THURSDAY AFTER TRINITY XIII
21 AUGUST 08
LECTIONARY READINGS
Morning Prayer: Psalm 25; II Samuel 15:13-29; II Corinthians 4
Evening Prayer: Psalm 27; Ecclesiasticus 15:11-end; St. Matthew 3
REFLECTION
In today's Gospel reading, found in Evening Prayer, we hear the words of St. John the Baptist, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" What important words these are, and yet we hear these words so little in the Church today, but less in our surrounding culture. There are three ways I would like to stress these words today.
First, we need to take these words personally, and allow our words AND our deeds, to preach the truth and good news these words proclaim. We need to live and proclaims lives of repentance on a daily basis. Repentance isn't something we do only once in our lives, nor is it something we may focus on for an hour, or part of an hour, on Sunday morning. Repentance is something we must focus on every moment of every day of our lives. Repentance can be a joyful thing, because we change our minds and lives in such a way that brings clarity, peace, and reconciliation with God, ourselves, each other and our environment.
Second, we need to challenge our Church to repentance. We, the Church, must repent of the ways we have been so focused on ourselves, our silly disputes with each other, our focus on all the distictives of our beautiful Anglican Christian faith, and the enertia of our sinful pride that seems to pull us down and cause in us an inability and disinterest in doing much more than having good conversation about what we should be doing (I'm preaching to the choir here, mostly myself). All of the above must tranform, translate, change into real active deed of ministry to, with, and in the world around us. We must be lights of Christ, and signal communities of the peace and reconciliation of our Lord Jesus Christ in a world that is hungry and hurting. We are called to DO the deeds of Jesus to the lost, lonely, labeled, and least of our neighours.
Third, we need to challenge our culture and societal institutions to repentance. We, by our silence and outright involvement with societal sin, have been complicit with the violence and injustice that is perpetrated on those who do not have a voice in society. We must have Gospel based ministries that challenges that violence and injustice with God's justice, and the Prince of Peace, so that repentance, healing, and reconciliation can be brought to those suffering from such violence and injustice.
Take time today to read through today's Gospel reading several times, and to read it slowly. Take time to listen to what the Holy Spirit might be saying to you, and challenging you to do, through this reading. Lastly, pray that you, and the whole Church and world, might be challenged to hear and do repentance. In doing so, you will surely find joy.
Have a blessed day in Christ!
Fr. Greg
THE COLLECT FOR THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CELTIC THOUGHTS
Lord, be with us thid day, Within us to purify us; Above us to draw us up; Beneath us to sustain us; Before us to lead us; Behind us to restrain us; Around us to protect us. Amen.
St. Patrick
***From "A Celtic Primer; The complete Celtic worship resource and collection," Brendan O' Malley, Morehouse Publishing, 2002***
SAINT OF THE DAY
St. Jane Frances De Chantal, Widow (1572-1641)
In 1592 she married Baron de Chantal, and lived in the feudal castle of Bourbilly. She restored order in the household, which was on the brink of ruin, and brought back prosperity. During her husband's absence at the court, or with the army, when reproachd for her extremely sober manner of dressing, her reply was: "The eyes which I must please are a hundred miles from here". She found more than once that God blessed with miracles the care she gave the suffering members of Christ. St. Francis de Sales's eulogy of her characterizes her life at Bourbilly and everywhere else: "In Madame de Chantal I have found the perfect woman, whom Solomon had difficulty in finding in Jerusalem". Baron de Chantal was accidently killed by a harquebus while out shooting in 1601. Left a widow at twenty-eight, with four children, the broken-hearted baroness took a vow of chastity. In all her prayers she besought God to send her a guide.During Lent, 1604, she visited her father at Dijon, where St. Francis de Sales was preaching at the Sainte Chapelle. He became her spiritual director.
She founded the Congregation of the Visitation which was canonically established at Annecy on Trinity Sunday, June 6, 1610. Its aim was to receive, with a view to their spiritual advancement, young girls and even widows who had not the desire or strength to subject themselves to the austere ascetical practices in force in all the religious orders at that time. St. Francis de Sales was especially desirous of seeing the realization of his cherished method of attaining perfection, which consisted in always keeping one's will united to the Divine will, in taking so to speak one's soul, heart, and longings into one's hands and giving them into God's keeping, and in seeking always to do what is pleasing to Him. "I do always the things that please him" (John 8:29). The two holy founders saw their undertaking prosper. At the time of the death of St. Francis de Sales in 1622, the order already counted thirteen houses; there were eighty-six when St. Jane Frances died (December 13, 1641) and 164 when she was canonized.
The remainder of the saint's life was spent under the protection of the cloister in the practice of the most admirable virtues. If a gentle kindness, vivified and strengthened by a complete spirit of renunciation, predominates in St. Francis de Sales, it is firmness and great vigor which prevails in St. Jane Frances; she did not like to see her daughters giving way to human weakness. Her trials were continuous and borne bravely, and yet she was exceedingly sensitive.
Her reputation for sanctity was widespread. Queens, princes, and princesses flocked to the reception-room of the Visitation. Wherever she went to establish foundations, the people gave her ovations. "These people", she would say confused, "do not know me; they are mistaken". Her body is venerated with that of St. Francis de Sales in the church of the Visitation at Annecy. She was beatified in 1751, canonized in 1767.
Almighty and most merciful God, who didst enkindle blessed Jane Frances with the fire of thy love, and endue her with wondrous constancy to walk stedfastly in all the paths of her life on the way of perfection, and who through her didst vouchsafe to glorify thy Church with a new offspring : grant, we pray thee, by her merits and intercession ; that we, who , knowing the frailty of our mortal nature do put our trust and confidence in thy mighty power, may, by the help of thy heavenly grace, overcome all things that are contrary to our salvation. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment