Such a sad two weeks

First, the death of our neighbor - a beautiful and full of life 9 yr old girl - Oriana. Then, the tragedy at Virginia Tech followed by a fallen Blue Angel in Beaufort, SC.

Rest eternal grant to them , O Lord.
And let light perpetual shine upon them.

May their souls and the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Alleluia ! Christ is Risen!

The Resurrection
Fra Angelico, San Marco Museum, Florence

A Sermon for Easter Day 2007

Look out! God’s resurrection power is at work!

They came at early dawn and found an empty tomb. They were perplexed – confused – disoriented. Things were not as they ought to have been. Read more....

Giotto di Bondone, 1304-1306.

No. 30 Scenes from the Life of Christ: 14. Washing of Feet

Fresco, 200 x 185 cm

Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

A Fine Litany for Holy Week

To pray for genuine humility is a tricky thing. May this litany by Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930) be of some assistance to us all.

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart,
Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected,
Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

–Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930)

From the Churchyear.net site

Palm Passion Sunday

The lections are daunting. You can find them here. Where does one begin? What strikes you as you think about triumph turned to tragedy in a blink of an eye?

Chanting the Decalogue - Fifth Sunday in Lent

This morning we began the service with the Penitential Order which includes, as an option, a recitation of the Ten Commandments (also known as the Decalogue). Having served St. James Santee for just one year now, we are still getting to know each other. To chant the Decalogue or not to chant was the question. We took the plunge and it actually sounded terrific. Well done, people!

There is something about singing words that helps them sink in more deeply. May we praise God in this way often!

"He who sings prays twice"

Attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD)

Preaching Text for 3/25/07

The Bible passage that I will preach on is the following. I have some ideas, but wonder what you think would be helpful to focus on with this terrific text.

Philippians 3:4-14

⁴even though I, too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: ⁵circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ⁷Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. ⁸More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. ¹²Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. ¹³Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.