As we begin Holy Week, I continue to be moved to prayer by the stories I am hearing from around the world. Some of these stories are front-page news, coming out of the war in Ukraine, while other stories come from quieter conflicts in places like Myanmar, Northern Nigeria, and South Sudan. In these moments, when it is sometimes hard to put into words what our hearts are feeling, I am thankful for the richness of our tradition which provides proven pathways for prayer – because God uses prayer to change things! In our Prayer Book, the liturgies for Morning Prayer and Palm Sunday provide the following Collect:
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the Cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen. ~ Collect for Fridays, BCP 2019, p. 23; p.556.
When we find ourselves burdened by the suffering we experience in this world, we have the opportunity to take it to the Lord in prayer. “Call unto me,” he says. We do not pray to a God who is aloof. We pray to a God who knows what it is to suffer pain, who through the suffering of the Cross made the way of life and peace and has not abandoned us to our suffering.
This coming week, on Good Friday, I invite you to join me in praying this Collect and to pray and fast for those who are suffering and for those in need. Pray for peace in the world, in your neighborhood, and in your family – the peace which only the Prince of Peace (Jesus) gives.
The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach
Archbishop and Primate, Anglican Church in North America
