Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2026

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I last commented upon the Collect and readings for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity in A.D. 2024. In that posting I focused a lot of attention on the importance of key words in the Collect for the day in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. First, here’s the text only:

GRANT, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace,
that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Collect for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity is another adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. It is based upon the Gelasian Sacramentary (Rome, circa 750 A.D.). In spite of its name, the Gelasian Sacramentary does have any actual connection to Pope Gelasius I, who was Bishop of Rome from 492 to 496 A.D. Its official name was Liber sacramentorum Romanae ecclesiae, literally The Book of Sacraments of the Church of Rome. In the 8th C. A.D., there were two sacramentaries in liturgies within the Western Church: the Gelasian, used by the Church at Rome, and another, known as the Gallican Rite, widely used in the northern half of Italy and in parts of the rest of Western Europe. The Gelasian rite was replaced across the Holy Roman Empire during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor since the sacking of Rome in the 5th C. Viewers of this blog will already know that the most important contributor to the worship practices of the Western Church at the time of Charlemagne and his successors was the Blessed Alcuin of York. Alcuin was tutor to the household of the Frankish monarch who adopted the name Charlemagne. Alcuin’s most famous prayer, commonly known as the Collect for Purity, follows the Lord’s Prayer in Anglican Holy Communion in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (American edition). For more about Alcuin’s interesting history and an image of him, see my Blog post for March 16, A.D. 2024 and an earlier Blog post about Alcuin and his background in northern England on March 9, A.D. 2024

Back to the Collect’s key phrases mentioned above. The Collect for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity includes a two iconic phrases written by Archbishop Cranmer, “pardon and peace” and “a quiet mind.” These changes are important for Anglican worship in that the word “pardon” was substituted by Abp. Cranmer in the 1549 Book of Common Prayer for the medieval Latin word “indulgence.” Archbishop Cranmer considered “indulgence” as too closely allied to the Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences, one of the contributing factors which precipitated the Protestant Reformation and the separation of the Church in England from the Roman Church. The word “quiet” in Archbishop Cranmer’s phrase “a quiet mind” replaced the Latin word “secure.” In Cranmer’s thinking, and likely his spiritual advisor Alcuin’s, “a quiet mind” implies unshakeable faith in the face of adversity. Archbishop Cranmer’s Collect for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, as amended into its present form, is often used by non-ordained Church leadership as a closing prayer in the Anglican Morning Prayer. The prayer offers the hope of forgiveness without the official sanction of the rite of Absolution, which only an ordained clergyman can dispense. The Collect for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity is the last of sixteen from the Gelasian Sacramentary in Trinity season (noting that one was changed by Archbishop Cranmer in the 1549 B.C.P., five changed in the 1662 edition, and one changed for the American prayer book in 1789.

Mosaic of a figure with a beard and halo, wearing a robe, gesturing with one hand while holding a book in the other.
St. Paul, mosaic, Inner Narthex, south wall to right of entry arch into the Naos, Chora Church (Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora), 1315-1321 A.D. under administration of Isaac Comnenus, Constantinople/Istanbul. The finger position of the thumb against the tip of the third finger forming the letter “C:” is the Byzantine sign of a blessing offered by a priest. Together the position, with raised first and fourth fingers, form the letters ICXC, which stands for Jesus Christ. In the Byzantine tradition, carried into the modern world by the Orthodox Church, many icons of Christ include the legend ICXC NIKA, which means Jesus Christ, Victor (over death). © Steve Estvank|Dreamstime.com.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 6:10-20, is St. Paul’s classic explanation of the Christian faith expressed in distinctly martial terms and other meaningful phrases, including: “the whole armor of God,” “spiritual wickedness in high places,” “principalities….powers…rulers of darkness,” “breastplate of righteousness,” “shield of faith,” “helmet of salvation,” “sword of the Spirit.” I explore this kind of imagery in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Christian Spirituality: an Anglican Perspective.” St. Paul’s reference to “against principalities, against powers…spiritual wickedness in heavenly places” is the Scriptural source of the Christian understanding that there are nine ranks, or orders, of angels. In another AIC Bookstore Publication, Layman’s Lexicon, I explore Angels/Archangels on pages 10-13. Both volumes are available exclusively through my Amazon Author Central page. A summary of both books is available on the AIC Bookstore page. Layman’s Lexicon was the featured book in my Blog post for October 18, A.D. 2025. In other AIC resources, the traditional understanding of angels is discussed, with fourteen illustrations of angels, in Episode Nine (Ninth Day of Christmas, Jan. 2nd) of the AIC Christian Education Video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas. All twelve episodes are linked from the Digital Library page and with their audio-only soundtracks in MP3 format linked from the Podcast Archive page.

The Gospel reading, John 4:46-54, is John the Evangelist’s unique account of Jesus’ Healing of the Nobleman’s Son, described as the “second sign Jesus did when he had come out of Judea into Galilee.” The “signs” to which St. John are the Water into Wine account at the Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12); Healing at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15); Feeding the 5,000 (John 6:5-14): Walking of the Sea of Galilee (John 6:16-21); Healing the Man Born Blind (John 9:1-7) and the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:1-45). The healing is not often depicted in Christian art. This is probably because the healing was done at a distance and not with Jesus at the man’s side. For one of the few such images, a mid-19th C. engraving from the Bowyer Bible, see my Blog Post for October 19, A.D. 2024.

There are other resources in several media formats on this site related to Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity. The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity are discussed and illustrated in Episode Eight in our Seasonal Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. An audio-only version in MP3 format is available on the Podcast Archive page. My Podcast Homily for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. A related Podcast Homily, based upon the Psalm reading for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page. Angels are the subject of another AIC Bookstore Publication, Angels: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition, with 152 illustrations from the 3rd through the 20th C., with the cover illustration being one of the mosaics of angels, presented in five tiers, at the Baptistery of Saint John, Florence, Italy. Like the earlier reference to Layman’s Lexicon, a summary of the volume is linked from the AIC Bookstore page. The volume was the featured book in my Blog post for November 11, A.D. 2025.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. In our immediacy-driven world of the Twenty-first Century in which anti-Christian sentiment is widespread in the media and in political discourse. Your viewership and support for the multimedia resources offered through this site is even more important and is greatly appreciated. On this Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2026, I hope and pray that these resources, which now include nearly 3,000 historic images, help you maintain “a quiet mind” and that you remain steadfast in your beliefs. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2026

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For the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity in A.D. 2026 the worship calendar shifts from the weekly schedule in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer to the appointed readings for a Saints Day, or Holy Day, with the full list found on B.C.P. pages 226-259. The readings for Twentieth Sunday after Trinity honor the Feast Day of “thy servant St. Luke the Physician,” which is always celebrated on October 18th. The Feast can be moved backward or forward to the nearest Sunday at the discretion of the local minister. St. Luke is the subject of Episode Fifteen in the AIC Christian Education Video series, The Lives of the Saints – First Series, the 1928 B.C.P. Saints. The audio-only version in MP3 format is linked from the Podcast Archives page.

An illuminated manuscript page featuring Saint Luke, depicted seated and holding a book, wearing a purple robe, with his feet bare. Above him is an angel and a winged calf. The background includes ornate architectural elements.
Luke Writing His Gospel, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, Codex Wittekindeus, circa 970-980, Fulda Abbey, Fulda, Germany. Ms. Theo. Lat.fol1, Folio 67v, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin/Preussische Kulturbesitz, Berlin, Germany. The style is typical of the school of illuminations during and after the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, who was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor at Rome on Christmas Day, 800 A.D.. Even for that school of illumination the use of vivid green is unusual. The image of an ox is the traditional symbol for St. Luke, based on the vision of the four living creatures in Ezekiel. 1:14.

More details about each of the eighteen canonical saints honored on sixteen feast days in the B.C.P. is discussed and illustrated in the AIC Christian Education Video series, The Lives of the Saints, linked from the Digital Library page. The episode focused on St. Luke, with 322 slides, is found in Episode Fifteen. Audio-only versions in MP3 format are linked from the Podcast Archive page. A second series, focused on thirty-five non-1928 B.C.P. saints in both the Western and Eastern Churches, is linked from the Digital Library and Podcast Archive pages.

Collect for the Feast Day of St. Luke is original to the American 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Ir was written by the Rev. Dr. Charles Morris Addison (1846-1947), a member of the Revision Committee which prepared the 1928 B.C.P. It replaced an original composition from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer written by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Church historian Massey Shepherd notes that where Abp. Cranmer’s original collect was focused on the effects of Christian doctrine on the soul, the Rev. Dr. Addison added the phrase “power and love” referring to Christian ministry as extending not only to the well-being of the body but also the soul. For more commentary on the readings for the Feast Day, or Holy Day, of St. Luke, and any Sunday or Feast Day in the B.C.P., see Shepherd’s landmark volume, The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, available online in pdf format. The Rev. Addison was also coauthor, with John Wallace Suter, of A Book of Offices and Prayers for Priest and People (1914) and, with Charles Morris Addison, John Wallace Suter, Wallace Suter and Charles Morris Addi, The People’s Book of Worship: a Study of the Book of Common Prayer (1919); and two books on mysticism (referring specifically to mankind’s search for the presence of God) originally published in 1918 and again in 1923.

Since there are no epistles credited to St. Luke, the authors of the 1928 B.C.P. chose a selection from the canonical epistles, 2 Timothy 4:5-15. St. Paul wrote in verse 11 that, when this letter was written, many others had fallen away and that “only Luke is with me.” St. Paul’s epistle refers frequently and vividly to the suffering of Christ’s ministers as they spread the word of the Gospel from the Holy Land, across Asia Minor and farther west to Rome. In the late 1st and early 2nd C., Church historian Hippolytus of Rome, a disciple of St. John, created a list of the Seventy. His list included Mark, Luke, Stephen the Protomartyr, Polycarp of Smyrna (one of the earliest martyrs, Philemon and Irenaeus of Lyon.. The Eastern Church produced a full list of the Seventy, including Barnabus and Titus, all of whom are considered as saints. Their Feast Day is January 4th. There is no comparable Feast Day/Holy Day in the Western Church tradition. The reading from 2 Timothy includes a unique reference to the Christian blessing, “Peace be to this house,” (verse 5). Christ directed the Seventy to declare these words to every household which received them.

A group of people dressed in historical garments on a hillside, with a vast landscape of rolling hills and a distant village in the background.
He Sent Them Out Two by Two, opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, James Tissot, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. Public domain.

The Gospel reading, Luke 10:1-7a, is St. Luke’s account of the calling of the Seventy, who are sent “two by two.” They were to go forth in advance of Jesus’ intended visits “into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” (verse 1). I used the above watercolor of the event painted by James Tissot on the opening page of Chapter 10 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated. The illustration of St. Luke at the top of this page also appears in Chapter 10 as Illustration 15. The book is available exclusively through my Amazon Author Central page. St. Luke’s account offers a unique glimpse into the manner in which the Gospel was spread, including the difficulties faced by the Apostles. No salaries or other compensation are paid in the operation of this site. All royalties from the sale of AIC Bookstore Publications are donated to the AIC ministry, an IRS recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

As always, thank you for your interest and support of this online ministry.

Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2026

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For the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity Archbishop Cranmer adapted a collect from the Gelasian Sacramentary, a document much favored in the England in the years before the separation of the English Church from Rome. The Archbishop’s adaptation was altered for the 1662 B.C.P. by the addition of the reference to the Holy Spirit. The collect addresses clearly understandings that are under attack in the 21st C.: God the Father as mankind’s ultimate protector and His Holy Spirit as His agent in His Creation (vs. the concept that mankind can save itself through self-awareness and good works).

O GOD, forasmuch as without thee we are not able to please thee; mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 4:17-32, is one of the longest pericopes, or quotations from Scripture used in Christian liturgies, in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Trinity is, as I call it, The Teaching Season, so there should be no surprise that in these verses St. Paul continues his teachings of the subject of what is now known as the Christian Virtues. In the 6th, 7th and 8th C. these concepts were more fully developed by saints and theologians in both the Eastern and Western Church traditions. St. Paul refers to what modern writers refer to as “passions” or “lusts.” In his writings, mostly from the period of his confinement at Rome before his martyrdom, St. Paul widens the definition into more than sexual passions into the subjects of excessive desire for material things, greed and corrupt language. The closing verse refers to forgiveness, urging Christians to forgive others as God, through Christ, forgives the shortcomings of mankind. For more on the concept of the Christian virtues, you can read the Virtue(s) entry in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Layman’s Lexicon, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

A detailed mosaic depicting a biblical scene with figures, including two central characters, a seated woman, and several other figures around them, set against a textured background.
Christ Healing the Paralytic Man at Capernaum, Byzantine mosaic, early 14th C., east wall, far south end, Outer Narthex, Chora Church, Constantinople/Istanbul. © Zzvet/Dreamstime.com.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 9:1-8, an account of the healing of a paralytic man in the region of Capernaum, on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee late in 27 A.D. near the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry. The most interesting aspect of the account is Jesus’ statement that he man’s healing at His hand was, in part, the result of the faith of the man’s friends. As I noted in Episode Seven in our Bible Study Video series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season, Jesus follows the healing with three demonstrations of His divinity (knowing the thoughts of men in verse 4; the power given Him by God the Father to forgive sins in verse 4b; and the healing by His word only in verse 6). The audio-only version is linked from the Podcast Archive page. I discussed the Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings, with two illustrations, in my Blog post for 10/4/24, which is also linked from the Archives page in the righthand column.

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

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2026

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A.D. 2026 is one of those years with a long Trinity season. There will be 24 Sundays after Trinity, followed by Sunday next before Advent on November 22nd. Since, for reasons unrecalled now, I did not post commentary on the Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity in A.D. 2025 and A.D. 2023, I take this opportunity to do so in A.D. 2026. The Collect for Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity is a modified version which Archbishop Cranmer derived from the Gelasian Sacramentary for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, with the addition of the phrase, “the world, the flesh and the devil” which was added with the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The Gelasian Sacramentary is named after Pope Gelasius, who ruled at Rome from 492 A.D. to 496 A.D.. The Gelasian document appeared for the first time at Paris, France, in the mid-8th C. In the English tradition the Gelasian Sacramentary was widely used in the English Church before the separation from Rome during the reign of Henry XVIII in the third decade of the 16th C. As I did in A.D. 2024, I share with viewers an image of the cover cover and first page of an edition of the Gelasian Sacramentary printed in the 8th C. It is not clear whether this is an image of the first edition of the Gelasian document. It is one of the many historic documents shared and entered into the public domain from the enormous collection found in the Yorck Project. The original of the Gelasian Sacramentary is at the Vatican Library, Rome, Italy,.

Gelasian Sacramentary, Title page (left) and 1st page (right), colors and gold on parchment, 8th C.,
The Yorck Project, commonly called 10,000 Masterworks, published in a DVD in 2002 A.D.. Public Domain.

Themes of the Collect are mankind’s long struggle against the “temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil” and the need for humanity to “follow thee, the only God.” The phrase, “world, the flesh and devil,” was derived from the petitions for deliverance (“deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil”) in the Litany (B.C.P. p. 54). The Epistle reading, 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, is a reminder by St. Paul to the constantly-wavering congregation he established at Corinth that faith in Jesus Christ and His teachings, was, is and remains always for mankind the only path to being “blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Gospel reading, Matthew 22:34-46, is St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ lesson to the Pharisees on two questions: “which is the great commandment in the law” and the identity of Jesus Christ: “what think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” This encounter happened on the Tuesday following Palm Sunday in 30 A.D.. (Tuesday before Easter in the B.C.P.). The reading should be seen in the context that the Pharisees had calculated that there were 613 commandments in Scripture and that the authors of the Book of Common Prayer included Jesus’ answer following the Ten Commandments in the Holy Communion liturgy (B.C.P. page 69). The Collect and the two readings from Scripture are powerful reminders of the absolute need of all the faithful to rely upon the Christian truth, as opposed to the many and varied temptations offered constantly in newspapers, radio, television and the Internet to follow the fickle teachings of men (and women). I have never found, through many web searches, an illustration that is not a modern cartoon-like interpretation. If anyone knows of one, I would like to hear detailed information.

This week’s Collect, Epistle and Gospel lessons are an enduring lesson in the need for paying attention to traditional Christian teachings. This point of view seems completely alien to those who go so far as rewriting the New Testament to fit their beliefs. Take heart. This kind of variation has been with the Church Universal from the beginning. There is more on this subject in the episodes of our Christian Education Video Series, The War on Christianity, linked from the Digital Library page.

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

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, A.D. 2026

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For many weeks now I have been struggling for inspiration on what to post to this Blog. Having posted revised versions of commentaries on the Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Trinity season in A.D. 2024 and A.D. 2025, there seemed nothing new to add. Nonetheless, in A.D. 2026, there has been an abundance of evidence that the Church Universal is more than ever under threat. Nowhere else is this more evident than in the Anglican tradition.
Recent events within the Church of England provide evidence that the home church in England has lost its moorings in its own traditions. The appropriate response within the worldwide Anglican community is not rock music concerts in St. Paul’s Cathedral but a return to the worship traditions begun by Archbishop Cranmer and his associates in the 16th C. These traditions were firmly based in the worship practices of the early Church and its development in both the Western and Eastern Christian traditions. One of the best of these traditions is the following morning prayer which I adapted from the eastern liturgy of St. Mark the Apostle, considered the founder of the Church at Alexandria, one of the original sees of the Church Universal. The prayer has the virtue of being simple and clear and, at the same time, embodying the heightened sense of Christian spirituality found in the early Christian tradition.

WE give thee thanks, our Lord and God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
for all thy goodness at all times and in all places, because thou hast shielded,
rescued and guided us all the days of our lives and brought us to this morning hour,
permitting us again to stand before thee and implore forgiveness for our sins.
We pray and beseech thee, merciful God, to grant in thy goodness that we
may spend this day and all the time of our lives without sin, in fulness of joy,
health, safety, holiness and reverence of thee; drive away from us all envy, fear,
temptation, the influence of Satan, and the snares of wicked men. Amen.

The prayer appears as the Fifth Prayer for First Hour (6 A.M. or local sunrise) in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity, offering prayers for the traditional “hours” throughout the day (being First, Third, Sixth, Ninth, Vespers and Compline).. The book was discussed in my Blog post for October 26, A.D. 2025. This and other postings are linked from the Archives column at right. All the Hours offices offer true comfort based on “worship” and rather than “entertainment.”

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

Trinity 8 & Some Advice

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For Eighth Sunday after Trinity, the Gospel reading is another of the nine readings from the Gospel of Matthew, in this case Matthew 7:15-21, which includes Jesus’ teaching concerning false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing and a lesson concerning the kingdom of heaven. The Collect for the day is another from the Gelasian Sacramentary with changes made for the 1662 B.C.P. The readings are discussed and illustrated in Episode Four in our video series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season. The audio-only version in MP3 format is available from the Podcast Archive page. There are two Podcast Homilies for the occasion, respectively, linked from the Podcast Homilies and Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer pages. The Morning Prayer version is largely based on the Psalm reading, Psalm 119:33-48, one of the segments of the longest Psalm.

In my readings in preparation for the weekly Blog posting, I have observed many articles and commentaries that offer misleading commentary on worship using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Some writers suggest that those unfamiliar with liturgical worship do not know what to do. Since the full text of the service is included in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer found in the back of the next pew forward, this seems like deliberate misdirection. What is missing is the understanding that Anglican liturgical worship (and that of other liturgy-based denomination) is its consistent focus on “worship” vs. praise, human emotions (as in “feeling good” about self and surroundings. A common criticism is that the priest stands facing the altar and not the people. Again, this is misdirection. In fact, a printed service text, based largely on actual quotations or paraphrasing of Scripture, helps keep those in the congregation focused on worship that is directed toward God, represented by the Altar, liturgically representing East no matter what the actual compass direction.

Finally, I again remind readers/viewers, especially anyone confused by media and scholarly commentators, to “turn it off” and “tune it out.” The peace of mind that can come from the strategy is valuable. You may find that you can live without the daily newspaper (assuming there still is one), television and other version of the “commentariat.” Make your own “favorites” list on computers, laptops and “smart” phones and ignore the “noise” so common today in our electronic-based world.

As always, thank you for your continued interest and support.

Seventh Sunday after Trinity

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For Seventh Sunday after Trinity the Collect was derived from the Gelasian Sacramentary plus Archbishop Cranmer’s paraphrase of James 2:17a. The epistle reading is another lesson in Christian virtues and the wages of son from the pen of the Apostle Paul (Romans 6:19-23). The Gospel lesson, Mark 8:1-9, is the first of only two citations from St. Mark’s Gospel in Trinitytide, the second happening on the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. It is St. Mark’s account of the miraculous feeding of the 4,000, otherwise known as the miracle of the loaves and fishes. These reading are discussed and illustrated in Episode Four in our video series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season. The Podcast Homily for Trinity 7 The audio-only version in MP3 format is linked from the Podcast Archive page. A related homily for Trinity 7, based on the Morning Prayer Psalm reading for the day, Psalms 133, 134 and 138, is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page.

As noted in previous posts regarding Trinitytide, the events discussed are focused on the teachings of Jesus Christ, reflected in the heavy reliance upon the Gospel of Luke, from which there are 12 readings. For Trinity 7, the reading from the Gospel of Mark is owed to the fact that it is unique to St. Mark’s account.

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

Trinity Season technical errors & problem

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Now that we are already at Sixth Sunday after Trinity I have discovered that the Trinity season graphic and the links for all episodes in the series have not been working. Apparently, the changes made to remove the Eastertide image and insert the Trinitytide image did not take effect when I posted a new Fr. Ron’s Blog entry for Trinity. Apologies for the inconvenience. Apparently the links from the Digital Library page has been working correctly.

Apologies for the inconvenience. New postings for the season of Trinitytide will be posted during the week of 7/12.

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Trinity Sunday

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For Trinity Sunday I offer viewers a First Hour prayer from the AIC Bookstore Publication, Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity. It is the second of six prayers for the First Hour office (the first of six “hours” offered daily at 6 AM, 9 AM, Noon, 3 P.M., 5 PM and just before bedtime (the latter commonly known as the Compline office). I adapted the prayer from the Eastern Orthodox Holy Communion liturgy of St. Basil the Great, which dates from the 5th or 6th Century. The book is available through my Amazon Author Central page. More information about the book is found on the AIC Bookstore page.

WE thank thee, O Holy Trinity, for this new day. Enlighten the eyes of our understanding, open our ears to receive thy words and teach us thy commandments. Help us to do thy will, to confess thee from our hearts, to extol thine all-holy Name, of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages.

Below are two examples of how the Holy Trinity has been represented in Christian art across the centuries.

The Holy Trinity, icon in tempera and gilt on panel, Andrei Rublev, circa 1420 A.D., Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia. The image was painted for the iconostasis, Holy Trinity Cathedral, Trinity-St. Sergeyev Monastery, Sergeiv-Posad, Russia. Rublev avoided the prohibition against images of God the Father by basing the image on Genesis 18:1-8, the appearance of three men to Abraham under the oak at Mamre.
The Holy Trinity, statue, Holy Trinity column, central square near Buda Castle & St. Matthias Church, Budapest, Hungary, designed by Cerasola Vera and carved by Bernay Ferretti, 1706 A.D. © Kev Gregory/Shutterstock.com

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

Whitsunday 2026 A.D.

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Sunday, May 24th, 2026 A.D., on the Anglican Church Calendar is Whitsunday, which in other denominations is more commonly known as Pentecost, a celebration of the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost in the King James Version). As noted in previous posts in A.D.2026, the Descent is commonly depicted with the Holy Spirit depicted in the form of a dove, as in the Gospel accounts of the Baptism of Christ (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34) and Acts of the Apostles (2:1-11).

The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, gilt and silver on wood icon, probably 18th C., Russia. Holy Spirit depicted as a Dove and flames of fire. From a private collection. Wikimedia Commons.

In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, there are two Collects for Whitsunday. The first is an adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gregorian Sacramentary (10th C.), based on the reading used for the Sunday morning Communion service for Whitsunday at St. Peter’s Basilica. In the Collect reference is made to the Spirit offering comfort to “thy faithful people.” The Collect makes clear that it is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the faithful which makes it possible for mankind to achieve “a right judgment in all things.” The second Collect is unique to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. The identity of the author is unknown. Prayer book scholar Massey Shepherd speculated that it may have been added in order that more of the faithful would hear such doctrine on the Sunday morning celebration of Holy Communion on one of the three most important Sundays on the Church calendar, the other two being Christmas morning and Easter. It contains a plea that by the indwelling of the Spirit the faithful “may be enlightened and strengthened for thy service.” The second Collect is intended for use in the first service when there is more than one service offered on Whitsunday.

The Collects and the two sets of epistle and “for the epistle” reading from St. Luke’s account of the Descent of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-11) plus the Gospel readings for both services are discussed and illustrated in Episode One in our Seasonal Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, linked from the Digital Library page. The reading from 1 Corinthians 12:4-14 includes important instruction from St. Paul on the nature of the Church and the importance of spiritual gifts. The video series begins with readings for Whitsunday and for weekdays Whitsun Week and closes with the Sunday next before Advent, as well as the complicated rules for moving readings from Epiphany season when there are more than twenty-four Sundays after Trinity. The audio only (MP3) version is linked from the Podcast Archive page. My Podcast Homily for Whitsunday is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. A related Podcast Homily for Whitsunday, based on Psalm 68, the Psalm reading for Morning Prayer on Whitsunday, is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page.

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