By Father Brian Stankich
I have fallen in love with much of the Anglican liturgy that we use in the Episcopal Church. My heart is warmed in such a way that I want to raise my heart and my hands to heaven, in praise and thanksgiving to our amazing God.
One of my favorite parts of our liturgy is the sursum corda. It is a Latin phrase that means “lift up your hearts.” The sursum corda kicks off The Great Thanksgiving portion of our service and I love when we get to that part.
When I start our communion prayer, I have a similar feeling as riding in a roller coaster, such as Kraken at Sea World. The car is pulled along, upward and onward, higher and higher, until you can see central Florida for many miles around. Then you near the top of the track loop and the car starts to slow down. With anticipation, I feel a moment of joy, on top of the world, knowing that the rest of the ride is going to be imminent, crazy fun.
So our liturgy starts:
“The Lord be with you.”
“And also with you.”
“Lift up your hearts.”
“We lift them to the Lord.”
“Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.”
“It is right to give him thanks and praise.”
In those moments, when we as a church say those words together, I am full of joy. I lift my heart to God and look for his blessing, for me as I lead communion, and for his people as they take it.
One reason I like our liturgy is, it is so practical. Lifting up your heart to God Sunday morning, or Wednesday afternoon, is something you can do any moment, any day, any time of your life. When we lift our hearts to God, he remembers our love for him, and his blessing is sure to flow down from heaven, back to our hearts and hands and daily lives.