Christ Church

The collect for today, Christmas Eve (source):

Almighty God,
who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance
of the birth of thy only Son Jesus Christ:
grant that, as we joyfully receive him as our redeemer,
so we may with sure confidence behold him
when he shall come to be our judge;
who liveth and reigneth with thee
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: Titus 2:11-15
The Gospel: St. Luke 2:1-14

Artwork: Alesso Baldovinetti, Nativity, 1460-62. Fresco, Basilica della Santissima Annunziata (Basilica of the Most Holy Annunciation), Florence. Photograph taken by admin, 17 May 2010.

“Christmas Eve”
(a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti)

Christmas hath darkness
Brighter than the blazing noon,
Christmas hath a chillness
Warmer than the heat of June,
Christmas hath a beauty
Lovelier than the world can show:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

Earth, strike up your music,
Birds that sing and bells that ring;
Heaven hath answering music
For all Angels soon to sing:
Earth, put on your whitest
Bridal robe of spotless snow:
For Christmas bringeth Jesus,
Brought for us so low.

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The collect for today, the Fourth Sunday in Advent, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

RAISE up, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy power, and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness, we are sore let and hindered in running the race that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle: Philippians 4:4-7
The Gospel: St John 1:19-29

Artwork: El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), St. John the Baptist, c. 1600. Oil on canvas, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

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

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who for the more confirmation of the faith didst suffer thy holy Apostle Thomas to be doubtful in thy Son’s resurrection: Grant us so perfectly, and without all doubt, to believe in thy Son Jesus Christ, that our faith in thy sight may never be reproved. Hear us, O Lord, through the same Jesus Christ, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. Amen.

The Epistle: Ephesians 2:19-22
The Gospel: St. John 20:24-29

St. Thomas’s name is believed to come from an Aramaic word meaning twin, but it is not known whose twin he was. He is included in all the lists of the twelve apostles, but he is mentioned most often in St. John’s Gospel, where he is called “Didymus” (“twin” in Greek) three times (11:16; 20:24; 21:2).

St. Thomas appears to have been an impulsive man. He says he is prepared to go with Jesus to the tomb of Lazarus even if it means death (John 11:16). At the Last Supper, however, he confesses his ignorance about where Jesus is going and the way there (John 14:5). In response, Christ said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

After the resurrection, Thomas was unwilling to believe his fellow disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead (John 20:24). He would not believe, he declared, unless he actually touched the wounds. Eight days later, Jesus gave “Doubting Thomas” the evidence he had asked for, whereupon Thomas confessed him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus then pronounces a blessing on all those who have not seen and yet believe.

The last mention of St. Thomas in the New Testament occurs in John 21, where he is named as one of the seven disciples fishing on the Sea of Galilee when the risen Christ appears to them.

Nothing is known for sure about St. Thomas’s activity after Pentecost, but early church writers say that he was active in missionary work in the East-–in Parthia, Persia, and/or India. The most ancient tradition holds that he journeyed as far as Malabar (present-day Kerala) on the south-west coast of India and was martyred at Mylapore, near Madras. A large number of Indian Christians in the area call themselves “Christians of St. Thomas“. (See also this.) Although the tradition that St. Thomas evangelized India cannot be definitely verified, Pope Paul VI declared him apostle of India in 1972.

Artwork: The St. Thomas stained glass window was made by the firm of James Powell and Sons, Middlesex, England, and installed in the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, St John’s, Newfoundland, in 1951. Photograph taken by admin, 7 September 2009.

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