John Donne

John Donne, Priest and Poet, 1631

The Collect:

O God of eternal glory, whom no one living can see and yet whom to see is to live; grant that with your servant John Donne, we may see your glory in the face of your Son, Jesus Christ, and then, with all our skill and wit, offer you our crown of prayer and praise, until by his grace we stand in that last and everlasting day, when death itself will die, and all will live in you, who with the Holy Spirit and the same Lord Jesus Christ are one God in everlasting light and glory. Amen.

“All mankind is one volume. When one man dies, one chapter is torn out of the book and translated into a better language. And every chapter must be so translated. God employs several translators. Some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. But God's hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to another.” 

Donne (rhymes with “sun”) was born in 1573 (his father died in 1576) into a Roman Catholic family, and from 1584 to 1594 was educated at Oxford and Cambridge and Lincoln's Inn (this last a highly regarded law school). He became an Anglican (probably around 1594) and aimed at a career in government. He joined with Raleigh and Essex in raids on Cadiz and the Azores, and became private secretary to Sir Thomas Egerton. But in 1601 he secretly married Anne More, the 16-year-old niece of Egerton, and her enraged father had Donne imprisoned. The years following were years of poverty, debt, illness, and frustration. In 1615 he was ordained, perhaps largely because he had given up hope of a career in Parliament. 

     

From the above information, the reader might conclude that Donne's professed religious belief was mere opportunism. But the evidence of his poetry is that, long before his ordination, and probably beginning with his marriage, his thoughts were turned toward holiness, and he saw in his wife Anne (as Dante had earlier seen in Beatrice) a glimpse of the glory of God, and in human love a revelation of the nature of Divine Love. His poetry, mostly written before his ordination, includes poems both sacred and secular, full of wit, puns, paradoxes, and obscure allusions at whose meanings we can sometimes only guess, presenting amorous experience in religious terms and devotional experience in erotic terms, so that I have seen one poem of his both in a manual of devotion and in a pornography collection.

After his ordination, his reputation as a preacher grew steadily. From 1622 until his death he was Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and drew huge crowds to hear him, both at the Cathedral and at Paul's Cross, an outdoor pulpit nearby. His prose style is in some ways outdated, but his theme continues to fascinate: “the paradoxical and complex predicament of man as he both seeks and yet draws away from the inescapable claim of God on him.” *

The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://satucket.com/lectionary/John_Donne.htm Much more about Donne’s poetry is included.

Tonight!

Tonight at St. Thomas’ - Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Lent

Join us tonight for our Lenten Wednesday Eucharist and Supper at St. Thomas’ on the Bayou. Mother Rita Jefferson will celebrate, Father Rob Harkness will preach, and Ed Ryland will lead us with some wonderful music. Following the Eucharist we will gather on the Sun Porch for food and fellowship. Holy Eucharist Rite One begins at 6:00 p.m.

The Collect:

O Lord our God, you sustained your ancient people in the wilderness with bread from heaven: Feed now your pilgrim flock with the food that endures to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

John Keble

John Keble, Priest and Poet, 1866

The Collect:

Grant, O God, that in all time of our testing we may know your presence and obey your will, that, following the example of your servant John Keble, we may accomplish with integrity and courage what you give us to do and endure what you give us to bear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

John Keble, born 1792, ordained Priest in 1816, tutor at Oxford from 1818 to 1823, published in 1827 a book of poems called The Christian Year, containing poems for the Sundays and Feast Days of the Church Year. The book sold many copies, and was highly effective in spreading Keble's devotional and theological views. His style was more popular then than now, but some of his poems are still in use as hymns, such the three beginning:

New every morning is the love

Our waking and uprising prove,

Through sleep and darkness safely brought,

Restored to life and power and thought.

Sun of my soul, thou Savior dear,

It is not night if thou be near.

Oh, may no earthborn cloud arise

To hide thee from thy servant's eyes.

Blest are the pure in heart,

for they shall see our God.

The secret of the Lord is theirs;

Their soul is Christ's abode.

He was Professor of Poetry at Oxford from 1831 to 1841, and from 1836 until his death thirty years later he was priest of a small parish in the village of Hursley near Winchester.

On 14 July 1833, he preached the Assize Sermon at Oxford. (This sermon marks the opening of a term of the civil and criminal courts, and is officially addressed to the judges and officers of the court, exhorting them to deal justly.) His sermon was called "National Apostasy," and denounced the Nation for turning away from God, and for regarding the Church as a mere institution of society, rather than as the prophetic voice of God, commissioned by Him to warn and instruct the people. The sermon was a nationwide sensation, and is considered to be the beginning of the religious revival known as the Tractarian Movement (so called because of a series of 90 Tracts, or pamphlets addressed to the public, which largely influenced the course of the movement) or as the Oxford Movement (not to be confused with the Oxford Group -- led by Frank Buchman and also called Moral Re-Armament, or MRA -- which came a century later and was quite different). Because the Tractarians emphasized the importance of the ministry and of the sacraments as God-given ordinances, they were suspected by their opponents of Roman Catholic tendencies, and the suspicion was reinforced when some of their leaders (John Henry Newman being the most conspicuous) did in fact become Roman Catholics. But the movement survived, and has profoundly influenced the religious thinking, practice, and worship of large portions of Christendom. Their insistence, for example, that it was the normal practice for all Christians to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion every Sunday has influenced many Christians who would never call themselves Anglicans, let alone Tractarians. Keble translated the works of Irenaeus of Lyons (28 June 202), and produced an edition of the works of Richard Hooker, a distinguished Anglican theologian (3 Nov 1600). He also wrote more books of poems, and numerous hymn lyrics. Three years after his death, his friends and admirers established Keble College at Oxford.*

 * The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/John_Keble.htm

James Solomon Russell

James Solomon Russell, Priest, 1935

The Collect:

O God, the font of resurrected life, draw us into the wilderness and speak tenderly to us, so that we might love and worship you as your servant James Solomon Russell did, in assurance of the saving grace of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

James Solomon Russell (December 20, 1857- March 28, 1935), born enslaved, in Mecklenberg County Virginia, shortly before the American Civil War, became an Episcopal priest and educator. Russell founded Saint Paul Normal and Industrial School, which later became Saint Paul's College, and declined two elections to become bishop to continue directing that (now-closed) historically black college.

James Russell was born on the Hendrick plantation in Mecklenburg County. After the Civil War, his family began sharecropping in Palmer Springs, Virginia. James began attending a local school whose schoolmaster allowed tuition to be paid in labor and farm products, and the schoolmaster and superintendent encouraged him to continue his education.

He thus was admitted to the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in 1874. Financial constraints required that he support himself, and so he began teaching near home, and also worked when the college was not in session. Around this time Russell decided to become a member of the Episcopal Church. He secured admission to the newly formed Bishop Payne Divinity School in 1878.

Bishop Whittle ordained Russell a deacon on March 9, 1882 and sent him as a missionary back to Mecklenburg County. He worked in Lawrenceville, Virginia, and the diocese authorized funds to build a church for his parishioners, as well as a horse to assist on his missionary travels. He was ordained as a priest in 1887.

In January 1883, Russell and his wife began teaching African Americans in a room at the tiny new church. This expanded and eventually became Saint Paul Normal and Industrial School. Due to his enthusiasm and aggressive fund-raising, it expanded its enrollment and curriculum. In 1893, Rev. Russell was named Archdeacon of the newly formed Diocese of Southern Virginia and charged with working among African Americans. As a result of his ministry, the number of African American churches in his diocese increased from none to 37, with more than 2000 communicants. He later became the first African American to be named to the Board of Missions of the Episcopal Church, and served in that capacity from 1923-1931. In 1917, Russell was elected as Suffragan Bishop of Arkansas, but declined the honor in order to continue his work at the school, as he did when notified of his election as Suffragan Bishop of North Carolina.

James Solomon Russell died at the President's house in Lawrenceville on March 28, 1935 after an extended illness. He was buried at the school cemetery. Archdeacon Russell's autobiography, Adventure in Faith, was published in 1935. The historically black college developed financial problems after the successes of the American Civil Rights Movement, and it closed in 2013. *

* The Lectionary, via Wikipedia and the Episcopal Archives, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/James_Russell.htm

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Join us “at church” or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, March 27, The Fourth Sunday in Lent, at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas.

Holy Eucharist
St. Alban’s - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.*
St. Thomas' - 10:00 a.m.*
St. Patrick’s – 11:00 a.m.*

* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet with this link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aAK7icEbIHtHAGnnfyw0gjMUri7rZTj6/view?usp=sharing

Oración de la tarde diaria a través de Zoom
Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas – Domingo - 5:00 p.m.

Oración Vespertina Diaria a través de Zoom - Únete aqui
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89906444437?pwd=bmdXYW9kNjVicVJHU3Fkb3BrMitKZz09
ID de reunión: 899 0644 4437
Contraseña: 500
o llame al +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

Zoom Compline - All Welcome
Sunday - 8:00 p.m.

 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83861688528?pwd=WFdBcndxV3hzbUpETDNTSFFzc3Z0QT09
Meeting ID: 838 6168 8528
Passcode: 800
or dial in at +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

We hope to “see” you all on Sunday as you are most comfortable!

Rita+, Rob+ and Whit+

Art from Clip Art, Steve Erspamer, Liturgy Training Publications – ltp.org

Harriet Monsell

Harriet Monsell, Monastic, 1883

The Collect:

Gracious God, who led your servant Harriet Monsell through grief to a new vocation; grant that we, inspired by her example, may grow in the life of prayer and the work of service so that in sorrow or joy, your presence may increase among us and our lives reveal the mind of Jesus Christ, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.

Harriet Monsell (1811 – 25 March 1883) founded the Community of St John Baptist, an order of Augustinian nuns in the Church of England dedicated to social service, which by her death had expanded to numerous houses, including in India and the Americas. She was born Harriet O'Brien, in 1811, to one of Ireland's oldest Anglo-Irish families. Harriet married Charles Monsell in 1839 while he was studying and receiving medical treatment at the University of Dublin, and they moved to Oxford the following year to complete his studies. He was later ordained, but, due to his continued delicate health, much of their later married life was spent in Europe, including Naples. After her husband's death in 1850, she began working in Clewer near Windsor among former prostitutes and unwed mothers at a House of Mercy. Soon, Harriet Monsell professed religious vows with two other women. Initially they were called the Sisters of Mercy, but later changed their name to reflect their inspiration from John the Baptist's call to penitence. She thus became Mother Superior of the Community of St John Baptist, established on 30 November 1852, and one of the first Anglican religious orders since the Reformation. Because of their affiliation with the town of Clewer they are commonly called the 'Clewer Sisters'. The women lived according to a rule attributed to St Augustine of Hippo. During the new order's first five years, it expanded from assisting about thirty marginalised women to dedicating a building to serve about eighty. As the Community of St John Baptist, guided by Mother Harriet's energy, extensive correspondence and humour, the nuns extended their original mission to running about forty institutions, including mission houses in various parishes, as well as orphanages, schools and hospitals.

Mother Harriet retired to Folkestone in 1875 for health reasons, although she was occasionally able to visit the communities she founded. She died on the morning of 26 March 1883, which was Easter Sunday that year. *

* The Lectionary, via Wikipedia and Project Canterbury, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/harriet_monsell.html 

The Annunciation of Our Lord

The Annunciation of Our Lord

The Collect:

Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord, that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought to the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you. ”But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

Óscar Romero

Óscar Romero, Archbishop and Martyr, 1980, and the Martyrs of El Salvador

The Collect:

Almighty God, you called your servant Óscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor, and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope: Grant that we, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the martyrs of El Salvador, may without fear or favor witness to your Word who abides, your Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.

Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez (August 15, 1917 – March 24, 1980), commonly known as Monseñor Romero, was a priest of the Roman Catholic Church in El Salvador. He later became prelate archbishop of San Salvador.

As an archbishop, he witnessed numerous violations of human rights and began a ministry speaking out on behalf of the poor and victims of the country's civil war. His brand of political activism was denounced by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church and the government of El Salvador. In 1980, he was assassinated by gunshot while consecrating the Eucharist during mass. His death finally provoked international outcry for human rights reform in El Salvador.

In 1997, a cause for beatification and canonization into sainthood was opened for Romero and Pope John Paul II bestowed upon him the title of Servant of God. Pope Francis canonized Romero as a saint on 14 October 2018. He is considered the unofficial patron saint of the Americas and El Salvador and is often referred to as "San Romero" in El Salvador. Outside of Catholicism Romero is honored by other religious denominations of Christendom, like the Church of England through its Common Worship. He is one of the ten 20th-century martyrs from across the world who are depicted in statues above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, London. *

* The Lectionary, via Wikipedia, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Oscar_Romero.htm 

Gregory

Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop and Missionary, c. 332

The Collect:

Almighty God, who raised up your servant Gregory to be a light in the world, and to preach the Gospel to the people of Armenia: Illuminate our hearts, that we also in our own generation may show forth your praise, who called us out of darkness and into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The ancient kingdom of Armenia was the first country to become Christian, and it recognizes Gregory as its apostle. Armenia was a buffer state between the powerful empires of Rome and Parthia (Persia), and both of them sought to control it. Gregory was born about 257. When he was still an infant, his father assassinated the King of Parthia, and friends of the family carried Gregory away for protection to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he was reared as a Christian. About 280 he returned to Armenia, where he was at first treated severely, but eventually by his preaching and example brought both King Tiridates and a majority of his people to the Christian faith. About 300, Gregory was consecrated the first bishop of Armenia. He died about 332. Armenian Christians to this day remember him with honor and gratitude. *

* The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Gregory_Illuminator.htm 

Reminder! Please join us tonight for our Lenten Wednesday Eucharist and Supper at 6:00 p.m. St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in West Monroe will be our host. The Rev'd Rob Harkness will celebrate, the Rev'd Wayne Fletcher will be our guest preacher.

James De Koven

James De Koven, Priest, 1879

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, who led your servant James De Koven to honor your presence at the altar, and constantly to point to Christ: Grant that all ministers and stewards of your mysteries may impart to your faithful people the knowledge of your presence and the truth of your grace; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

James de Koven was born in Connecticut in 1831, ordained to the priesthood in 1855, and promptly became a professor of Church history at Nashotah House, a seminary of the Episcopal Church in Wisconsin. In 1859 he became Warden of Racine College, an Episcopal college in Racine, Wisconsin. Nashotah House was from its inception dedicated to an increased emphasis on the real presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, and on the use of ritual practices that recognized and honored that presence. This met opposition from other Christians who were suspicious (1) of anything that suggested Roman Catholicism, (2) of anything that seemed fancy and pretentious, as opposed to the plain, blunt, simplicity that was considered to be an American virtue as well as a virtue of the New Testament Church, and (3) of anything that varied from the practices they had become used to as children.

In the General Conventions of 1871 and 1874, de Koven became the chief spokesman for the "ritualists," defending the use of candles, incense, bowing and kneeling, and the like. He reminded his hearers of the numerous assertions by prominent Anglican theologians from the Reformation on down who had taught, and the ecclesiastical courts which when the question came up had ruled, that it is Anglican belief, shared not only with Romans but with Lutherans and Eastern Orthodox, that the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament is a real and objective presence. However, he was eloquent and firm in saying: "The gestures and practices by which we recognize the presence of Christ do not matter. Only Christ matters."

In 1874 he was elected Bishop of Wisconsin, and in 1875 Bishop of Illinois, but because he was "controversial" he failed both times to have his election ratified by a majority of Bishops and a majority of Standing Committees of Dioceses, as required by canon law.

He died at his college in Racine, Wisconsin, on 22 March 1879.*

*The Lectionary,  James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/James_DeKoven.htm

Thomas Ken

Thomas Ken, Bishop, 1711

The Collect:

Almighty God, you gave your servant Thomas Ken grace and courage to bear witness to the truth before rulers and kings: Give us strength also that, following his example, we may constantly defend what is right, boldly reprove what is evil, and patiently suffer for the truth’s sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Thomas Ken was born at Berkhampsted, Hertfordshire, England, in July, in 1637. Throughout his life he was both rewarded and punished for his integrity. His close relationship with the royal family began when he became chaplain to Princess Mary of Orange at The Hague. Ken was appalled at the Prince of Orange’s treatment of his wife, and rebuked him publicly.

In 1683, Ken returned to England and became chaplain to Charles II. His integrity stirred him to rebuke Charles for lax behavior. When Ken was notified that the King’s mistress, the actress Nell Gwynne, was to be lodged at his house, he refused, saying, “a woman of ill-repute ought not to be endured in the house of a clergyman, and especially the King’s chaplain.” The King took no offense, but in the next year made Ken the Bishop of Bath and Wells, declaring that none should have the position except “the little … fellow that refused his lodging to poor Nelly.”

In 1688, when Charles’ successor, James II, tried to undermine the authority of the Church of England and restore Roman Catholicsm, Ken was one of seven bishops who refused to read the King’s Declaration of Indulgence, which offered toleration to Protestant nonconformists and to Roman Catholics. The seven bishops were sent to the Tower, but were acquitted in the courts, and became popular heroes. After the Revolution of 1688, however, Ken’s conscience did not permit him to swear allegiance to William of Orange, who became King William III. As a Non-Juror, Ken was deprived of his see.

Ken’s conscience would not let him rest and his disagreement with others of the “Non-Juring” party over various matters troubled him for the rest of his life. He deplored the Non-Juror schism, and after the accession of Queen Anne in 1702, he made his peace with the Church of England, encouraging his fellow Non-Jurors to return to their parish churches in 1710. Ken announced his intention to do the same, but died on March 19, 1711, before doing so.

A man of deep piety, Ken was the author of several religious works, which were immensely popular in the eighteenth century. He is best known as a writer of hymns, particularly the well-known evening hymn, “All praise to thee, my God, this night” (The Hymnal 1982, #43), which concludes with his doxology, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” One of the most compelling products of his piety and his pen is the prayer, “Our God, amidst the deplorable division of your church, let us never widen its breaches, but give us universal charity to all who are called by your name. Deliver us from the sins and errors, the schisms and heresies of the age. Give us grace daily to pray for the peace of your church, and earnestly to seek it and to excite all we can to praise and love you; through Jesus Christ, our one Savior and Redeemer.” *

* A Great Cloud of Witnesses A Calendar of Commemorations, Copyright © 2016 by The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America

The Third Sunday in Lent

Sunday, March 20, 2022

Join us “at church” or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, March 20, The Third Sunday in Lent, at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas. Note: Communion is now offered in both kinds by the Common Cup via Bishop Jake!

Holy Eucharist
St. Alban’s - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.*
St. Thomas' - 10:00 a.m.*
St. Patrick’s – 11:00 a.m.*

* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet with this link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZCNb6fLBaK1XrL-0Iea1AoiOsERf4NXK/view?usp=sharing

               
La Santa Eucaristía: Rito Dos en la iglesia (primer y tercer domingo del mes y transmitido en vivo en Facebook) o Oración de la tarde diaria a través de Zoom (los otros domingos del mes)
Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas – Domingo - 5:00 p.m.

Zoom Compline - All Welcome 
Sunday -  8:00 p.m. 
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83861688528?pwd=WFdBcndxV3hzbUpETDNTSFFzc3Z0QT09 Meeting ID: 838 6168 8528
Passcode: 800
or dial in at  +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

We hope to “see” you all on Sunday as you are most comfortable!

Rita+, Rob+ and Whit+

Art from Clip Art, Steve Erspamer, Liturgy Training Publications – ltp.org

A Liturgy for Seasons of Uncertainty

A Liturgy for Seasons of Uncertainty*
Copyright © 2020 – See www.everymomentholy.com/hope
Douglas McKelvey
 
 
In the midst of whatever follows, O Lord,
let me meet your mercies anew,
    and anew, and anew.
In the midst of my dismay, fix my eyes again
and again upon your eternal promises.
 
How this ends—that is up to you.
If the next news is favorable, I will
praise you for the ongoing gift of life.
If tomorrow’s tidings are worse, still
will I proclaim your goodness, my
heart anchored ever more firmly in the
eternal joys you have set before me.
 
And when, whether days or decades from
now, you finally bid me rise and follow you
across the last valley, I will rejoice
in your faithfulness even there.
Especially there—
 
praying Thy will be done,
and trusting by faith that it will be done.
That it is being done. Even now.
Even in this disquiet.
 
I am utterly yours, O Christ.
In the midst of this uncertainty,
I abandon myself again to you, the author
and the object of all my truest hopes.
 
Amen.

* Note: This liturgy is available as a pdf at www.everymomentholy.com/hope It is from EVERY MOMENT HOLY, Vol. 2: Death, Grief, and Hope. I LOVE these books (Vol. 1 and Vol 2)!

A Collect for Peace

The Most Rev’d Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, prays the Collect for Peace from the Book of Common Prayer.

O God, the author of peace and lover of concord, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Vincent de Paul

Vincent de Paul, Priest, 1660 and Louise de Marillac, Vowed Religious, 1660

The Collect:

Most Gracious God, who has bidden us to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before you; Teach us, like your servants Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac, to see and to serve Christ by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, and caring for the sick; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Vincent de Paul was born in Gascony in about 1580, of peasant stock. He was an intelligent lad, and his father sent him off to be educated. He was ordained at twenty, and at first was interested chiefly in a successful career. But when he was thirty, he accepted a post as chaplain and tutor in the household of Philip de Gondi, Count of Joigny. This brought him into contact with the peasants on the Gondi estate, and he became concerned for their needs, physical and spiritual. A peasant who believed himself to be dying confessed to him that his previous confessions for many years had been dishonest. Vincent began to preach in the local church on confession, repentance, forgiveness, and the love of God. His sermons drew such crowds of penitents that he had to call in a group of other priests to assist him. He took on the pastorship of a neighboring church attended by a more fashionable and aristocratic crowd, and there he likewise drew many of his listeners to repentance and amendment of life. Returning to Paris, he worked among the prisoners destined for the galleys who were being held at the Conciergerie.

In 1625 he established the Congregation of the Mission (now known as the Vincentians, or the Lazarists), a community of priests who undertook to renounce all ecclesiastical advancement and devote themselves to work in the small towns and villages of France. In an age not noted for "interdenominational courtesy," he instructed his missioners that Protestants were to be treated as brothers, with respect and love, without patronage or condescension or contentiousness. Wealthy men and women came to him, expressing a wish to amend their lives, and he organized them into a Confraternity of Charity, and set them to work caring for the poor and sick in hospitals and in home visits. In 1633 the Archbishop or Paris gave him the Priory of St Lazare as a headquarters. There he offered retreats six times a year for those who were preparing for the ministry. These lasted two weeks each, and each involved about eighty students. He then began to offer similar retreats for laypersons of all classes and widely varying backgrounds. He said (identifying Lazarus of the Parable with Lazarus of Bethany):

This house was formerly used as a retreat for lepers, and not One of them was cured. Now it is used to receive sinners, who are sick men covered with spiritual leprosy, but are cured by the grace of God. Nay, rather, they are dead men brought back to life. What a joy it is to think that the house of St Lazare is a house of resurrection! Lazarus, after he had been four days in the tomb, came out alive, and our Lord who raised him up still gives the same grace to many who, after staying here some days as in the grave of Lazarus, come out with a new life.

Out of his Confraternity of Charity there arose an order of nuns called the Daughters (or Sisters) of Charity, devoted to nursing those who were sick and poor. He said of them, "Their convent is the sick-room, their chapel the parish church, their cloister the streets of the city." Many babies were abandoned in Paris every year, and when Vincent saw some of them, he established an orphanage for them, and thereafter often wandered through the slums, looking in corners for abandoned babies, which he carried back to the orphanage.

He complained to the King that ecclesiastical posts were distributed simply as political favors, and that the spiritual qualifications of the appointees were simply ignored. The King responded by creating a Council of Conscience to remedy the matter, with Vincent at the head. On one occasion, a noblewoman of the court, furious with Vincent because he refused to nominate her son for a position as bishop, threw a stool at him. He left the room with a stream of blood pouring from his forehead, and said to a companion who was waiting for him, "Is it not wonderful how strong a mother's love for her son can be?" He died 27 September 1660.*

* The Lectionary, James Kiefer, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/vincent_de_paul.htm

Jesus, the Mama Hen, the Reign of God, and the Church

"At risk of his own life, Jesus [brings] the precious [reign] of God, like a  mother hen [protecting] her brood. She doesn’t have many resources herself. The mother hen has" nothing much in the way of a beak and nothing at all in the way of talons. At the very least, she can hope that she satisfies [the foxes] appetite so that he leaves her babies alone."

[Yet,] “After the "cosmic battle of all time, in which the power of tooth and fang was put up against the power of a mother's love for her chicks. God bet the farm on the hen." 

And victory comes."Having loved her own who were in the world, she loved them to the end. [Jesus] died a mother hen, and afterwards came back to them with teeth marks on her body to make sure they got the point: that the power of foxes could not kill her love for them, nor could it steal them away from her.” We are to follow. We “might have to go through what [the hen] went through in order to get past the foxes, but she [will] be waiting for [us] on the other side, with love stronger than death." 

So, like Jesus, we must go. We must willingly let God shelter and protect us and we must do the same for one another, continuing that work in the world. The "Church [is like] a big fluffed up brooding hen, offering warmth and shelter to all kinds of chicks, including orphans, runts, and maybe even a couple of [odd] ducks. The church of Christ plant[s] herself between the foxes of this world and the fragile-boned chicks, offering herself up to be eaten before she will sacrifice one of her brood." *

* Episcopal Priest and Preacher Barbara Brown Taylor (modified)

Great Saturday!

Gregory the Great, Bishop and Theologian, 604

The Collect:

Almighty and merciful God, you raised up Gregory of Rome to be a servant of the servants of God, and inspired him to send missionaries to preach the Gospel to the English people: Preserve in your church the catholic and apostolic faith they taught, that your people, being fruitful in every good work, may receive the crown of glory that never fades away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Only two Popes, Leo I and Gregory I, have been given the popular title of “the Great.” Both served in the difficult times of the barbarian invasions of Italy. Gregory also knew the horrors of “plague, pestilence, and famine.” He was born of a patrician family about 540, and became Prefect of Rome in 573. Shortly thereafter he retired to a monastic life in a community which he founded in his ancestral home on the Coelian Hill. Pope Pelagius II made him Ambassador to Constantinople in 579, where he learned much about the larger affairs of the Church. Not long after his return home, Pope Pelagius died of the plague, and in 590, Gregory was elected as his successor.

Gregory’s pontificate was one of strenuous activity. He organized the defense of Rome against the attacks of the Lombards and fed its populace from papal granaries in Sicily. In this, as in other matters, he administered “the patrimony of St. Peter” with energy and efficiency. His ordering of the Church’s liturgy and chant has molded the spirituality of the Western Church until the present day. Though unoriginal in theology, his writings provided succeeding generations with basic texts, especially the Pastoral Care, a classic on the work of the ministry.

In the midst of all his cares and duties, Gregory prepared and fostered the evangelizing mission to the Anglo-Saxons under Augustine and other monks from his own monastery. The Venerable Bede justly called Gregory “The Apostle of the English.” 

Gregory died on March 12, 604, and was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica. His life was a true witness to the title he assumed for his office: “Servant of the servants of God.” *

* A Great Cloud of Witnesses, A Calendar of Commemorations, Copyright © 2016 by The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America

Sunday!

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Join us for “at church” or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, March 13, The Second Sunday in Lent, at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas. Remember - Masks are optional, and communion will be offered in both kinds- wine by intinction. We strongly urge everyone to get vaccinated. Please maintain social distance in non-family groups.

Holy Eucharist
St. Alban’s - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.*
St. Thomas' - 10:00 a.m.*
St. Patrick’s – 11:00 a.m.*

* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet with this link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Vw59kYvrDIv26o9C4Nj0Vs1jKY4cpU9H/view?usp=sharing

Oración de la tarde diaria a través de Zoom
Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas – Domingo - 5:00 p.m.

Oración Vespertina Diaria a través de Zoom - Únete aqui
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89906444437?pwd=bmdXYW9kNjVicVJHU3Fkb3BrMitKZz09
ID de reunión: 899 0644 4437
Contraseña: 500
o llame al +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

Zoom Compline - All Welcome
Sunday - 8:00 p.m.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83861688528?pwd=WFdBcndxV3hzbUpETDNTSFFzc3Z0QT09
Meeting ID: 838 6168 8528
Passcode: 800
or dial in at +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799

We hope to “see” you all on Sunday as you are most comfortable!
Rita+, Rob+ and Whit+

Art from Clip Art, Steve Erspamer, Liturgy Training Publications – ltp.org