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The collect for today, the 14th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
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.
The Epistle: Galatians 5:16-24
The Gospel: St Luke 17:11-19
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The collect for today, the 13th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
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.
The Epistle: Galatians 3:16-22
The Gospel: St Luke 10:23-37
Artwork: Rembrandt, The Good Samaritan, 1630. Oil panel, Wallace Collection, London.
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The collect for today, the 12th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
Almighty and everlasting God, thou art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than 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.
The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 3:4-9
The Gospel: St Mark 7:31-37
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The Collect for today, the Holy Day of the Transfiguration of our Lord (source):
O God, who on the holy mount didst reveal to chosen witnesses thy well-beloved Son wonderfully transfigured: Mercifully grant unto us such a vision of his divine majesty, that we, being purified and strengthened by thy grace, may be transformed into his likeness from glory to glory; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle: 2 St Peter 1:16-21
The Gospel: St Matthew 17:1-9
Artwork: Transfiguration, Mosaic, Franciscan Basilica of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor, Israel.
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The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint Oswald (d. 642), King of Northumbria, Martyr (source):
O Lord God almighty,
who didst so kindle the faith of thy servant King Oswald with thy Spirit
that he set up the sign of the cross in his kingdom
and turned his people to the light of Christ:
grant that we, being fired by the same Spirit,
may ever bear our cross before the world
and be found faithful servants of the gospel;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
At the Battle of Heavenfield, AD 635, the army of Prince Oswald defeated the forces of pagan king Cadwalla of Gwynedd (north Wales). Oswald was a Christian and nephew of King Edwin, the man Cadwalla had defeated a few years earlier to conquer the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Heavenfield proved to be a key battle in English history for it marked the end of paganism as a religious and political force in England.
Knowing that the fate of his kingdom would be decided on the following day, Oswald had a wooden cross erected beside which he and his men knelt and prayed to the Lord for victory. The badly outnumbered Christian soldiers defeated their apparently over-confident adversaries, and Oswald became King of Northumbria.
After his victory, Oswald invited monks to come from Iona and establish a monastery at Lindisfarne, the Holy Island. This was to become one of England’s most important centres of Christian scholarship and evangelism.
King Oswald was killed in battle in 642 defending his land and people against the pagan king Penda of Mercia.
More on St Oswald here.
Artwork: Ford Madox Brown, St Oswald Receiving St Aidan, 1864. Oil on canvas, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Liverpool.
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This morning's processional hymn at Christ Church Cathedral, Whitehorse. (Hymn #620 in the Anglican Church of Canada's hymn book, Common Praise.)
How sweet the Name of Jesus sounds
in a believer's ear!
It soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
and drives away his fear.It makes the wounded spirit whole,
and calms the troubled breast;
'tis manna to the hungry soul,
and to the weary, rest.Dear Name, the rock on which I build,
my shield and hiding-place,
my never-failing treasury, filled
with boundless stores of grace!Jesus! my Shepherd, Brother, Friend,
my Prophet, Priest and King,
my Lord, my Life, my Way, my End,
accept the praise I bring.Weak is the effort of my heart,
and cold my warmest thought;
but when I see thee as thou art,
I'll praise thee as I ought.Till then I would thy love proclaim
with every fleeting breath;
and may the music of thy Name
refresh my soul in death!
Words: John Newton (1725-1807), 1779
Music: St. Peter, Alexander Robert Reinagle, 1799-1877
That hymn lifted my spirits this morning. I needed to hear its message.
When I was told that retiring and moving are two of the most stressful experiences that can happen in one’s life, I was sceptical. I’d moved before and survived, and what’s so stressful about not going to work? After what’s been happening in the past few months, however, I am sceptical no more. Winding up personal and work-related affairs and getting ready for a big move across the country can take up a lot of time.
I apologise for infrequent blogging here for the past month, but I find I have neither time nor energy. Most days I am unable to keep up with blogs that I used to read regularly.
So, here is the news from this corner of Canada’s frozen North: My final day at work is to be this Thursday, 7 August. After some anxious waiting and many prayers, our house finally sold. The movers come to take our stuff away on 21 August, the new owners take possession on 22 August, and we travel south on 25 August. We will visit Calgary for about a week and then fly on to Halifax. Our new house, now being built in Falmouth, Nova Scotia, is on schedule, we are told, and will be ready for occupancy in early September.
We are looking forward to our big adventure, but it will be nice to be all moved in and settled.
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The collect for today, the 11th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
O God, who declarest thy almighty power most chiefly in shewing mercy and pity; Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that we, running the way of thy commandments, may obtain thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
The Gospel: St Luke 18:9-14
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The collect for today, the Commemoration of William Wilberforce (1759-1833), English MP, evangelical, abolitionist (source):
O God our deliverer,
who didst send thy Son Jesus Christ
to set thy people free from the slavery of sin:
grant that, as thy servant William Wilberforce
toiled against the sin of slavery,
so we may bring compassion to all,
and work for the liberty of all the children of God;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Epistle: Galatians 3:23-29
The Gospel: St Matthew 25:31-40
Photo of William Wilberforce statue, St John's College, Cambridge, taken 18 July 2004.
Previous related posts:
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The Collect for today, the 10th Sunday After Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
Let thy merciful ears, O Lord, be open to the prayers of thy humble servants; and that they may obtain their petitions make them to ask such things as shall please thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
The Gospel: St Luke 19:41-47a
Artwork: Jacopo Bassano, The Purification of the Temple, c. 1580, Oil on canvas, National Gallery, London.
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The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint James the Apostle, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
Grant, O merciful God, that as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him; so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Epistle: Acts 11:27-12:3a
The Gospel: St Matthew 20:20-28
Artwork: Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, St James the Greater Conquering the Moors, 1749. Oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
The painting shows St James as the slayer of Moors (Santiago Matamoros) and a defender of Christianity in Spain. The saint is said to have appeared on a white horse at the Battle of Clavijo in 844, while the Christians were in retreat before the onslaught of the Arab and Berber invaders. Thanks to James’s miraculous appearance, the Moors were defeated.
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The collect for today, the Feast Day of Saint Mary Magdalene (source):
Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and of mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by your grace we may be healed from all our infirmities and know you in the power of his unending life; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:14-18
The Gospel: St John 20:11-18
Artwork: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Mary Magdalene, 1877. Watercolour on paper, Tate, London.
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The collect for today, the 9th Sunday after Trinity, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:
Grant to us, Lord, we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as be rightful; that we, who cannot do any thing that is good without thee, may by thee be enabled to live according to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
The Gospel: St Luke 16:1-9
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