Trinity 22 & AIC Bookstore – Pt. 5

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My Fr. Ron’s Blog post for Trinity 22 was posted on October 25th, A.D. 2024. The episode is linked from the Archives column at the right side of the page. I discussed the Collect, based on the late Gregorian Sacramentary (10th C.), St. Paul’s epistle to the congregation at Phillipi (Philippians 1:3-11) and St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ lesson on the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35) with first half, 17th C. art work by Claude Vignon. These readings were also discussed in Episode Eight in our Christian Education video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. The podcast version of Episode Eight is linked from the Podcast Archive page. Additionally, the Podcast Homily for Morning Prayer on the Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity is also available.

This week’s post continues my focus on the unique books available in the AIC Bookstore, on this occasion focusing on the first of two books on the Church’s two major seasons, Easter and Christmas. Here, near the start of Advent in A.D. 2025, I present more about Christmas: The Nativity of Our Lord in Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition. This resource would be a great gift to any Christian this year. The volume is available only through my Amazon Author Central page.

Cover image, a stained glass interpretation at an unspecified location, copyright Waamel|Dreamstime.com.

The book was first published at Christmas, A.D. 2023. Art work includes 113 illustrations from the 5th to the early 20th C., including mosaics, icons, frescoes, stained glass, paintings, watercolors and two maps: Palestine in the Time of Christ and an 1835 Plan of Jerusalem. This 173-page high-quality paperback is divided into five parts. Part One includes text and commentary on St. Luke’s unique pre-Nativity account (Luke 1). Part Two continues with text and commentary on St. Luke’s version of the actual Nativity and his transition to post-Nativity events (Luke 2). Part Three includes text and commentary on St. Matthew’s version of the Nativity through the flight to and return from Egypt (Matthew 1 & 2). Part Four is focused on two pre-and post-Nativity traditions with art related to The Great “O” Antiphons (for Dec. 18th to 24th) and The Twelve Days of Christmas (with a theme words or phrases for Dec. 25th to Jan 5th). Part Four includes examples from the AIC’s two video and podcast series of the same name. Part Five, Christmas Traditions from around the World, includes discussion and illustrations of gift-giving, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Christmas cards, the Three Kings tradition, Christmas music and foods, including Corkie Shibley’s recipe for my grandmother’s Sugar Cookies.

With its unique format and content, this volume will enhance anyone’s personal library of Christian resources. Next time, my focus will be on Easter: The Resurrection of Our Lord in Scripture, Prayer & Christian Tradition.

As always, thank you for your interest and support. Sales of these volumes help keep the Anglican Internet Church’s unique resources available online, mostly free of charge. All book royalties are donated, as received, to the AIC. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Trinity 20 & AIC Bookstore – Part 3

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My Fr. Ron’s Blog post for Twentieth Sunday after Trinity was posted on 10/11/2024. In the post I discussed the two changes to the original Gelasian Sacramentary version that were made in 1662 & 1789; St. Paul’s emphasis on his understanding of “joy” in the singing “Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs”; and St.. Matthew’s account of the Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14). The post is available using the link for October 2024 in the Archives column.

The same set of readings was discussed and illustrated in Episode Eight in our Christian Education video series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season. All these episodes include illustrations from our archive of over 3,000 examples of Christian art over the centuries. Another illustration of the Parable of the Wedding Feast is featured in Chapter 22 of The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

Cover art: King David on his harp, stained glass window, Collegiate Church of Notre Dame, Dinant, Belgium. Copyright Jorisvo/Dreamstime.com

This week’s example of works in the AIC Bookstore is The Prayer Book Psalter: History, Text & Commentary (370 pages, six illustrations, including two on the front or back cover). The book brings together both Western Church and Eastern Church interpretations and was intended to answer commonly-asked questions about the Psalter. It can be used as a quick-reference for either clergy or laity.

The text of each Psalm, using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer (1943 U.S. Edition), is followed by commentary from a Christological perspective, where possible using quotations from the ancient fathers of Christianity, including saints Athanasius of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, Gregory of Nyssa, James, John Cassian, John Chrysostom, Martin Luther, the Apostles Paul and Peter, and Theodoric of Cyprus. For each Psalm there is a listing of where, if applicable, each Psalm has been used in Christian hymns and songs. The music cross-reference is focused on traditional songs and hymns used not only in the Anglican worship tradition, but also the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian traditions.

Each Psalm (see the sample page of Psalm 149, one of the shortest Psalms) is categorized by its type, either Penitential, Passion, Cursing, Messianic, Royal, Hallel and Songs of Ascent; by the traditional understanding of its authorship (David, Sons of Korah; Sons of Asaph (Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah and Azariah); Solomon; Moses; Ethan the Ezrahite; and Unknown; and by how and where it is used in the 1928 BCP (Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, Other); and by its classification in one of the traditional five “Books” of the Psalms in the full text section of the BCP. At the back of the book is a Glossary listing every person or place named in the Psalter, with entries cross-referenced to other Psalms, other Scripture and to other books in the AIC Bookstore. The volume is available exclusively through my Amazon Author Central page.

Next week’s topic will be our other book focused on the Psalms, The Prayer Book Psalter: Picture Book Edition, which features illustrations from the historic Stuttgart Psalter (circa 820 A.D. during the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne) and 20 other illustrated editions of the Psalter from the 10th to the 17th C., including the Psalter of Henry the Eighth. The page size is 8.5″ x 8.5″ with the Psalm text set in large type in the Apple Luminari typeface, with illuminated capitals created by Corkie Shibley, and with the Psalm’s title in both English and Latin. The book was produced with the assistance of the Wurttembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart, Germany, the holder of the only known copy of the Stuttgart Psalter. The Stuttgart Psalter is associated with the Blessed Alcuin of York, author of the Collect for Purity in the Anglican Holy Communion liturgy and spiritual advisor and teacher to the Emperor Charlemagne, his family and his royal court, and Abbot of the Abbey of St. Martin, Tours, France.

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

Liturgical Worship: Scripture-based – Part 2

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This week I continue my discussion about Liturgical Worship in the Anglican tradition using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. The illustration below shows clergy officiating at Holy Communion using the Sarum Rite. Sarum is modern day Salisbury, England. The Sarum Rite in England is a predecessor of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, the first England language liturgical prayer book produced under the supervision of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.

Priests Celebrating at Altar, using the Sarum Rite, illumination, Book of Hours, circa 1400, Ms. Richardson 5-92, Folio 44v, Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Public Domain.

One of the best commentaries on the 1928 Book of Common Prayer was written by Massey Shepherd. It includes an introductory commentary plus section-by-section commentary on the entire BCP. On the Holy Communion liturgy, pages 67-89, he observes that the words to be spoken by clergy and people before an after the Gospel reading (“Glory be to thee, O Lord” and “Praise be to thee, O Christ”) are “a reminder that liturgical worship is a corporate action of both minister and congregation, conducted under the inspirational judgment of the Lord.”

Shepherd also notes that the Sanctus prayer, spoken during the Preface, is a paraphrase which is derived from the prophet Isaiah’s vision of the heavenly throne, in which the seraphim sing (Isaiah 6:1-3). Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, Heaven and earth are full of thy glory: Glory be to thee, O Lord most high.”

Another interesting observation by Massey Shepherd concerns the opening words of the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church (BCP p. 74) is evidence of the Church’s acceptance of the understanding that God listens of the prayers/petitions of His faithful people and, further, that the text affirms that the people/congregation, in hearing the remainder of the prayer, acknowledge the obligation to be obedient unto His divine will: “all those who do confess thy holy Name may agree in the truth of thy holy Word, and live in unity and godly love.” This understanding is more directly addressed in the preface to the General Confession (p. 75).

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


Liturgical Worship: Scripture-based – Part 1

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Earlier this month my Blog post promised additional commentary on the value of liturgical worship, specifically, worship using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer in the Anglican tradition. This is the first entry in the series. More will follow on an unpredictable schedule.

Liturgical worship is practiced in several denominations, especially the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and, to a lesser extent, among some jurisdictions with the Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian traditions. The origin of these traditions is derived from early Church worship, both in the Western and Eastern Church jurisdictions. For Anglicans, the “gold standard” is those liturgies derived from Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s preparation (with assistance from many whose names are not commonly noted) of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, the first set of liturgies written in the English language. Cranmer found inspiration in liturgies developed on the European continent, especially in the Lutheran Church, but also from the liturgy named in honor of St. John Chrysostom. Prior to the production of the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, Cranmer also wrote the office known as The Litany, or General Supplication, which still appears on pages 54-59 in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.

Archbishop Cranmer did not compose something new but a working collection of liturgies for Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, the Litany & the Penitential Office for Ash Wednesday, as well as other offices and collections of prayers for specific occasions. All of these liturgies, offices and prayers have a common characteristic: They are based upon Holy Scripture, both of the Old Testament and the New Testament. For example, the Holy Communion liturgy begins with the Lord’s Prayer and a Collect, commonly called the Collect for Purity, written in the late 8th or early 9th C. by the Blessed Alcuin of York. The Collect sets the tone for the entire liturgy with understandings, both Jewish and Christian, concerning the nature of the God who sees all and knows all. It also serves as a warning against trivializing the meaning of the words that are to follow in the Holy Communion liturgy. It is useful to recall that Theos, a name of God, is the root word of “theology,” means The One Who Sees.

ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts are open,
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid;
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Alcuin of York, and his importance in the development of Christian doctrine since the 9th C., is discussed in the Blog posts for Lent 4 and Lent 5.

Other examples of the use of Holy Scripture are the responsive reading of the Ten Commandments, or Decalogue. The full text must be used at least once per month. On other occasions, the clergyman may read the “Summary of the Law,” which is a paraphase of Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, and to which Jesus referred on Mark 12:28-34. Christ cited the two Old Testament sources in response to the question by some Scribes regarding which is the most important Commandment.

Another example is the Comfortable Words, which are quotations Matthew 11:28; John 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:15 and 1 John 2:1, 2. These follow the General Confession and Absolution. Yet another is the selection of New Testament and Old Testament verses which may be used during the Offertory, although the most commonly used in the first in the sequence, “Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive,” based on Acts 20:35.

In Part Two, I will focus on indirect or paraphrases of Scripture which appear in the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer, the Holy Communion liturgy and are provided in other offices for special occasions, ranging from baptisms to funerals.

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

Sunday after Ascension

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Anglican worship for the Sunday after Ascension marks the close of the prayer cycle focused on historical events, beginning with First Sunday in Advent and including the seasons of Advent, Christmas/Nativity of Our Lod, Epiphany, and Eastertide/Ascension. Next Sunday, Whitsunday/Pentecost, marks the start of what the AIC refers to as the “Teaching Season.” During this second half of the year, the collects and readings are focused on elements of doctrine rather than events.

For Sunday after Ascension, instead of another prayer adapted from one of three primary sources in the Western Church tradition, that is, the Leonine, Gregorian or Gelasian sacramentaries, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer turned to the traditions of the English Church. His Collect for Sunday after Ascension was adapted from a song which was sung for The Venerable Bede during Bede’s final illness in 735 A.D. In the English Church, the words of the song had been incorporated into a prayer in the Vespers office, usually celebrated around 5 P.M. or local sunset. The words of the Collect, very much like the Gospel reading from John 16 for Fourth Sunday after Easter, were intended to prepare worshippers for the transition from the celebration of Christ’s Ascension, celebrated on Ascension Day, the Thursday following Fifth Sunday after Easter, into the recognition of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost/Whitsunday. In the King James Version and the Book of Common Prayer, the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, is referred to as “Comforter.” In the New King James Version He is called the “Helper.” Bede is also venerated in the Roman Catholic tradition, although he was not canonized by the Roman Church until the reign of Pope Leo XIII in 1899 A.D. The Venerable Bede was the author of the earliest history of the Church in England, Ecclesiastical History of England, covering the period up to 731 A.D., the year the book was published. An online version is available through CCEL.org.

The Ascension, the left panel of a triptych in tempera on wood, Andrea Mantegna, 1463-1464 A.D., Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy. Image from The Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks. Public Domain.

O GOD, the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph
into thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost
to comfort us, and exalt us into the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before,
who liveth and reigneth with thee and same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1 Peter 4:7-11, begins with St. Peter’s advice concerning preparation for final judgment (verse 7), goes on to extol the Christian virtue of love (Verse 8, translated as “charity” in the King James Version and the Book of Common Prayer) and acknowledges that virtues come to mankind as a sovereign gift from God. The final verse (verse 11) includes words which have been incorporated into many Christian liturgies and prayers, here printed in the Prayer Book translation:

If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God;
If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth:
that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ,
to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel reading, John 15:26 to John 16:4a, the fifth of five selections from the Gospel of John in the Sundays after Easter and Sunday after Ascension, includes a warning about the earthly dangers for followers of Jesus Christ, not only for those immediately within His hearing but also for those who would follow Him in the generations to come. Perhaps that is why the reading is presented in the Book of Common Prayer out of chronological order, with reference in verse 26 to an event already celebrated on Ascension Day.

But these things I have told you, that when the time comes,
you may remember that I told you of them.

The Ascension, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Rabbula Gospels, produced in the region of present-day Syria, then known as Mesopotamia, at the monastery of St. John of Zagba, 586 A.D. Codex Pluteus 1, 56, Folio 13v, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenzina, Florence, Italy. The document has been in Florence since the 16th C. The volume also includes the oldest surviving image of the Crucifixion. This version is from The Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks, published on a DVD and released into the Public Domain in 2002 A.D.

The actual descent of the Holy Spirit is celebrated annually on the Church Calendar on Whitsunday/Pentecost. The descent is described vividly by St. Luke in Acts 2:1-11, which is the Epistle reading for Whitsunday. The illustration displayed above the Collect for the Day represents the Western style of literalist interpretation of Christ’s Ascension. The illustration above this paragraph represents a more spiritual style. Both illustrations and twelve others were used in our publication, Easter: The Resurection of Our Lord in Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition, available through my Amazon Author Central page, with details of the volume found on the AIC Bookstore page. The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Sunday after Ascension are discussed and illustrated in Episode Three in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Eastertide: From Resurrection to Ascension, linked from the Digital Library page and, in MP3 audio format, from the Podcast Archive page.

Next week I plan to begin a new series of topical Blog postings. Readers are reminded that Blog entries for the other Sundays on the Church Calendar are linked from the Fr. Ron’s Blog tab for the years from 2023 through 2025. The page includes links to all posts going back to the opening of this site in August 2014. The Blog includes topical links following the actual blog entries.

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

Fourth Sunday after Easter

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For Fourth Sunday after Easter Archbishop Cranmer adapted another prayer from the Gelasian Sacramentary, one of the three most important prayers sources in the Roman Catholic tradition. The Collect affirms the sovereignty of God and His only-begotten Son over all things, including the wide range of human emotions.

ALMIGHTY God, who alone canst order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men;
Grant unto thy people, that they may love the thing which thou commandest, and
desire that which thou dost promise, that so, among the sundry and manifold changes
of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed, where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

James the Just, tempera and gold on panel Russian Orthodox icon in the Novgorod style, 1560 A.D. James holds a book, representing his epistle, in his left hand. Public Domain.

The Epistle reading, James 1:17-21, is one of foremost examples of New Testament “wisdom.” It illustrates concepts found in the “wisdom” books of the Septuagint Old Testament, which include the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon (also known as the Song of Songs). The selection is the first of two consecutive readings from the Book of James during Easter season, the other being the reading for Fifth Sunday after Easter. The author, traditionally said to have been the first “Bishop” of Jerusalem, includes themes from the Collect. St. James affirms the importance of the virtue of self-control: “…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (verses 19 and 20a). The great early Church Bishop, first of Antioch, then of Constantinople, John Chrysostom often used his homilies to counsel his listeners on the concept of the tongue as a weapon and the obligation of all men to “give it a rest,” especially during penitential seasons on the Church Calendar. A modern reproduction of the icon shown above is available online from the web site www.iconsofsaints.com. James is commonly called Brother of the Lord, based on the tradition that Joseph of Nazareth was his father from a marriage prior to his marriage to the Blessed Virgin Mary. James is traditionally thought to have been a “healer.”

The Gospel reading, John 16:5-11, is the fifth of six readings from the Gospel of John for the Sundays from Easter Day through Fifth Sunday after Easter. The account is unique to the Gospel of John and offers a link between the events of Easter Day and the coming of the Holy Spirit, or “Comforter” and “Spirit of truth” (King James Version) and “Helper”(New King James Version). Details of the Descent of the Holy Spirit is dramatically and uniquely told by St. Luke in Acts 2:1-4. The words of Jesus Christ in John 16 were spoken to the Apostles on the evening of Maundy Thursday after the Last Supper. Jesus offers words of comfort to His followers concerning His departure from them and the benefits to themselves of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus offered them assurance that the Spirit “will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will shew you things to come” (verse 13). The Descent of the Holy Spirit is described and illustrated in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Acts of the Apostles: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page, with details found on the AIC Bookstore page. The volume includes 77 illustrations and seven “special text” pages. In historic Christian art, at least in the surviving examples, The Acts of the Apostles was very rarely illustrated and even then included only one or two examples, usually of the scene in Acts 2:1-4. The volume also includes an 1888 map of the Mediterranean Sea with annotation concerning the origin of those present for the event and five examples of historic illustrations for Acts from circa 1100 A.D. to the late 19th C.

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

Third Sunday after Easter

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For Third Sunday after Easter the Collect was adapted by Archbishop Cranmer from the Leonine Sacramentary, one of the three primary sources in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is the oldest Collect in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Instead of the more commonly used phrase, Church Universal, the collect refers to “Christ’s Religion.” It reflects the Christian belief concerning the merciful nature of God the Father in offering His creation a path to return to “the way of righteousness.” This understanding was incorporated into the Sacrament of Confession.

ALMIGHTY God, who showest to them that are in error the light of truth,
that they may return unto the way of righteousness: Grant unto all those
who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Religion, that they may avoid
those things which are contrary to their profession, and follow all such things
as are agreeable to the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1 Peter 2:11-17, actually comes before the reading for last week’s reading for the Second Sunday after Easter. In the closing verse, St. Peter urges Christians to “love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King.” The phrase is part of the basis for the Prayer for the President of the United States and all in Civil Authority in the Anglican Evening Prayer office.

The Last Supper, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, upper scene of two scenes on Maundy Thursday, Codex Bruchsal, circa 1220 A.D., which was produced for use at Speyer Cathedral in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer, Germany. Ms. Codex Bruchsal 1, Folio 28r, Badische Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe, Germany. CC by NC 3.0.

The Gospel reading, John 16:16-22, is one of six readings in Easter from the Gospel of John. It is the first of three readings from Chapter 16. The three readings are not presented in sequence. Verses 16-22 are presented before verses 5-11 (Fourth Sunday after Easter), with verses 23-33 presented on Fifth Sunday after Easter. The verses, which were spoken on the evening of Maundy Thursday, include one of Jesus’ several references to concepts of time. Here it is based on the Greek word, mikron (Strong’s Greek word # 3397), translated in the King James Version as “in a little while.” I discussed these verses and Jesus’ other uses of words focused on unique details in the Gospel of John, on this occasion concerning concepts of time, in Episode Forty-four in our Bible Study video series, New Testament: Gospels. The episode is linked from the Digital Library page, with the Podcast version linked from the Podcast Archive page. St. John records in verse 17 that his fellow Disciples were puzzled: “What is this that He says: ‘a little while?’ We do now know what He is saying” (NKJV text). In the reading for Fifth Sunday after Easter from John 16:23-33, Jesus uses another Greek word referring to time: “hora,” meaning “hour” (Strong’s Greek word # 5610), which refers to a specific amount of time or occasion when something will happen. The image above is part of Illustration No. 67 in our Bookstore publication, The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page, with summary information on the AIC Bookstore page.

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

Fourth Sunday in Lent

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For the Fourth Sunday in Lent Archbishop Thomas Cranmer again relied upon the Gregorian Sacramentary as the source for the Collect. It is the third of five Collects in Lent to come from that source. This adaptation even more strongly than other collects in the season points toward the redemptive sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the many sins of God’s creation, mankind. In the Western Church, the word or title “Almighty,’ affirms that God is the Supreme authority over all things. In the Eastern Church tradition, especially as understood in the Russian language, His Name in this capacity is Bozhe, which literally translates as the One who can do anything He wishes. It is one of several different Russian words referring to God the Father. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines the title as meaning “sufficient or all-powerful. It is used 48 times, the first in Genesis 17:1 and the last in Joel 1:15, in the King James Version of the Old Testament. The title is derived from the Hebrew Shaddah (Strong’s Hebrew word # 7706). In the New Testament, there are only nine uses, eight of which are from Revelation, based on the Greek word Pantokrator (Strong’s Greek word # 3841). In the Eastern Church tradition, the image of Christ as “Pantokrator” is commonly used in icons, mosaics and frescoes. A common colloquial translation of the title into English is “Ruler of the Universe.” An image of Christ as Pantokrator as used in the Deesis mosaic in the Hagia Sophia at Constantinople/Istanbul, appears in the blog post for First Sunday after Easter, posted on 4/6/2024.

In the English language, one of the clearest example of the meaning of Pantokrator, in the late 17th C., Bible scholar, Bishop, and spiritual advisor to Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, the Blessed Lancelot Andrewes compiled a set of prayers based on Scripture. Since there was no single English word to convey the meaning, he used this all-encompassing phrase, “Blessed, praised,. celebrated, magnified, exalted, glorified and hallowed be thy Name, O Lord; Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty,” which is part of the Second Antiphon in the Sixth Hour office in our publication, Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity. More of Andrewes’ writings are printed in the Introduction to Christian Spirituality: An Anglican Perspective. Both books are available through my Amazon Author Central page. A summary of each is found on the AIC Bookstore page.

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds do worthily deserve to be punished,
by the comfort of thy grace may mercifully be relieved; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Galatians 4:21-31, is part of St. Paul’s explanation of the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. This epistle was addressed in verse 2 to the several churches in the region of Galatia in Asia Minor, but St. Paul does not name any particular city. In the reading, in symbolic language St. Paul explains the important difference between the descendants of the two sons of Abraham, one born of a “bondmaid” (Hagar, or Agar in the KJV, symbolizing bondage under the law, in verses 22, 24, 25; called a “bondwoman in the NKJV text) and one born of a “freewoman” (Sarah, referred to but not named in verses 22 and 23). He uses the phrase “children of promise” (verse 28), which refers to Christians guided by the Holy Spirit under the New Covenant.

The Miracle of the Loaves and the Fishes, opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, James Tissot, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, John 6:1-14, is the first of two readings from St. John’s Gospel in Lent. The subject, with great detail including the talk of Philip and Andrew, is the miracle of the Feeding of the 5,000, which is the fourth of the seven “signs” in the Gospel of John. Discussed in detail in Episode Thirty-nine in our video series, The New Testament: The Gospel of John. The image, also commonly known as The Feeding of the 5,000, is Illustration No. 37 in The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, like the other AIC Bookstore Publications cited above, linked from my Amazon Author Central page. Full information about the book is found on the AIC Bookstore page. Tissot’s image, like his other Bible illustrations, includes great detail and a visual expression of the scale and the setting, including an extensive variety of clothing commonly worn in the 1st C.

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

Second Sunday in Lent

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The observation of the penitential season of Lent continues with Second Sunday in Lent. For this occasion Archbishop Cranmer adapted the Collect from a prayer in the Gregorian Sacramentary, one of the three primary sources in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is the first of five Gregorian Collects used in the season of Lent. This is not surprising, given the important part Pope Gregory the Great played in the Western Church’s celebration of Lent. One of the themes (“evil thoughts”) in the Collect is repeated in, or perhaps sourced from, the Epistle reading from the pen of St. Paul.

ALMIGHTY God, who sees that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves;
Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls;
that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body,
and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, another teaching from St. Paul on the Christian virtues. St. Paul focuses on self-control, especially in matters of “passions,” particularly “concupiscence,” or “passion of lust” in the New King James Version. In the early Church, especially in the Eastern Church, these desires are commonly referred to as “ill dreams and dark pleasures.” That specific term is used in the Third Prayer for the Vespers office in Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity and a related phrase, “ill dreams and nightly fears, wrought by dark and evil spirits,” in the Sixth Prayer in the Compline office. A similar topic is discussed in the VIRTUE(S) entry in Layman’s Lexicon: a Handbook of Scriptural, Liturgical & Theological Terms, and a text box, “The Christian Virtues and Their Opposites,” is found on page 165, in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, all three books are available through my Amazon Author Central page, with complete details of each book on the AIC Bookstore page.

Christ and the Canaanite Woman, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Codex Egberti, circa 980-983, Codex 24, Folio 25v, Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek der Stadt Trier, Trier, Germany. Public Domain.
Jesus with the Woman of Canaan, oil on canvas, Michael Angelo Immenraet, Unionskirche, 1673, Wikimedia Commons.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 15:21-28, is the third in a row in Lent and one for four readings in Lent from the Gospel of Matthew. The evangelist records an encounter between Jesus Christ and the “Woman of Canaan,” who had a demon-possessed daughter. The woman is called a “Syro-Phoenician” in Mark 7:26. The image from the Codex Egberti appears as Illustration No. 78 in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, and, in a larger, high-resolution version, as Illustration No. 41 in The Gospel of Mark: Annotated & Illustrated, both available through my Amazon Author Central page. Full information about both books is found on the AIC Bookstore page. The difference between the two names is the result of the different target audience for each Gospel. St. Matthew’s Gospel was intended for unconverted Jews, who would know the region by its Hebrew name, Canaan. Mark’s target audience was broader and more likely included people who would know the region by its geographical name. Although the unnamed woman was not a Hebrew, in verse 22, she calls Jesus by the titles of “Lord” and “Son of David.” The conversation is wide-ranging and includes reference to Jesus’ mission and “little dogs” and “crumbs under the table.” Jesus speaks to her with the admonition, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of Israel” (verse 24 in the New King James Version). The woman’s daughter is healed owing to what Jesus describes as the woman’s “faith”: “O Woman, great is your faith! Let it be as you desire it.” (verse 28, NKJV).

The Collect and the two readings are discussed in Episode Two in our video series, Lent: a Penitential Season. My Podcast Homily for Second Sunday in Lent is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. One of the great hymns associated with Second Sunday in Lent, Kind Maker of the World,” is attributed to Gregory the Great. In our Bookstore Publication, The St. Chrysostom Hymnal, it remains Hymn 56 but the words are set to the more easily-sung French tune from the Grenoble tradition in the mid-18th C., Deus tuorum militum. Some hymnals label the tune “Grenoble,” and others credit it to the Ambrosian tradition in northern Italy. The tune’s name literally means “God of your soldiers.” The volume, as noted above, like all the AIC Bookstore Publications, is available through my Amazon Author Central page.

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

First Sunday in Lent

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Rather than just comment upon the Collect, Epistle & Gospel readings for First Sunday in Lent in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, I take this opportunity to offer some insight into how and why the season of Lent came into the Christian worship cycle. Lent is one of the Church’s two seasons of penitence, the other being Advent. In the Eastern Church tradition, Lent is called “Great Lent.”

Like “Epiphany” and the “Gesima” Sundays which come immediately before the start of Lent, the name Lent is not a Scriptural term, that is, you will not find it in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Old or New Testaments. It is derived from two different sources, the Old English “Lenten” and the old High German “Lenz,” noting also that there are similar words in other European languages, including Dutch, Italian and Spanish. Lent is the preferred English title instead of the Latin “Quadragesima,” which means “Forty Days” or the Greek “Tessakoste,” or “fortieth day.” All these terms refer to a day which is forty days before Easter or to the Forty Days themselves. The number 40 appears in the Gospel reading for the First Sunday in Lent.

Numerology, or the symbolism of numbers, has always been present in Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments. In the three Synoptic Gospel accounts Christ fasted for forty days in the Wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13). Old Testament examples of forty “days” include Moses on Mt. Sinai (Exodus 24:18); Elijah’s journey on foot to Mt. Horeb (1 Kings 19:18); days (and nights) of rain while Noah guided the Ark (Genesis 7:4); and the period of repentance specified by Jonah to the residents of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4). Expressed in “Years” is the number of years of the exile of the Hebrew people in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 14:33).

There is no agreement among historians or Church officials as to when Lent came into the Church’s cycle of worship; however, since the season is based upon the date of Easter, it seems logical to assume that Lent came about after the Council of Nicea, 325 A.D., when a formula for determining the date of Easter was decided upon. Some historians believe that St. Ambrose of Milan (340-397 A.D.) and those who followed his example in the late 4th C. Others give some credit to Pope Leo the Great (circa 400-440 A.D.). As noted in the post for Ash Wednesday, Pope Gregory the Great (Pope from 590 to 604 A.D.) officially designated Ash Wednesday as the start of Lent in response to Eastern Church criticism that the Western Church did not have a full 40-day season of Lent. In the Roman Catholic practice, Sundays could not be fasting days, causing the dispute with the Eastern Church. Thus the season of Lent in the Western Church as 46 calendar days and 40 fasting days.

In the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, the Collect for Ash Wednesday must also be read on all Sundays in Lent until Palm Sunday (Sixth Sunday in Lent). Both Collects are shown below. The first, the Ash Wednesday Collect, was adapted by Archbishop Cranmer from the Sarum Rite service then in use in England. The second collect, for First Sunday in Lent, is an original composition for Lent by Archbishop Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer based upon Ephesians 4:22-24.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing that thou has made.
and dost forgive the sins of all those who are penitent;
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we,
worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness,
may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O LORD, who for our sake didst fast forty days and forty nights;
Give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit,
we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness and true holiness,
to thy honor and glory, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 2 Corinthians 6:1-10, like many of the readings during the “Gesima” Sundays, emphasizes the Christian virtues. St. Paul emphasizes the value of patience, which is also called steadfastness, in all things. Verses 6-10 includes specific areas in which patience is important. In verse 2, he uses Isaiah 49:8, to claim that “the day of salvation” is now, meaning it is ever-present in the unknown time before Christ comes again. He emphasizes the power of God over all forms of adversity which the faithful may encounter. The secular world’s hostility to Christianity is the continuing subject of our video series, The War on Christianity, with episodes linked from the Digital Library page.

The Temptations of Christ, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Codex Aureus of Echternach, circa 1030-1050, Hs. 156142, folio 20v, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany. Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 4:1-11, is the evangelist’s account of the three temptations of Christ, in which Jesus calls the Devil by his given name, Satan. Satan uses Old Testament sources for imagery: Deuteronony 8:3 (stone into bread), Deuteronomy 6:13 (worship Satan instead of God) and Psalm 91:11, 12 (Guardian Angel). One of the most famous and revered hymns for Lent is Forty Day and Forty Nights (tune: Heinlein/Aus der Tier rufe Ich). My Podcast Homily for First Sunday in Lent is available using links on the Podcast Homilies page. The image above appears in a high-resolution version as Illustration No. 42 in The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Another illustration of the temptations, presented in a different order, in a 17th C. Russian Orthodox icon, was used in Episode Two in our video series, Lent: the Season of Penitence. Episodes are linked from the Digital Library page.

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