During Holy Week, the church reads the passion narratives of all four gospels – Matthew on Palm Sunday, Mark on Monday and Tuesday, Luke on Wednesday and Thursday, John on Good Friday. Given their length and importance, they take center…
In Lent, as the church prepares to celebrate the paschal victory of Christ, the church reads the books of the Law – especially Genesis and Exodus – and also the prophet Jeremiah and his Lamentations. Each in its own way…
In four verses of Scripture, the Prayer Book’s “comfortable words” invite us, who in the confession of sin have acknowledged ourselves justly condemned as sinners and subject to the impartial judicial wrath of God, to put our faith in Christ,…
When the Prayer Book speaks of “comfort”, it means something that fortifies, that strengthens and encourages those who are discouraged and demoralized, above all by the knowledge of their own moral failures, those transgressions of God’s law, which stir his…
By ancient custom, the sacred images of the church are veiled in penitential array of unbleached linen during the season of Lent. Thanks to memorial donations, we have been able to replace our old and shabby Lenten array, and on…
By ancient custom, the sacred images of the church are veiled in penitential array of unbleached linen during the season of Lent. Thanks to memorial donations, we have been able to replace our old and shabby Lenten array, and on…
Accounts of how the world came to be – cosmogonies, creation myths – are various. A warrior god slew a primeval chaos-dragon, and made the world from its carcass – that’s one prescientific version, popular in ancient Mesopotamia. The popular version in our day, is that nothing gave itself being, and organized itself through random mechanistic and material interactions. The Mesopotomian creation myth might be more persuasive. How does nothing cause something? And how can random material mechanisms produce reason, beauty, justice, and love?
In the face of institutional inertia, reformers may feel the need to “move fast and break things”, but then they run the risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Getting the balance right requires prudence, and sound judgment. Even churches struggle to do so. In the second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the Roman church identified public worship as an area in need of renewal, but the reforms that followed were more drastic than had been anticipated, and did serious damage to the liturgy of the Roman church, and by its influence, on the liturgies of Protestant churches also.
It would be understandable that many a person drawn to Christ would be of two minds about joining a church and committing himself to fellowship with other believers. Christ’s glory is so great, it can only expose the flaws and failures of those who bear his name! Relationships with other Christians can be challenging. Dealing with institutional structures can be frustrating. In the modern culture of individualism and consumerism it may seem that reading your Bible and saying your prayers on your own might be a best path for the Christian disciple.
The Feast of Candlemas bridges past and present, where ancient rituals meet modern faith through the symbolic power of light.
As we reflect on Saint Paul's journey, we're reminded that each of us has the potential to be instruments of change in our communities. His story challenges us to examine our own spiritual paths and consider how our personal transformations might contribute to the greater glory of God and his creation.
The journey of Prayer Book Catholicism reflects a complex religious evolution, where traditional practices meet modern challenges. While the media approach once served as a bridge between Catholic and Protestant traditions, its foundations have faced significant scrutiny in recent decades.