Month: September 2010

Prayers and liturgy

Saint Jerome

The collect for today, the Feast of St Jerome (c. 342-420), Priest, Monk, Translator of the Scriptures, Doctor of the Church (source):

O Lord, thou God of truth, whose Word is a lantern to our feet and a light upon our path: We give thee thanks for thy servant Jerome, and those who, following in his steps, have labored to render the Holy Scriptures in the language of the people; and we beseech thee that thy Holy Spirit may overshadow us as we read the written Word, and that Christ, the living Word, may transform us according to thy righteous will; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Epistle: 2 Timothy 3:14-17
The Gospel: St Luke 24:44-48

Read more about Saint Jerome here.

Polinori, San GirolamoArtwork: Giulio Antonio Polinori, Saint Jerome, c. 1610. Oil on canvas, Chiesa di San Giovenale, Orvieto. Photo taken by admin, 31 May 2010.

Print this entry

Sermons

Meditation on the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

“Michael and his angels fought against the dragon;
and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not.”

Angels. What are they? Angels are messengers. A good messenger is an evangelist –angel is in the word. Evangelist is the Greek word for the Gospel – the good news, the good message. There is, then, an inescapable connection between Angels and the Gospel.

Angels are a feature of many religions. They are certainly a big part of the biblical landscape. They are a feature of the spiritual landscape of the Jewish or Hebrew Scriptures, what Christians know as the Old Testament, as well as being an integral part of the spiritual landscape of the Christian New Testament. They are also an important feature of the Islamic Qu’ran.

Whether or not one believes in Angels exactly, they are undeniably part of the religious world of Jews, Christians and Muslims. While not a matter of creedal doctrine for Christians, belief in angels is a defining feature of Islam. More importantly, though, is the role and place of angels intellectually or theologically speaking in the three monotheistic faiths. To put it simply, angels belong to the thought-world of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; in short, to the thinking that belongs to these revealed religions. There is a branch of theology that is devoted to angels – angelology. To put it in another way, angels are about our thinking God’s thoughts, the thoughts which come to us from God and our Godward thoughts which are carried on angels’ wings to God.

(more…)

Print this entry

Prayers and liturgy

Saint Michael and All Angels

B. Mazzuoli, St. Michael the ArchangelThe collect for today, the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O EVERLASTING God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order: Mercifully grant, that as thy holy Angels alway do thee service in heaven, so by thy appointment they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Revelation 12:7-11
The Gospel: St Matthew 18:1-10

Read more about Saint Michael here.

Artwork: Bartolomeo Mazzuoli, Saint Michael the Archangel, early 18th century. Chiesa del Gesù (Church of Jesus), Montepulciano. Photo taken by admin, 25 May 2010. (Click on photo for larger view.)

Print this entry

Sermons

Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

“Friend, go up higher”

There was a healing done on the Sabbath before hostile eyes. There was a parable spoken in the face of resentful silence; a parable told to counter our presumption and hypocrisy. Jesus speaks and acts. He teaches. At issue is whether we will be teachable. Only so can we ever hope to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith [we] are called.”

For make no mistake, we are called. There is our common vocation. We are called out of ourselves and called to God. We are called to the service of God in our life together with one another in the body of Christ. It is really the purpose of our being here today, a purpose which extends into every aspect of our lives.

St. Paul reminds us of the qualities of that vocation, about how we should seek to be and about how we should act: “with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” These qualities arise from the doctrine – the teaching – which has been given to us and without which these qualities cannot live in us. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all and in you all.”

(more…)

Print this entry

Events, Month at a Glance

Week at a Glance, 27 September – 3 October

Tuesday, September 28th, Eve of St Michael & All Angels
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place
6:30-7:30 Brownies’ Mtg. – Parish Hall
7:00pm Holy Communion

Thursday, September 30th
1:30-3:00pm Seniors’ Drop-In

Saturday, October 2nd
7:00-9:00pm Newfoundland & Country Evening of Musical Entertainment – Parish Hall

Sunday, October 3rd, Trinity XVIII
8:00am Holy Communion (followed by Men’s Club Breakfast)
9:30am Holy Communion at KES
10:30am Holy Communion
4:30pm Evening Prayer at Christ Church

Upcoming Events:

Tuesday, October 5th
7:30pm Christ Church Book Club – Coronation Room, Parish Hall
“The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains” by Nicholas Carr
and
“The Case For Books: Past, Present, & Future” by Robert Darnton

Thursday, October 21st
Christ Church “Cinema Paradiso” Movie Night – Parish Hall
“The Merchant of Venice”, directed by Michael Radford and starring Al Pacino as Shylock and Jeremy Irons as Antonio.

Print this entry

Statements and other writings

“Iconoclasm or Idolatry? Neither!”

To mark Christ Church’s designation as a Nova Scotia Historic Place, Fr. David Curry has produced a pamphlet entitled “Iconoclasm or Idolatry? Neither!” The written text is accompanied by photographs and architectural drawings of Christ Church, as produced by Peter Coffman for his “Anglicana Tales” exhibit at Dalhousie Art Gallery last spring.

The pamphlet will be available beginning today at Christ Church.  Donations would be appreciated to help defray printing expenses.  An electronic copy can be downloaded by clicking on this link.

Print this entry

Prayers and liturgy

The Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

The collect for today, the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

LORD, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us, and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Ephesians 4:1-6
The Gospel: St Luke 14:1-11

Print this entry

Events

Choral Evensong to celebrate Heritage designation

Christ Church was recently designated a protected heritage site under the Nova Scotia Historic Places Initiative.  To celebrate this important milestone, a special Choral Evensong will be held tomorrow (Sunday, 26 September) at 4:30pm.  We will be joined by King’s College Choir and guest preacher Fr. Gary Thorne.  Everyone is invited to attend the service, which will be followed by a time of refreshment and fellowship.

Print this entry

Prayers and liturgy

Lancelot Andrewes

The collect for today, the commemoration of Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626), Bishop of Winchester, scholar, spiritual writer (source):

Lancelot AndrewesO Lord God,
who didst give Lancelot Andrewes many gifts
of thy Holy Spirit,
making him a man of prayer and a pastor of thy people:
perfect in us that which is lacking in thy gifts,
of faith, to increase it,
of hope, to establish it,
of love, to kindle it,
that we may live in the light of thy grace and glory;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 Timothy 2:1-7a
The Gospel: St Luke 11:1-4

A prayer of confession of Lancelot Andrewes, from his Preces Privatae (Private Prayers):

Thou who hast said,
“As I live, saith the Lord,
I will not the death of a sinner,
but that the ungodly return from his way and live;
turn ye, turn ye from your wicked way,
for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
turn us, O Lord, to Thee,
and so shall we be turned.
Turn us from all our ungodlinesses,
and let them not be to us for punishments,
I have sinned, I have committed iniquity,
I have done wickedly,
from Thy precepts, and Thy judgments.
To Thee, O Lord, righteousness,
and to me confusion of face,
as at this day,
in our despicableness,
wherewith Thou hast despised us.
Lord, to us confusion of face,
and to our rulers
who have sinned against Thee.
Lord, in all things is Thy righteousness,
unto all Thy righteousness;
let then Thine anger and Thy fury be turned away,
and cause Thy face to shine
upon Thy servant.
O my God, incline Thine ear and hear,
open Thine eyes and see my desolation.
O Lord hear, O Lord forgive,
O Lord hearken and do;
defer not for Thine own sake, O my God,
for Thy servant is called by Thy Name.
In many things we offend all;
Lord, let Thy mercy rejoice against Thy judgment in my sins.
If I say I have no sin, I deceive myself,
and the truth is not in me;
but I confess my sins many and grievous,
and Thou, O Lord, art faithful and just,
to forgive me my sins when I confess them.
Yea, for this too
I have an Advocate with Thee to Thee,
Thy Only-begotten Son, the Righteous.
May He be the propitiation for my sins,
who is also for the whole world.
Will the Lord cast off forever?
and will He be no more entreated?
Is His mercy clean gone forever?
and is His promise come utterly to an end forevermore?
Hath God forgotten to be gracious?
and will He shut up His loving kindness in displeasure’!
And I said, It is mine own infirmity;
but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.

Source: Give Us Grace: An Anthology of Anglican Prayers, compiled by Christopher L. Webber. (Anglican Book Centre, Toronto, 2004), pp. 31-32.

Print this entry

Prayers and liturgy

Saint Matthew the Apostle

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Matthew, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O ALMIGHTY God, who by thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist: Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 4:1-6
The Gospel: St Matthew 9:9-13

Unknown Florentine painter, Saint Matthew

Artwork: Unknown Florentine painter, Saint Matthew, c. 1550-60. Santa Croce Museum, Basilica di Santa Croce (Basilica of the Holy Cross), Florence. Photo taken by admin, 17 May 2010.

Print this entry