Year: 2010

Events, Prayer Book Society

Sue Careless on Discovering the Book of Common Prayer

On Tuesday, October 26, at 7 pm, Sue Careless will visit St George’s Round Church, Halifax, to talk about her new book, Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach, Volume III.

The following is a description of the series from the St Peter’s Publications website, where the books can be purchased:

This wonderful three-volume set of books was a project of The Prayer Book Society of Canada. … The author is Sue Careless, a freelance journalist and photographer whose work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Toronto Star. The recipient of seven church press awards, she is news editor of the Anglican Planet and has contributed to the Anglican Journal, Christian Week, and Faith Today.

The Prayer Book Society of Canada commissioned Sue Careless to write this introduction to the BCP for those unfamiliar with it, whether long-time or new Anglicans, young or old. The first book of the three-volume series, on ‘Daily Prayer’, was published in 2003. It includes a general introduction to the Prayer Book and contains detailed information about the daily offices of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer … and much more. The second volume was published in 2006, with the sub-title ‘Our Life in the Church.’ It includes chapters about Baptism, the Catechism and Confirmation, and especially a great deal of information about the Holy Eucharist (Holy Communion) as found in the Book of Common Prayer. Volume Three was published in 2009, and has the sub-title ‘Special Occasions’. Among other topics, it deals with such special services as Holy Matrimony, the Ministry to the Sick, the Burial of the Dead, and Ordination.”

The Anglican Planet’s review of Discovering the Book of Common Prayer, Vol. 3 is posted here.

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Prayers and liturgy

William Tyndale

The collect for today, the commemoration of William Tyndale (c. 1495-1536), Priest, Translator of the Scriptures, Martyr (source):

William TyndaleO Lord, grant to thy people
grace to hear and keep thy word
that, after the example of thy servant William Tyndale,
we may both profess thy gospel
and also be ready to suffer and die for it,
to the honour of thy name;
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: St James 1:21-25
The Gospel: St John 12:44-50

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Prayers and liturgy

Saint Francis of Assisi

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), Friar, Deacon, Founder of the Friars Minor (source):

O God,
who ever delightest to reveal thyself
to the childlike and lowly of heart,
grant that, following the example of the blessed Francis,
we may count the wisdom of this world as foolishness
and know only Jesus Christ and him crucified,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: Galatians 6:14-18
The Gospel: St Matthew 11:25-30

Romei, Glory of St Francis

Artwork: Giuseppe Romei, The Glory of Saint Francis, 1770. Fresco, Ognissanti, Florence. Photo taken by admin, 16 May 2010.

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Sermons

Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God”

Love constrains us to speak of love. It seems such a commonplace thought. Yet, I wonder if we do not altogether miss the absolutely extraordinary thing about this commonplace concept. I wonder if we do not altogether fail to see how special, how precious, how extraordinary Christ’s lesson is for us here in this gospel. It goes to the heart of the matter, to the heart that was willing to be pierced and broken for you and for me, indeed, for the whole world. That heart is the heart of Christ. That love is spoken and shown in the face of controversy and debate; in short, in the midst of the hostilities and animosities of our human hearts. “And yet the common people heard him gladly.” I hope that can be said of us.

Two things are extraordinary and noteworthy here. First, God commands us to love him. Secondly, Christ unites the love of God and the love of neighbour in himself. At first glance, such things may not seem so amazing. After all, they are words which we frequently hear: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;” in short, with the whole of our being. “Hear O Israel,” says the One who is the Word of God himself.

To hear that Word is to be Israel, a people who are open to the Word of God, who are defined by that Word as a people of the Law. They come to be that people by that Word spoken in the Burning Bush, by that Word passing over them to free them from Pharaoh’s bitter yoke, by that Word delivering them from the Red Sea waters, by that Word sustaining them in the wilderness wanderings, by that Word establishing God’s will and covenant towards them in the Law. That self-same Word now proclaims that “the Lord our God is one Lord.” That unity is no mere oneness, no empty aloneness. It is fullness and the completeness of the divine life in itself. As Thomas Aquinas remarks, “the perfection of Christian life consists in charity.” That charity begins and ends with God.

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Events, Month at a Glance

Week at a Glance, 4-10 October

Tuesday, October 5th
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place
6:30-8:00pm Brownies’ Mtg. – Parish Hall
7:30pm Christ Church Book Club – Coronation Room
“The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to our Brains” by Nicholas Carr
and “The Case for Books” by Robert Darnton

Wednesday, October 6th
1:30pm Atlantic School of Theology – Fr. Curry giving a talk to the Anglican Formation Class at AST on ‘Aspects of the History of the Diocese’
6:30-7:30pm Sparks’ Mtg. – Parish Hall

Thursday, October 7th
1:30-3:00pm Seniors’ Drop-in
7:30pm West Hants Historical Society Monthly Meeting

Saturday, October 9th
9:00-11:00am Men’s Club Decorating for Harvest Thanksgiving

Sunday, October 10th, Trinity XIX/Harvest Thanksgiving
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion
4:30pm Evening Prayer at Christ Church

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Prayers and liturgy

The Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity

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

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee the only God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:4-8
The Gospel: St Mark 12:28-37

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Prayers and liturgy

Saint Remigius

The collect for today, the Feast of St Remigius (c. 438-533), Bishop of Rheims, Apostle to the Franks (source):

StRemigiusO God, who by the teaching of thy faithful servant and bishop Remigius didst turn the nation of the Franks from vain idolatry to the worship of thee, the true and living God, in the fullness of the catholic faith; Grant that we who glory in the name of Christian may show forth our faith in worthy deeds; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Epistle: 1 St John 4:1-6
The Gospel: St John 14:3-7

Read more about Saint Remigius here.

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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