The Feast of St. Michael and All Angels - 2014

Saint Michael and All Angels

{29 September}

Psalm 113

Laudate, pueri

PRAISE the Lord, ye servants : O praise the Name of the Lord.

2. Blessed be the Name of the Lord : from this time forth for evermore.251 The Book of Common Prayer

3. The Lord’s Name is praised : from the rising up of the sun unto the going down of the same.

4. The Lord is high above all heathen and his glory above the heavens.

5. Who is like unto the Lord our God, that hath his dwelling so high : and yet humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven and earth?

6. He taketh up the simple out of the dust : and lifteth the poor out of the mire;

7. That he may set him with the princes : even with the princes of his people.

8. He maketh the barren woman to keep house : and to be a joyful mother of children.

Collect

Everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the services of Angels and men in a wonderful order; Mercifully grant that, as thy holy Angels alway do thee service in heaven so by thy appointment they may succour and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Daniel 12.1-3

Psalter: Psalm 103

Epistle Reading: Revelation 12.7-12

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 18.1-10

The Feast of St. Michael is the 11^th anniversary of our Order: http://orderofcenturions.org/history.html

The Feast of St. Michael is a good time to prayerfully reflect on our Vow we have taken: http://orderofcenturions.org/vow.html

Finally, here is the Prayer of the Order:

Almighty God, our sovereign Lord, who called Cornelius the Centurion to be the first Christian among the Gentiles, who healed the servant at Capernaum in accordance with the Centurion's great faith, and who inspired the Centurion at Calvary to glorify Jesus; strengthen us in our faith that we might follow their example to love, serve, and glorify you as faithful members of the Church Militant, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity - 2014

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity.

Psalm 119.113-120

Iniquos odio habui

113. I HATE them that imagine evil things : but thy law do I love.

114. Thou art my defence and shield : and my trust is in thy word.

115. Away from me, ye wicked : I will keep the commandments of my God.

116. O stablish me according to thy word, that I may live : and let me not be disappointed of my hope.

117. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe : yea, my delight shall be ever in thy statutes.

118. Thou hast trodden down all them that depart from thy statutes : for they imagine but deceit.

119. Thou puttest away all the ungodly of the earth like dross : therefore I love thy testimonies.

120. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee : and I am afraid of thy judgements.

The Collect.

KEEP, we beseech thee, O Lord, thy Church with thy perpetual mercy: and, because the frailty of man without thee cannot but fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurtful, and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 7.6-13

Psalter: Psalm 97, 98 | 79, 80

Epistle Reading: Galatians 6.11-18

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 6.24-34

Toon: “Let us notice here in the first petition a strange but most relevant fact. God the Father is implored to keep his Church (for which his Son shed his precious blood) not with his Fatherly Care, not with his Watchful Providence and not with the guardianship of his holy Archangels and angels, but with his Perpetual Mercy.

If man (we, all of us) is to be saved and secured from major spiritual and moral injuries with which Satan, the world (Zeitgeist) and the flesh threaten him, it can only be by the continual & perpetual exercise of the Father’s mercy in the name and for the sake of his Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Our conviction is that from that heavenly mercy proceed abundant blessings of many and varied kinds, descending upon those who seek the Lord and find him.

Let us also recognize, as does the Collect, that considered as moral and spiritual beings who stand before God, the all-holy, the all-seeing and the all-knowing One, we are not only mortal but also frail. We possess the ancient disease of inbred, original sin and because of it we cannot truly, in and of ourselves, truly help ourselves into the way and enjoyment of God’s salvation.

Thus we pray again for help, the presence of the Holy Ghost indwelling our souls so that he elevates our affections, inspires our thinking and energises our wills in order to guide us away from that which will harm us and towards that which will protect and bless us. Many things exist to harm us, even things which, in and of themselves, are good but for you or for me. In practice, they are the cause of temptation and sin. Happily there are many things in God’s creation, and especially in the provisions of the new creation of grace and mercy, that are for the cleansing, renewing, inspiring and saving of our souls and bodies.

As the Household of God and the Body of Christ we are in the fishing boat, the Ark of the Lord, as it were on the high seas, and the Lord is with us to make sure that the boat does not sink, that the sea is calmed and that we arrive at our heavenly destination rejoicing in the Lord.

The Epistle points us to the Cross of Christ, in which alone we are to glory. The Gospel takes us into the Sermon on the Mount for instruction in the ways of the Kingdom of God” (http://www.pbs.org.uk/the-bcp/fifteenth-sunday-after-trinity).

The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity (and Feast of St. Matthew) - 2014

The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity.

Psalm 119.105-112

Lucerna pedibus meis

105. THY word is a lantern unto my feet : and a light unto my paths.

106. I have sworn, and am stedfastly purposed : to keep thy righteous judgements.

107. I am troubled above measure : quicken me, O Lord, according to thy word.

108. Let the free-will offerings of my mouth please thee, O Lord : and teach me thy judgements.

109. My soul is always in my hand : yet do I not forget thy law.

110. The ungodly have laid a snare for me : but yet I swerved not from thy commandments.

111. Thy testimonies have I claimed as mine heritage for ever : and why? they are the very joy of my heart.

112. I have applied my heart to fulfil thy statutes alway : even unto the end.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Micah 6.1-8

Psalter: Psalm 84, 85 | 74

Epistle Reading: Galatians 5.16-24

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 17.11-19

Toon: “Here the assembled people of God make two large requests of their heavenly Father. First of all, presuming that they have, at least in small measure, the basic Christian virtues in their souls, they pray for the increase of them, of their quality and scope. Give unto us the increase of faith, hope and charity. In the second place, because they long to receive what God has promised to his faithful people, both now and in the age to come, they ask that especially the virtue of love/charity [caritas, agape] grows in them so that they begin truly to love each day and with consistency what God commands.

It has been said that the theological virtues of faith, hope and love/charity are the right relation of the reason, the imagination, and the will, to the spiritual world presented in divine Revelation and called things invisible in the Nicene Creed. Faith is in the convictions of the understanding; Hope pictures the promised future by an exercise of the imagination, and Love is a preference for the true good and seated in the will.

Faith, hope and charity/love also have a certain correspondence to past, present and future. In large part Faith looks back to the revelation of God in word and in deed, and especially in the Incarnate Son, recorded in Holy Scripture and witnessed by tradition. But faith propels us into the future for it is the substance of things hoped for, the things God has promised in, through and with Christ. So faith is joined to Hope in and by which we truly look forward in humble confidence to the fulfilment of God’s purposes and will for us and for the universe. But we do not live merely in memories of the past and anticipations of the future, there is Love. We are to love our neighbour as ourselves, to love on another as Christ loved us, and to fulfil all the commands of the law by loving God and man.

Faith is well illustrated and presented in the Gospel for this week and in the Epistle the virtues as fruit of the indwelling Spirit are contrasted with the works of the flesh.

These extensive and profound requests can & should be made because they are address to the Almighty and the Everlasting GOD and furthermore they rise to Him in the Name and Person of the High Priest and Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ” (http://www.pbs.org.uk/the-bcp/fourteenth-sunday-after-trinity)!

For the Feast of Saint Matthew, see here: http://orderofcenturions.org/documents/matthew.html

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity - 2014

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity.

Quomodo dilexi!

Psalm 119.97-104

97. LORD, what love have I unto thy law : all the day long is my study in it.

98. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies : for they are ever with me.

99. I have more understanding than my teachers : for thy testimonies are my study.

100. I am wiser than the aged : because I keep thy commandments.

101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way : that I may keep thy word.

102. I have not shrunk from thy judgements : for thou teachest me.

103. O how sweet are thy words unto my throat : yea, sweeter than honey unto my mouth.

104. Through thy commandments I get understanding : therefore I hate all evil ways.

The Collect.

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.

***Here is the 1549: “ALMYGHTIE and mercyfull God, of whose onely gifte it cometh that thy faythfull people doe unto thee true and laudable service; graunte we beseche thee, that we may so runne to thy heavenly promises, that we faile not finally to attayne the same; through Jesus Christe our Lorde.”

Old Testament Reading: Deuteronomy 24.10-22

Psalter: Psalm 81, 82 | 73

Epistle Reading: Galatians 3.16-22

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 10.23-37

Toon: “This is most certainly a prayer that assumes that human beings are made in the image of God to be his servants not only in this life but in the age to come. They are creatures who by God’s mercy look forward to a rich, full and everlasting life in the kingdom of God, where their service of the Lord will be richer and fuller and progress from glory to glory. However, in this prayer is also the biblical assumption that the fullness and quality of the life to be enjoyed in the age to come is related to the type of life that is lived in this evil age.

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is addressed as the Almighty (the Sovereign, All-powerful) and as merciful (showing pity and love to the undeserving). Then, in bowing before his presence (by the device grammatically of the relative clause) his people remember that their vocation in this world, as Christians in the Household of God, is that they serve God fruitfully even as they daily pray, Thy will be done. Also they remember that their right serving of their God and Father is dependent upon his gift to them of grace, mercy, wisdom and strength. The little word only emphasises that they are wholly dependent on God’s help to serve him aright.

If the vocation of the creature is to serve the Creator, who is the Father and the Judge, in the name and merits of Christ Jesus, then it is most appropriate for the people of God to ask for spiritual strength to offer this service daily in the right mind and attitude and with appropriate fervour and consecration. Grant, we beseech thee, is an emphatic way of showing total dependence and asking for total help with the intention of offering complete service.

The end of man is to enjoy and glorify God for ever. The Gospels and Epistles place before Christian believers an array of promises of eternal life with rewards for those who, in this world and life, faithfully serve the Lord and their fellow men. Implied in the words of petition is a warning that we may fail to attain to the enjoyment of the content of the promises of heavenly bliss.

This prayer is offered not only through the one Mediator, Jesus Christ, but specifically through the merits of the same Lord, for the attainment of the promises is only possible by what he has done for us and for our salvation.

From the Epistle we learn of the centrality of Christ in the purposes of God and that it is in, with and through him that we have a right relation with the Father through the Holy Ghost.

From the Gospel we learn that loving God also requires the loving of the neighbour and who in reality and fact the neighbour is” (http://www.pbs.org.uk/the-bcp/thirteenth-sunday-after-trinity).

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity - 2014

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity.

Psalm 119.89-96

In aeternum. Domine

89. O LORD, thy word : endureth for ever in heaven.

90. Thy truth also remaineth from one generation to another : thou hast laid the foundation of the earth, and it abideth.

91. They continue this day according to thine ordinance : for all things serve thee.

92. If my delight had not been in thy law : I should have perished in my trouble.

93. I will never forget thy commandments : for with them thou hast quickened me.

94. I am thine, O save me : for I have sought thy commandments.

95. The ungodly laid wait for me to destroy me : but I will consider thy testimonies.

96. I see that all things come to an end : but thy commandment is exceeding broad.

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we are to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire, or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 29.18-24

Psalter: Psalm 76, 77 | 71, 72

Epistle Reading: 2 Corinthians 3.1-9

Gospel Reading: St. Mark 7.31-37

Toon: “Here we address the Lord our God on the basis of two convictions concerning him, convictions whose content we have learned from Holy Scripture from the Parable of the Prodigal Son, for example (Luke 15:20).

First of all, we speak to God knowing that in his infinite compassion and mercy he is always more ready and prepared to hear our prayers and than we are to engage in prayer, petition, supplication and intercession to him. This conviction serves to make us humble and confident.

Then, secondly, we speak to God knowing that he is wont (accustomed in his normal relation to sinners) to be much more generous to those who make supplication to him than they can possibly put into words or deserve. For they ask out of the human context of sin and finitude and God hears in the divine context of grace and infinite knowledge.

Thus, knowing God’s character, we are bold in our petitions asking that He pours down upon us, out of the abundance of the sea of his mercy, two gifts of his grace. First, we ask for forgiveness for all our sins, especially those concerning which we are especially embarrassed and fearful; and secondly we ask for those further gifts which are needed to perfect our Christian lives, making us worthy servants of such a gracious Master. What these gifts are for each and every one of us we leave to God’s wisdom, as we surely ask that they be given unto us as truly good things.

We make sure to offer all our prayer in the Name of and by the Merits of and through the Mediatorship of the Lord Jesus Christ. For in him and with him and through him we are heard by the Father in heaven as we ask in faith. As the Epistle declares Christians belong to a new era, a new epoch, a new covenant and a new relation with God who is their all-sufficiency. And as the Gospel make clear, Jesus hath done all things [for us and for our salvation] well” (http://www.pbs.org.uk/the-bcp/twelfth-sunday-after-trinity).