Fourth Sunday in Advent & the Great “O” Antiphons

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The final week of Advent approaches and with it the opportunity to write about another great tradition in the Western Church: the Great “O” Antiphons. These daily prayers and songs date to about the 12th C. and are traditionally credited to Christian followers of St. Francis of Assisi. During the same time period, we offer a special program for Christmas Eve and another for the period from Christmas Day through Epiphany Eve. More, including links to these unique programs, after some comments about Fourth Sunday in Advent. I invite you to share these links with friends and family. Because of the calendar overlap of Advent and Christmas seasons, all the presented in this post for the final Sunday in Advent. Related material for Christmas Day will be posting

My Podcast Homily for Fourth Sunday in Advent on the theme of “The First Gift of Christmas,” was posted on 12/20/24. In Episode Two of the AIC Seasonal Video series, Advent: a Season of Penitence & Preparation, I discuss Archbishop Cranmer’s 1549 Collect, its origin in the Sarum version of the Gelasian Sacramentary, and the additional wording concerning running the race (itself inspired by Hebrew 12:1b) which was added for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. I also discussed the Epistle reading, Philippians 4:4-7 (“the Lord is at hand”) and the Gospel lesson, John 1:19-28, concerning inquires and questions posed to John the Baptist.

The post included an image from the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of John Annotated & Illustrated, of John the Baptist baptizing a man in wooden tub (Ms. Additional 42497, British Library). The volume, with 95 illustrations from the 6th through the 19th C, is available only through my Amazon Author Central page. Additional information is available on the AIC Bookstore page. Royalties from all the AIC Bookstore Publications are contributed to the AIC. A related Podcast Homily for Fourth Sunday in Advent, based on the assigned Morning Prayer readings for that day in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, is also available for those who prefer listening to hearing this kind of material.

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This series includes music, historic Christian art and Scripture readings based on a 12th C. service in northern Italy in celebration of the seven days before Christmas. Each day is focused on a theme word in Latin. The daily titles, in date order, are titles/descriptors of our Saviour Jesus Christ: Wisdom, Lord, Root of Jesse, Key of David, Dayspring, King of Nations, God with us. They have been incorporated into Christian worship for Advent in many denominations. This video series, which celebrated the start of the AIC’s second decade on the web, seeks to make them more broadly available and accessible on demand, 24/7, virtually anywhere in the world. The audio-only versions, in portable MP3 format, are available through the episode links on the Podcast Archive page.

December 18th – O Sapientia
December 19th – O Adonai
December 20th – O Radix Jesse
December 21st – O Clavis David
December 22nd – O Oriens
December 23rd – O Rex Gentium
December 24th – O Emmanuel

Another AIC seasonal resource is our feature video for Christmas Eve, based upon the traditional English model. It was created as a resource for those unable to access coverage of live events, most typically at King’s College, Cambridge, England, on Christmas Eve. While it is labelled “December 24th, it can be accessed at any time, year round.

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December 24th

There will be another Blog post on December 23rd which will contain information and links to videos and podcasts for Christmas Day and for each of the Twelve Days of Christmas, which begin on December 25th and end on Epiphany Eve, January 5th.

As always, thank you for your continued interest in and support for the Anglican Internet Church’s online ministry and digital resources. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Third Sunday in Advent Season and AIC Bookstore Preview – Part 9

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My Podcast Homily for Third Sunday in Advent was posted on 12/13/24 and is linked from the Archives column at the right side of the page. The comments include observations about the Collect, which was written for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, replacing Archbishop Cranmer’s original collect; the Epistle (1 Corinthians 4:1-4) with St. Paul’s thoughts on the subjects of stewardship and “mysteries); and the Gospel lesson (Matthew 11:2-10), which is Matthew’s account of John the Baptist’s to inquire of Jesus if he was “the coming one.” The subject is discussed in Chapter 11, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, which is available through my Amazon Author Central page. Additional information is found on the AIC Bookstore page. The Homily for Advent 3 is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. Like all my homilies in Advent there is a theme phrase. this time being Rejoice in the Love of God. The Third Sunday in Advent is also discussed and illustrated in the AIC Video series, Advent: the Season of Penitence & Preparation in Episode Two of the series.

I have been busy this month updating my inventory (in Excel format) of all of the images which have been used in Blog entries. These go back to the first entry, for August 31, 2014, when I moved the AIC web site to WordPress. I have found and corrected many spelling and other errors in the image credits. Readers of the Blog should be aware that all the older videos (hosted on You Tube) were moved to our new Vimeo site later in 2014. Should an older video link fail, please go to entry of the same title in the Digital Library or Podcast Archive entries, links to which are found at the top and bottom of all pages. These include the Digital Library (of videos) — with their MP3 soundtracks located on the Podcast Archive page. MP3/Audio Podcasts for Holy Communion services are linked from the Podcast Homilies page. The MP3/Audio soundtracks for the Morning Prayer series created in 2022 and 2023 are linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page. Links to these pages are located at the top and bottom of each page. All books in the AIC Bookstore (and listed on that page) are print-on-demand and sold through my Amazon Author Central page, with all royalties contributed to the AIC. Everything else on this site is free. All pages are consistent with the WATCH-LISTEN-READ initiative created about five years ago, based upon people’s different learning preferences.

The Beliefs of the Anglican Church was created for use in the Christian education of those who desire to become Anglicans, whether youths or adults. The text provides answers to questions raised in traditional Anglican catechisms. The volume also includes two catechisms, one intended for young people with family connections to Anglican worship and the second for adults who come from non-Anglican backgrounds, especially those with no prior doctrinal education.

The book is printed in 144 pages (eight in the Preface and 136 in the body text. The text is divided into Creeds (Nicene & Apostles), Scripture (Old Testament/ Old Testament Apocrypha used in the Prayer Book lectionary); The Commandments & the Summary of the Law; The Lord’s Prayer; the Seven Sacraments; Doctrine (with sections on Church/Grace/Faith/Sanctification/Mercy/Fear of the Lord/Sin/Prayer; plus the Anglican Church Calendar and a primer on the Church Building and on Church Etiquette. The volume is printed with a color cover and text in black and white on 144 pages (eight in the Preface & 136 the balance of the text). There is a summary and black and white image for each of the other 21 volumes available in the AIC Bookstore.

Again, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Second Sunday in Advent & AIC Bookstore Preview, Part 8

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Advent, the season of both penitence and preparation, continues on Sunday, Dec. 7. As with other Sundays in Advent, I continue with a theme word or phrase. For Second Sunday in Advent my Podcast Homily is focused on the “Fire of Judgment.” For those who prefer visual imagery, the commentary for Second Sunday in Advent is available (paired with First Sunday in Advent) on the Digital Library page. The commentary comes from our Seasonal Video series: Advent: the Season of Penitence & Preparation. The Digital Library pages offers access to the Seasonal Video series not only for Advent but also Christmas, Twelve Days of Christmas, Epiphany, “Gesima,” Lent, Easter, Good Friday, and Trinitytide (including Trinity Sunday).

For Second Sunday in the newly-created season of Advent, Archbishop Cranmer wrote an original Collect, first published with the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. The Collect includes the only reference to God in the Book of Common Prayer collects as “Blessed Lord.” As in previous years, I offered an image of Christ-in-Majesty which was produced circa 700 A.D. at a Benedictine monastery in Wearmouth-Barrow, Northumbria, England. The volume containing the image has been at the Laurentian Library, Florence, Italy, since 1786 A.D. For this post, the size is small because I have not found a higher resolution version that would not “pixilate” when enlarged.. The term “Christ-in-Majesty” is a Western Church name that is comparable to the Eastern Church’s use of Christ Pantokrator, which is roughly translated as Ruler of the Universe, but can also be interpreted as “He who does whatever He wishes.”

Christ-in-Majesty with angels and evangelists, frontispiece, Codex Amiatinus, folio 796v, early 8th C.. Laurentian Library, Florence, Italy. Public Domain.

Continuing the preview of important volumes among the AIC Bookstore Publications, the focus for Second Sunday in Advent A.D. 2025 is Christian Spirituality: An Anglican Perspective. This volume is the first in this series of previews which is printed in black & white only in the traditional 5.5″ x 8.5″ format. All the earlier books are full color printed in the 8.5″ x 8.5″ format, which enhances the color illustrations, allowing for larger, full page images.

I wrote this volume during my service at St. John Chrysostom Anglican (now closed) to answer commonly-asked questions from both parishioners and those inquiring about membership. List the parts here. 144 pages with 18 illustrations (including the cover image of Christ as the Lamb of God, St. Paul’s Church, Halifax, Nova Scotia (copyright Can Stock Photo, Inc./onepony).

The subject of “spirituality” can be confusing. In this book I explain it in the context of Anglican worship using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which descends from the first prayer book in English published in 1549 in time for Trinity Sunday. The volume is divided into five parts. In Part One, I explain the “first premise” of Christian Spirituality: which is the reality of evil in the world, and, second, its corollary: God’s eternal truth as the only antidote and place it in the context of the writings of two Anglican clergymen: Archbishop Thomas Cranmer and the Blessed Lancelot Andrewes, Chaplain to Elizabeth I and James I and a member of the supervisory team which prepared the King James Bible.

In Part Two, the explore the many ways which mankind can “see” the face of the Almighty God. In Part Three, I explore the true meaning of the phrase: “Blessed is the man…Blessed are….” and their many variations in the Book of Psalms. In Part Four, I explore another phrase, also based on the Psalter: “Put not your trust in princes….” through study of three stages of prayer: of words; of the mind; and of the heart; and offer ideas on developing one’s own catanae, or prayers based on Scripture; offering apostolic wisdom based on the words of two pair of saints: Peter and Paul; James and John. In Part Five, “A Primer on Using our Resources,” I explain how to use the resources available through links on the AIC web site including media based on the written word, the spoken word or, in a combination of the two, in visual media. All book royalties are contributed to the AIC. Learn more about Christian Spirituality: an Anglican Perspective, available through my Amazon Author Central page, and about all our publications on the AIC Bookstore page.

Next time, I will explore both Third Sunday in Advent and another 5.5″ x 8:5″ volume. As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!