Week of 1 Christmas, Wednesday

In which I indulge my liturgical geek on the occasion of the Feast of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1170.

Today is one of those days on the calendar of the Church Year (BCP 30) when there is an optional observance of a lesser saint, in this case Thomas Becket.

There are no special readings for the Daily Office -- you can simply add a collect from the Common of Saints (BCP 246-250) after the Collect of the Day to commemorate the individual in question.
So today at Morning Prayer I said the following:

• Collect of the Day (First Sunday after Christmas) from BCP 213
• Collect "Of a Martyr" from BCP 246
• Collect for Wednesday (Grace) from BCP 100
• Collect for Mission from BCP 101

Just a simple addition -- easy, huh? You'll notice the Common of Saints has a variety of collects for commemorations of martyrs, missionaries, pastors, theologians and teachers, and monastics.
There are also collects for Various Occasions (BCP 251-261) that you can use in the same way to note a church convention or the anniversary of your baptism, for example -- simply add a prayer to the office, but otherwise use the same psalms and readings.

Now, if Thomas Becket is your parish's patron saint, you might want to commemorate him at the Eucharist, in which case you could refer to a book called Lesser Feasts and Fasts to find particular lessons and a special collect just for him.

In the Daily Office, though, I suggest keeping it simple and easy without interrupting your normal flow -- just note the special character of the day with an additional prayer and you're all set.

Questions?