Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

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For the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer adapted a Collect from the Gregorian Sacramentary. The Gregorian Sacramentary dates from about the 10th C. and is named in honor of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604 A.D.), one of the most influential Popes of the early Church in the Roman Catholic tradition. It is also known as the Sacramentary of Adrian I. To the many earlier petitions in the Collects for Epiphany season, Archbishop Cranmer’s Collect adds the Church Universal to the list of those for whom prayers are sought (which is the meaning of “beseech” in the opening line). The Collect also refers to certain divine attributes of God the Father incorporated into Christian doctrine, including “grace” and “power” (in other places called “might”).

O LORD, we beseech thee to keep thy Church and household continually in thy true religion;
that they who do lean only upon the hope of thy heavenly grace may evermore be defended by thy mighty power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Colossians 3:12-17, is another from the epistles of St. Paul in which the Christian virtues are listed, in this reading adding compassion, kindness, humility, “long suffering,” forebearance, forgiveness and love (charity in the KJV text) and thankfulness for the Lord’s blessings upon mankind. In this reading, St. Paul uniquely refers to the spiritual and other benefits of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Another prominent leader in the early Church, Athanasius of Alexandria, echoed the sentiment slightly differently in the 4th C.: “The act of singing affects harmony in the soul.” The Christian virtues, which were summarized in more or less final form by the 7th and 8th C. in both the Eastern and Western Church traditions, are discussed in the “Virtue(s)” entry in our Bookstore publication, Layman’s Lexicon: a Handbook of Scriptural, Theological and Liturgical Terms, available through my Amazon Author Central Page.

Parable of the Evil Enemy, oil on spruce panel altarpiece, Mompelgarder Altar, circa 1540, made for a Lutheran church in Mombeliard, France by Heinrich Fullmauer, based on Luther’s translation into German of the New Testament. Gemaldagalerie 870, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria. Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 13:24-30, includes the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, which is also known as the Parable of the Evil Enemy in the German/Lutheran tradition. The illustration was used as Illustrati0n No. 72 in our Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, also available through my Amazon Author Central page. For full information about this volume and previously mentioned Bookstore Publications, visit the AIC Bookstore page. For more on Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, watch Episode Three in our video series, Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The Podcast Homily for Fifth Sunday after Epiphany is linked from the Podcast Archive page. My Podcast Homily based on the Psalm reading for Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, Psalms 112 and 113 is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page.

Since Fifth Sunday after Epiphany is the final Sunday in the season in 2025 A.D., there will be no post for the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany. The next Blog post will be focused on Septuagesima Sunday, the first of the three “Gesima” Sundays.

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

Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

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For Fourth Sunday after Trinity Archbishop Cranmer created a Collect which he derived from the Gregorian Sacrementory. The theme is again the need for mankind to recognize the all-knowing God as the only way to overcome man’s sinful nature and the threats of the secular world upon the Christian faithful. It is useful to remember that the Greek word Theos (Strong’s Greek word # 2316), from which the Western world derived the term theology, literally means “the one who sees.”


O GOD, who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers,
that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright;
Grant to us such strength and protection, as may support us in all dangers,
and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Apostle Paul, oil on wood panel, circa 1520 A.D., attributed to Lucas van Leyden, Yale University Art Galley, New Haven, CT. Public domain.

The Epistle reading, Romans 13:1-7, is the last of four readings from Romans 12 and 13 in Epiphany season. St. Paul makes absolutely clear in the first verse that “there is no authority except from God.” In England in the early 18th C., the first verse in Basil Woodd’s hymn, Hail, Thou Source of Every Blessing [Hymn No. 49, St. Chrysostom Hymnal] the lyric declares: “Hail, Thou source of every blessing Sovereign Father of mankind; Gentiles now, Thy grave possessing, in Thy courts admission find. Grateful now we fall before Thee, in Thy Church obtain a place, Now by faith behold Thy glory, Praise Thy truth, adore Thy grace.” The St. Chrystom Hymnal is available through my Amazon Author Central page.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 8:1-13 is an account of two healings, the healing of the leper and of the Centurion’s servant. In the former case, the leper, an outcast under Jewish law, was healed immediately by Jesus’ touch. In the latter, the healing occurred some distance away and includes the phrase “wailing and gnashing of teeth.” The Collect, Epistle and Gospel reading are discussed an illustrated in Episode Three of the AIC video series, Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. In the context of the healing the leper, an early 11th C. illumination in tempera and gold on parchment was used as Illustration # 52 and, in the context of the healing of the Centurion’s servant, as Illustration No. 53 in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. My Podcast Homily for Fourth Sunday after Epiphany can be listened to or downloaded from the Podcast Homilies page.

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

Third Sunday after Epiphany

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For the Collect for Third Sunday after Epiphany, for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, Archbishop Thomas Cranmer selected a short prayer adapted by fellow Englishman the Blessed Alcuin of York from an original in the Gelasian Sacramentary. Alcuin was the editor of the updated version of the Vulgate Bible during the adminstration of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. The theme is that Almighty God is the source for any protection from the dangers of the world. In the Nicene Creed, Christ sits at the “right hand” of the Father.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, mercifully look upon our infirmities, and in all our dangers and necessities,
stretch forth thy right hand to help and defend us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Romans 12:16-21, takes up where St. Paul left off in verses 6-15 from the Second Sunday after Epiphany. He continues his version of one of earliest lists of Christian virtues, here adding humility, tolerance, forbearance agains the temptation to seek vengeance, and, finally, overcoming evil with good. As noted last week, the list of Christian virtues was fully developed in the Western Church tradition by the 7th and 8th C.

The Wedding at Cana, stained glass window by Franz Mayer of Munich, 1929, Upper Nave, South Wall, St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel, Richmond, VA , from Painting on Light: the Stained Glass Windows of St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel.

The Gospel reading, John 2:2-11, is the Evangelist’s unique account of the making of water into wine at the Wedding at Cana. St. John made this incident the first of seven “signs”in the Gospel of John of Jesus’ divinity (from the Greek semeion, Strong’s Greek Word # 4592, which is translated as “miracles” in the King James Version). In the miraculous conversion of water into wine, St. John observed that Jesus “manifested His glory; and his disciples believed in Him.”

The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Third Sunday after Epiphany are discussed in Episode Three in the AIC Video series, Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. The stained glass window book mentioned in the image credit is available through my Amazon Author Central page. Additional information about the book is found on the AIC Bookstore page. My Podcast Homily for Third Sunday after Epiphany is linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

I regret to note that I have fallen behind in the plan to complete the newest two episodes in our video series, The War on Christianity, during January. With good luck I will be able to complete the work during February. As always, thank you for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Second Sunday after Epiphany

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For the Collect for Second Sunday after Epiphany Archbishop Thomas Cranmer adapted a Collect from the Gregorian tradition on the theme that all that is essential either in heaven or earth comes by the Grace of God the Father. One of those blessings is “peace,” that is, God’s peace. This form of peace is not and cannot be the result of any earthly tribunal or government agency. The Collect provides a basis for the Anglican belief that worship is corporate and not simply the individual prayers of those present.

O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who dost govern all things in heaven and earth;
Mercifully hear the supplications of thy people and grant us thy peace all the days of our life. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Romans 12:6-12, is the second of four readings in Epiphany from St. Paul’s epistle to the Romans. Here St. Paul offers one of the earliest lists of what came to be called the Christian Virtures, in this case, Love, Humility, Patience, Compassion and Diligence. The concepts are further developed in the reading for Third Sunday after Epiphany. A list of the Christian virtues, and their opposites, the vices, was developed within the Church and was finalized around the 7th and 8th C. in the Western Church. These are discussed on pages 234-235 in Layman’s Lexicon: A Handbook of Scriptural, Theological and Liturgical Terms, an AIC Bookstore publication. The book is available through my Amazon Author Central page. Details are available on the AIC Bookstore page.

The Baptism of Christ. illumination in colored inks and gilt on parchment, Hilda Codex, circa 1030 A.D. Made for Hilda, Abbess of Meschede, Germany. Hs. 1640, Folio 075r, Universitats-und-Landesbibliothek Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. CC0 license. The figure at lower right is the “spirit of the River Jordan.”

For the Gospel reading, the Archbishop chose Mark 1:1-11, the evangelist’s account of the work of John the Baptist, who is known in the Church not only as John the Forerunner but also as the “last prophet of the Old Testament,” his baptism of Jesus Christ interpreted as another manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles; and the presence at the event of God the Father (the voice from heaven) and the Holy Spirit (as the Dove). The illumination above was used as Illustration No. 18 in The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. The image depicts the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, fishes and plants in the river, the lower half of Christ’s body and the unique clothing of John the Baptist. The Hitda Codex is one of the few which were produced using purple coloration. The halo around Christ’s head features the Eastern Church style with two horizontal and two vertical bars for images of Christ. My Podcast Homily for this reading from the Gospel of Mark is also available.

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

Epiphany and First Sunday after Epiphany

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Epiphany is a difficult season to explain, especially to those not familiar with the Anglican worship tradition. The word itself is often corrupted in popular usage. It most decidedly does not mean a sudden understanding or revelation of reality! In the Church context, Epiphany refers to the many ways in which Christ is revealed, or manifested, to the secular world. The name Epiphany is not Scriptural, so you cannot find it in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. It comes from the Greek, Epiphaneia, which means to manifest, or more poetically, to shine forth. Another theological word, Theophany (literally, Revelation), also comes in part from this same Greek word.

In A.D. 2025, Epiphany, which always falls on January 6th, appears in the calendar on a weekday, in this case on a Monday. The length of the season of Epiphany varies, depending upon the moveable date of Easter, the calculation formula for which was established at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.. In years when Easter is early, there may be as few as one Sunday after Epiphany. In years when Easter is late, there may be as many as six Sundays after Epiphany. The Western Church tradition, the season of Epiphany as a separate feast from Christmastide (the twelve days from Christmas Day to Jan. 5th), dates to the 4th C. and is traditionally associated with the reign of Pope Leo the Great (440 and 461 A.D.). In the Western Church the first “manifestation” of Christ to the Gentiles is to the Maji, or Wise Men, recounted in Matthew 2:1-12. In the Eastern Church tradition, the Baptism of Christ is celebrated first. In some other Protestant jurisdictions, including the Lutheran, Transfiguration falls within Epiphany season.

The Magi Follow the Star/Bring Their Gifts to the Holy Family, Evangelistar von Speyer, commonly called Codex Bruchsal1, Folio 13r, Badische Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe, Germany. Also known as the Speyer Pericopes, the Codex Bruchsal was made circa 1220 A.D. for the Roman Catholic bishop of Bruchsal Cathedral, Karlsruhe, Germany. CC by SA-NC-4.0.

The Collect for Epiphany Day was adapted by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer from the Gregorian Sacramentary in the Roman Catholic tradition. In the Anglican prayer book tradition, when Epiphany Day does not fall on a Sunday, the Collect can be transferred to the First Sunday after Epiphany, since it falls within the Octave (8 days) of Epiphany Day. Many jurisdictions use both collects for First Sunday after Epiphany. Scholar Matthew Shepherd defines Epiphany Day as the end of Christmastide.

O GOD, by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles;
Mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith,
may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead;
through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 3:1-12, is a mini-homily by St. Paul on the “mystery of Christ” (verse 4, 9) that is “now revealed” (verse 5) to mankind so that “the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise by the gospel” (verse 6). St. Paul also refers to the powers of heaven, including “principalities and powers,” (verse 10), which is traditionally understood as two of the nine “ranks” or “orders” of angels (See Ninth Day of Christmas in our Twelve Days of Christmas video series or listen to the companion podcast version).

The Gospel reading, Matthew 2:1-12, is St. Matthew’s account of the visit of “wise men from the east”(verse 1). “Wise men” is derived from a Greek word magi (also spelled maji). They have come to “worship” the newborn “King of the Jews” (verse 2), whose star they had seen in the East. In verses 3-6. St. Matthew records King Herod’s fear concerning the prophecy of the coming of a “Governor” (“Ruler” in the NKJV translation), based on Micah 5:2. In verses 8 & 9, St. Matthew records Herod’s order to find the child. In verse 11, he records that the Wise Men brought three gifts symbolic of Jesus’ royalty: gold, frankincense and myrrh. In the final verse (verse 12), he records a divinely inspired dream in which the Wise Men are warned not to return and their departure back to their own country.

The history of when and how the wise men acquired a number (three) and names (Melchior, Caspar or Gaspard, and Balthazar, and the story of the construction of the Cathedral of the Three Kings at Cologne, Germany, is discussed, with illustrations, in Episode Two in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. It is also discussed and illustrated in Chapter Two of the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available using the link to my Amazon Author Central page. Full information about the book is available on the Bookstore page.

The Collect for First Sunday after Epiphany is another adapted by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gelasian Sacramentary. The theme is mankind’s dependence upon God for His Grace. Owing to the frequent appearance of Epiphany Day on a weekday, First Sunday after Epiphany is likely heard/read more often that the Collect, Epistle and Gospel for Epiphany Day. As noted above, local clergy can move these readings to First Sunday after Epiphany when Epiphany Day falls on a weekday.

LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people who call upon thee;
and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Romans 12:1-5, is the first of four consecutive readings from Romans 12 and 13 in Epiphany season. St. Paul’s theme is the unity of the Church as one body under Christ, an understanding made especially clearly in verses 4 and 5.

The Gospel reading, Luke 2:41-51, is St. Luke’s unique account of the only glimpse in Scripture of the childhood of Jesus Christ, commonly called Teaching the Doctors in the Temple. It is the story of how the Blessed Joseph and the Blessed Mary found 12-year old Jesus, missing from their traveling party on the way back to Nazareth, conversing with the Temple scholars in Jerusalem, described by Christ as doing “my Father’s work.” The reading is featured on the Seventh Day of Christmas (Dec. 31) on the theme of “Family” in our Christian Education video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas (or you can listen to the Podcast version).

The image of the Wise Men/Magi following the star also appears as Illustration No. 26 and a spectacular double-page spread on facing pages of Adoration of the Magi, with the Wise Men from the Pericope Book of Henry II, c. 1007-1012 (Clm 4452, Folio 17v and 18R, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, Germany), with the Wise Men on the left and the Blessed Virgin and Holy Child on the right. The latter two are Illustrations No. 27 and 28 in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. A Summary of the book is found on the AIC Bookstore page. Christian hymns and carols celebrating events during Epiphany season include We Three Kings of Orient Are (John Henry Hopkins) and Song of Thankfulnesss and Praise (8 verses, Christopher Wordsworth; tune: Monkland). Other traditional hymns are discussed in Episodes One, Two and Three of the Epiphany video series mentioned above.

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

Epiphany Eve (First Sunday after Christmas)

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Welcome to this first issue of Fr. Ron’s Blog in A.D. 2025. This Sunday, January 5th, has multiple distinctions. It is a) the eve of Epiphany, b) the First Sunday after Christmas and c) the Twelfth Day of Christmas. All twelve episodes of our video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas, are linked from the Welcome page and the Digital Library page. Podcast versions are linked from the Podcast Archive page.

In this week’s Blog post I discuss the Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for this final Sunday in Christmastide, reserving discussion of Epiphany season, which begins on Monday, Jan. 6th, for next week’s post. My podcast homily for First Sunday after Christmas is linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

The Collect for First Sunday after Christmas Day in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer is not one which Archbishop Cranmer adapted from a Roman Catholic sacramentary. An original composition by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, it is the same Collect printed as the first of two Collects for Christmas Day. Scholars theorize that this unusual duplicate usage was intended to increase the likelihood that it would be read at least once during the busy Christmas season. The Collect expresses many concepts which are central to Anglican theology. My choice of illustrations from Christian art is one of my personal favorites. I use it on my new Mac Book Pro in the “Start” page.

The Nativity of Our Lord, mosaic, south wall, Nave, Capella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily. The cathedral was begun under the patronage of Roger II, the first Norman King of Sicily, in 1132 A.D. and was dedicated on Palm Sunday, 1140 A.D. The mosaics were added between 1140 and 1170 A.D. The legends jn the mosaic are written in Koine Greek, commonly known as New Testament Greek. The York Project: 10,000 Masterworks. Public Domain. Image lightened in Photoshop.

ALMIGHTY GOD, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him,
and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin; Grant that we being regenerate,
and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit;
through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever,
one God, world without end. Amen.

This image of the Nativity mosaic was used as Illustration No. 8 focused on “Angels in the Nativity Accounts,” in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Christmastide: The Nativity of Our Lord, available using the links to my Amazon Author Central page. It also appears in the AIC Video series, The Twelve Days of Christmas, in the episode for First Day of Christmas – Dec. 25th (linked from the Welcome and Digital Library pages).

The Epistle reading, Galatians 4:1-7, is an essay by St. Paul’s on the theological concept of sonship and adoption by grace to which Archbishop Cranmer referred in the Collect for the occasion. After alluding to the context of these events being part of God the Father’s plan (“In the fulness of time”), St. Paul wrote in verses 4b and 5: “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons.”

The Gospel lesson, Matthew 1:18-25, is St. Matthew’s account of the Nativity of Christ, one of the sources for the mosaic shown above. The account follows St. Matthew’s genealogy flowing through the mostly male line of Jewish kings and includes his account of the angelic dream in which St. Joseph was reassured concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary and emphasizes St. Matthew’s theme of the life of Christ as fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. I discuss and illustrate all three dream sequences of Matthew in Part Three, Christmas: The Nativity of Our Lord, available using the link to my Amazon Author Central page.

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

Third Sunday in Advent

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Unlike the Collects for the first two Sundays in Advent, the Collect for Third Sunday in Advent is not an original composition by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. Just in case readers might not have seen it, here is the Archbishop’s unusually short original composition.peosu

LORD, we beseech thee, give ear to our prayers,
and by thy gracious visitation lighten the darkness
of our heart, by our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, published after the restoration of the monarchy, a new Collect was produced with a clearer focus on the primary themes of Advent. It places greatly emphasis on words derived from the appointed Epistle reading and the second major theme of Cranmer’s first two Collects for Advent, that is, the promised Second Coming in Christ in judgment. In a nod toward the innovations of Archbishop Cranmer, the revisers introduced a theme from his responses to the first nine Commandments in the Decalogue in the 1549 B.C.P. Holy Communion liturgy: “incline our hearts…” and the response to the Tenth Commandment: “write all these thy laws in our hearts…” Prayer Book scholar Massey Shepherd notes that the preamble includes a rare for the B.C.P. example of direct address to the Lord Jesus Christ and that the “ministers and stewards of thy mysteries” refers to the clergy and bishops of the Church in the role of custodians of the heritage handed down from the Apostles.

O LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy messenger to prepare thy way before thee;
Grant that the ministers and stewards of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way,
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming to judge the
world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the
Holy Spirit ever,* one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, repeats the phrase “mysteries” from the Collect. It includes St. Paul defense of himself against accusations from some members of the congregation at Corinth. St. Paul also mentions “mysteries” in Romans 16:25.

Christ Meets John the Baptist and His Followers, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, the fourth of five scenes on the front (Recto) side of a parchment frieze, with four additional scenes on the reverse (Vers0) side, 4th Qtr., 12th C.; Ms. Additional 42497, Recto, British Library, London, England. The images at the left are part of the second scene, illustrating the naming of Elizabeth. John the Baptist is depicted in a humble, crude green garment quite different from the costume of his followers. The document was acquired by the British Library in 1931 from a private collection in Paris, France.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 11:2-10, goes backward in time to about 28 A.D., being St. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ earliest references to John the Baptist. Followers of John want to know “Are you the Coming One or do we look for another?” (Matthew 1:3). Jesus refers to John in the context of the prophecy of Malachi 3:1. One of the major themes of St. Matthew’s Gospel is that Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.

Other AIC Resources on the topics in the Blog post are: The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Third Sunday in Advent, commonly known as Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin gaudere (rejoice), are discussed and illustrated in Episode Two of our Christian Education Video series, Advent: A Season of Penitence and Preparation. My Podcast Homily on the theme, Rejoice in the Love of God, is linked here and from the Podcast Homilies page. Archbishop Cranmer’s understanding of the concept of taking the Commandents and the teachings of the Church Universal into the heart is explored further in our Bookstore Publication, Christian Spirituality: an Anglican Perspective, pp. 8-13, and the Gospel reading for Third Sunday in Advent is discussed and illustrated in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, both available through my Amazon Author Central page.

Additional AIC Resources for days during the week following Third Sunday in Advent include the first four of seven episodes in our Seasonal Video series, The Great “O” Antiphons, based on a 12th C. hymn, with one episode for each of the days from Dec. 18th through Dec. 24th.

December 18th – O Sapientia
December 19th – O Adonai
December 20th – O Radix Jesse
December 21st – O Clavis David

As ever, thank you for your interest and support. The AIC web site remains a reliable resource for teaching and study materials based on traditional understanding of Christian doctrine. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity

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The extended celebration of Trinitytide: The Teaching Season nears its end with Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity. The fact that there are 25 Sundays after Trinity in A.D. 2024 owes to the variability of the calendar, which is determined by the date of Easter. Here’s a brief primer on how this works. Advent season, which marks the start of a new Church Year, always begins with First Sunday in Advent, which is always on the Sunday closest to Nov. 30, the Feast Day of St. Andrew. This means there will always be four Sundays in Advent coming before Christmas Day on December 25th. The other “signpost” which affects the Calendar is the moveable date of Easter. In the Western Church, Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox (March 21st). A different system, created at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., is used in the Eastern Church, in which the date of Easter cannot be set until the senior Rabbi at Jerusalem establishes the date of Passover. The setting of the date of Easter determines the placement of Septuagesima Sunday, which is always the ninth Sunday before Easter. The earliest possible date for Septuagesima Sunday is January 18th. The establishment of Septuagesima Sunday then determines the number of Sundays after Epiphany, which can be as few as one or as many as six. In the small type footnote on page 224 of the 1928 B.C.P., readers can find the complicated formula for adding Sundays to Trinitytide in years in those years in which Easter comes early. All that said, these rules are the reason that there are Twenty-five Sundays after Trinity in A.D. 2024. There. Doesn’t that make you feel better!

The Collect for Twenty-fifth Sunday after Trinity is the same collect used for Fifth Sunday after Epiphany (again, see p. 244 of the B.C.P.). It is another adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gregorian Sacramentary, produced much later than his lifetime but named in honor of Pope Gregory the Great. In Archbishop Cranmer’s decidedly poetic text, retains the prayers for both the Church (institutionally) and the members of the Church (broadly) were added and also the Gregorian theme of the Almighty Lord who governs and defends the Church.

O LORD, we beseech thee to keep thy Church and household continually in thy true religion;
that they who do lean up0n the hope of thy heavenly grace
may evermore be defended by thy mighty power; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Opening page, Byzantine illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Epistle to the C0lossians, Greek script, with St. Paul and St. Timothy set into text of Colossians 1:1-5, early 12th C., Acts and Epistles of the Apostles, Ms. W.533, Folio 247v, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD. CC by NC-SA 3.0.

The Epistle reading, Colossians 3:12-17, includes St. Paul’s list of the Christian virtues, including, mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, forgiveness, and love. St. Paul was the first to list them and his understanding was expanded and interpreted by many of the monastic athers of the early Church. The first inclusive list appeared in The Ladder of Divine Ascent, written in the 6th C. by John Climacus, abbott of the new monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai under the patronage of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. In the 7th C., under Gregory the Great the list was expanded to include “contrary virtues,” a list of sins which are the opposite of the virtues. I discuss the concept of the Christian virtues in the VIRTUE(S) and SIN entries in the AIC Bookstore Publication, Layman’s Lexicon: A Handbook of Scriptural, Theological & Liturgical Terms, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Royalties from this and the other AIC Bookstore Publications are contributed as received to the AIC.

John Climacus, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, 12th C. Note tha hand of God in the upper right corner, implying the Almighty as the source of St. John’s inspired writings. Freer Gallery, Washington, D.C. Public domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 13:24-30, is the the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. The parable was spoken in the “Kingdom Parables” in Chapter 13. I illustrated the parable with a circa 1540 illumination produced for a Lutheran church in France in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available as noted above through my Amazon Author Central page.

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

Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity

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Apologies to followers of this site for absence from Fr. Ron’s Blog last week. My wife and I were travelling to visit our son and his family, an 8+ hours trip down and 8+ more on the way back. Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity is the final Sunday with a unique appointed Collect, Epistle and Gospel reading. Since this year there are more than twenty-four Sundays after Trinity it is not the last set of readings. The 1928 B.C.P. has provisions for transferring readings from the final Sundays after Epiphany in years when the calendar has fewer Sundays leading up to Easter. I discuss the complicated rules in Episode Nine in the AIC video series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season. These will be discussed next week.

The Collect for Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity was adapted Archbishop Thomas Cranmer for the first Anglican Book of Common Prayer, published in 1549 A.D. in time for Whitsunday and Trinitytide. The collect was assembled from the collection of prayers for Morning and Evening prayers in the Leonine and Gregorian Sacramentaries, two of the three primary Sacramentaries of the Roman Catholic Church. The common theme continues to be the merciful nature of God the Father and the need for his continual presence in the lives of sinful mankind. A similar prayer was used as the Sixth Prayer in the office of Sixth Hour in our publication. Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

LORD, we beseech thee, absolve thy people from their offences;
that through thy bountiful goodness we may all be delivered from the bands of those sins,
which by our frailty we have committed. Grant this O heavenly Father,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Colossians 1:3-12, an advance to the next in the canonical epistles of St. Paul, is a letter to the congregation at Colossae in Asia Minor. The church at Colossae was founded not by St. Paul himself but by his associate, Epaphras. There is no record of St. Paul having visited Colossae. The Apostle to the Gentiles uses spiritual-minded language to both congratulate the Christians at Colossae for their confession of faith and reminds them always of “giving thanks to the Father who has qualifed us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”

Raising the Daughter of Jairus, opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, part of a series of Scenes in the Life of Christ, James Tissot, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. Tissot’s historical-style visualizations of Scriptural scenes followed several years of research into clothing styles of the 1st C. and his many visits to the Holy Land.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 9:18-26, the final reading from the Gospel of Matthew, is a record of the Raising of the Daughter of Jairus and the healing of a woman with a blood disorder, also recounted, with different detail, in Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-50. The scene was one of the favorite Gospel accounts for use in illuminated Gospels and pericope books (which contain only verses used in a liturgy) in the 8th to 12th C. and later in stained glass windows and, even later, in a famous late 19th C. watercolor by James Tissot. The Tissot watercolor was used as Illustration No. 60 in our publication, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated. A 12th C. illumination and a 20th C. stained glass window by Franz Mayer of Munich, both based on St. Luke’s account are, respestively, Illustration N0. 33 and Illustration No. 34 in The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated. The stained glass window is also used in Paintings on Light: the Stained Glass Windows of St. Joseph’s Villa Chapel. As noted above, all AIC Bookstore Publications are available through my Amazon Author Central page.

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


Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity

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For the Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity the Collect was adapted by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer from a late edition of the Gregorian Sacramentary. The Gregorian Sacramentary was named in honor of Roman Catholic Pope Gregory the Great, who presided at Rome from 590 to 6o4 A.D. Based on 10th C. document at the Vatican Library, it is one of the three great sacramentaries of the Roman Catholic tradition (Gregorian, Gelasian & Leonine). Scholars argue that the content of the work reflects the influence of Charlemagne, implying a contribution by Alcuin of York, who was the Emperor’s spiritual advisor and teacher. For more on the relationship between Charlemagne and Alcuin, see the blog posting for March 16, A.D. 2024. The design of the volume reflects the style of the sacramentaries produced in Germany during the period of the Ottonian successors to the throne of Charlesmagne. The collect is one of three used in Trinity season in which there are prayers for the Church Universal. The other two are the Collects for the Fifth and the Sixteenth Sundays after Trinity. A similar Collect, also based on the Gregorian Sacramentary, is read on the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany, a Sunday which can be transferred to Trinitytide in years with more than twenty-four Sundays after Trinity. The Fifth Sunday after Epiphany and the complex rules through which select Sundays in Epiphany can be transferred to Trinitytide is discussed in Episode Three of our video series, Epiphany: the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.

LORD, we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness;
that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities,
and devoutly given to serve thee in good works,
to the glory of thy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading for Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity, Philippians 1:3-11, advances to the next epistle in the canonical list of the epistles of St. Paul. In the older Latin plan of readings, the selection began with verse 5. Verses 3 and 4 were added in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. St. Luke described Philippi as the “foremost city” in the Greek region of Macedonia (Acts 16:12). . A modern Greek Orthodox baptistery at Philippi, traditionally described as being on the remains of the site visited at the time of St. Paul’s baptism of Lydia (Acts 16:11-15), appears in Illustration No. 57 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Acts of the Apostles: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Additional details and pricing are found on the AIC Bookstore page. When St. Paul writes about “fellowship” in the Gospel, he relies upon the Greek koinonia [Strong’s Greek word # 2842, related to # 2844), which has the same meaning as “thy household the Church” in the Collect. St. Paul refers twice (verses 6 and 10) to a “day of Jesus Christ/day of Christ), when means the promised Second Coming, from the Greek parousia [Strong’s Greek word # 3952]. The Apostle to the Gentiles assures the Philippians of “the fruits of righteousness” that come only from Jesus Christ. I discuss the meaning of “fellowship” (verse 5), “discernment” (verse 9) and “righteous/righteousness” (verse 119) and nearly 350 other commonly used words and terms, in Layman’s Lexicon: A Handbook of Scriptural, Theological & Liturgical Terms, also available using through my Amazon Author Central page. The entire reading is part of St. Paul’s prayer for the congregation at Philippi.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, oil on canvas, 1649 A.D., Claude Vignon, Musee des Beaux Arts, Tours, France.
Wikimedia Commons

The Gospel reading, Matthew 18:21-35, is the seventh of nine readings in Trinitytide from the Gospel of Matthew. The reading includes two parts. Prayer Book scholar Massey Shepherd noted that verses 21 and 22, including Peter’s question and Jesus’ answer, were added to the traditional Latin pericope (meaning a collection of quotes from Scripture used in a liturgy) for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The addition placed the reading in the broader context of the forgiveness which Jesus announced in the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer. Following the two-verse dialogue on forgiveness is the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (also commonly known as the Parable of the Ten Thousand Talents), revealing a king who practiced forgiveness of one of his servants, which servant then failed to heed the lesson and failed to forgive one of his own servants. In the final verse (verse 35), St. Matthew returned to the theme of St. Peter’s question in verse 1 with Jesus’ final pronouncement: “So my heavenly father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” The historical style image above was used as Illustration No. 105 in The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. F.Y.I.: the AIC sells these publications solely through Amazon so that we do not have to stock any inventory or report retail sales since the seller is Amazon and not the AIC. All author royalties from the sale of these publications are contributed to the AIC.

My Podcast Homily for the Communion service on the Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity is available in MP3 format. Another Podcast Homily, this one paired to the readings for Morning Prayer, is linked from the Podcast Homilies-Morning Prayer page. The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity are one of the subjects in Episode Eight in our Christian Education Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. Interesting images of the remains of basilicas, mosaics and a map of Philippi are available in the Philippi entry at Wikipedia.

Next week I will begin adjusting the Home/Welcome page of this site by modifying links to entries for Trinity season, which this year has 25 days after Trinity. The changes will include links to materials related to Advent season. Advent, a season of penitence and preparation (for Christmas), which heralds the start of a new Church Year on the Anglican Calendar. Advent always begins on the Sunday closest to the Feast of St. Andrew (Nov. 30). In A.D. 2024, the First Sunday in Advent is December 1st.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.