Thy Household

Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, St Michael's Cathedral, Toronto, November 2019

‘[A] characteristic of the divine household is the protection it affords us. It is not for nothing that a well recognised symbol of the Church is the ark. As Noah’s ark was a refuge for his family amid the swirling waters of the flood, so the Church is a place of safety for all who would escape from the dangers and temptations of the world.
 
We need not be ashamed of the desire for such safety. It is no mere “escapism”. We do not desire to be taken out of the world, or even from its harsher elements; we only ask to be protected from harm, and to be strengthened by the rest and refreshment so that we may fight again with renewed vigour and certainty of success’.

from Reflections on the Collects, 1964
​by William Wand KCVO, 1885-1977 (Bishop of London 1945-1955)
 
Lord, we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness: that through thy protection she may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in all good works, to thy glory of thy Name, through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. – Collect for the Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity, Divine Worship: The Missal.