Liturgy Practicum 1: Domestic Cult Practice in ADF, Question 4, Entry 3

Week beginning 08/28/06 - Actions

Not everything goes as planned, of course. On Saturday of last weekend, at Summerland, I was consecrated as a Dedicant Priest in ADF. I think that I surprised myself by being calm and unimpressed with the change in status.

Liturgically, I failed to begin my meal-time prayers. I was in the habit of doing them once, but no longer am. I am not certain that meal-time prayers are right for me.

There was, however, one incident that sort of fit with the meal-time prayer idea. On Sunday night, while out with Erien and Monika at Olive Garden, a joke was brought up about my "reverend" status, and that caused me to think about mealtime offerings. I took up a portion of our shared food and stepped outside, making an offering in the bushes to the Nature Spirits with a short prayer.

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Thank you, Spirits of Nature,
You who give of yourselves
That we may survive.

It was a simple prayer, but effective. I liked the giving of an offering to these spirits.

Over the past week, I have managed to retain and observe my morning and evening devotional practice. The act of thinking through wat I do has opened my eyes to a lot of the little things that are part of my daily worship.

1. I light my candles in a counter-clockwise manner, starting from the back.
2. My Well, it seems, is not so important for me to fill. Often, it sits empty. I believe this has to do with the difficulty of keeping fresh, clean water in the bow. I am considering options.
3. I need a list of people to say prayers for.

I took my altar on vacation with me to Summerland, and I used it each day. A part of me knows that it is the display of piety that keeps me honest in some cases, but that part of me also doesn't see anything wrong with displaying piety if it gets me to actually do the work.

I have thought about my home altar, too, and about how it stays dark when I am not at home. Piety, really, is as much action as it is belief. I have begun to consider hiring someone to "altar sit" while I am away, to do the rituals. I have also thought about doing them at sunrise and sunset.

Mazi used to make such a commitment. I would like to try as well.

Centrally, there is a nagging feeling that my altar should never be dark, or (more correctly) that it always be light at certain times.

Execution, though: there's the rub.

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