I've been tagged! . . .

I've been tagged by both Breadgirl and Kee to complete the meme begun by Mac that's doing the rounds at the moment so I guess I'd better knuckle down and get on with it. Thanks to both of you for thinking of me.

The rules of the meme as posted on Mac's blog 'Mulier Fortis' are:

Name your three most favourite prayers, and explain why they're your favourites. Then tag five bloggers - give them a link, and then go and tell them they have been tagged. Finally, tell the person who tagged you that you've completed the meme... The Liturgy and the Sacraments are off limits here. I'm more interested in people's favourite devotional prayers.

As this meme has been around for a little while now, it's very difficult to choose prayers that no one has chosen so I'm not going to avoid choosing the Hail Mary as my first and most obvious choice. It's the first prayer that I think of when I want to pray for any reason. Whether it's a quick 'arrow' prayer during the day when something happens or as part of the Rosary when I have more time to prayer it's always the first prayer that enters my head.

My second choice is the Prayer of St Richard of Chichester. This is one of those prayers that I remember from childhood. Not being brought up a Catholic I didn't attend a Catholic school but the local county primary school and each morning we had assembly which always included hymns and prayers and this was one of the prayers that we prayed often and has stayed with me.

Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,

For all the benefits thou hast won for me,

For all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me.

O most merciful Redeemer, Friend, and Brother,

May I know thee more clearly, Love thee more dearly,

And follow thee more nearly: For ever and ever. Amen.

St. Richard Chichester (1197-1253)

My third prayer is another prayer from my childhood. I think prayers learnt as a child are never forgotten and we grow into understanding them which is why I think it is so important to teach our children the formal prayers that we learnt ourselves.

Being brought up in the Anglican church, before receiving 'Holy Communion' we would prayer Thomas Cranmer's 'Prayer of humble access'.

We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord,

trusting in our own righteousness,

but in your manifold and great mercies.

We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table.

But you are the same Lord, whose nature is always to have mercy:

Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ,

and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body,

and our souls washed through his most precious blood,

and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

This may be heretical but I still think that beautiful prayer says so much more than our own much briefer, 'Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed.'

That's the meme completed, now comes the hard part - who to tag (excluding clergy) as most of the people I would have tagged have already taken part.

I tag:

Battlements of Rubies

Campionist

Veni Sancte Spiritus

Mother's Pride

In Terra Aliena

Some of these bloggers have been fairly quiet recently so maybe it might encourage them to get blogging again.