Prayers and liturgy

Palm Sunday

The collect for today, the Sunday Next before Easter, commonly called Palm Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ According to St. Matthew
The Gospel: St Matthew 27:1-54

Rossano Gospels, Triumphal Entry

Artwork: The Triumphal Entry, Illumination from the Rossano Gospels (Codex Purpureus Rossanensis), 6th century.

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Sermons

Sermon for the Feast of the Annunciation

“Be it unto me according to thy word.”

If there is a test for catholic orthodoxy, it invariably centers on Mary. Only through her do we understand the mystery of our redemption in Christ. She is the theotokos, the God-bearer, the mother of God. To begin to understand that is to begin to understand the wonder and the joy of our redemption.

Anglican divinity is not without its cloud of witnesses to the role and place of the Virgin Mary in our salvation and nowhere does that become more abundantly clear than in the Feast of the Annunciation.

We forget that this was the actual beginning of the year for over a thousand years. March 25th points us to December 25th. The ancients and the medievals were not so uninformed about the mundane and yet miraculous prosody of human reproduction as we might suspect. England, as reluctant as ever to be drawn into anything that smacks of continental superiority, held out until 1752 with respect to the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar, adopted for the most part in most of Europe in 1582, which designated January 1st as the beginning of the civil calendar year.

The older sensibility reflects the idea of our lives as marked spiritually by the doctrinal moments in the life of Christ. That sensibility still underlies the ecclesiastical calendar. In this case, the Annunciation marks the beginning of the year by way of the commemoration of the entrance into creation and humanity of God himself. In short, Mary’s Annunciation is Christ’s conception, humanly speaking, in the womb of Mary. He who is “God of God” and “Light of Light” becomes incarnate in the womb of Mary. The event is the Annunciation.

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Prayers and liturgy

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The collect for today, The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canada, 1962):

Antonello, Virgin AnnunciateWE beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that, as we have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his cross and passion we may be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Lesson: Isaiah 7:10-15
The Gospel: St Luke 1:26-38

Artwork: Antonello da Messina, The Virgin Annunciate, c. 1475. Oil on panel, Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, Palermo.

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Sermons

Sermon for Passion Sunday

“What wilt thou?”

What do you will? Not simply what do you want but what do you will? What are you committed to? It is the question of Passion Sunday.

The Cross is veiled. Present yet hidden, its shape is only dimly seen. “We see,” at best, but “in a glass darkly.” What does this veiling of the Cross mean? Should not the Cross be fully and visibly before us? What do we mean exactly by the Cross?

The paradox of Passiontide is that the Cross is veiled precisely so that we might come to learn more fully just what the Cross means in itself and for us. The journey of Lent is concentrated for us in Passiontide, deep Lent, and then is further concentrated in Holy Week and then, again, on Good Friday. It is all the way of the Cross. The paradox of the veiled Cross is that we do not know and do not see as clearly and fully as we should. What stands in the way is the disorder of our wills and our desires.

Our passions, we might say, stand in the way of our understanding of the passion of Christ. “We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.” The gospel story suggests that there is an element of ambition and self-interest present even in the most holy of situations. Theologically, the point is simply that our motives are never pure and clear; they are always mixed. Why? Because we neither truly know what we want – “ye know not what ye ask” – nor do we fully will that which we do know, let alone do what we should do. “We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, And we have done those things which we ought not to have done.” We are divided creatures, divided among ourselves and divided within ourselves. The veil is the fog of our desires.

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Events, Month at a Glance

Week at a Glance, 22-28 March

Tuesday, March 23rd
6:00pm Prayers & Praises – Haliburton Place
6:30-7:30pm Brownies’ Mtg. in Parish Hall
7:30pm Holy Communion & Lenten Programme: Creeds IV

Thursday, March 25th, Annunciation
10:00am Holy Communion
1:30-3:30pm Seniors’ Drop-in
6:30pm Christ Church Cinema Paradiso – “The Mission”

Friday, March 26th
11:00am Holy Communion – Dykeland Lodge
3:30pm Holy Communion – Gladys Manning Home

Sunday, March 28th, Palm Sunday
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion with Palms (Procession to the Church)
2:00pm AMD Service of the Deaf
4:30pm Evening Prayer at KES

Upcoming Events
Friday, April 2nd, 11:00am: Good Friday Ecumenical Service at Christ Church
Saturday, April 17th, 7:00-9:00pm: Newfoundland & Country Music Evening
Sunday, May 2nd, 6:60pm: Choral Evensong with KES Cadet Corps
Saturday, May 8th, 4:30-6:30pm: 5th Annual Lobster Supper. Click here for more information.

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Events

Holy Week and Easter Schedule of Services

Holy Week

Sunday, March 28th, Palm Sunday
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion (With Palms & Procession to the Church)
2:00pm AMD Service of the Deaf
4:30pm Evening Prayer at KES

Monday, March 29th, Monday in Holy Week
7:00am Matins & Passion
7:00pm Vespers & Communion

Tuesday, March 30th, Tuesday in Holy Week
7:00am Matins & Passion
6:00pm Prayers & Praises – Haliburton Place
7:00pm Vespers & Communion

Wednesday, March 31st, Wednesday in Holy Week
7:00am Matins & Passion
9:00pm Tenebrae

Thursday, April 1st, Maundy Thursday
7:00am Penitential Service
7:00pm Holy Communion & Watch

Friday, April 2nd, Good Friday
7:00am Matins of Good Friday
11:00am Ecumenical Service at Christ Church
7:00pm Solemn Liturgy of Good Friday

Saturday, April 3rd, Holy Saturday
10:00am Matins & Ante-Communion
7:00pm Vigil with Lauds & Matins of Easter

The Crosse taught all wood to resound his name,
Who bore the same.
His stretched sinews taught all strings, what key
Is best to celebrate this most high day.
(George Herbert, “Easter”)

Easter

Sunday, April 4th, Easter
7:00am Ecumenical Sunrise Service at the Fort Edward Blockhouse
8:00am Holy Communion – Christ Church
10:30am Holy Communion – Christ Church
4:30pm Evening Prayer at Christ Church

Monday, April 5th, Easter Monday
10:00am Holy Communion

Tuesday, April 6th, Easter Tuesday
10:00am Holy Communion
6:00pm Prayers & Praises – Haliburton Place
6:30-7:30pm Brownies’ Mtg. in Parish Hall

Thursday, April 8th, Easter Thursday
1:30-3:00pm Seniors’ Drop-In

Sunday, April 11th, Octave Day of Easter
8:00am Holy Communion
10:30am Holy Communion
4:30pm Evening Prayer at KES

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Prayers and liturgy

The Fifth Sunday in Lent

The collect for today, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called Passion Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

WE beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-15
The Gospel: St Matthew 20:20-28

Veronese, Christ Meeting Sons and Mother of ZebedeeArtwork: Paolo Veronese, Christ meeting the wife and the sons of Zebedee, c. 1565. Oil on canvas, Musée de Grenoble, France.

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Prayers and liturgy

Saint Cuthbert of Lindisfarne

The collect for today, the Feast of St Cuthbert (c. 634-87), Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary (source):

Almighty God,
who didst call thy servant Cuthbert from following the flock
to follow thy Son and to be a shepherd of thy people:
in thy mercy, grant that we may so follow his example
that we may bring those who are lost home to thy fold;
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: 2 Corinthians 6:1-10
The Gospel: St Matthew 6:24-33

Duez, St CuthbertArtwork: Ernest Ange Duez, Saint Cuthbert, 1879. Oil on canvas, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

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Prayers and liturgy

Thomas Ken, Bishop

The collect for today, the commemoration of Thomas Ken (1637-1711), Bishop of Bath and Wells, Non-Juror, Hymn Writer (source):

O God, from whom all blessings flow,
by whose providence we are kept
and by whose grace we are directed:
assist us, through the example of thy servant Thomas Ken,
faithfully to keep thy word,
humbly to accept adversity
and steadfastly to worship 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.

With the Epistle and Gospel for a Bishop, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962)
The Epistle: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
The Gospel: St Luke 12:37-44

Bishop Ken windowOrdained an Anglican priest in 1662, Thomas Ken served as rector in several parishes before becoming chaplain to members of the royal family, and, in 1685, Bishop of Bath and Wells. A man of principle and strong conviction, he was one of seven bishops imprisoned for refusing to sign King James II’s “Declaration of Indulgence”, the purpose of which was to allow Catholics to resume positions of political power in England. After strong expressions of popular support by the people of London, Bishop Ken was quickly tried and acquitted.

King James II was forced to flee the country when King William and Queen Mary were invited to become co-monarchs of England. William and Mary demanded oaths of allegiance from all persons holding public positions, including the bishops. Thomas Ken and others (known as the Non-Jurors; the older meaning of “juror” is “one who takes an oath”, hence “perjurer” as “one who swears falsely”) refused to take the oath on the grounds that they had sworn allegiance to James and could not during his lifetime swear allegiance to another monarch without making such oaths a mockery. Bishop Ken took this stand as a matter of principle despite his strong disagreement with much that James had done. In 1690, he and the other surviving non-jurors were deposed.

(Most of the bishops of Scotland also refused the oath; William and Mary retaliated by disestablishing the Episcopal Church in Scotland and making the Presbyterian Kirk the established state church there instead.)

Bishop Ken was also a poet and hymn-writer. He wrote the text for the well-loved doxology “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow“, which is actually the last verse of his longer hymn, “Awake My Soul, and with the sun“.

A prayer of Thomas Ken:

God, our heavenly father, make, we pray, the door of this Cathedral Church wide enough to welcome all who need human love and fellowship and a Father’s care; but narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and lack of love. Here may the temped find help, the sorrowing receive comfort, the careless be awakened to repentance, and the penitent be assured of your mercy; and here may all your children renew their strength and go on their way in hope and joy; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Artwork: Thomas Ken window, Wells Cathedral, installed in 1885 to celebrate the bicentenary of his consecration as Bishop of Bath and Wells.

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Prayers and liturgy

Saint Joseph of Nazareth

The collect for today, the Feast of Saint Joseph of Nazareth, Guardian of Our Lord, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patron Saint of Canada, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

Reni, St Joseph with the Infant JesusO GOD Most High, who from the family of thy servant David didst raise up Joseph the carpenter to be protector of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of our Lord: Grant that we may so labour in our earthly vocations, that they may become labours of love and service offered unto thee, our Father; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Epistle: Romans 4:13-18
The Gospel: St Luke 2:41-52

Artwork: Guido Reni, Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus, c. 1635. Oil on canvas, The Hermitage, St Petersburg.

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