St. Mary the Virgin Anglican Church, Regina, Saskatchewan
STIR up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Continue reading “November 26th, 2017 – Sunday next before Advent”
In today’s Gospel lesson we have the third of four advent parables Jesus tells in 25th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Last week we had the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, today it’s the Parable of the Talents, and next week, we will have the climatic parable, the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. So stay tuned, and do not adjust your sets. Continue reading “Trinity 23, Nov 19 2017 Canon Claude Schroeder. Sermon on Matthew 25.14-30”
O GOD, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness: Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Father is my hope; the Son is my refuge, the Holy Spirit is my Protector,
All Holy Trinity, Glory to Thee!
Prayer on Entering the Church
I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear I will worship toward thy holy temple. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before me, that with a clear mind I may glorify thee forever, One Divine Power worshipped in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Continue reading “November 19th, 2017: Twenty Third Sunday after Trinity”
(1 Thess. 4.13-18; Matt. 25.1-13)
In preparing for the service today, I was contemplating changing the lectionary readings assigned for this Sunday, in favour of those for Remembrance Day.
In the end, I stuck with the assigned readings, which it seems to me speak powerfully to the occasion. Our theme today is not so much that of war and peace, but of hope.
What is the hope that we as Christians have for the future in the midst of this violent, war-torn world? Continue reading “St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Trinity 22, Nov 12 2017 Canon Claude Schroeder”
LORD, we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“The Father is my hope; the Son is my refuge, the Holy Spirit is my Protector, All Holy Trinity, Glory to Thee!” Continue reading “November 12th, 2017 – Twenty Second Sunday after Trinity”
O ALMIGHTY God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord: Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Entrance Hymn # 525 The Church’s One Foundation Continue reading “November 5th, 2017 Feast of All Saints”
Death is that mystery which transcends human experience and knowledge. Nobody knows a particular instance they may announce their passing, “It is finished!” Let us hold to that thought for a moment because we will revisit it in our discussion about the life of Moses, Paul, Jesus and the Christian saints.
Imagine you are Moses who received the saddest news of your death, that you will not enjoy fruits of liberation: “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ’I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see I’t with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it” (Deut. 34: 4).
Continue reading “October 29, 2017; Trinity 20; Rev. Nathaniel”
From the Rector’s Desk…
The Feast of All Saints, which falls on Nov. 1 in our calendar, has been observed in Eastern Christianity since the fourth century. It was established in the West when the Pantheon in Rome was consecrated in A.D. 609 and dedicated to the Blessèd Virgin Mary and all the martyrs.
There was a saying that made the round in the early church: “The Blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church” The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, shows us how acutely aware the early Church was, under persecution, of the presence and prayers of those who had given their lives in witness to the gospel. (Revelation 6. 9-11) Over time, the Feast of All Saints became the occasion for commemorating and celebrating the witness of so many holy men and women whose manner of life truly conformed to the life of the Gospel, and in whom the power of Jesus’ Resurrection was extraordinarily manifest.
Why remember the saints? In a word, this belongs to the fullness of the catholic faith.
O Almighty and most merciful God, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that thou wouldest have done; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Opening Hymn: # 380 O Worship the King
Continue reading “October 29th, 2017 Twentieth Sunday after Trinity”
October 22, 2017 sermon
Beth Christianson
St. Mary the Virgin Church
Regina
Exodus 33:12-23
1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Matthew 22:15-22
It is a good thing to be reminded from time to time that not everyone whose opinion differs from yours is an enemy. All things being equal, we have a lot of freedom to self-select the people we interact with most often, and it makes sense that we tend to gravitate toward people who agree with us, whose point of view is the same as ours, but you can start to get a sort of reinforcing harmonic situation going. When that happens, you can lose depth of field, to use a photography term. What’s distant from you becomes fuzzy and indistinct, and you can’t be sure what’s lurking there. All that’s in focus is the people you’ve gravitated toward, who are all saying the same things you’re saying, all looking at the world from the same perspective.