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.

Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

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For the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity the Collect is another adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gelasian Sacramentary (Rome, circa 750 A.D.) for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer. It is also the last Gelasian Sacramentary collect for the season. The collect includes an iconic phrase, “pardon and peace,” in which pardon was substituted for the medieval Latin phrase “indulgence.” The word “indulgence” was, in Cranmer’s view, too closely allied to the Roman Catholic practice of selling indulgences to those with appropriate financial resources. The word “quiet” in the final phrase replaced the Latin “secure.” Quiet in mind implies unshakeable faith in the face of adversity, a concept which remains essential in the anti-Christian political and cultural environment of the 21st C. The Collect is often used by non-ordained Church leadership as a closing prayer in Morning Prayer, since it offers the hope of forgiveness without the official sanction of Absolution which only an ordained clergyman can dispense.

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 Epistle reading, Ephesians 6:10-20, advances one chapter in St. Paul’s epistles from the reading for Twentieth Sunday after Trinity. The lesson includes some of the most important and boldest statements of the traditional teachings of the Apostle Paul concerning, in the broadest sense, the concept of “Spiritual Warfare.” The verses include several iconic martial phrases used in the context of the battle against “the wiles of the devil” (verse 11) and the “spiritual hosts of wickenedness in the heavenly places” (verse 12). These include “the whole armour of God” (twice, verses 11 and 13), “the breastplate of righteousness” (verse 14), “the shield of faith” (verse 16), “the helmet of salvation” (verse 17) and “the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” (verse 18). Less military-sounding defenses include “the gospel of peace” (verse 15) in the concept of appropriate footware for spiritual conflict. “Principalities and powers” in verse twelve refers to the traditional understanding of the ranks or orders of angels and heavenly powers. I discuss this interpretation in Ninth Day (Jan 2nd) in our video series, The Twelve Day of Christmas and also in our Bookstore Publication, Angels: In Scripture, Prayer and Christian Tradition, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Paul refers to the importance of prayer and to his own boldness in defense of Christian doctrine in the closing verses (verse 18, 19 & 20).

Paul, miniature illumination in colors and gold on parchment inside the letter “P,” placed before the start of 2 Corinthians, Gloss on the Pauline Epistles, Peter Lombard, France, 4th Qtr. 12th C.-1st Qtr., 13th C., Ms. Royal 4 E IX, Folio 64, British Library, London, England. Perspective correction applied.

The Peter Lombard illumination was used as Illustration No. 74 in The Act of the Apostles: Annotated & Illustrated, available using the link to my Amazon Author Central page. Although the image was used in association with the 2nd letter to the Corinthians, it is used here owing to St. Paul’s fierce facial expression. My personal favorite image of a militant St. Paul was used in the blog post for Seventh Sunday after Trinity, linked from July 2024 entry in the right hand column.

The Gospel reading, John 4:46-54, is the fifth of six readings from the Gospel of John during the period between Whitsunday and Sunday Next before Advent. The subject of the reading is the second “sign” of Jesus’ divinity cited in the Gospel of John, being John’s record of Jesus’ remote healing of a nobleman’s son. According to John’s account, only Jesus, the Nobleman and His Disciples were present in Cana of Galilee, which was also the site of the first miracle recorded by John in Chapter Two. The Nobleman’s son was ill at Capernaum. This record by John near the start of Jesus’ public ministry, traditionally understood to have been in 27 A.D., is unusual in two important ways. In his unique style, John sets the mood of the scene with an account of Jesus having left Judea and gone into the Galilee. In verse 48, John records Jesus, knowing the Nobleman’s thoughts, declaring: “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.” In verse 49a, the worried man begs Jesus to come with him and heal his sick son in Capernaum, to which plea Jesus responds: “Go your way; your son lives.” John confidently states in the same verse that the Nobleman “believed the word that Jesus spoke.” In the remaing verses, John records the details of how the man learned that his son recovered “at the same hour” which Jesus spoke (7th hour, or 1 PM). John records that not only did the man believe but his household also (verse 51). The historical sytle image below, from the Bowyer Bible, was used as Illustration No. 33 in The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. It also appears in Slides 1215-1233 in Episode Thirty-six, the first of four episodes focused on the miracles (or “signs” from the Greek Semeion) of Jesus in our Bible Study video series, The New Testament.

Healing the Nobleman’s Son, etching/engraving, Jan Luyken, 1840, Bowyer Bible, Bolton Library, Bolton, Lancashire, England. From PHOTO by Harry Kossuth; TEXT by Phillip Medhurst. From the 2018 A.D. digital edition, Early Scenes in the Life of Christ, Harry Kossuth (photographs) and Phillip Medhurst (text).

The Collect, Epistle and Gospel readings for Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity are discussed and illustrated in Episode Eight in our video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.

Twentieth Sunday after Trinity

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For Twentieth Sunday after Trinity the Collect is another of Archbishop Cranmer’s adaptations from the Gelasian Sacramentary (Paris, c. 750 A.D.). In this case the original Cranmer collect has been modified twice, first for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer in which the Latin phrase “being propitiated” was replaced with “of thy bountiful goodness,” and, in 1789 A.D., in the first American Book of Common Prayer, the collect getting a new ending (“which thou commandest”). The word “cheerfully,” which replaced “with free hearts,” means willingly. For this change and more on the many changes made in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, consult Massey Shepherd, Jr.’s landmark volume, The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary, available online for download in pdf format. Shepherd comments upon the history and other details of each Collect, Epistle and Gospel reading.

O ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech thee,
from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in body and soul,
may cheerfully accomplish those things which thou commandest; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 5:15-21, is from the next chapter in the canonical order of the Pauline epistles, once again to the congregation at Ephesus which the “Apostle to the Gentiles” established on his Second Missionary Journey. These seven verses offer St. Paul’s advice to Christians to let themselves be “filled with the Holy Spirit,” rather than being “drunk with wine” and include one his most memorable phrases describing the joy of the Christian faith: “speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” In the same vein, one of the greatest saints of the early Church, Athanasius of Alexandria, wrote in the 4th C. that “the art of singing effects harmony in the soul.” Many Anglican organizations include an appointed Psalm reading and Old Testament lesson placed just before the Epistle reading in Holy Communion. The participatory, that is, verse and response, reading of the Psalm should be part of every Anglican service and not just the Morning and Evening Prayer services.

St. Matthew, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, produced in Ireland or England, circa 800 A.D., The Book of Kells, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The image reflects the traditional interpretation of the vision in Ezekiel 1:4-12, with Matthew shown as Man/Angel. The volume is one of the finest examples of Christian art in the Western Church tradition.
Parable of the Great Supper, etching/engraving, Jan Luyken, Bowyer Bible, published 1840, Bolton Library, Bolton, England. This image depicting verses 11-13, with image by Phillip Medhurst and text by Harry Kossuth, is from a 2018 digital edition of their Early Scenes in the Life of Christ.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 22:1-14, records another event in the week before the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Christ, being St. Matthew’s record of the Parable of the Wedding Feast, also known as the Parable of the Great Supper. The event, also recorded in Luke 14:15-24 took place just two days before Maundy Thursday. This is the sixth of eight readings from St. Matthew’s Gospel in the Whitsunday/Trinitytide cycle. There have been many explanations of the meaning of the phrases “highways,” which are searched for those who are worthy. Jesus provided an explanation in the final verse. Perhaps lost in the modern world is the tradition that the host provided the Wedding Garment which the guest in question was not wearing. The guest was confronted by the “king,” who pronounced “Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and gnashing of teeth.” Jesus closed the address with a warning, putting these words into the mouth of the offended king: “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (verse 14). The image of St. Matthew from the Book of Kells was used in Episode Eight in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season. Another image by Jan Luyken from the Bowyer Bible, illustrating the opening verses in the Gospel reading, appeared as Illustration No. 80 in the AIC Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated. The book is available in paperback at my Amazon Author Central page.

As noted many times in earlier posts, the AIC web site offers teaching materials in all three categories as part of our WATCH | LISTEN | READ initiative. Curiously, the subject of individual learning preferences, that is, whether one prefers the written or spoken word or a visual version came up during a conversation with a nurse during my doctor’s visit this month. The offering of all three media is made possible by donations and by the book royalties for AIC Bookstore Publications which are contributed to the AIC. To enhance ease of use, all three media are linked from tabs at the top and bottom of all pages on this site. Please note that, depending upon the subject matter, videos are linked from either the Digital Library page (for the seasonal and topical videos) and the Bible Study/New Testament pages (for the Gospel and Revelation series).

One final note. Be of good cheer and do not let the bias of the corporate world and the media affect your confidence in, and reliance upon, traditional Church teachings. Your best defense against their c0mbined assault on Christianity — remembering that the Church has been under attack since the 1st C.– is to attend a local church where you can, receive Holy Communion regularly, and, when neither is possible, read Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer or the daily “Hours” offices (First, Third, Sixth, Ninth hours plus Vespers and Compline), available in our publication, Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity.

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

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

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The Collect for the Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity is another adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, which the Archbishop adapted from the Gelasian Sacramentary. As noted in earlier posts, the Gelasian Sacramentary is named after Pope Gelasius (ruled at Rome, 492-496), but the document did not appear until the mid-8th C. at Paris, France. The Gelasian document was widely used in the English Church before the separation from Rome during the reign of Henry XVIII. In Western Europe, the Gregorian Sacramentary, which is derived from an an early 9th C. initiative by Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, influenced by his spiritual advisor, the Blessed Alcuin of York. A fuller version of the Gregorian Sacramentary was completed around the 10th C. I saved the Gelasian image below from the Wikipedia Commons version of The Yorck Project, commonly called 10,000 Masterworks, which was distributed on a DVD and entered into the public domain in 2002 A.D. The original document measures 10.2″ high and 13.1″ wide. In order to improve the resolution for this usage. I reduced its size and raised the resolution to 300 dpi..

Gelasian Sacramentary, Title page (left) and 1st page (right), colors and gold on parchment, 8th C., The Yorck Project, or 10,000 Masterworks, DVD 2002. Public Domain.

The preamble to the Collect was reworded for the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It includes the iconic phrase, “the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil.” The same words also appear as part of the third phrase of the deliverance requests in The Litany, or General Supplication, published in 1544 A.D., the first English language liturgy of the Church 0f England.

LORD, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil;
and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1st Corinthians 1:4-9, is one of the shortest readings in the Book of Common Prayer. On this occasion, the canonical order of the Pauline epistles is interrupted, leaping backward from Ephesians 4 on the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity to a point earlier in the epistle than the first reading from 1st Corinthians 10:1-13 (Ninth Sunday after Trinity) and other readings on the Tenth and Eleventh Sundays after Trinity. The epistle includes closing reference to “the day of our Lord,” an allusion to Jesus coming again.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 22:34-46, includes two important dialogues, the first also recorded in Mark 12:28-37 and the second in Luke 20:41-44. The event is thought to have happened on Tuesday, 30 A.D., three days before Good Friday. The background of the two dialogues is the continuing rivalry between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. In verse 35, one of their number, a lawyer, asks Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment?” Some context is needed to understand fully the question. Both the Sadducees and the Pharisees had their own answer to the question, with the Pharisees having calculated that there were 613 commandments in Hebrew Scripture and not just the ten in the Decalogue. In this context, the “lawyer” in verse 35 thought that any answer would offend someone. A cardinal rule for all modern-era lawyers is that a lawyer should never ask a question unless he or she already know the answer. In the reading, Jesus replied, as He often did (most famously in His dialogue with Satan in Matthew 4), with verses from Scripture. Here the verses are Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. His answer, in verses 37-40, was incorporated into the Anglican Holy Communion liturgy in the 1714 and the 1764 versions. It is commonly known as the Summary of the Law. The Summary of the Law was incorporated into the Holy Communion liturgy in the first American prayer book, published in 1789 A.D.

Jesus continued to befuddle His inquisitors with a second citation of Scripture regarding David. He quoted Psalm 110:1, the most-quoted verse in all the Psalms. As Matthew recorded in the closing verse, no one thereafter asked Him any more questions. In Christian art, the Gospel reading is generally depicted by a graphic displaying the words quoted by Jesus. For this blog post, I offer you a graphic which I adapted from a Christ Pantokrator mosaic (literally: Ruler of the Universe) from the Basilica of St. Ambrose, Milan, Italy. Because this Byzantine-style mosaic is very high above the floor level any photographs are distorted by sightlines diminishing toward top center. In the mosaic, Jesus is seated on a throne with the Archangels Michael (left) and Gabriel (right) and several saints. I used this image in the AIC Bookstore Publications, The Gospel of Mark: Annotated & Illustrated (Illus. # 66), Angels: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition (Illus. # 13) and Christmas: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition (Illus. No. 58). All books are available through my Amazon Author Central page. The image was also used in several AIC Video series, including The Great “O” Antiphons, Episode Two – O Adonai; The Twelve Days of Christmas, 2nd Day – Dec. 26th, 11th Day – Jan. 4th & 12th Day – Jan. 5th; In the Cross of Christ I Glory, 3rd Word, 6th Word, 7th Word; Eastertide, Episode 1; The War on Christianity, Episode 6; Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, Episode 7; and New Testament: Gospels, Episode 2.

Christ Enthroned, mosaic, 13th C. Basilica of St. Ambrose of Milan, Milan, Italy. Image copyright Can Stock Photo, Inc./Tupugato. The original basilica was built in the 6th C., with additions made in the 11th C. Perspective correction, image cropping and image rotation applied. The original image is displayed below. Traditionally, the image is also known in the Western Church as Christ in Majesty and Christ Pantokrator (literally, Ruler of the Universe) in the Eastern Church tradition.

I hope viewers find these resources inspiring and comforting, especially in the current anti-Christian age. We aim to make documents from the 2000 year history of the Church more easily accessible across the spectrum of print, audio or video media.

As always, thank you for your interest and support.

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity A.D. 2024

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For the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity the Collect is a composition by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer based upon the Gregorian Sacramentary, named in honor of Pope Gregory the Great, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 590 A.D. until his death in 604 A.D. Illuminations depicting Gregory, acknowledging his profound influence on the liturgy of the Church, often show him with the Holy Spirit whispering into his ear. Note that the word “prevent” has a different meaning than the modern usage. In the 16th-17th C it meant “stand before.”

Gregory the Great, illumination in colors and gold on parchment, placed between Book 3 and Book 4, Dialogues, Gregory the Great, Germany, 1st Qtr., 12th C. Ms. Harley 3011, f. 69v, British Library, London, England. Copyright British Library Board.

LORD, we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the Epistle reading, Ephesians 4:1-6, St. Paul also emphases the presence of the Holy Spirit in the faithful in his message concerning the unity of the faith. The reading includes two ic0nic phrases important to St. Paul’s theology: “one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” and “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The recipient of the letter, the church at Ephesus, was another congregation visited by St. Paul on his second missionary journey (described in Acts 18). According to tradition, St. John served for a time as the functional equivalent of a bishop at Ephesus, where he had taken the Blessed Virgin after the Crucixion. The House of Mary at Ephesus, traditionally said to be the house St. John built for Mary, remains a popular tourist site and is a designated holy place for Roman Catholics. It was visited by three Popes: Paul VI (1967), John Paul II (1979) and Benedict XVI (Nov 2006 during his historic visit to Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) which included celebration of Holy Communion with the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew II.

The Gospel reading, Luke 14:1-11, is the twelfth and last reading from St. Luke during Trinitytide: the Teaching Season (in which calculation I include the Sunday next before Advent). All the remaining Gospel readings are from the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of John. The reading includes two separate but related scenes. The first scene simply sets the stage for the second and illustrates the strained relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees. Both scenes, the Healing of the Man with Dropsy and the Parable of the Chief Seats, are unique to the Gospel of Luke. Dropsy, technically known as edema, is a disease which results in extreme fluid retention, usually in the legs and feet. In the mosaic below, the swelling is shown in young man’s lower torso. The mosaic is in the upper walls of the Apse, Monreale Cathedral (Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuovo de Monreale in Italian). The cathedral was dedicated to the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1182 A.D., eight years after the structure was begun in the reign of the Norman King of Sicily, William II. The full legend above the image is in Latin (only the final three words are visible in the image): “Jesus in domo cujusdam principis fariseorum sanat hydropicum die sabbati” (literally: “Jesus heals the man with dropsy in the house of the leader of the Pharisees on the Sabbath day”). The mosiac, presented in red, white, silver, blue is set into a gold background, with Jesus’ followers at left with two Pharisees and members of the household at right. Look closely at the fine detail in the background buildings and, especially, at the suggestion of flow of the robes of the figures in the foreground. The silver-haired figure, whose face is only partially visible at the left of the image, is consistent with traditional imagery of St. Peter. The halo around Jesus’ head includes the traditional Eastern Church symbology of Christ, always shown with two vertical and two horizontal lines. The “X” above Jesus’ head is a traditional symbol identifying Christ. Every part of the mosaic is made from varying sizes of glass tile. For more details about this ancient method, typical of Byzantine Christian art, see the Fr. Ron’s Blog post, Deesis Mosaic-Hagia Sophia & Other Images, dated April 6, A.D. 2024 (linked from the Archive column at right). In that post I include enlarged sections which reveal more about the “how” of creating mosaics. My Podcast Homily for Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. The readings are discussed in the AIC Christian Education Video series, Trinitytide: the Teaching Season in Episode Seven.

Christ Healing a Man with Dropsy, Byzantine-style mosaic, north wall, apse, Monreale Cathedral, Palermo, Sicily, late 12th-early 13th C. Photo, June 2010, by Sibeaster. Public Domain.

Finally, I offer you one piece of advice for survival in our anti-Christian world of the 21st C. Instead of allowing such thoughts to negatively influence your daily life follow this mantra “Turn it off and tune it out.” The mantra is easy to apply not only to media but also to enterprises which, directly or indirectly, are hostile to the Christian faith. To fill the void, use web resources to create your own list of trusted resources in video, print and electronic and bookmark them for ease of daily use.

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

Seventh Sunday after Trinity

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Unlike the Epistle and Gospel reading for Sixth Sunday after Trinity, the Gospel reading for Seventh Sunday after Trinity (Mark 8:1-9) was a favorite subject for Christian artists, clergy, theologians and illustrators. The reading is Mark’s account of the second miraculous feeding of a multitude, commonly known as the Feeding of the 4,000. The location was somewhere along the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis (Ten Cities in Greek) that is southeast of Bethsaida (near where the Jordan River flows into the Sea of Galilee) and north of the region of Gergasa (the setting of the encounter with the Gadarene Demonic which Mark described in Mark 5:1-20). In the verses just before this week’s reading, Mark records Jesus healing the deaf man with a speech impediment (Mark 7:31-37, the famous incident in which Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears, spat and touched the man’s tongue) and, in the verses just afterward, he records an encounter with disbelieving Pharisees demanding a “sign from heaven.” In that account Jesus scolds the Pharisees for their obsession with signs and wonders and denial of His divine origin and identity.

Mark’s account is the second and final reading from his Gospel during Trinitytide. The third and final example does not occur until the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity (Mark 7:31-37, mentioned above). Mark’s account gives readers no names of the Disciples he quotes in verses 4 and 5 and describes a compassionate Jesus concerned for the many who had been following him for three days and who had “nothing to eat.” (verse 2). The account includes three examples of Hebrew and early Christian numerology: 3 (# of days following Jesus in verse 2), 4 (# of men present in thousands in verse 9) and 7 (# of loaves of bread, # of large baskets holding the remaining bread in verses 6 & 8). The illustration is from the Codex Egberti, the first illustrated Gospel to contain scenes in the Life of Christ. Trier is located on the banks of the Moselle River in the Rhineland-Palatine state of Germany near its western border with the tiny state of Luxembourg. It is near the heart of the empire of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne, who was crowned at Rome on Christmas Day, 800 A.D. (more in the blog postings about Alcuin and Charlemagne, posted on March 16th, and Fourth Sunday after Trinity). The example is small because the AIC does not have it in high enough resolution for a full page view.

Feeding the Multitude, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Codex Egberti, circa 967-984, produced for Egbert, Archbishop of Trier, Trier, Germany. Codex 24, Wissenschaftliche Bibliothek der Stadt Trier, Trier, Germany. Public domain.

Early Christians, especially those in the Byzantine tradition, interpreted the disciples’ skeptical question in verse 4 (“How can one satisfy these people with bread here in the wilderness?”) as a reference to a messianic prophecy and its fulfillment in Psalm 78: 20b and 21b: “Shall God prepare a table in the wilderness?” and “can he give bread also? The answers were given in Psalm 79:24 and 25: “…he commanded the clouds above * and opened the doors of heaven. He rained down manna also upon them for to eat, * and gave them food from heaven.”

Last week I shared with you my personal favorite image of Paul. Since again this week, the Epistle reading is from the writings of Paul, I offer a different portrait of the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” In this oil on panel painted by a Dutch artist, we see an image of Paul that is softer, both in color and tone, and, perhaps, suggestive of a more thoughtful, contemplative Paul than last week’s rather fierce image by Bartholomeo Mantagna.

St. Paul, oil on panel, Lucas van Leyden, circa 1520, Yale University Gallery of Art, New Haven, CT. Public domain.

For more about St. Paul and St. Mark, watch the AIC Christian Education Video series, The Lives of the Saints, First Series, episodes 5 & 7 respectively. both linked from the Digital Library page. The readings are discussed in the Podcast Homily for Seventh Sunday after Trinity, linked from the Podcast Homilies page, and in Episode 4 in the video series Trinitytide: the Teaching Season, linked from the Digital Library page. You can find many more illustrations of St. Mark in our publication, The Gospel of Mark: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition, available through my Amazon Author Central page.

As always, thank you for your interest and support for this site, which has been bringing traditional interpretations and understandings to the web sincc our first live Internet broadcast of Sunday morning Holy Communion in the summer of A.D. 2010. We get offers from many vendors for a different format, but this current one, focused on our WATCH-LISTEN-READ formula still manages to find an audience.

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!


Trinity-the Anglican Church’s Teaching Season

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Sunday, May 26th, A.D. 2024, is Trinity Sunday, marking the start of the longest season on the Anglican Church Calendar. I explain how many or how few Sundays after Trinity there can be, dependent upon the date of Easter and the date of First Sunday in Advent, in Episode One of the AIC Christian Education Video Series, Trinitytide: The Teaching Season. In the series, I also discuss the Gospel and Epistle readings for all the Trinity Sundays. There is also an MP3 Podcast version for those who prefer to listen rather than watch. These are linked, respectively, from the Digital Library and Podcast Archive pages. For non-Anglicans Protestants, Whitsunday and Trinity season are combined into a single season based on the date of Pentecost. For example: First Sunday after Trinity is Second Second “in” or “after” Pentecost.

Obviously, the basis for these “Teachings” is found in the Gospels, the Epistles, the “For the Epistle” readings from the Old Testament, and the Church’s two Creeds, the Nicene and Apostles creeds. For Trinity Sunday I offer viewers two exceptional “illuminations.” The first is Christ in Majesty (or Maiestas Domini in Latin), from the Vivian Bible (also called the First Bible of Charles the Bald), produced by Haregarius of Tours (or Aregarius, depending upon language preferences). The name Vivian honors Vivian, the Lay Abbot of St. Martin of Tours, who commissioned the work in 845. It was prepared beginning in 845. The volume, a large book measuring 13.59″ x 19.49,” was presented to the 22-year old monarch, Charles the Bald, grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne (Charles the Great). Other sources says 844-851, which seems more likely, given the complexity and detail of the images. The Scriptorium at St. Martin of Tours was previously under the supervision of the Blessed Alcuin of York, who created the Carolingian miniscule script used in the books produced at St. Martin of Tours. The original is at the Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris, France (BNF Ms. Lat.1, Folio 239v). This version is from the Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks (2002). In the Eastern Church tradition, the same image is commonly called Christ Pantokrator, The four evangelists are pictured, each holding a Gospel books, in the outside corners, with their traditional symbols placed inside the central diamond which surrounds the modified mandorla within which Christ is enthroned. I have found no definite explanation of the four Old Testament figures in the North, East, South and West circles. The figure at the south end is making the traditional sign of a blessing with his right hand.

Christ in Majesty, surrounded by the four Evangelists, Vivian Bible (or First Bible of Charles the Bald), 2nd Qtr., 9th C., Abbey of St. Martin of Tours, Ms. Lat.1, f. 239v, Bibliotheque National de France, Paris, France. Public Domain.
The Four Evangelists, Aachen Gospels or Vienna Coronation Gospels, circa 820, Aachen Cathedral Treasury, Aachen Cathedral, Aachen, Germany. Image: Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks (2002). Public Domain.

The second image was also produced during the Carolingian period, around 820 A.D. Here the focus is on the four evangelists and the message they delivered in their respective Gospels. The image is ususual in that the four men are depicted in an outdoor setting with a skyline at the top. Wearing saintly white robes and white halos (versus the golden halo typically used in images of Jesus Christ), they are facing away from each other, with each in a separate section, suggesting different rooms in a house or perhaps different locations altogether. Each is engaged in a different act. At upper left, is Matthew, whose symbol, a Man or Angel, is above him, as he writes. At upper right, Mark, and his symbol, a Lion, is putting the nib of his pen into an inkwell, as if preparing to put his thoughts on paper. At lower right, Luke, whose symbol is a Ox and whose work is based on several years of research among those who could offer firsthand evidence, likely including the Blessed Virgin Many, is reading a document or manuscript. Finally, at lower left, John, with the symbol, an Eagle, is said to be meditating on the words he has already put on paper.

The cover of the Aachen Gospels is thought to have been made by goldsmiths at Fulda, Germany, another major site for the production of illuminated works, both during the lifetime of Charlemagne and his later successors, the Ottonians. The finished book, with 280 parchment pages (or leaves), measures only 9.5″ x 11.9.”

This full page image of the Four Evangelists is placed immediately after 12 pages of canon tables (folios 8v to 14r),which follow a prelude by Jerome and other material.

In coming weeks, I will post material related to individual readings for the Sundays after Trinity.

Thank your for your interest and support. Glory be to God for all things! Amen!

Whitsunday/Pentecost and Ambrose of Milan

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The Descent of the Spirit, egg tempera on panel icon, attributed to Theophan the Cretan, Stavronikita Monastery, Mt. Athos, Greece, 1546. The Apostles are shown in a horseshoe pattern, six on the left and six on the right. The empty space at the top of the horsehoe represents the position which usually occupied by Christ. In some traditions, the Blessed Virgin Mary occupies the space. The crowned figure at bottom center is known as Cosmos, who represents all the world. He is shown with a dark background, which symbolizes the darkness of the secular world which rejected Christ. The use of the Cosmos figure faded away in the next two centuries after this image was painted. It was never used in Western Church art.

As the Church celebrates the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Whitsunday in the English tradition), it is appropriate to remember one of the greatest of the saints of the early Church, St. Ambrose of Milan (celebrated on the Anglican Church calendar on Dec. 7th). Sadly, except among scholars and clergy, St. Ambrose is little known today. He served, reluctantly at first, as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397 A.D. He is one of Doctors of the Church in the Western Church tradition. It could be said that he was the last of the great leaders of the Western Church whose theology was virtually identical to that of the Eastern Church. He is primarily remembered for his conversion of his most famous pupil, St. Augustine of Hippo (celebrated on the Anglican Church calendar on August 28th) and several of his hymns, many of which are still used in the Western Church in the 21st C. St. Ambrose was a strong supporter of the doctrines of the Nicene Creed, including the modifications made the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. Especially important for St. Ambrose was the virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her status as the Mother of God (or Theotokos in Greek, literally meaning God-bearer). The award of the title of Theotokos to the Blessed Virgin was not made into official Church belief until the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.

One the traditions observed in both the Western and Eastern Churches during St. Ambrose’s lifetime was the observation of the Sacrament of Baptism in association with the final days of Lent and the Feast of Easter. One of his most enlightening writings is On the Mysteries (or De Mysteriis. in Latin), a collection of his sermons to the newly baptized focused on the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. St. Ambrose refers to the Dove which descended upon Christ as His Baptism in Chapter III. The dove is the traditional symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit in Christian art. For the full text of On the Mysteries, see The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Volume 10 (Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994 Edition).

St. Ambrose of Milan, holding a Bishop’s crozier in his right hand and a book in his left, illuminated capital letter D in colors on parchment, with penwork decoration, On the Mysteries (De Mysteriis in Latin), circa 1114-1122, southeast England, probably Rochester, Ms. Royal 2 B VI, f. 2, British Library, London, England. It may have been prepared for use at the Cathedral Priory of St. Andrew, Rochester, where is is among the list of books in the library there in the 12th C.

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Ambrose of Milan rcceiving wisdom from God, represented by the hand from heaven at upper right. Menologion of Basil II, late 10th-early 11th C. Publiv Domain.

The final image this week is an illumination in egg tempera and gold on parchment from The Menologion of Basil II, an Eastern Church style book of hours honoring the saints of the Church Universal. In the case of martyrs, the manner of their death is vividly depicted. It was prepared between 976 and 1025 at Constantinople. The original is at the Vatican Library, Rome, Italy. It was among the manuscripts taken from Constantinople in the 12th C. during the Crusades. The Vatican published a volume with all the images in the early 20th C. and which was later released into the public domain, even though some images still carrying a Vatican copyright notice.

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

Fourth Sunday after Easter & the Palatine Chapel at Aachen

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This week’s focus shifts from Byzantine mosaics to the Palatine Chapel at Aachen, Germany, built in the late 700s and early 800s by the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne (Carolus Magnus, or Charles the Great). The first Holy Roman Emperor since sack of Rome in 455 A.D., Charlemagne sought to extend the reach of Christianity into the lands which formerly lived in fear of attacks by Vikings. By the end of his reign at his death in 814 A.D., his empire extended from the English Channel, the North Sea, nearly all of Spain, more than half of Italy, and southeast into what is now Austria and beyond.

The Palace was designed by Odo of Metz, the same Armenian designer whose work in France was illustrated earlier in this series. The Palace was consecrated by Pope Leo III in 805 A.D. The mosaic is Illustration No. 36 in our publication, Angels: In Scripture, Art & Christian Tradition. The influence of Byzantine styles from the age of Constantine and Justinian is clear. Damage to the structure during bombing in World War II was repaired between 1986 and 2011. The building was used for coronations for several centuries after the death of Charlemagne.

The Four Angels, the Holy Spirit and the Throne of God. Photo by Horst J. Meutler, Wikipedia Commons.

In this crazy time in the decline of Western Civilization and attacks upon Christianity around the world, it seems appropriate to close with these words from the Te Deum Laudamus canticle, presented in verse-and-response format as used in First Hour in our publication, Hear Us, O Lord: Daily Prayers for the Laity:

O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine heritage
Govern them and lift them up forever
Day by day we magnify thee
And we worship thy Name ever, world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy be upon us, as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted; let me never be confounded.

Thank you for your interest in these splendid examples of Christian art across the centures.

Glory be to God for all things! Amen!