s a liturgical prayer that talks about the way in which you can quit this vale of tears. It’s according to a tradition, an ancient tradition that on a certain day of the year, the Book of Life is opened, and in it is inscribed the names of all those who will live and all those who will die, who by fire, who by water.’
The line: ‘And who shall I say is calling?’ can be understood in the context of hearing the Shofar or liturgical horn being blown on Rosh Hashanah. It is a symbolic wake-up call, stirring those who hear it to mend their ways and to repent: ‘Sleepers, wake up from your slumber! Examine your ways and repent and remember your Creator.’ Who is calling? At one level, it is my own heart calling me to Repentance, Prayer and Charity. But, ultimately, it is God who is calling us to Repentance, Prayer and Charity.
It is not surprising that as families in Israel tried to come to terms with the Hamas massacres on 7 October, Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who By Fire’ was given new lyrics in memory of the 1,200 people murdered in southern Israel.
Meanwhile, Leonard Cohen’s 1973 visit to the frontlines of the Yom Kippur war is being dramatised for a new limited TV series next year (2024) from Keshet International and Sixty-Six Media. Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai is an adaptation of Matti Friedman’s book.
As we come to the end of a year that has been shrouded in hatred, war and death – from the increasing hatred here and across Europe towards refugees and migrants, to the wars in Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, Israel and the West Bank – there is an urgency to the words of the prayer from the Yom Kippur afternoon service and in Leonard Cohen’s song.
Teach us to number our days, O Lord, that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom.
‘And who shall I say is calling?’ (Leonard Cohen) … a shofar or ritual horn in the Casa de Sefarad or Sephardic Museum in Córdoba (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Leonard Cohen, Who By Fire:
And who by fire, who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of May
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate
Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt
And who by avalanche, who by powder
Who for his greed, who for his hunger
And who shall I say is calling?
And who by brave assent, who by accident
Who in solitude, who in this mirror
Who by his lady’s command, who by his own hand
Who in mortal chains, who in power
And who shall I say is calling?
And who shall I say is calling?
And who by fire who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of May
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
And who shall I say is calling?
‘For the Mighty One has done great things for me, / and holy is his name’ (Luke 1: 49) … an image of Mary in a quiet corner at the High Leigh Conference Centre in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Luke 1: 46-56 (NRSVA):
46 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
56 And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.
The words of the canticle Magnificat carved on the wooden screen at the west end of the monastic church in Mount Melleray Abbey, Cappoquin, Co Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Friday 22 December 2023):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Joy of Advent.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (22 December 2023) invites us to pray in these words:
We pray that the joy of the Lord will be evident in our hearts and homes this Advent.
The Collect:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit
that when your Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Leonard Cohen, ‘Who by Fire’ (Live in London)
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
Patrick Comerford
We are in the final stages of countdown to Christmas, with just three days to go to Christmas Day. The last week of Advent began on Sunday with the Third Sunday of Advent or Gaudete Sunday (17 December 2023), and this is a very short Advent this year.
Before today begins, I am taking some time for prayer, reflection and reading this morning.
Throughout Advent this year, my reading and reflection each day include a poem or song by Leonard Cohen. These Advent reflections are following this pattern:
1, A reflection on a poem or song by Leonard Cohen;
2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.
‘Who in the sunshine, who in the night time’ (Leonard Cohen) … in the streets of Prague at night (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)
The Songs and Poems of Leonard Cohen: 20, ‘Who By Fire’:
‘Who by Fire’ by Leonard Cohen was released in 1974 on the B side of the album New Skin for the Old Ceremony, sung as a duet with Janis Ian.
‘Who by fire’ is inspired by the Hebrew prayer Unetanneh Tokef (ונתנה תקף) chanted in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, the first day of the Jewish New Year, and especially on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The prayer describes God reviewing the Book of Life and deciding the fate of each and every soul for the year to come – who will live, and who will die, and how.
Jewish tradition dates this prayer to the 11th century when, it is said, Rabbi Amnon of Mainz was punished for not converting to Christianity by having his hand and feet cut off on Rosh Hashanah.
As he was dying from his wounds, he had a vision of God sitting and writing in a book. In his dying hours, Rabbi Amnon wrote the prayer that begins with ‘Who by fire? And who by water?’ The prayer concludes:
Who will live and who will die;
Who in his due time and who not in his due time;
Who by water and who by fire,
Who by the sword and who by beasts,
Who by famine and who by thirst,
Who by earthquake and who by plague,
Who by strangling and who by stoning.
Who will rest and who will wander,
Who will be tranquil and who will be harassed,
Who will be at ease and who will be troubled,
Who will be rich and who will be poor,
Who will be brought down and who will be raised up?
But Repentance, Prayer and Charity avert the severe decree.
In Jewish tradition, the Book of Life lays open between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the greeting among Jews in those days is: ‘May your name be written in the Book of Life.’
Leonard Cohen heard this traditional prayer as a child in the synagogue. In Montreal In his own words, he recalls the tradition: ‘On Rosh Hashanah will be inscribed and on Yom Kippur will be sealed how many will pass from the earth and how many will be created; who will live and who will die; who will die at his predestined time and who before his time; who by water and who by fire, who by sword, who by beast, who by famine, who by thirst, who by storm, who by plague, who by strangulation, and who by stoning.
‘Who will rest and who will wander, who will live in harmony and who will be harried, who will enjoy tranquillity and who will suffer, who will be impoverished and who will be enriched, who will be degraded and who will be exalted.’
At the age of 39, the poet and singer was famous but unhappy and imagined he had reached a creative dead end. In October 1973, he left his home on the Greek island of Hydra for the chaos and bloodshed of the Sinai desert during the Yom Kippur War.
Cohen travelled around the war front with of local musicians, entertaining the troops. In his book Who by Fire, the journalist Matti Friedman told the story of those weeks Cohen spent in the Sinai, with a kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, formative moment for both a country at war and a singer at a crossroads.
The war transformed Cohen. Instead of abandoning his music career, he returned to Hydra and to his family, had a second child, and released his album New Skin for the Old Ceremony. References to war can be heard in a number of the songs, including ‘Lover, Lover, Lover,’ written during fighting, and ‘Who by Fire,’ inspired by the Yom Kippur prayer about human mortality.
The traditional catalogue or listing includes deaths that are natural, accidental, punishment, by decree, and that are unjust. Like the original, Cohen’s Who by Fire,’ tells of a litany of ways and reasons one might meet their death: to this he adds avalanche, greed, hunger, suicide, drugs and the abuse of political power, to the original prayer, and even the cruelty of failures in love: ‘Who by his lady’s command.’
When Cohen introduced the song live in Melbourne, in March 1980, he explained the melody is based on the one he ‘first heard when I was four or five years old, in the synagogue, on the Day of Atonement, standing beside my tall uncles in their black suits.’
He continued: ‘It’s a liturgical prayer that talks about the way in which you can quit this vale of tears. It’s according to a tradition, an ancient tradition that on a certain day of the year, the Book of Life is opened, and in it is inscribed the names of all those who will live and all those who will die, who by fire, who by water.’
The line: ‘And who shall I say is calling?’ can be understood in the context of hearing the Shofar or liturgical horn being blown on Rosh Hashanah. It is a symbolic wake-up call, stirring those who hear it to mend their ways and to repent: ‘Sleepers, wake up from your slumber! Examine your ways and repent and remember your Creator.’ Who is calling? At one level, it is my own heart calling me to Repentance, Prayer and Charity. But, ultimately, it is God who is calling us to Repentance, Prayer and Charity.
It is not surprising that as families in Israel tried to come to terms with the Hamas massacres on 7 October, Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who By Fire’ was given new lyrics in memory of the 1,200 people murdered in southern Israel.
Meanwhile, Leonard Cohen’s 1973 visit to the frontlines of the Yom Kippur war is being dramatised for a new limited TV series next year (2024) from Keshet International and Sixty-Six Media. Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai is an adaptation of Matti Friedman’s book.
As we come to the end of a year that has been shrouded in hatred, war and death – from the increasing hatred here and across Europe towards refugees and migrants, to the wars in Ukraine, Russia, Gaza, Israel and the West Bank – there is an urgency to the words of the prayer from the Yom Kippur afternoon service and in Leonard Cohen’s song.
Teach us to number our days, O Lord, that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom.
‘And who shall I say is calling?’ (Leonard Cohen) … a shofar or ritual horn in the Casa de Sefarad or Sephardic Museum in Córdoba (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Leonard Cohen, Who By Fire:
And who by fire, who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of May
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
And who in her lonely slip, who by barbiturate
Who in these realms of love, who by something blunt
And who by avalanche, who by powder
Who for his greed, who for his hunger
And who shall I say is calling?
And who by brave assent, who by accident
Who in solitude, who in this mirror
Who by his lady’s command, who by his own hand
Who in mortal chains, who in power
And who shall I say is calling?
And who shall I say is calling?
And who by fire who by water
Who in the sunshine, who in the night time
Who by high ordeal, who by common trial
Who in your merry merry month of May
Who by very slow decay
And who shall I say is calling?
And who shall I say is calling?
‘For the Mighty One has done great things for me, / and holy is his name’ (Luke 1: 49) … an image of Mary in a quiet corner at the High Leigh Conference Centre in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Luke 1: 46-56 (NRSVA):
46 And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
48 for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
54 He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
56 And Mary remained with her for about three months and then returned to her home.
The words of the canticle Magnificat carved on the wooden screen at the west end of the monastic church in Mount Melleray Abbey, Cappoquin, Co Waterford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Friday 22 December 2023):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘The Joy of Advent.’ This theme was introduced on Sunday.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (22 December 2023) invites us to pray in these words:
We pray that the joy of the Lord will be evident in our hearts and homes this Advent.
The Collect:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts;
kindle in us the fire of your Spirit
that when your Christ comes again
we may shine as lights before his face;
who is alive and reigns now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
God for whom we watch and wait,
you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son:
give us courage to speak the truth,
to hunger for justice,
and to suffer for the cause of right,
with Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Leonard Cohen, ‘Who by Fire’ (Live in London)
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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