Praise God! There are many new and exciting things that God is doing in my life as well as the life of St. Barnabas Anglican Church in Bay Village Ohio. As we enter the summer time, one would expect things to settle down, but this has not been the case. This past week I traveled to Greenfield, IN to visit my friends there at St. Paul’s Anglican Church. This was a fine time with old friends.

Lunch with Fr. Chuck, Bonnie and Kim

Think Anglican!

As some of you know, last month Fr. Patrick Malone launched the “Think Anglican” series of podcasts. Do you want to know what Anglican Christians believe? If so take a listen to these podcasts on the 39 Articles (the foundational articles of Anglicanism). The podcasts are a conversation between Fr. Patrick Malone and myself on the basics of the faith!

The Launching of Dei Gratia, LLC

In addition to this, I am proud to announce the launching of a new company. Dei Gratia, LLC is a company formed by Andrew Holmes and myself. We are seeking to publish a quarterly journal on Anglicanism as well as other church materials.  More to come on this.

CS Lewis Class

Lastly, St. Barnabas discipleship hour will be beginning again on June 27th. I will be teaching a class on CS Lewis’ book, Mere Christianity. Stay tuned. As this class progresses I will be posting thoughts here on the blog.

Wed
Mar 24 am: Ps 119:145-176
pm: 128, 129, 130 Exod 7:8-24 2 Cor 2:14-3:6 Mark 10:1-16

FIFTH WEDNESDAY OF LENT – Walter Hilton of Thurgarton, Mystic, 13^th Century

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Born in 1343, Walter Hilton studied Canon Law at Cambridge but after a period as a hermit, he joined the community of Augustinian Canons at Thurgarton in Nottinghamshire. Highly regarded in his lifetime as a spiritual guide, he wrote in both Latin and English and translated several Latin devotional works. Controversy with the Lollards gave a sharper definition to his exposition of the aims, methods and disciplines of traditional spirituality. Amongst his major works, Ladder of Perfection (Book Two) declares that contemplation, understood in a profoundly Trinitarian context as awareness of grace and sensitivity to the Spirit, may and should be sought by all serious Christians. (The Lollards followed from the teachings of John Wycliffe a prominent theologian at Oxford in the mid 14^th Century. They wanted reform of the Church and taught that piety was a requirement for a priest to be a “true” priest and perform the sacraments. They also maintained that a pious layman had power to perform those same rites, believing that religious power and authority came through piety and not through the Church hierarchy).

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: Periodically we see a term next to holy men and women of the church that gives us pause and perhaps a little awe. That term is mystic. It should be noted that mysticism is a vital part of the Christian heritage and contains the core of Christian spirituality. Mysticism seeks to identify the dynamism in one’s life when one has a direct experience of God. Lent is a good time to learn of such dimensions of the Christian faith because a common misconception about mysticism is that it’s about “mystical/magical experiences,” but true mysticism is not focused on “experiences” (which come and go) but with the lasting experience of God, leading to the transformation of the believer into union with God. Psalm 130 appointed for today is a text that illustrates the yearning in our soul for such experiences.

The Ladder of Perfection by Walter Hilton is a testament to such a yearning for spiritual development as it challenges the reader to enter the mystical life by embracing a life of penance and of seeking personal holiness. The work provides a broad enough view of the spiritual life that it can be profitably studied by laypersons as well as religious and clergy as it guides the reader through stages of spiritual development leading to the renewal of our selves formed in the image of likeness of God.

PRAYER OF THE DAY Father…Guide me that I might see clearly .Bless me that I might understand. Strengthen me that I might live my understanding. AMEN

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness. This is our Lord’s will, that our prayer and our trust be, alike, large. For if we do not trust as much as we pray, we fail in full worship to our Lord in our prayer; and also we hinder and hurt ourselves. The reason is that we do not know truly that our Lord is the ground from which our prayer springeth; nor do we know that it is given us by his grace and his love. If we knew this, it would make us trust to have of our Lord’s gifts all that we desire. For I am sure that no man asketh mercy and grace with sincerity, without mercy and grace being given to him first.” –Juilan of Norwich

Gratefully taken from Anglican-Mainstream.net

FIFTH MONDAY OF LENT – James De Koven, Priest and Missionary in North America

SCRIPTURE: Mark 9:30-41 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know,  31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”  32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.  33 And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”  34 But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.  35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”  36 And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them,  37 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”  38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,(1 )and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”  39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.  40 For the one who is not against us is for us.  41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: James de Koven, a priest, was a professor of Church history at Nashotah House, and later became Warden of Racine College, an Episcopal college in Racine, Wisconsin. In the General Conventions of 1871 and 1874, de Koven became the chief spokesman for the “ritualists,” defending the use of candles, incense, bowing and kneeling, and the like. He reminded his hearers of the numerous assertions by prominent Anglican theologians from the Reformation on down who had taught, and the ecclesiastical courts which when the question came up had ruled, that it is Anglican belief, shared not only with Romans but with Lutherans and East Orthodox, that the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Sacrament is a real and objective presence. However, he was eloquent and firm in saying: “The gestures and practices by which we recognize the presence of Christ do not matter. Only Christ matters.”

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: While this passage from Mark’s Gospel is often troubling to us as we wonder how the Apostles could ever think of relating and requesting such of Jesus. Yet can’t we admit that they are simply doing what we all do. We all want to belong. We all want to be recognized for a job well done. We all want to special! This is certainly legitimate and quite human but true greatness is not defined by our criteria but by his as he makes this clear when he says: If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” This Lent have we given any critical and careful reflection on what keeps us from being authentic servants of Christ?   Could it be that our pride makes us boost up the self up and keep other people down? This is called Pride and pride doesn’t seek the good but rather seeks assess another person by making comparisons to the self.  We are reminded today that t is Gospel alone that fills our soul with the gift of humility which empowers us to be servants first.

PRAYER OF THE DAY: O God , teach me to be generous, to serve you as you deserve, to give without counting the cost, to fight without fretting at my wounds, to labor without seeking rest, to spend myself without looking for any reward other than that of knowing that I do Thy holy will. Amen. Amen.

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “To love God as He ought to be loved, we must be detached from all temporal love. We must love nothing but Him, or if we love anything else, we must love it only for His sake.”– St. Peter Claver

Taken Gratefully from Anglican-Mainstream.net

LENT IV: St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 386.

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY:   Saint Cyril of Jerusalem is one of the most important sources we have for how the church celebrated the liturgy and sacraments during the first few decades after the legalization of Christianity.  In his famous 24 lectures commonly known as the Catechesis of Jerusalem, Saint Cyril instructs new Christians in the days immediately before and after their initiation into the life of the Church at the Easter Vigil.  In these catechetical instructions, which are the only documents that survive by St. Cyril, we find very strong insistence on the value and efficacy of the sacrament of baptism as well as heavy emphasis on the real presence of Christ’s body and blood in the sacrament of the Eucharist.  St. Cyril of Jerusalem is considered to be one of the Early Church Fathers and is also reckoned among the number of the Doctors of the Catholic Church.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY:   It is fitting on this feast of St. Cyril that our lessons refer to the Pauline teaching on the nature of the Body of Christ. The lessons today continue the teaching about the gifts/charisms being given by the one Spirit using the analogy of the human body. When Paul speaks of the Church as the body of Christ, he is not talking of coordination, but that we are interdependent. The difference between our perception and Paul is that for Paul unity was obvious and diversity was problematic, but for us (especially those in the Anglican Communion) diversity/autonomy is natural while unity is problematic. Notice that when Paul discusses the Body of Christ he does so in terms of charisms which are for the service of one another. Many parts make up a single body (v12, 20 20) and so also it is with Christ. Notice that he does not say so also with the Church, but so also with Christ. Paul was very conscious of the Church being the Body of Christ. This very unity was part of the catechesis of St. Cyril and a lesson to the church today. Cyril like Paul catechized that what Christians have in common is not that we look alike and think alike but that, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink. That seems to be the key that life in the Spirit grasping that when we go through water baptism that is an outward symbol of an inward spiritual baptism into the body of Christ.

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “Let us then, my brethren, endure in hope. Let us devote ourselves, side-by-side with our hoping, so that the God of the entire universe, as he beholds our intention, may cleanse us from all sins, fill us with high hopes from what we have in hand, and grant us the change of heart that saves. God has called you, and you have your calling.” — St. Cyril of Jerusalem

PRAYER OF THE DAY: “Father, through St. Cyril of Jerusalem You led Your Church to a deeper understanding of the mysteries of salvation. Let his prayers help us to know Your Son better and to have eternal life in all its fullness. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives, and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Gratefully taken from Anglican-Mainstream.net

LENT IV: Saint Patrick, Missionary to Ireland, 431

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Saint Patrick, the Apostle of the Irish, was seized from his native Britain by Irish marauders when he was sixteen years old. Though the son of a deacon and grandson of a priest, it was not until his captivity that he sought out the Lord with his whole heart. In his  Confession, the testament he wrote towards the end of his life, he says,  ‘After I came to Ireland — every day I had to tend sheep, and many times a day I prayed  — the love of God and His fear came to me more and mo re, and my faith was strengthened. And my spirit was so moved that in a single day I would say as many as a hundred prayers, and almost as many at night, and this even when I was staying in the woods and on the mountain; and I would rise for prayer before  daylight, through snow, through frost, through rain, and I felt no harm.”

After six years of slavery in Ireland, he was guided by God to make his escape, and afterwards struggled in the monastic life in Aesir in Gaul [now France], under the guidance of the holy Bishop Germanus. Many years later he was ordained bishop and sent to Ireland once again, about the year 432, to convert the Irish to Christ. His arduous labors bore so much fruit that within seven years, three bishops were sent from Gaul to help h him shepherd his flock. His apostolic work was not accomplished without much ‘weariness and painfulness,’ long journeys through difficult country, and many perils; he says his very life was in danger twelve times.

When he came to Ireland, it was a pagan country; when he ended his earthly life some thirty years later, about 461, the Faith of Christ was established in every corner. The work of St Patrick and his brethren has been called the most successful single missionary venture in the history of the Church.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY:  The lesson of St. Patrick is that we can all make the journey from forgotten faith, to repentance, to friendship with God. Even when he did not believe in God, God had continued to believe in him. Even when he was living his life carelessly, God was all the time caring for him. Patrick might have given up on God, but God certainly hadn’t given up on Patrick. While this is a special day for those of us who hail from Irish heritage, more importantly we should never los sight that first and foremost we are also from God. AS Patrick prayed in his Lorica, God is our first beginning. If that be true for our beginning, this feast day and this holy season reminds us that we all should be asking in Lent -what is our final destination?  As an Irish descendent I delight in my culture and heritage, but  I do so because I know  that there are a great clouds of witnesses from Ireland  whose voices resound in heaven ( Patrick, Brigid, Aidan, Kevin etc,). Today we can give thanks for the Faith, brought by Patrick that told the Irish and now all of us that Heaven is our real homeland

PRAYER OF THE DAY: Father above, Christ of love, Holy Spirit healing dove, Fill my heart this day, O Triune God. From sickness heal; from sorrow seal; I beg you this day as I kneel; Fill my heart, O Triune God. Amen.

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “Before I was humiliated I was like a stone that lies in deep mud, and he who is mighty came and in his compassion raised me up and exalted me very high and placed me on the top of the wall..”– St. Patrick

Lenten Discipline – Read the Confessions of St. Patrick which gives the journey involved in St. Patrick’s ministry. Learn of his passions for the Gospel, his spirituality and his vision for the church in a culture that does not know Christ. There is an accessible English translation is available from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library at www.ccel.org/ccel/patrick/confession.html .

(Gratefully taken from Anglican-Mainstream.net)

I bind unto myself today
the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
by power of faith, Christ’s Incarnation;
his baptism in Jordan river;
his death on cross for my salvation;
his bursting from the spicèd tomb;
his riding up the heavenly way;
his coming at the day of doom:
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
the power of God to hold and lead,
his eye to watch, his might to stay,
his ear to hearken, to my need;
the wisdom of my God to teach,
his hand to guide, his shield to ward;
the word of God to give me speech,
his heavenly host to be my guard.

Christ be with me,
Christ within me,
Christ behind me,
Christ before me,
Christ beside me,
Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort
and restore me.
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ in quiet,
Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of
all that love me,
Christ in mouth of
friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself today
the strong Name of the Trinity,
by invocation of the same,
the Three in One, and One in Three.
Of whom all nature hath creation,
eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.

LENT IV: St. Aristobulus, Bishop of Britain (1st c.)

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: Anglicans especially will find it interesting that on the Eastern Calendar is commemorated today St. Aristobulus of the Seventy, Bishop of Britain (1st c.). Tradition holds that he was born in Cyprus and was the brother of the Apostle Barnabas who aided St. Paul (and who mentions him in Romans 16:10). Aristobulus was commissioned and sent out landing in Brita in where he endured terrible torments, misfortunes and malice from the people They were without mercy, dragging him through the streets, mocking him.  But in the end this holy man came to success by the power of the grace of God. He enlightened the people, baptized them in the name of Christ the Lord, and established churches.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: The Word from Isaiah in this entire chapter is very encouraging and oft quoted. While filled with hope and a look toward the future the prophet does not promise that God will do everything for the people but he does  promise to empower us to cooperate with God as God’s covenant people in bringing life and well-being to light. In considering our Lenten journey, this section of the text provides us with a good point of reflection to assess the hope we may or may not have. We must learn that God is not a tool that we may use to meet whatever needs we have but rather that God is the One whom we are to love with all our selves and on whom we may rely to do for us everything it is appropriate for God to do. But there are things appropriate for us to do, one of which is to find the courage to take Isaiah’s words to heart

The lesson from the prophet reminds us to distinguish again needs and wants.

Unlike us, God is not contained or restrained with needs. There can be no doubt that God cares for us and seeks us to live a personal and common life as a covenanted community. What have we forgotten of the covenant God, what do we need to reclaim this day?

PRAYER OF THE DAY: O my God! Lord, we are your people, the sheep of your flock. Heal the sheep who are wounded. Touch the sheep who are in pain Clean the sheep who are soiled. Warm the lambs that are cold. Help us to know the Father’s love through Jesus the shepherd, and through the Spirit. Amen

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “We are all to pray to God to take from us the opportunity of sinning; so frail we are, it is no sooner offered but we are ready to embrace it -  God help us.”  – Lancelot Andrews

(Taken gratefully from Anglican-Mainstream.net)

Ok…I did not write this mediation, but the day has been sooo busy, so I hope you will accept this as a substitute. It is from Anglican Mainstream. ~Fr. Sean

Gen 41:46-57
1 Cor 4:8-21
Mark 3:7-19a

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: St. David is the only Welsh saint to be canonized in the Western Church. He has been the patron saint of Wales since the 12th century, but very little is known about his life. He died in 589 or 601 after founding a monastery in the area of Pembrokeshire which now bears his name, and living an austere life devoted to God. He is first to be found in an Irish Catalogue of Saints dating from around 730 and by 800 his feast day was determined as March 1st. What we know is that the aim of his work was to promote the independence of the Welsh church as we are told that St. David founded ten monasteries (including Glastonbury) where the regime included manual labor, study and worship.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY: The opening words of the Gospel for today talks about Jesus’ need to withdraw amidst all the great works he was doing in the Galilee region. It seems the crowds would not stand for that as they apparently tracked him down across to the place where he was seeking to be set apart. This is not simply about Jesus having “his space” but it was about those who deeply desired to find experience Jesus to seek him out. While there is much to be said about time alone during Lent, perhaps this passage reminds us that Lent is a time to be actively seeking out the Lord who we say we want to follow, we were reminded at the beginning of Lent that we are but to incline our hearts toward Him, if we wish to truly find Him. What does it look like to seek after him? What should our lives look like should we be chasing Jesus down like the crowd in Mark’s Gospel? Perhaps there is a good illustration from C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape Letters, where in letter XIV, we find a good person ( the patient) being actively recruited by Screwtape ( the Devil) and Wormwood (his apprentice). By this installment their charge is growing humble, and the Screwtape remarks that:

“This is very bad. Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is especially true of humility. Catch him at a moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection “By jove! I’m being humble,” and almost immediately pride – pride at his own humility – will appear. If he awakes to the danger and tries to smother his new form of pride, make him proud of his attempt – and so on, through as many stages as you please. But don’t try this for too long, for fear you awake his sense of humour and proportion, in which case he will merely laugh at you and go to bed.” 3

Our journey this Lent began with the humility of Ashes, let us not get caught up in our disciplines so much that we think we are gaining on the Lord whom we seek and lose our sense of proportion!

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “Humility and love are precisely the graces which the men of the world can understand, if they do not comprehend doctrines. They are the graces about which there is no mystery, and they are within reach of all classes… The poorest Christian can every day find occasion for practicing love and humility.

–J. C. Ryle.

LENTEN DISCIPLINE – Today examine and measure every aspect of your life by taking an inventory including family, work, society, politics, economics, values, and desires— against the model of humility set forth by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. What conclusions do you reach? Share those with a fellow traveler on the journey this Lent