Year: 2014

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

Fra Bartolommeo, Christ and the Four EvangelistsArtwork: Fra Bartolommeo, Christ and the Four Evangelists (Salvator Mundi), 1516. Oil on panel, Galleria Palatina, Palazzo Pitti, Florence. (Originally at Church of San Annunziata, Florence.)

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Prayers and liturgy

St. Luke the Evangelist

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

ALMIGHTY God, who calledst Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel, to be an Evangelist, and Physician of the soul: May it please thee that, by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 2 Timothy 4:5-13
The Gospel: St. Luke 24:44-52

Mantegna, St. LukeVirtually all that we know of Saint Luke comes from the New Testament. He was a physician, a disciple of St. Paul and his companion on some of his missionary journeys, and the author of both the third gospel and Acts.

It is believed that St. Luke was born a Greek and a Gentile. According to the early Church historian Eusebius, Luke was born at Antioch in Syria. In Colossians 4:10-14, St. Paul speaks of those friends who are with him. He first mentions all those “of the circumcision”–in other words, Jews–and he does not include Luke in this group. Luke’s gospel shows special sensitivity to evangelising Gentiles. It is only in his gospel that we hear the Parable of the Good Samaritan, that we hear Jesus praising the faith of Gentiles such as the widow of Zarephath and Naaman the Syrian, and that we hear the story of the one grateful leper who is a Samaritan.

St. Luke first appears in Acts, chapter 16, at Troas, where he meets St. Paul around the year 51, and crossed over with him to Europe as an Evangelist, landing at Neapolis and going on to Philippi, “concluding that God had called us to preach the Gospel to them” (note especially the transition into first person plural at verse 10). Thus, he was apparently already an Evangelist. He was present at the conversion of Lydia and her companions and lodged in her house. He, together with St. Paul and his companions, was recognised by the divining spirit: “She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation’”.

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Prayers and liturgy

Etheldreda, Queen and Abbess

The collect for today, the Feast of St. Etheldreda (d. 679), Queen, Foundress and Abbess of Ely (source):

St. EthelredaO eternal God,
who didst bestow such grace on thy servant Etheldreda
that she gave herself wholly to the life of prayer
and to the service of thy true religion:
grant that we may in like manner
seek thy kingdom in our earthly lives,
that by thy guidance
we may be united in the glorious fellowship of thy saints;
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: Philippians 3:7-14
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:29-34

Artwork: St. Etheldreda, 1910, Embroidered Processional Banner, Ely Cathedral.

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Prayers and liturgy

Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Bishops and Martyrs

The collect for today, the commemoration of Hugh Latimer (1485-1555), Bishop of Worcester, and Nicholas Ridley (c. 1500-1555), Bishop of London, Reformation Martyrs (source):

Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, that, like thy servants Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, we may live in thy fear, die in thy favor, and rest in thy peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 3:9-14
The Gospel: St. John 15:20-16:1

Burning of Ridley and Latimer

Two leaders of the English Reformation were burned at the stake in Oxford on this day in 1555. Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, and Hugh Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, were removed from their positions and imprisoned after Queen Mary ascended the throne in 1553. Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1533, was deposed and taken to Oxford with Latimer and Ridley.

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Prayers and liturgy

Edward the Confessor

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Edward the Confessor (c. 1003-1066), King of England (source):

Cartmel Priory, St EdwardO Sovereign God,
who didst set thy servant Edward upon the throne of an earthly kingdom
and didst inspire him with zeal for the kingdom of heaven:
grant that we may so confess the faith of Christ by word and deed,
that we may, with all thy saints, inherit thine eternal 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 Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 31:8-11
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:35-40

Artwork: Saint Edward, King and Confessor, 19th-century stained glass, from the East window, North transept, Cartmel Priory, England. The saint is shown inspecting a model of Westminster Abbey, which was built during his reign.

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Sermons

Sermon for Harvest Thanksgiving

“And one turned back … giving him thanks”

In returning and giving thanks, we are made whole. This text signals the profoundly spiritual nature of thanksgiving. In a way, today’s Gospel is the quintessential gospel of thanksgiving. At Harvest Thanksgiving, though, we usually read the lesson from Isaiah about the word of God in creation and the Gospel from St. John about Jesus as “the Bread of Life” (BCP, p. 620/1). This Gospel story from St. Luke we usually hear on The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (BCP, p. 240), but that Sunday happened to be The Feast of St. Matthew this year. Yet this Gospel is also the appointed Gospel reading for Thanksgiving Day (BCP, p. 308). It embraces and shapes all our thinking about thanksgiving. We need to ponder its essential meaning.

Pumpkins and prepositions. Both abound in the culture of the Maritimes, often in interesting ways, but I fear we probably take more notice of the pumpkins than we do of prepositions. Pumpkins, especially given the parade of pumpkins and the pumpkin regatta in the Pisiquid puddle, are part of our thanksgiving celebrations here in Windsor. But prepositions! You’ve got to be kidding. Grammar on a Sunday?! Yes. Why? Because we can’t make any sense of the concept of thanksgiving without giving serious consideration to prepositions, particularly three prepositions. Which prepositions? They are ‘for’, ‘to’, and ‘with’.

But what are prepositions? Prepositions are those little words which carry such a weight of meaning and are so hard to master when learning a new language. They position nouns and verbs in relation to one another to indicate meaning and purpose.

Thanksgiving is a profoundly spiritual activity. It is the freest thing that we can do. Like learning and religion, it can’t be forced. It has to come freely from our hearts and minds. We can constantly remind our children to say ‘thank-you’, but real thanksgiving cannot be coerced. It belongs to the intellectual and spiritual freedom of our humanity. It is the counter to all and every aspect of the entitlement culture, to the assumption that we are owed whatever we want and think we deserve. Its significance is captured in the power of these prepositions.

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Events, Month at a Glance

Week at a Glance, 13 – 19 October

Tuesday, October 14th
6:00pm ‘Prayers & Praises’ – Haliburton Place
7:00pm Christ Church Book Club: The Flanders Panel, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, and The Titian Committee, by Iain Pears – Parish Hall

Thursday, October 16th
6:30-7:30pm Brownies – Parish Hall

Sunday, October 19th, Trinity XVIII
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion
4:00pm Choral Evensong – St. Peter’s Cathedral, Charlottetown (Fr. Curry preaching)

Upcoming Events:

Saturday, November 22nd
4:30-6:00pm Annual Parish Ham Supper

Friday, December 19th
7:00pm Christ Church Concert Series II: Capella Regalis presents “To Bethlehem With Kings”

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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

Lauder, Christ Teacheth HumilityArtwork: Robert Scott Lauder, Christ Teacheth Humility, 1847. Oil on canvas, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

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Prayers and liturgy

St. Philip of Caesarea, Apostolic Man

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Philip of Caesarea, Deacon, Evangelist, Apostolic Man (source):

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant Philip the Deacon, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to the peoples of Samaria and Ethiopia. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land heralds and evangelists of thy kingdom, that thy Church may make known the immeasurable riches of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.

The Lesson: Acts 8:26-40
The Gospel: St. Matthew 28:18-20

Maulbertsch, The Apostle Philip Baptizes a EunuchArtwork: Franz Anton Maulbertsch, The Apostle Philip Baptizes a Eunuch, c. 1750. Oil on paper, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

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Prayers and liturgy

Paulinus, Missionary and Archbishop

Saint PaulinusThe collect for today, the Feast of St. Paulinus (c. 584-644), Monk, first Archbishop of York, Missionary (source):

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Paulinus, whom you called to preach the Gospel to the people of northern England. Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, that your Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

With the Epistle and Gospel for a Bishop or Archbishop, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):
The Epistle: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
The Gospel: St. Luke 12:37-43

The St. Paulinus stained glass was made by the firm of C.E. Kempe of London and installed in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, St John’s, Newfoundland, in 1913. Photograph taken by admin, 7 September 2009.

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