A simple daily prayer service to say at home during Eastertide

In New Zealand people are not using the term lockdown to describe the current restrictions on our lives, they are using a Maori term: rāhui.

Rāhui is a spiritual ritual of temporary reserving, a prohibition placed on an area of land to allow it the time to recover. This “closed season” is often imposed when there is a threat of losing the sacred natural resources so that there can be restoration and healing.

Not only does the whole world deeply need this rāhui, we as individuals can also see our experience now in a completely different way by understanding this concept. This is not a prison lockdown or sheltering while simply waiting for a storm to pass. This is a spiritual work of allowing the world to heal. It may not be the main reason why most think we are doing this, but we can make it part of our spiritual intention this Eastertide. To do our part in the hoped-for resurrection of Christ—another name for everything.

So during this time allowing ourselves and our world to heal, you may wish to set some time aside each day to pray. We have put together this simple service which you can print out and use at home. This forms the basis for our daily prayer podcast as well. Just click the download button here: