“Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” from the Revelation to St. John the Divine. You may recognize those words. You hear them every Sunday. In fact, we sing them every Sunday, or at least a variation of it. We sometimes use the Latin word, “Sanctus” to describe that phrase. It is inserted in our service during the Eucharistic prayer, where
June 9th, 2019
Pentecost – The Gift of the Spirit
The word Pentecost in Greek means Fifty Days, and is the translation of the Hebrew word Shavout, meaning “weeks,” specifically, the seven weeks since Passover. Shavout, or “The Feast of Weeks” commemorates the giving of the Law, the Torah, to Moses at Mt. Sinai. The Christian feast of Pentecost Sunday commemorates the giving of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. The color of this feast is Red, which reminds us
June 2nd, 2019
The Seventh Sunday of Easter
John 17:20-26 20 “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may
May 26th, 2019
The Sixth Sunday of Easter
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you,” from the Gospel according to St. John. St. John uses the
May 19th, 2019
The Fifth Sunday of Easter
And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” … from the Revelation to St. John the Divine, 19:1,4-9 You will notice that this reading from the Revelation to St. John the Divine is filled with images of marriage. Listen to these words: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our
May 12th, 2019
The Fourth Sunday of Easter – Mothers Day
Acts of the Apostles 13:15-16, 26-39 Happy Mother’s Day to the dear Mothers here among us. St. Paul wrote to St. Timothy to regard all older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters. This shows his love and respect for all women, and we men today would be wise to do the same. And Happy Mother’s Day to the Mother of our Lord, the Ever Blessed Virgin Mary, the
May 5th, 2019
The Third Sunday of Easter
John 21:1-14 Our Gospel reading this morning chronicles the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples since he was raised from the dead. You will recall that last Sunday we heard about the first two appearances. Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” What
