It is finished!

Preached Good Friday, A+D 2009 (11 April 2009) at St George’s Anglican Church (CANA/ACNA), Colorado Springs, for a “Pan-Anglican” service of Good Friday meditations on Jesus’ words from the Cross.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

“It is finished.”

For a minute, let’s look at earlier words from our Lord. “Who do you say that I am?” That’s the question that Jesus asked the disciples. He asked them this while they were in the middle of Gentile territory – surrounded by pagans and worshippers of idols – the very idols that St Paul tells us are really demons in disguise. And our Lord asked “who do you say that I am?” That may be the most important question every Christian – every soul – has to answer.

How we answer that question may be affected by the picture we have of Jesus. How do we see Jesus? Which Jesus do we see? Which picture of Jesus do we carry around in our minds and our hearts?

 

Lent and Discipline

Here it is again–Happy Lent!
Lent helps us enter the deepest and most important mysteries of what it truly means to be human—spirit and flesh fused together. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. Ashes remind us of our mortality. The ashes which are blessed and traced in the form of a cross on our forehead come from the palms of a previous Palm Sunday, also reminding us that the very praises of Hosanna which we sang turn to dust when we deny Our Lord through sin. Lent is a time of self denial. As Anglican Catholics we need to understand three things about Lent: fasting, abstinence, and discipline.

 

The Anglican Catholic Express

If you’ve been watching the blogosphere in the last week, you’ll have seen a lot of excitement.  If you haven’t noticed it, I’ll detail it for you before I make my own comments.

First off, it seems, an article appeared in The Record, a respected Australian Catholic newspaper, on Wednesday, January 28th.  This article, titled “Healing the Reformation’s Fault Lines,” gave a brief background summary of the ecumenical conversation between the Traditional Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church, a conversation that has been going on for nearly three decades.

It seems that the thirty years of conversation are about to bear fruit.

 

Priests at Our Lady of the Snows

Here’s a picture that was late coming in due to technical difficulties, but it is at last here, so I’m posting it here now.

These are the clergy of the Society of St Michael (SSM) who were present at the Anglican Church in America’s general synod in October of 2008 at the national shrine of Our Lady of the Snows in Belleview, IL.

(L-R: Bp Stephen Strawn SSM, Fr Richard Sutter SSM, Fr Nicholas Taylor Obl.OSB SSM, Fr Terrence Keller SSM, Fr Michael Sclafani SSM, Archbishop John Hepworth,  Fr Terence Gross SSM, The Rev’d Dr William Wiener SSM, Fr Carlton Clarke SSM, Fr John Wesley Westcott III SSM.)

His Grace, the Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, very kindly consented to be photographed with us.  Clearly, we must have been hoping some holiness and wisdom would rub off on us!

 

The First Thanksgiving

A priest friend of mine makes a point of preaching special holiday sermons—sermons that are myth-busters, in which he takes a popular idea or belief about that holiday and shows how those ideas or beliefs are false.  His reasoning is that holidays are the only times some people go to church, and so he may not get the opportunity to preach again to those people for several months—so he has to hit them while he can! 

This is the season where, in America, everywhere you look you’ll see pilgrims and Indians and turkeys.  You’ll see specials on television about what is referred to as “the first Thanksgiving.”

The pilgrims must have had the best PR available, because they didn’t really have the first Thanksgiving!

Actually, I’m thankful that they didn’t.  The so-called pilgrims, were the enemy.  They hated us.  They hated our church, our Prayerbook, and our bishops.  They wanted to put as much distance between us and them as possible.  The puritan separatists were coming to North America not for freedom of religion, as their PR says, but for two reasons.  First, they wanted to get away from everything that makes Anglican Christianity what it is, such as tradition, liturgy, sacraments, even Christmas!  Second, they wanted the power to force everyone else to also.  No, I have no sympathy, no affection, no respect for those pseudo-Christians at all!

 

The Miracle of Healing

Take a look at this young lady.  This picture was taken on September first of this year.

On September first she underwent emergency cardiovascular surgery for an enlarged heart and a tear in her aorta and had her aortic valve replaced.

Her mother flew to Denver from Georgia to be with her.

Her fiance sat with her non-stop. 

Clergy gave her the sacraments of unction and eucharist.

And of course, lots of people all over the world were praying for her.

Probably many of you reading this were among those praying for her.  At one point at the hospital, a small child pointed down at her in her room and said she saw Jesus.  We have no doubt that he was there, holding her.  This is the same young lady 33 days later:  

  

This is the power of prayer. 

Thanks be to God! 

And thank you, Ven. John Henry Newman, St Michael, St Jude, and our blessed Lady Mary.

We are so blessed!

 

Christians and Hallowe’en

In recent years we have started to hear some Christian groups encouraging Christians not to observe Hallowe’en, not to let our children trick-or-treat, not to go to costume parties. Many of those groups urge churches to have “harvest parties” as an alternative, or even just ignore the day entirely and pretend it doesn’t exist. Why do they feel this way?

A few years ago I wrote a tract about this topic, and last year I finally dressed it up for printing.  Please have a look before you buy into anyone’s odd ideas.

christians-and-halloween-brochure

 

Anglican Mass in Modern English – Beta

I have received numerous comments privately and on the Anglo-Catholic Central forum, for which I am very thankful.  Please accept my gratitude, all who passed on your thoughts to me.

As a result, please see the second draft of the Anglican Mass in Modern English.  Again, I welcome your critique.

 

TAC Primate Visits Eastern U.S.; Honours SSM

Back on the feast of St Alphonsus de Liguori, known in the secular world as August First, the Anglican Church in America’s diocese of the Eastern United States (rather impiously called “DEUS,” but that’s a topic for a different post) was gathered at Baltimore for their annual diocesan synod.  This diocese is home to thirteen of the brothers of the Society of St Michael (SSM), but alas, what with travel expenses being what they are these days, only six of the brethren were able to be present at this gathering.

This particular DEUS (duck and look around for lightning!) synod was privileged to be attended by and receive particular direction from a few members of the TAC College of Bishops, including Bp Rocco Florenza SSM, Bp George Langberg (President of the ACA House of Bishops), and Abp John Hepworth (Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion).

What’s the point, you’re probably wondering.  Well, on that day the Primate took some time out of the business of the day to meet with some of the members of the SSM and make a special gesture of primatial affection.

Abp Hepworth presents statue to Fr Sutter

Here we see his Grace presenting a statue of St Michael to me in recognition and appreciation of the work of the Society of St Michael, a clerical fraternity dedicated to the advancement of the Catholic Faith in its Anglican Tradition.  The poker-like blandness of expression on my face is not boredom, but is evidence of, well, let’s just say I was just gob-smacked by this honour!

The SSM has a threefold object: education in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, unity of all Christ’s Church (especially amongst the Anglican ecclesial bodies currently so sadly and unnecessarily divided), and service, especially pastoral care.  A particular mission of the Society is the mutual support and encouragement of her members, who include bishops, priests, and deacons; and of her associates, who include seminarians and other postulants for Holy Orders.  We also have begun a Confraternity of St Michael for lay men and women who support our mission and wish to join in praying and working for the objects of the SSM. 

The Society is considering the possibility of another work as well, a men’s organisation for similar purposes, but instead of being a prayerful body, like the Confraternity, to  focus on working for education, unity, and service, with the additional mandate of doing all within a context of fellowship.  This organisation would be open to all orders of the church but primarily for lay men and youth; it is tentatively considering the name “Knights of St Michael” for this body.  (The Knights are in the very early stages of planning and organizing – all interested are invited to email for more details or to indicate interest.  It certainly would be nice to see a Knights chapter in every Anglo-Catholic parish!)

Abp Hepworth, Fr Sutter, Fr Nalls, Fr Edwards

Here is what happens when you shout “photo-op” in the nearer presence of clergy!  Pictured are of course the Arch, and next to him I’m standing with the lovely statue of our patron, the leader of the armies of heaven!  Next to me is Fr Charles Nalls, who has been newly named the  Canon to the Primate and serves on the TAC unity commission.  On the far end, in effect sandwiching Canon Nalls and myself with holiness, is Fr Samuel Edwards, who I dare say is one of the most learned and devout priests I have ever had the pleasure to meet.

All in all, my friends, this was an exceptional time!  Not to mention, a great way for me to spend my birthday!

God bless us, every one!

 

Anglican Mass in Modern English

After seeing the products of attempts to translate parts of the 1662 BCP and the U.S. 1928 BCP into modern English with varying degrees of success, I was about to give up, as have so many, the idea that liturgy could be written in modern English without sounding either pedestrian or trendy – or horrible.  (Imagine if you will, beginning every prayer with “We just want to praise you, Father God….”)  So I thought I might give it a try myself.

Now, I’m no Shakespeare or Eliot.  The last poetry I wrote resides in my wife’s dresser, written when I was courting her and was less critical.  Thank goodness it isn’t shown to anyone.  After all, being critical, not creative, is my strong suit.  But as I contemplated the attempts out there, a little voice whispered “heck, even I could do better than that!”  So here it is. 

Anglican Mass in Modern English

Here is the Eucharist from the U.S. 1928 BCP, translated into current modern English, following the principles of Liturgiam Authenticam, and using the most up to date ICEL texts, which will be in sync with the next Roman Missal to be issued in English, probably 2010 or so.  It is set up to work with either the 3 year Ordo Lectionum Missae and the Daily Lectionary or the older lectionaries in the various BCPs.  I think the former the better choice, of course.

 

Because Anglicanism is an international body these days, I have edited the base text in three ways,

1. By incorporating some features of other national Anglican BCPs (Canada 1962, Scotland 1970, South Africa 1954, West Indies 1959),
2. By eliminating some of the vague areas that have been patient of heresy, and
3. By streamlining the whole to make it possible to have a short weekday service for working folk.

I have prepared this text for discussion purposes only, and it has not been authorized for public use by anyone, anywhere.  I haven’t even tried it out by myself. 

 

I would be glad of any comments.