Category: Prayers and liturgy

The collect for today, the Feast of St Anthony of Padua (1195-1231), Franciscan friar, priest, Doctor of the Church (source):

O God, who by thy Holy Spirit didst give to thy servant Antony a love of the Holy Scriptures, and the gift of expounding them with learning and eloquence, that thereby thy people might be established in sound doctrine and encouraged in the way of righteousness, grant to us always an abundance of such preachers, to the glory of thy Name and the benefit of thy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 4:9b-14
The Gospel: St Luke 12:35-40

Born to a noble family in Lisbon, St Anthony (or Antony) is associated with the city of Padua, Italy, where he resided in the final years of his life and is buried in a magnificent basilica that bears his name.  Unimpressive in his appearance, his dynamic and charismatic preaching sparked a spiritual renewal in the church in Europe.  He has been called “the Billy Graham of the thirteenth century”.  He became one of the most renowned and beloved saints of his time; still today, his life and witness inspire great devotion.

When he was 16, he began studying the Bible, theology, and apologetics under several respected teachers.  In 1220, he was admitted to the Order of St Francis and joined a group of Franciscan friars going to Morocco to preach the Gospel among Moors.  A serious illness soon forced him to return to Europe, however.

Initially assigned to kitchen duty at a monastery in Forli, Italy, his preaching ability became known when he was asked to speak at an ordination service because no one had prepared a sermon.  Told to say whatever the Holy Ghost should put into his mouth, he delivered an address that astonished everyone with its eloquence, passion, and insight.

News of his gift soon reached Franciscan superiors, who called him to preach throughout central Italy.  He was also appointed the first teacher of the Franciscan order, reportedly at the behest of St Francis himself, and began to teach theology to the friars in Bologna and Padua.  He is credited with introducing Augustinian theology to the Franciscans.

St Anthony was driven by a passion for souls.  Thousands came to listen to him speak; spiritual renewal followed wherever he went.  Churches were often too small to hold the crowds who wanted to hear him, so he preached in market squares and other open-air locations.  His zealous and powerful preaching against the Cathari and Albigensians in Italy and France earned him the title “Hammer of heretics”.

From 1226, he lived in Padua, where the fruits of his ministry were evident in widespread reformation of conduct.  His series of Lenten sermons in 1231 saw 30,000 listening to him preach in an open field, and was accompanied by acts of repentance and reconciliation.  The ungodly confessed Christ.  Thieves and swindlers publicly made restitution.  Long-standing feuds were settled and friendships renewed.

St Anthony was canonised by Gregory IX within a year of his death at age 36.  His relics are kept in the Basilica of St Anthony, Padua.

Artwork:

Maso di Banco (active 1320-46), St. Anthony of Padua.  Tempera on wood with gold ground, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Donatello, Madonna and Child between St Francis and St Anthony, 1448. Bronze, High Altar (detail), Basilica di Sant’Antonio, Padua.

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The collect for today, the Feast of St Barnabas the Apostle, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

O Lord God Almighty, who didst endue thy holy Apostle Barnabas with singular gifts of the Holy Spirit: Leave us not, we beseech thee, destitute of thy manifold gifts, nor yet of grace to use them alway to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Acts 11:22-26
The Gospel: St John 15:12-16

Artwork: Nicolaes Berchem, Paul and Barnabas at Lystra, 1650. Oil on canvas, Musée d’Art, Saint-Etienne, France.

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The collect for today, the Feast of St Columba (c. 521-597) Abbot of Iona, Missionary (source):

Almighty God,
who didst fill the heart of Columba
with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
and with deep love for those in his care:
grant to thy pilgrim people grace to follow him,
strong in faith, sustained by hope,
and made one in the love that binds us to thee;
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 Corinthians 3:11-23
The Gospel: St Luke 10:17-20

Photo taken by admin, St Margaret’s Chapel, Edinburgh Castle, 24 July 2004.

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The collect for today, the Octave Day of Pentecost, commonly called Trinity Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee, that this holy faith may evermore be our defence against all adversities; who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

For the Epistle: Revelation 4:1-11
The Gospel: St John 3:1-15

Artwork: Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, St. John and Two Donors, c. 1427. Fresco, Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

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The collect for today, the Feast of St Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton  (c. 675 – 754), Bishop, Apostle of Germany, Martyr (source):

O God our redeemer,
who didst call thy servant Boniface
to preach the gospel among the German people
and to build up thy Church in holiness:
grant that we may hold fast in our hearts
that faith which he taught with his words
and sealed with his blood,
and profess it in lives dedicated to thy Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

For the Epistle: Acts 20:17-28
The Gospel: St Luke 24:44-53

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The collect for today, the Feast of St Justin (c. 100 – 165), Philosopher, Apologist, Martyr at Rome (source):

O God our redeemer,
who through the folly of the cross
didst teach thy martyr Justin
the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ:
free us, we beseech thee, from every kind of error,
that we, like him, may be firmly grounded in the faith,
and make thy name known to all peoples;
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 Corinthians 1:18-30
The Gospel: St Luke 12:1-8

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The collects for today, The Day of Pentecost, being the fiftieth day after Easter, commonly called Whit-Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon thy disciples in Jerusalem: Grant that we who celebrate before thee the Feast of Pentecost may continue thine for ever, and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit, until we come to thine eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Epistle: Acts 2:1-11
The Gospel: St John 14:15-27

Artwork: Titian (Tiziano Vecelli), The Descent of the Holy Ghost, c. 1545. Oil on canvas, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, Venice.

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The collect for today, the Feast of The Venerable Bede (673-735), Monk, Historian, Doctor of the Church (source):

Almighty God, maker of all things,
whose Son Jesus Christ gave to thy servant Bede
grace to drink in with joy
the word which leadeth us to know thee and to love thee:
in thy goodness
grant that we also may come at length to thee,
the source of all wisdom,
and stand before thy face;
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.

For The Epistle: Wisdom 7:15-22
The Gospel: St Matthew 13:47-52

St Bede was born and, as far as we know, lived his entire life in the north of England, yet he became perhaps the most learned scholar in all of Europe. At the age of 7, he was sent to Wearmouth Abbey for his education; at age 11, he continued his education at the new monastery at Jarrow, eventually becoming a monk and remaining there until his death. He lived a routine and outwardly uneventful life of prayer, devotion, study, writing, and teaching.

Bede’s writings cover a very wide range of interests, including natural history, orthography, chronology, and biblical translation and exposition. He was the first to translate the Bible into Old English. He considered his 25 volumes of Scripture commentary to be his most important writings. His best-known book is Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731. This work earned him the popular title “Father of English History”, and not just because it was the first attempt to write a history of England. His historical research was thorough and far-reaching. For example, he asked friends traveling to Rome to bring him copies of documents relevant to English history, and he made use of oral traditions when written materials were not available. The book provides much historical information that can be found in no other source.

His pupil Cuthbert, later Abbot of Jarrow, has left a moving eyewitness account of St Bede’s last hours. Bede fell ill shortly before Easter 735, when he was in the midst of translating the Gospel of John into the Anglo-Saxon language. Everyone realised that the end was near, but he was determined to complete the translation. Between Easter and Ascension Day, he persisted in the task while continuing to teach his students at his bedside.

After a restless night, he resumed dictating the translation on the morning before the Ascension. That afternoon he called the priests of the monastery to him to distribute his remaining earthly possessions. Seeing they were overcome with grief, he comforted them with these words:

“If it be the will of my Maker, the time has come when I shall be freed from the body and return to Him Who created me out of nothing when I had no being. I have had a long life, and the merciful Judge has ordered it graciously. The time of my departure is at hand, and my soul longs to see Christ my King in His beauty.”

The young man who had been writing down the translation said there was still one sentence remaining, and Bede dictated the final words.

After a short while the lad said, “Now it is finished.”

“You have spoken truly,” he replied. “It is well finished. Now raise my head in your hands, for it would give me great joy to sit facing the holy place where I used to pray, so that I may sit and call on my Father.”

And thus, on the floor of his cell, he chanted, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit” to its ending, and breathed his last.

When he received word of the great scholar’s death, St Boniface, who had used Bede’s Bible commentaries, said, “The candle of the Church, lit by the Holy Spirit, has been extinguished”. Within a generation or two, St Bede was being called “Venerable”. His bones were translated from Jarrow to Durham Cathedral in the mid-11th century; in 1370 they were placed in the cathedral’s Galilee Chapel. (A photo of the tomb can be seen about halfway down this page).

These are the final words of the Ecclesiastical History:

I implore you, good Jesus, that as in your mercy you have given me to drink in with delight the words of your knowledge, so of your loving kindness you will also grant me one day to come to you, the fountain of all wisdom, and to stand for ever before your face.

St Bede is the only Englishman named in Dante’s Paradise. He is also the only English Doctor of the Church.

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The collect for today, the Feast of St Augustine (d. c. 605), first Archbishop of Canterbury (source):

O Lord our God, who by thy Son Jesus Christ didst call thine apostles and send them forth to preach the Gospel to the nations: We bless thy holy name for thy servant Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, whose labors in propagating thy Church among the English people we commemorate today; and we pray that all whom thou dost call and send may do thy will, and bide thy time, and see thy glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:17-20a
The Gospel: St Luke 5:1-11

More on St Augustine of Canterbury here and here.

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