Like lost sheep: a rant.

The Book of Common Prayer was published in England in 1549 at a time when political and religious powers were involved in a mighty fight for supremacy. 

It was a time when torturing people in order to persuade them to change their religious beliefs slightly still seemed an entirely reasonable and useful thing to do.

Here's the beginning of the General Confession (that is, the owning up to bad deeds) from the Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty and most merciful Father,

we have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.

And after that prayer comes the Absolution, the statement of forgiveness, which is said by the priest to the people:

Grant, we beseech thee, merciful Lord,

to thy faithful people pardon and peace,
that they may be cleansed from their sins,
and serve thee with a quiet mind

***

And, do you know something? 

It all sounds a heck of a lot more civilised than flipping Twitter.

Word To Use Today: pardon. This word comes from the Old French, from the Latin perdōnāre, to forgive freely. The per- bit makes a word stronger in meaning, and dōnāre means to grant.