"Hymn Without End"

From Derek Olsen at the Episcopal Café:

One of the great liturgical truths is that when we pray, we never pray alone. Even when we are physically alone, our prayer is never solitary but is woven into the greater garland of unceasing prayer that surrounds the throne of God and of the Lamb, the chorus of—as the Book of Revelation shows us—the four living creatures, the twenty-four elders, the choirs of angels, the great throng that none could number band, ultimately, every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and in the seas.

Speaking truthfully, our prayer, our praise, our worship, doesn’t truly begin or end; rather we simply rejoin ourselves to the hymn without end.

I've often thought of the "cloud of witnesses" who join with us when we pray, but mostly with regard to public worship, rather than private prayer. But Derek puts it so beautifully when he speaks of the never-ending cycle of prayer in which we may join at will, even when we pray privately. The saints in heaven and the faithful on earth pray with us, whether we are physically alone or with others.

That imagery from Revelation resonates powerfully, because, to me, it is a metaphor for true worship, the attitude of heart with which we approach the throne of grace.

Often when I take my walk in the evening, I pray this daily devotion:

At the Close of Day

Psalm 134

"Behold now, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, you that stand by night in the house of the LORD.

Lift up your hands in the holy place and bless the LORD; the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you out of Zion."

A Reading

"Lord, you are in the midst of us and we are called by your Name: Do not forsake us, O Lord our God."

Jeremiah 14: 9, 22

"Lord, you now have set your servant free to go in peace as you have promised;

For these eyes of mine have seen the Savior, whom you have prepared for all the world to see;

A Light to enlighten the nations, and the glory of your people Israel."

Prayers for ourselves and others may follow. It is appropriate that prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings of the day, and penitence for our sins, be included.

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect

"Visit this place, O Lord, and drive far from it all snares of the enemy; let your holy angels dwell with us to preserve us in peace; and let your blessing be upon us always; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bless us and keep us. Amen."

Book of Common Prayer, p.140

Tonight, as I prayed, I was mindful of of the many saints on earth and in heaven who prayed with me, some perhaps saying the very same prayers. Surely someone, somewhere said "The Lord's Prayer" with me.

From Our Friend Rowan, The Dog

Rowan at It's A Dog's Life has a story. It's a bit of a scary story about Rowan and his best friend, Lindy. But Rowan is a strong, brave dog, who helps Lindy to be brave, too.

Life won't be easy for either Rowan or Lindy for the next 45 days. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a virtual hug or two. No real hugs for Rowan from visitors for a while.

Amazing Grace - Elysian Trumpet

In a previous post, I wrote about the fantastic sound of the Elysian Trumpet and the beautiful musicianship of Irvin Mayfield, Jr. when he played "Amazing Grace" at the Eucharistic service at Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans, during the House of Bishops meeting. You can watch and hear his performance.

Scroll down to:

Irvin Mayfield plays Amazing Grace

(09/23/07) Jazz trumpeter Irvin Mayfield plays Amazing Grace during a September 23 at Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans.

Click to watch and listen.

UPDATE: The link takes you to Bishop Katharine's video. You must scroll down to get to the Mayfield video.

Congratulations, Al Gore!

As you probably know, Al Gore, the man who, had justice prevailed, would likely be president of the US today, has won the Nobel Peace Prize, together with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But for the machinations of the Bush gang and the collusion of the US Supreme Court, he'd have been president in 2000 and likely reelected in 2004.

Congratulations! It's a well-deserved honor.

Feast Day Of Philip The Deacon

Ormonde Plater at Through the Dust has a post on Philip. Being a deacon himself - or, I should say, an archdeacon - he keeps us posted on the stories of the deacons - those neglected, but faithful, followers of Jesus, who, through the ages have done much of the hard work of the church.

READINGS:

Psalm 67
Isaiah 53:7-11 or
Acts 8:26-40
Matthew 28:18-20

PRAYER

Holy God, no one is excluded from your love; and your truth transforms the minds of all who seek you: as your servant Philip was led to embrace the fullness of your salvation and to bring the stranger to Baptism, so give us all the grace to be heralds of the Gospel, proclaiming your love in Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

UPDATE: Padre Mickey has a lovely post on Philip the Deacon, too. I did not know that El Padre posted on deacon saints. Now I know, and I will check out his blog before I post next time. Perdóneme, Padre.

Nonviolence - The Way Of Francis Of Assisi

What follows is an excerpt from Fr. John Dear's new book, You Will Be My Witnesses, a reflection on the life of Francis of Assisi and nonviolence. Fr. John is a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest and peace activist.

The essay is titled, "St. Francis and the Way of Nonviolence". Fr. John tells of attending a conference of Catholic peace activists in Assisi, Italy. Although the talks at the conference were very good, he left the conference site and began to walk around the area of Assisi and the places frequented by St. Francis.

...I was so overwhelmed by the beauty and peace that radiated from Assisi, that I skipped the talks, wandered through the churches, strolled through the streets, and hiked the nearby fields and hills. I prayed at Francis' tomb, meditated in the little chapel of the Portiuncula, which he built by hand, and toured San Damiano. Two years later, after a second pilgrimage to Assisi, I took the long bus ride to La Verna, the mountaintop where he received the stigmata shortly before his death. During those holy days, I understood anew Francis' life of prayer, poverty, penance, preaching, and peace. His prayer became embedded in me: "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace."
....

"We have only just begun to practice the Gospel," Francis told his followers as he died. Today we hear Francis tell us to embrace simplicity and poverty, serve those who are poor and needy, live in peace and nonviolence, love one another including our enemies, spend our days in contemplative prayer, and be devoted servants of Jesus and his Gospel. "While you are proclaiming peace with your lips," he wrote, "be careful to have it even more fully in your heart." He once explained, "If you own possessions, you need weapons to protect them and so we do not own anything and we are at peace with everyone."

Francis' logic points the way toward personal, social, and global justice and peace If each one of us practiced Gospel simplicity, voluntary poverty, and downward mobility, like Francis, we would share the world's resources with one another, have nothing to fear from others, and live in peace with everyone. If the whole world, especially the First World nations, practiced the Franciscan ethic of social justice and nonviolence, hunger and warfare would end....

Francis is not just for the birds. His life example and witness hold the key to the solutions of all the world's problems. He may be the greatest of Jesus' witnesses.

"I have done my part," Francis said to the friars around him as he died. "May Christ teach you to do yours." May we all do our part, like Francis, and become instruments of Christ's peace.

Thanks to Jane at Acts of Hope for the link to the essay.

Here's the comment that I left at Jane's blog:

Jane, I just finished reading the meditation by Fr John Dear on St. Francis. How powerful! What a man! Both of them Francis and Fr John.

When Roman Catholics practice the radical call of the Gospels, they tend to get it very right.

That's the church that I abandoned, but I have great admiration for many saints operating within the church. They go about their business of following the Gospel of Jesus Christ within the institution, often despite the institution.

We could learn a lesson from them in the Episcopal Church. Every church is corrupt in it's own way, but it's possible for Christians within the church to continue to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, often despite the church.

October 6, 2007 7:09 PM

From his website:

Rev, John Dear S.J. is a Jesuit Priest, Peace Activist, Organizer, Lecturer, Retreat leader, and author/editor of 20 books on peace and nonviolence, including Living Peace, published by Doubleday.

At the site, you can purchase his book, Transfiguration, with a foreword by Desmond Tutu. Also available is a movie titled, The Narrow Path:

A New DVD film
“THE NARROW PATH: Walking Toward Peace and Nonviolence with John Dear, S.J.”
featuring music by Joan Baez and Jackson Browne, with cameos by Daniel Berrigan, Cindy Sheehan, Martin Sheen, Kathy Kelly and Ron Kovic.

The very idea of downward mobility! Why it's positively un-American.

Let me emphasize that I make no pretense of following the way of St. Francis in embracing Lady Poverty. I think it's the right way to go, but I don't do it. That is sin. However, I persist in keeping the ideal in my sight, however unlikely it is that I will ever live up to it. Perhaps, one day, by the grace of God....

With respect to pacifism, I'm not there either. I believe violence should be the absolute last resort. We should try every other means before doing violence. I wonder if there is such a thing as a just war. Perhaps all wars are unjust. However, if I saw an adult doing grave harm to a child, and I had the means to stop the violence, I would do it, although it involved violence on my part.

Lord, make me a channel of your peace.

Bishops Wade In

From the Church Times:

THE BISHOP of Louisiana, the Rt Revd Charles Jenkins, was sitting in what look like the biggest trailer in the world. It’s parked on a car lot outside Walgreens, a former drugstore that is evolving into a church and community centre in the poverty-stricken, storm-wrecked Lower Ninth ward of New Orleans.
....

Away from the stunning architecture of the tourist areas and wealthy residential districts, this city shocks you to the core, which is why the larger-than-life Bishop Jenkins declared himself mighty glad that the House of Bishops chose to come here.
....

EIGHTY PER CENT of New Orleans was flooded when the levees broke during Katrina and released a 12-foot torrent of water through the city. Only the high ground of this crescent-shaped city on the Gulf of Mississippi was spared. Stinking water stood up to eight feet high for weeks in homes that had had to be abandoned instantly, and where bloated bodies remained until they could be retrieved. Scrawled marks remain on houses, indicating how many corpses and cats and dogs were taken out.

Flimsy trailers outside rotting homes house the optimists. They won’t abandon their houses, even though they will have to be gutted and rebuilt if they are ever to be fit to live in again.

I met Valerie, a feisty black woman whose house was almost entirely swept away, so that only two sets of stone steps were left. She has kept them as a monument outside the wire fence round her trailer. She has created a compound within which she fights on for the federal government to recognise the plight of the hundreds of thousands who want their homes back.

Remember that this city has been virtually abandoned by the federal government, the state government, and the city government. As of today, help still comes too little and too late. The great accomplishments in rebuilding and recovery come from the determination and labor of the people of the city and compassionate volunteers.

Whatever you think of the document that came out of the House of Bishops meeting in New Orleans, as a native of the city, I will ever be grateful that the bishops chose to meet there and see for themselves the scope of the disaster and the slow recovery, and I thank them for spending a day working in the recovery effort.

I thank Bishop Charles Jenkins for his efforts and powers of persuasion in bringing the bishops to New Orleans. He has been a force behind the work of recovery, and I thank him for that, too.

I thank the Church Times for a very nice job of reporting here.

...give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Link from The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana.

Thought For The Day - If God Cries

If God cries, (we know that Jesus wept) I have the sense that the possible break-up of the Anglican Communion is not No. 1 on the list of what makes God cry.

Feast Day Of Robert Grosseteste

A 13th century portrait of Grosseteste from Wiki.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Robert Grosseteste - Bishop of Lincoln and one of the most learned men of the Middle Ages; b. about 1175; d. 9 October, 1253. He came from Stradbroke in the county of Suffolk.
....

Grosseteste was a man of such varied interests and his career was so many-sided that it will be better to touch separately on his numerous activities than to attempt a chronological account of his life. His work as a teacher, a philosopher, and a man of learning, is naturally more especially connected with his Oxford career, but his episcopal duties, so zealously performed, did not diminish his scholarly interests, while the fact that Oxford was in his diocese, and in a sense under his government, kept him in the closest touch with the university....Though he was from many points of view a schoolman, his interests lay rather in moral questions than in logical or metaphysical. In his lectures he laid more stress on the study of Scripture than on intellectual speculation. His real originality lay in his effort to get at the original authorities, and in his insistence on experiment in science. It was this which drew from Roger Bacon the many expressions of enthusiastic admiration which are to be found in his works. In the "Opus Tertium" he says: "No one really knew the sciences, except the Lord Robert, Bishop of Lincoln, by reason of his length of life and experience, as well as of his studiousness and zeal. He knew mathematics and perspective, and there was nothing which he was unable to know, and at the same time he was sufficiently acquainted with languages to be able to understand the saints and the philosophers and the wise men of antiquity."

Grosseteste seems a true Renaissance man coming out of the Middle Ages. The testimonies to his learning seem nearly beyond belief, but the work he left behind attests that these references were not exaggerated.

From James Kiefer at the Lectionary:

Grosseteste's scholarly writings embraced many fields of learning. He translated into Latin the Ethics of Aristotle and the theological works of John of Damascus and of the fifth-century writer known as Dionysius the Areopagite. He was skilled in poetry, music, architecture, mathematics, astronomy, optics, and physics (one of his pupils was Roger Bacon). His writings on the first chapter of Genesis include an interesting anticipation of modern cosmological ideas. (He read that the first thing created was light, and said that the universe began with pure energy exploding from a point source.) He knew Hebrew and Greek, and his Biblical studies were a notable contribution to the scholarship of the day.

His conclusion on the origins of the universe, coming out of the 13th century, is astonishing to me. Many churchmen of today seem quite dismissive of science and scientific methods. What a breath of fresh air blowing back from the Middle Ages to reteach us that we Christians have nothing to fear from science. We should rather embrace it, with Grosseteste as one of our examples, and trust that the knowledge gleaned from science may, in fact, draw us closer to God.

Back to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

It was while at Oxford that Grosseteste formed an intimate and lifelong friendship with the newly arrived Franciscans. It is quite possible that he was chancellor when the friars first came to Oxford, the Dominicans in 1221 and the Franciscans three years later; he at any rate befriended the latter in a very practical manner by being the first lecturer in the school which was one of the earliest of their very simple buildings. Short of becoming a friar himself, as indeed he at one time thought of doing, he could not have identified himself more closely with the sons of St. Francis, and his influence with them was proportionately great. He must have helped to give theEnglish Franciscans that devotion to learning which was one of their most distinguishing characteristics, and which affected the whole history of the order.
....

The diocese which for eighteen years Grosseteste administered was the largest in England; it extended from the Humber to the Thames, and included no less than nine counties; and the work of government and reform was rendered particularly difficult by the litigious character of the age. In every direction the bishop would find powerful corporations exceedingly tenacious in their rights. From the very first he revived the practice of visitations, and made them exceedingly searching. His circular letters to his archdeacons, and his constitutions enlighten us on the many reforms which he considered necessary both for the clergy and their flocks.

These visitations, however, brought the bishop into conflict with the dean and chapter, who claimed exemption for themselves and their churches. The dispute broke out in 1239 and lasted six years. Grosseteste discussed the whole question of episcopal authority in a long letter (Letter cxxvii, "Rob. Grosseteste Epistolæ", Rolls Series, 1861) to the dean and chapter, and was forced to suspend and ultimately to deprive the dean, while the canons refused to attend in the chapter house. There were appeals to the pope and counter appeals and several attempts at arbitration. Eventually, Innocent IV settled the question, in the bishop's favour, at Lyons in 1245.

Oh, could we only return to those halcyon, peaceful days in the church off the past. We seem shocked that the people of God are fighting amongst themselves at the present time, but we forget that it was ever thus. There were no periods without conflict in the history of Christianity.

The Bishop of Lincoln held a high position in the State, but his relations with the civil authorities were unusually difficult, as he had to carry out the duties of his office during such a period of misgovernment as the reign of Henry III. Personally, he was usually on friendly terms with the king and his family; but he was often in opposition to the royal policy, both in ecclesiastical and civil matters, and threatened on one occasion to lay the king's chapel under an interdict.
....

Grosseteste before his death was full of anxiety for the state of the country and dread for the civil war which was so soon to break out. He was buried in his cathedral. Very soon he was regarded almost universally in England as a saint. The chroniclers tell of miracles at his tomb, and pilgrims visited it. Early in the following century a Bishop of Lincoln granted them an indulgence. Efforts were made by different prelates, by Edward I, and by the University of Oxford to procure his canonization by the pope, but they were all unsuccessful.

I'm pleased that the Episcopal Church has deemed it fitting to set aside a day to celebrate the feast of St. Robert Grosseteste. He's "a man for all seasons".

READINGS:

Psalm 112:1-9 or 23
Acts 20:28-32
Luke 16:10-15

PRAYER
O God our heavenly Father, who raised up your faithful servant Robert Grosseteste to be a bishop and pastor in your Church and to feed your flock: Give to all pastors abundant gifts of your Holy Spirit, that they may minister in your household as true servants of Christ and stewards of your divine mysteries; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

More on St. Bill

Ormonde Plater at Through The Dust has a picture and more information on Bill Richardson, whose story I linked to in "A Saint Has Died".