Christianity is a religion full of paradoxes—a fact Anglicans are keen to acknowledge. For instance, that the church is both open and closed. On the one hand, the church of Christ would seem to be open to all with very little needed to become a Christian. On the other hand, there is nothing more demanding…
West: Sing Unto The Lord ReviewBook Review: Sing Unto the Lord (Part 1) Book Review: Sing Unto the Lord (Part 2)Sing Unto the Lord: A Liturgical Hymnal. Anglican Music Publishing, 2023. 942 pp. $29.95 (hardcover). In my previous article, I reviewed the service music of Sing Unto the Lord, the 2023 hymnal intended for contemporary…
Before any law was given, before any liturgy was written, the light of nature taught man that God is to be worshipped, and that such worship requires a holy place. This instinct, grounded in natural religion, is one of the pillars upon which the Catholic tradition builds its sacramental and liturgical theology. Natural religion, as…
A Walk in the Ancient Western LectionaryA Walk in the Ancient Western Lectionary: An Introduction Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – The First Sunday in Advent Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending – Second Sunday in Advent On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist Cries – Third Sunday in Advent O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – The…
Thick, mist-forged shackles held us in the cave, imprisoned for the crime of losing all. We saw nothing but shadows on the wall— they gamboled and they taunted us. We gave in to the dark. A crushing fear replaced our hope for liberation with despair. Our cries withered to whimpers on thin air out in…
Robert Nelson: Festivals and FastsFestivals and Fasts: Saint Bartholomew (August 24) Festivals and Fasts: Ember Days in September Festivals and Fasts: Saint Matthew (September 21) Festivals and Fasts: Saint Michael and All Angels (September 29)Ahead of tomorrow’s anniversary of the coming of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer into statutory force in the Church of…
Decalogue Series (Rafferty)Christ, the End of the Law: The Decalogue and Christian Ethics One God and One Lord: Commandments 1-3 Keeping the Feast-Christ and the Sabbath Honoring Father and Mother Do No Murder: Love of Neighbor and the Love of God Adultery and Theft: Seizing God’s Gifts Bearing Faithful Witness Coveting and Christian DesireCommandment 6…
Words are violence softest. Limits beginning. The course of life by which we will be judged— how our utterance led all others to one thought or eclipsed the next. As boys we were corrupted by a false king and other fantasies, the designs of dirty old men imprinted on us through text with digits ethereal,…
The fractured state of North American Anglicanism is a barrier to faithfully witnessing the faith once delivered in our increasingly ungodly continent. The continent is gradually repaganizing and following the old gods, who are no gods at all. Perhaps it is odd to quote Ben Franklin. Still, his words apply to the state of affairs…
The Lord gives the grace to experience three childhoods in our life. They represent a mystical ascent Adolescence: Awakening In the beginning, you opened your eyes, and there was light. The teachers say that light reaching us in the night sky arrives late from very long ago, impossibly far away. Your infant sight unveiled, and…