Second Sunday in Advent & AIC Bookstore Preview, Part 8

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trinity 22 & AIC Bookstore – Pt. 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trinity 20 & AIC Bookstore – Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sixth Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday)

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The Sixth Sunday in Lent, the final Sunday in the season, is commonly known as Palm Sunday but officially is labelled as “the Sunday next Before Easter” in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. For the occasion, for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, Archbishop Cranmer once again relied upon a prayer from the Gregorian Sacramentary. As notes in earlier posts, the Gregorian Sacramentary is one of the three primary sources in the Roman Catholic tradition.

The celebration of Palm Sunday began in the Western Church after the election of Constantine as Holy Roman Emperor, and his conversion to Christianity, in the early 4th C., the subsequent relocation of the center of gravity for the Church to Constantinople, and later still, the many good works of his mother, Helen. Her actions helped revive and expand the knowledge of Christianity’s history, but she also built many churches and basilicas in the Holy Land. It was her leadership that led to the beginning pilgrimage to the Holy Land as a Christian obligation, especially for those with the means to do so. Although known as Palm Sunday, it should be noted that New Testament Scriptural accounts of the Entry into Jerusalem refer to “tree branches” and to garments being thrown in Jesus’ path. The use of palms is of later origin and is based upon an Old Testament practice of palm usage in celebrations, especially those celebrating military victories. In regions where palm branches are not available other local flowers and branches of trees are used, such as willows, olive and yew trees. The final phrase in the Collect for Palm Sunday was written by Archbishop Cranmer.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love toward mankind,
hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh,
and to suffer death upon the Cross, that all mankind should follow the example of His great humility;
Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of His patience, and also be made partakers of His Resurrection;
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The epistle reading, Philippians 2:5-11, is another of Pauline authorship and is the Scriptural source for the many Christian doctrines and of the tradition of bowing and making the sign of the Cross when approaching the altar: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (verses 9-11).

The Crucifixion of Christ, illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Rabula Gospels, the oldest surviving image of the Crucifixion, produced in present-day Syria in 586 A.D., from the collection of the Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence, Italy. The image is the upper of two scenes. This version is from The Yorck Project: 10,000 Masterworks. Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 27:1-54, is the fourth, the last, and by far the longest reading, from the Gospel of Matthew in Lent. In the Anglican tradition, unlike in most other denominations, the reading is not the Scriptural/historical account of the Entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-13, which is read on the First Sunday in Advent). It is instead the Evangelist’s long form account of the trial, sentencing, Crucifixion and death of Christ upon the Cross. As noted by Massey Sheperd in his Commentary on the Book of Common Prayer, it is the first of the New Testament accounts of the Passion of our Lord which area printed in the BCP for the days between Palm Sunday and Good Friday. The central section of the image above is Illustration No. 82 in The Gospel of John: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Many other versions of the Crucifixion, including illuminations, icons, mosaics and frescoes, are included in the publications in the same series covering the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, likewise available through my Amazon Author Central page. Summary information about all four volume, including pagination, price and content is found on the AIC Bookstore page.

These readings and the Collect are discussed and illustrated in Episode Three in our Christian Education Video series, Lent: the Season of Penitence, which is linked from the Digital Library page. The episode also includes discussion of the important part St. Helen played in the discovery of plaque upon the cross (THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS) and remnants of the Cross in the early 4th C. and the start of pilgrimages from the Western into the Holy Land. My podcast homily for Palm Sunday is linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

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

Third Sunday in Lent

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Archbishop Thomas Cranmer’s choice for the Collect for Third Sunday in Lent is the second five Collects in Lent which he sourced from the Gregorian Sacramentary, one of the three primary sacramentaries in the Roman Catholic tradition. Its most memorable phrase, “the right hand of Thy majesty,” is based on the Hebrew understanding of the “right hand” of God being the most honored position. The understanding was incorporated into Christian theology at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. In the Nicene Creed, written at that First Ecumenical Council and amended at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. (Second Ecumenical Council, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the the Father. There is much more information about the Creeds of the Church in our eight-episode video series, The Nicene Creed, linked from the Digital Library page.

WE beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants,
and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defense against all our enemies;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Epistle reading, Ephesians 5:1-14, continues past practice in Lent with another Pauline epistle focused on the concept of guidance for leading a Christian life, later known as the Christian Virtues. These virtues were fully developed by in the 6th through 8th C. in the Western Church. In this reading, the subject is the need for the mastery of passions, here meaning both physical and emotional. These include sexual impropriety and covetousness (verses 3 & 5); intemperate language (verse 4); and idolatry (verse 5). Other themes in the reading include “light” vs. “darkness,” with Christ as the symbol of light who countered the “darkness” of the world before His coming as Saviour. In verse 14, based on Isaiah 60:1, the Evangelist to the Gentiles calls out: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” The phrase was immortalized into a hymn, Sleepers Awake!, written in 1599 A.D. by German composer, Philipp Nicolai, and later a cantata of the same name by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach’s cantata was sung for the first time at Leipzig in 1731 for the Twenty-seventh Sunday after Trinity.

Christ Healing the Mute Man, opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, James Tissot, 1886-1894, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. Image based upon the less-detailed account in Matthew 12:22-24. Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Luke 11:14-28, is the first and only reading from St. Luke’s Gospel in Lent. For whatever reason, probably its complexity of its imagery, this encounter was not often illustrated in mosaics, frescoes or icons in the first millennium of Christianity. Numerous commercial examples were produced in the 20th and 21st C. As noted above, the reading is complex. I have divided it into four parts. The first (verse 14) is St. Luke’s brief record of Jesus driving out a demon, or evil spirit, from a mute man and the result: an immediate healing. The event is pictured above as interpreted by French artist James Tissot based on St. Matthew’s account (Matthew 12:22-24). In part two (verse 15) St. Luke records the criticism of Jesus by Temple authorities that He has used “demonic” powers in the manner of Beelzebub. The name roughly means “Lord of the Flies” in Hebrew. In part three (verses 17-26), Jesus offers a demonstration of His divinity: proving that He knew their thoughts (verse 17a) and offers a short sermon on spiritual warfare (verses 17b-26), referring to the possible return of demons that are driven out. Here Jesus uses the Hebrew magical number 7, referring to their return with seven other, even more powerful, spirits. In the final section, part four (verses 27-28), St. Luke offers an account of a woman from the crowd of observers, quoting her beatitude concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary: “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You” (NKJV text). Jesus replied: “Rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, a keep it” (NKJV text). Eastern Church scholars contend that Jesus is here stating a principle and is not commenting upon the relative worthiness of His mother. For an approximately 15 minute discussion of the important Greek words which appear in this dialogue, listen to my Podcast Homily for Third Sunday in Lent, which is linked from the Podcast Homilies page. One of these important words is “menounge” (Strong’s Greek word # 3304 in verse 28), which the King James Version translates as “rather” and the New King James Version renders as “more than that.” In The Gospel of Luke: Annotated & Illustrated I noted that Jesus made a similar declaration to the Pharisees in John 8:47. Like all our AIC Bookstore Publications, the book is available through my Amazon Author Central page. A summary of the volume is found on the AIC Bookstore page.

F.Y.I: The previously-promised soundtracks for the two new episodes in our video series, The War on Christianity, have not been recorded. Tax-filing preparation, getting my garden ready for Spring, and many other items competing for time have gotten in the way. The new target date is early April. Apologies for the delay.

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

Second Sunday in Lent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First Sunday in Lent

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Septuagesima Sunday

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As I pointed out in my Blog posting for Septuagesima Sunday in A.D. 2024, posted on Jan. 24th, Septuagesima Sunday is now largely unique to the Anglican worship traditions. It is the first of three Sundays the names of which end in “gesima.” “Gesima” is derived from a Latin word meaning “days,” which itself is derived from Quadragesima, which means Forty Days, specifically, the Forty Days before Easter. In some Anglican usage the three days are called “Pre-Lent.” In the first millennium of Christianity in the Western Church, these forty days were known as Septuagesima Season. In all AIC Publications I call them the “Gesima” season, pronouncing it the American way (Jes-i-mah) rather than the English manner (Guess-eh-muh). The Roman Catholic Church, in a move followed by many Protestant liturgical denominations, did away with the season in the reforms begun in the late 1960s. The Church of England now calls the three Sundays the Third-, Second- and Sunday next- before Lent. In the Eastern Church tradition there is no comparable season except that the Sunday before the First Sunday in Lent is celebrated as Forgiveness Sunday. The Easter Church service includes a unique chant based on Psalm 69:18 and 19: “Turn not away thy face from thy child, for I am afflicted. Hear me speedily: Draw near unto my soul and deliver me.” (1928 B.C.P. text, based on the Septuagint translation prepared by the Blessed Alcuin of York during the reign of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. For more on the relationship between Alcuin and Charlemagne, see my Blog posting for March 16, A.D. 2024). For a longer, more detailed and documented discussion of “Gesima” season, including its liturgical colors and the tradition of suspending singing the Gloria, watch Episode One in Gesima: the Pre-Lenten Season. Another resource is my Podcast homily for Septuagesima Sunday, which is also linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

The Collect for Septuagesima Sunday is an adaptation by Archbishop Cranmer from the Gregorian Sacramentary (10th C. based on collects attributed to, or which express doctrine interpreted by, Pope Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-604), especially the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and of Christ as our Saviour.

O LORD, we beseech thee favorably to hear the prayers of thy people;
that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully delivered by thy goodness,
for the glory of thy Name, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, who liveth
and reigneth, with thee and the Holy Ghost ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle reading, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, continues the teachings of St. Paul which were read in Epiphany season concerning the Christian virtues, here including diligence and temperance. As with the other Pauline epistles, the reading provided the Scriptural foundations which were later consolidated into Western Church doctrine during the 6th, 7th and 8th C. The Christian Virtues were also propounded by many theologians and writers in the Eastern Church. In the reading, St. Paul refers to the greater wisdom of the pursuit of heavenly (“imperishable”) values instead of earthly (perishable) values. The “imperishable” crown in verse 25 refers to salvation in the heavenly kingdom. Many of these ideas later formed the basis for the study discipline known as Christian Spirituality. The concept is discussed and illustrated in Christian Spirituality: An Anglican Perspective, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Full information about the volume is found on the AIC Bookstore page.

Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, center panel of three, from an illumination in tempera and gold on parchment, Codex Aureus of Echternach, produced at Echternach, then Germany, now Luxembourg, circa 1030-1050, Hs. 156142, folio 76r, Germanische Nationmuseum, Nuremberg, Germany. This image is from the version reproduced in the York Project’s DVD, 10,000 Masterworks, Public Domain.

The Gospel reading, Matthew 20:1-16, is St. Matthew’s unique account of the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, also known as the Parable of the First and the Last. Each of the men in the story agreed upon a fixed payment, a denarius, a Greek coin which is the equivalent of about $50 today. The same payment was promised by the vineyard owners no matter what time of day the person started, whether at Third Hour (or 9 A.M. in verse 3), or Sixth Hour and Ninth Hour (Noon and 3 P.M., respectively, in verse 5) or Eleventh Hour (5 P.M. in verse 6). At the end of the day, certain of those who were hired first raised the objection that those who worked only an hour got the same pay as those who started at daybreak. In verse 13, Jesus silenced the most vocal critics: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with them [the landowners] for a denarius?” (NKJV text). In the final verse is the most important lesson is taught: “the last will be first and the first last. For many are called but few chosen.” This has been interpreted as a caution against self-righteousness. In practical terms, it teaches us that we should regard those who come late to the Church as just a valuable as lifelong members. The image above appears as Illustration No. 92 in our Bookstore Publication, The Gospel of Matthew: Annotated & Illustrated, available through my Amazon Author Central page. Details of the book are available on the AIC Bookstore page. My Podcast Homily for Septuagesima Sunday is linked from the Podcast Homilies page.

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

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!