The Feast of St Thomas, Apostle

                                                                      Matthew 26:31-56*

When 

the 

Son 

of 

Man 

comes 

in his 

glory,  he will... separate people from one another 

as a shepherd separates the sheep from the

goats…  Then the king will say “Just as you 

have treated the least of these who 

are members of my household, 

so you have treated me.

*The LJB Translation

Last night's O Antiphon

O Key 

of David,

& Scepter of the house 

of Israel,  

you open & no one can shut, you shut & no one can open:  Come 

& bring the captives 

out of the prison house, those who 

sit in darkness and the shadow of death. 

Today the Roman calendar remembers Origen (c184-253) "the greatest theologian of the early Greek Church."

                                                      Zechariah 8:6

Even though it seems

im-possible

...in these days, should it also be 
impossible for me, says the Lord of hosts?   

O Antiphon December 19

O Root 

of Jesse, 

you stand 

as an ensign

to the peoples,

before you 

kings will 

shut their mouths, 

and nations bow in worship;

       Come and deliver us and tarry not.  

Thursday

                                                      Psalm 50:1,2

The Lord,
the God 

of gods, 
has spoken; 
he has called 
the earth
from the rising
of the sun
to it’s setting.  
Out of Zion, 
prefect in beauty, 
God reveals himself in glory.

Evening Prayer Dec 18

                                                  Tonight’s O Antiphon

O Adonai, 
& Leader of the house 
of David, 
you appeared 

in the bush to Moses in a flame of fire, and gave him the law on Sinai:  Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm. 

     

     

     

Today is one of three Ember Days that come after the feast of St Lucy on Dec 13. Pray for the ministry of the church.

   Psalm 119:49

Remember 

your 

word 

to 

your 

servant, 

because 

you have given me hope. 

To my mind, one of the most astounding sentences in the New Testament is: “And the angel departed.” And there Mary was, pregnant, unmarried, alone.  Elizabeth knew, in time, that she was carrying  the Son of God. And thank goodness Joseph knew, having been reassured by an angel. (How could she have ever explained?!)  I imagine Mary praying, hanging on to these words through the long  months of her pregnancy, through the uncomfortable trip to Bethlehem and the birth on that cold night But  it didn't end there - through the years of  his growing up, through the years of his ministry,  and finally thorough the excruciating death she watched him endure,. In the darkness, don’t you think she wondered “The angel said what?” And so each of us struggles with the knowledge of what is ours alone to do and we each pray in our own heart “Remember your word to me. You have given me hope, now give me strength to see it through wherever it leads.... .”