Have you ever wondered about the origin of ‘Goodbye’? This dates from the 1600’s, meaning ‘God be with ye’, and is a form of prayer, a blessing, although it may not be recognised as such.

There are many ways of praying; the ‘raising the heart and mind to God’. The use of drama in the York Mystery plays, dates from the 1300’s, involving more than 100 players performing scenes from the Bible, whilst the Infant School Nativity play probably a century earlier, with St Francis. Singing and dancing are forms of prayer including North American Indian dances and Hindu chants, as are the formal prayers of the Muslim salaat or the silent prayer of the Quakers.

Christian prayer can take many forms, including petition, thanksgiving, praise and blessing. Lectio divina (divine reading) is the reading of a Scripture passage, meditating on a particular word or phrase and discovering how your thoughts on it affects your life.

Last month in SS Alban & Stephen’ s Church, over 1200 parishioners and nearly 100 members of the public were able to experience Visio divina (divine seeing). Sr. Anne Reddington a member of the Sisters of Mercy, latterly serving the elderly at Maryland Convent Care Home, displayed 30 of her paintings and 8 banners in our church, accompanied by the Scripture readings which inspired her.

So, we found an image, engaged with part of it, and asked what it meant to us and how those thoughts might affect our lives, then rested in God.

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here