Friday evening

                                          2 John 5

  

  let 

  us 

  love one another

The Eve of Pentecost

             Antiphon on Psalm 33 

              on the Eve of Pentecost

   

   The 

    Spirit 

   of the 

   Lord 

   has 

   filled

   the 

   whole 

   earth,     

   hallelujah.

                                        Today our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters celebrated Saint Matthias apostle who took the place of Judas Iscariot 

and was there for Pentecost and the coming 

of the Holy Spirit. It's not always so nicely 

tucked in, but I thought it was nice today 

and worth a mention…. 

Thursday evening

                                      Evening Prayer 

                                          BCP Page 124

give rest 

to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the afflicted  pity the afflicted, shield  the joyous, and all 

for your loves’s sake. 

Today we celebrate The Confession of St Peter, which begins The Week of Payer for Christian Unity, and Martin Luther King Day.

   Mark 8:39

But 

what 

about 

you? 

Who 

do 

you 

say

that 

I am?”

       Keep 

       your 

       Church 

       steadfast 

       upon the 

       rock of 

       this faith  

        - Collect 

St Clement, Bishop of Rome, circa 10, according to early tradition, a disciple of the Apostles, and the third Bishop of Rome.

                                              Psalm 106:7a

In Egypt they did not con-sider your marvelous works, 

nor remember the 

abundance of your love…

Grant 

that 

your 

Church 

may be 

grounded 

and settled 

in your truth 

by the indwelling 

of the Holy Spirit.. 

               - Collect 

Pray for 

Roman Catholics throughout the world, and for the Present Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis  

I was as surprised as you were to get this verse. I unusually just rush past it, to be honest, as ancient history…. Let me take you on my journey to it: this morning I read a refection emailed to me, the point gist  of which is   “God works while we wait,” which I really like. Then I sat down to do Morning Prayer and there was the antiphon to the first part of Psalm 106 which is appointed for today :  “Remember us, O Lord, with the favor you have for your people, and visit us with your saving help, hallelujah.” And I thought: that’s a good one. Not just to me, but to “your people,” us, all of us, but first, our ancestors, the Jews. But that wasn’t it and I read on to this one that is the one.  In Egypt they did not consider your marvelous works, nor remember the abundance of your love… I have another friend at church who also played a part here. "It takes a parish....?"  He's now retired , but when he was working, when I would ask  how he was, he’d say “My fingernails are really dirty,” alluding  to the slavery in Egypt. So the idea is Joy’s. The image is Steve’s. And the verse is ours. Thanks be to God. 

Today we celebrate CS Lewis, born 1898, apologist and spiritual writer who died on this day in 1963.

                                             REVELATION 22:17

LET
ANY-
ONE
WHO
WISHES
TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE AS A GIFT.

“I believe in Christianity 

as I believe

 that  the sun 

has risen; not 

only because 

I see it, but 

because 

by it 

I see."

Pray today for all colleges & universities, for those who are search-

ing for meaning & truth, & for those who make Christianity clear & compelling.

Martin Bishop of Tours, 316-397 and Veteran's Day

                                                                    Psalm 119:94

I am 

yours, 

Oh, 

that 

you would save me! 

Born of pagan parents, at the age of 10, Martin, became a Christ-ian catechumen. (Baptism w as not something that you just sashayed in and did in the early church!)  At 15, as the the son of an Army  veteran, Martin was conscripted into the Roman Army. One winter  night in Amiens he met a half naked, shivering beggar. Having nothing else to give him, Martin cut of this own cloak in two & gave half to him. (Until I saw this picture I never could figure out how a half of a cloak could help either one!) At night, in a dream, he saw Jesus wearing his half cloak. Over time, he came to see his military service came  to be odds with his  Christian faith and he left the Army.  And the rest, as they say, is history/his story.  We remember him today as Bishop of Tours and one of the founders of the Celtic Church which spread the Gospel through-out the British Isles  & elsewhere.

On this Veterans Day,  

as we recall the guns of World War 1, “the war 

to end all wars,”  falling silent at 11am on this 11th day of the 11th month, of 1918, pray especially for all service men & women  &  vete-rans, for military chap-lains, for conscientious objectors & all who work for  peace. Pray also for a spirit of generosity to the poor.