1st Sunday after Trinity - 2013

The First Sunday after Trinity.

Psalm 119 ( . . . )

Legem pone ( . . . )

36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies : and not to covetousness.

37. O turn away mine eyes, lest they behold vanity : and quicken thou me in thy way.

38. O stablish thy word in thy servant : that I may fear thee.

( . . . )

The Collect.

O GOD, the strength of all them that put their trust in thee, mercifully accept our prayers; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping of thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 23.23-32

Psalter: Psalm 1, 5 | 2, 3, 4

Epistle Reading: 1 John 4.7-21

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 16.19-31

Barbee and Zahl: “Archbishop Cranmer translated this Collect from the Gregorian Sacramentary, substituting only “trust” for “hope.” ( . . . ) Note three key words. One, weakness, for we do not possess the strength to do what is right. Our foundations lack the grounding to support ethical humane living. Two, mortal, for we are coursing towards the universal terminus of physical death. Even if we were not weak, even if we were somehow strong in ourselves, the sun would set over our achievements, forever. Three, no good thing, a phrase the excludes even the possibility of a decent action undertaken without the aid of God’s grace. “No good thing” declares the nullification of unaided human potential. The Collect is a bitter pill. It lays out our hope of self-improvement like the boxer who offers no quarter. No wonder the “modern mind” is uneasy with what the mystery writer P.D. James calls “the Cranmerian Protestantism” of the Prayer Book. It offers to modernism absolutely nothing, neither a fish nor an egg. On the other hand, the prayer gives everything. What does it actually ask? “Grant us the help of thy grace.” The negativity concerning the human condition is good news if it is transformed into a passionate and decided cry for help from the outside. The prayer holds out the promise that with the help of the prior love and grace of Christ, we may begin to do right (the “keeping of thy commandments). Moreover, doing right holds out the greater promise of pleasing God” (70-1).

Mike

Primus Pilus II

Trinity Sunday - 2013

Trinity-Sunday.

Psalm 84

Quam dilecta!

( . . . )

2. My soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the courts of the Lord : my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.

( . . . )

4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house : they will be alway praising thee.

5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee : in whose heart are thy ways.

6. Who going through the vale of misery use it for a well : and the pools are filled with water.

( . . . )

12. For the Lord God is a light and defence : the Lord will give grace and worship, and no good thing shall he withhold from them that live a godly life.

13. O Lord God of hosts : blessed is the man that putteth his trust in thee.

( . . . )

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of thy Divine Majesty to worship the Unity; We beseech thee, that thou wouldst keep us steadfast in this faith, and evermore defend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Numbers 21.4-9

Psalter: Psalm 29, 33 | 93, 97, 150

Epistle Reading: Revelation 4.1-11

Gospel Reading: St. John 3.1-15

THE CREED OF ST. ATHANASIUS

At Morning Prayer.

{Upon these Feasts; Christmas Day, the Epiphany, Saint Matthias, Easter Day, Ascension Day, Whitsunday, Saint John Baptist, Saint James, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Matthew, Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Saint Andrew, and upon Trinity Sunday, shall be sung or said at Morning Prayer, instead of the Apostles’ Creed, this Confession of our Christian Faith, commonly called the Creed of Athanasius, by the Minister and people standing.}

Quicunque vult.

WHOSOEVER will be saved : before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholick Faith.

Which Faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled : without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the Catholick Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;

Neither confounding the Persons : nor dividing the Substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son : and another of the Holy Ghost.

But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one : the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son : and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate : and the Holy Ghost uncreate.

The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible : and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible.

The Father eternal, the Son eternal : and the Holy Ghost eternal.

And yet they are not three eternals : but one eternal.

As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated : but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty : and the Holy Ghost Almighty.

And yet they are not three Almighties : but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God : and the Holy Ghost is God.

And yet they are not three Gods : but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord : and the Holy Ghost Lord.

And yet not three Lords : but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both God and Lord;

So are we forbidden by the Catholick Religion : to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords.

The Father is made of none : neither created, nor begotten.

The Son is of the Father alone : not made, nor created, but begotten.

The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son : neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons : one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts.

And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other : none is greater, or less than another;

But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together : and co-equal.

So that in all things, as is aforesaid : the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

He therefore that will be saved : must think thus of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation : that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess : that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man;

God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds : and Man of the substance of his Mother, born in the world;

Perfect God and perfect Man : of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.  

Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead : and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood;

Who, although he be God and Man : yet he is not two, but one Christ;

One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh : but by taking of the Manhood into God;

One altogether; not by confusion of Substance : but by unity of Person.

For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man : so God and Man is one Christ;

Who suffered for our salvation : descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead.

He ascended into heaven, he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty : from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead.

At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies : and shall give account for their own works.

And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting : and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the Catholick Faith : which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c.

Mike
Primus Pilus II

Whit-Sunday (along with Monday and Tuesday) 2013

Whit-Sunday.

Psalm 33

Exultate, justi

( . . . )

3. Sing unto the Lord a new song : sing praises lustily unto him with a good courage.

4. For the word of the Lord is true : and all his works are faithful.

5. He loveth righteousness and judgement : the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

6. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made : and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth.

(N.B. – “the breath” in Hebrew is *ruach* which is translated often as “spirit”. Notice, then, the relation between “the word of the Lord” and “the ruach of his mouth.”)

( . . . )

Ephesians 3.16-21

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

The Collect.

GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Joel 2.28-31

Psalter: Psalm 48, 68 | 104, 145

Epistle Reading: Acts 2.1-11

Gospel Reading: St. John 14.15-31

Monday in Whitsun-Week.

Psalm 104

Benedic, anima mea

( . . . )

28. When thou givest it them they gather it : and when thou openest thy hand they are filled with good.

29. When thou hidest thy face they are troubled : when thou takest away their breath they die, and are turned again to their dust.

30. When thou lettest thy breath {Heb: ruach – spirit} go forth they shall be made : and thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

31. The glorious majesty of the Lord shall endure for ever : the Lord shall rejoice in his works.

( . . . )

Zechariah 4.6

Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

Same Collect for Sunday  along with this one added in the 1928 BCP:

Send, we beseech thee, Almighty God, thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that he may direct and rule us according to thy will, comfort us in all our afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Jeremiah 31.31-34

Psalter: Psalm 139

Epistle Reading: Acts 10.34-48

Gospel Reading: St. John 3.16-21

Tuesday in Whitsun-Week.

Ephesians 4.1-3

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Same Collect for Sunday along with this one added in the 1928 BCP:

GRANT, we beseech thee, merciful God, that thy Church, being gathered together in unity by thy Holy Spirit, may manifest thy power among all peoples, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

Psalter: Psalm 148

Epistle Reading: Acts 8.14-17

Gospel Reading: St. John 10.1-10

Sunday after Ascension - 2013

Sunday after Ascension-Day.

Psalm 27

Dominus illuminatio

( . . . )

8. Hearken unto my voice, O Lord, when I cry unto thee : have mercy upon me, and hear me.

9. My heart hath talked of thee, Seek ye my face : Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

10. O hide not thou thy face from me : nor cast thy servant away in displeasure.

11. Thou hast been my succour : leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

( . . . )

The Collect.

O GOD the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph unto thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 65.17-25

Psalter: Psalm 108, 110 | 46, 47

Epistle Reading: 1 Peter 4.7-11

Gospel Reading: St. John 15.26-16.4

Barbee and Zahl: “The first part of the petition is that we be not comfortless in the face of Christ’s physical absence. There is a heart-rending note sounded here: Don’t leave me alone! I had you once, I saw you and touched you. I need you, but now you are gone. What shall I do? Do you hear me saying it?: Why did you leave me? I am without comfort, like Rachel weeping for her children (St. Matthew 2:18; Jeremiah 31:15). The pathos of the Ascension, ( . . . ) is now fully acknowledged. Home alone. Alone again. The difference, however, is that the prayer implores God, on the basis of St. John 14, to send the Holy Spirit to give us comfort which the world cannot give. We are not in fact alone. The personal presence of God was promised by Jesus. This prayer counts on it. And not only shall the Spirit of God provide that comfort so needed within the vale of tears that is life (honestly represented), but the Spirit will “exalt us” ultimately yonder, over Jordan, over the river of death, to the place where Christ has gone before. The themes of this Collect are absence, solitude, accompaniment, and passage to the Kingdom of Light – right through to the end, and beyond “the end.”” (65).

Massey Hamilton Shepherd, JR.: “The word ‘comfort’ bears here its archaic meaning of ‘strengthen’ (as in the Comfortable Words…) as well as its derivative connotation of ‘console.’” (“The Oxford American Prayer Book Commentary,” 179).

Rogation Sunday thru Ascensiontide - 2013

The Fifth Sunday after Easter (or Rogation Sunday).

Psalm 33

Exultate, justi

( . . . )

13. The Lord looked down from heaven, and beheld all the children of men : from the habitation of his dwelling he considereth all them that dwell on the earth.

14. He fashioneth all the hearts of them : and understandeth all their works.

( . . . )

The Collect.

O LORD, from whom all good things do come; Grant to us thy humble servants, that by thy holy inspiration we may think those things that be good, and by thy merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 1.10-20

Psalter: Psalm 146, 147 | 132, 133, 134

Epistle Reading: James 1.22-27

Gospel Reading: St. John 16.23-33

The Rogation Days
Being the Three Days before Ascension Day

Psalm 147

Laudate Dominum

( . . . )

7. O sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving : sing praises upon the harp unto our God;

8. Who covereth the heavens with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth : and maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, and herb for the use of men;

9. Who giveth fodder unto the cattle : and feedeth the young ravens that call upon him.

10. He hath no pleasure in the strength of an horse : neither delighteth he in any man’s legs.

11. But the Lord’s delight is in them that fear him : and put their trust in his mercy.

( . . . )

ALMIGHTY God, Lord of heaven and earth; We beseech thee to pour forth thy blessing upon this land, and to give us a fruitful season; that we, constantly receiving thy bounty, may evermore give thanks unto thee in thy holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Monday AM: Psalm 104. 1^st Lesson – Deuteronomy 8.1-11, 17-20. 2^nd Lesson – Matthew 5.5-15.

Monday PM: Psalm 34. 1^st Lesson – Deuteronomy 28.1-14. 2^nd Lesson – James 1.1-17

Tuesday AM: Psalm 80. 1^st Lesson – Deuteronomy 11.10-17. 2^nd Lesson – Matthew 6.24-34

Tuesday PM: Psalm 65, 67. 1^st Lesson – 1 Kings 8.22-30. 2^nd Lesson – James 4.8-17

Wednesday AM: Psalm 144. 1^st Lesson – Jeremiah 14.1-9. 2^nd Lesson – 1 John 5.5-15

Wednesday PM: Psalm 93, 99. 1^st Lesson – Isaiah 11.1-5. 2^nd Lesson – Luke 24.44-48

The Ascension-Day.

Psalm 110

Dixit Dominus

THE Lord said unto my Lord : Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

2. The Lord shall send the rod of thy power out of Sion : be thou ruler, even in the midst among thine enemies.

( . . . )

The Collect.

GRANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe thy only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Daniel 7.9-14

Psalter: Psalm 96

Epistle Reading: Acts 1.1-11

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 24.49-53