The judgment of God

Sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent

Jesus says nothing.

Here is a woman pouring her heart and soul out to Jesus, and He says nothing.

She explains her predicament. She tells Him of the devil that is torturing her daughter, tearing her life apart, causing agony to the whole family as they watch her writhe in pain and cannot help her one single bit.

And He says nothing.

In fact He tells her that He is sent to the sheep of the house of Israel. He calls them children, but He calls her a dog.

And this is the God we worship.

Are you feeling uncomfortable, yet?

[PAUSE]

This does seem to cause a problem for Christians in this day and age but the problem is an old one. What happens when God is silent or doesn't seem to care. What happens when He appears to be rude and offensive?

Some say that this woman changes Our Lord's mind by showing Him that He is being narrow-minded and actually rather racist. They say that, because Our Lord is human, He is as much a product of His culture as we are. They say that He has no knowledge of His future work and that He has to learn His vocation just as we do. They say that Our Lord is shown to be wrong by this Canaanite woman.

Can you hear what's wrong with this?

[PAUSE]

It is true that Our Lord is indeed human. It is true that he possesses in His human nature all that we know to be part of our condition. We can only do so much, think so much, know so much and love so much. We are finite, feeble and frail. We are born, we suffer and we die.

Yet, we also know that Jesus is God, and that He does not just possess human nature, but God nature too. And we know that these two natures cannot be separated from each other. In His humanity, Our Lord can only do so much: He will feel emotional and physical pain; He will laugh and cry; He will fall over and even have moments of clumsiness; He will be tempted; yet He will not sin! Sin is not part of human nature. The tendency to sin and the ability to be tempted, is.

If Jesus can know whether a woman whom He has not met before is living with a man who is not her husband, then He can know that He is called for the the whole of humanity - not just Israel.

If we think He is being racist or narrow-minded, then we have accused Our Lord of sin whether or not He is a product of His culture.

If He is a product of His time, then how can His words of hope speak to people now? How can His life, death and resurrection two thousand years ago bear the same message to us and those to come?

[PAUSE]

If Our Lord's attitude to this Canaanite Woman troubles us, then what crime do we think He has committed?

He calls this woman a dog!

Except He doesn't - at least not directly. He uses an analogy which compares Gentiles to dogs, and not to wild dogs, but rather to well-beloved pet dogs.

So He's comparing her to being something lesser. He's being offensive.

Maybe. Maybe not. Where does Jesus actually demonstrate that He does not love this woman, inside and out and more than we can know? Can we judge God so quickly?

Look what happens as a result of what He says.

This poor woman finds she can respond to His words with confidence. Our Lord has given her precisely the right cue for her to speak her mind. He has said precisely the right words which allow her to articulate her faith in Him. She has already recognised Him as God - why else does she actually worship Him when she sees Him? In speaking her faith out loud to us all, she has received so much from Him and given us all much, too!

[PAUSE]

If we are troubled by the actions of Our Lord here, then maybe we are too ready to be offended to see what's really going on. This woman could have taken offence and stormed off. She didn't. She listened respectfully, responded cleverly and gently, and received more than she desired. History will remember this woman as a woman of great faith. It's a shame we don't know her name. God does and rejoices.

Too often, people are ready to judge God by their own rules and their own morals. We forget that He knows the rules so well, that He can challenge our thinking in what He says and draw us deeper into knowing Him. We therefore have to trust Him that whatever He says and does is for our benefit even if it troubles us, taxes our mind, or even downright offends us.

Our Lord will offend us because He is not a product of our age and culture, but rather goes beyond every age and culture. We should always look to trust Him, rather than to judge Him.

Goodbye to the contradiction

I know that I have been rather quiet lately. Family duties and the death of my mobile phone have made blogging a little more difficult, but this is probably for the best.

I have several projects in mind that I have brought to the Throne of Grace in my prayers so that they may be begun, continued and ended in God. I am at present tweaking the draft of a book that I have written for my Diocese. This will need a nihil obstat but, given its length and the commitments of my superiors, this will have to take some time. That is fine.

Much upon my mind is the spiritual battle that Christianity has with the prevailing culture. There is something demonic within Postmodernism that is breaking down even the ability for human beings to communicate with each other. Marx's Critical Theory is responsible for everyone to be categorised as oppressed or oppressor, victim or victor, proletariat or bourgeoisie - rather curious for a society that wants to be non-binary.

Of course, Kierkegaard would always want us to consider the both/and rather than either/or. So would Hegel for that matter. On their terms, they suggest that we should always be looking for the synthesis of two extremes rather than keeping the extremes apart.

This seems reasonable: God Himself breaks down the naive thesis-antithesis duality by being Three yet One, by indivisibly Human and Divine, by being both immanent and transcendent, by being both temporal and eternal. Yet there is one thesis-antithesis that He cannot break down - Good and Evil which we might also express as Sin and Righteousness. Yes, this is something even God cannot do - not because He is impotent, but rather because Good and Righteousness are defined in terms of His being and His divine nature, whereas Evil and Sin are defined by standing outside His divine nature.

You could ask whether God is impotent against the laws of logic. Is God Himself bound by the law of non-contradiction, that something cannot be both A  and not-A simultaneously. The writer known as Dionysius the Areopagite might expect us to leave aside all talk of Reason when it comes to discussing God. Yet, we know that within God is the very root of Reason itself - the divine Logos! God is - this is what He tells us Himself in calling Himself Yahweh or Jehovah. God is and thus He cannot not be. There is an exclusion of being both. Our modern physics may tell us that it is possible for the cat to be both alive and dead but in order to be either alive or dead, the cat still has to be.

The language of Quantum Theory is troubling to our world of common sense, but it is worth reminding ourselves that it is framed only in the language of mathematics. We know what it is to make an observation but while we might describe that observation using a self-adjoint operator on a Hilbert Space, that's not what we actually do do. We observe. Our observation does change the reality around us precisely because we are here to observe and that we do make that observation.

Of course, mathematics is infallible in what it tells us but, often, it doesn't really tell us anything that we didn't already know. Numbers exist as non-physical objects, but they do nothing. Mathematics is irrelevant without the conscious mind to manipulate it. Consciousness provides mathematics with a home in which to thrive and thus, just as God cannot be comprehended by His creation, neither can Mathematics truly comprehend the conscious mind. A science that claims it can explain consciousness is quite simply wrong.

Absolute truth exists, otherwise "there is no absolute truth" becomes absolute. Yet we can only make that observation because of the  Logos Himself. Reason is an expression of God's mind. He gives us this gift so that we might have some language in which we can communicate and debate and study and discover and glorify Him.

Although I believe that we should be careful in talking about dichotomies, I firmly believe that true dichotomies exist because God exists. Many dichotomies will be false such as the dichotomy that God is all-good, all-powerful and all-knowing and yet Evil exists. It takes reasoning and prayer to understand the truth behind such a dichotomy.

There is another dichotomy that is indeed truly binary, male and female. Postmodernism will deny this. Quite why it will deny this is up for debate, by my suspicion is that Postmodernism is an expression of inherent narcissism within our modern humanity. However, God made male and He made female. That is enough.

Watch out! Here comes virtue!

Sermon for the first Sunday in Lent

A plane crashes.

You watch the result on the television and see the terrible aftermath. Your heart goes out to the dead and their families and friends. You are genuinely saddened. So what do you do?

Write a Facebook status? A blog post? Video yourself offering thoughts and prayers? 

Why? Why do you need to do anything? No friend or family member of yours was on the plane. No-one associated with the crash is going to know who you are or how valuable your sentiments are. They are going to be concerned with rebuilding their lives. Why should your public display of grief matter?

[PAUSE]

It's a good point. We hear Our Lord say quite categorically to His followers, " when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward." He says that we should not do things for the sake of appearances. The only reward you get is everyone's approval which will very quickly grow cold like a forgotten cup of tea.

Yet, hang on. A plane has crashed. People are hurting. Surely they need to know that you're standing with them? That's a different thing. You're standing in solidarity with them, just as the saints in Heaven, even Our Lady stand in solidarity with us, just as even Our God Himself deliberately chooses human flesh so that He can stand in solidarity with us against the tragedies of our humanity. Surely, that's okay? You're letting people know so that they can find some comfort even in the most remote glimmer that somehow, somewhere, someone kind is thinking of them.

But they won't see it, will they?

Are you sure that you aren't doing something in order to be seen doing something, even if you know full well that the gesture is utterly futile?

We have to be able to see the difference between virtue signalling - expressing our morals with the intent to be socially acceptable - and true virtue. The Devil tempts us to perform acts of virtue signalling just as he tempted Our Lord. The actions of turning stones to bread to feed the hungry and throwing oneself from the top of the temple to demonstrate God's power fall are actions of virtue signalling because they are done for motives that are not pure, rather they are done for personal glory and approval from the people who would see these deeds happen.

We need to be able to tell the difference because actions of virtue signalling can be very subtle as posting something heart-warming on Facebook might demonstrate, especially when you see those "likes" build up.

[PAUSE]

This requires very, very careful examination of our own motives in our lives, and Lent helps us to do just that. It is best to ask your priest for help so that you don't go wrong, but self-examination is something that every Christian should do. The key thing is that true virtue cannot be separated from God, because all virtue comes to us by grace.

St Paul writes words of encouragement for us.

We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain... giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed; but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God.

God gives us His grace. Remember that grace is God's presence working with us and in giving us grace, He gives us Himself. We can receive God's grace in vain, as St Paul suggests, by working without God's input. However, if we are to do anything at all for good, we need the grace of God. We are made right with God through our faith and by cooperating with God. This doesn't come from good works alone, nor through faith alone, but by uniting the two in our walk with God. With God, it's not what we do, it's that we do.

[PAUSE]

We may be accused of virtue signalling even when we are not. That's irrelevant. St Paul says that, through God's grace, we can approve ourselves as the ministers of God. What does this mean? It means that, however the world looks at us, no matter how our actions are judged, or what consequences they may have, what we do for the love of God will bear God's fruit with God's grace. If we do something for God, then we are God's minister, and through working with God we can be sure that we have done something to demonstrate our love for our neighbours.

Our virtue is not for signalling: it is for doing. Can you be sure that your virtues are signals of God's presence with you?

For the love of a narcissus

Sermon for Quinquagesima

As spring approaches, we begin already to see the flowers starting to come up. In particular, in March you will see the daffodil and the narcissus start to come out in the flower beds. The narcissus, you may already know, has a particularly sad story behind it according to the Greek Myths.

In this particular myth, we see a handsome young man who deals very cruelly with the women who fall for him. Once such is a nymph called Echo whose love for him is so strong that, even when Narcissus rejects her, does not stop loving him. She mourns and pines away until only her voice is left, doomed only to repeat the last few words in the sentences she hears. As a punishment, Narcissus is doomed to fall in love with his reflection. In this way, Narcissus suffers precisely what he inflicts on others: he cannot receive his own love and eventually he, like poor Echo, wastes away until all that is left is the flower that bears his name.

This is all very well, but is this Christian?

[PAUSE]

As Christians, we are to be in the world but not of it. We may observe the story told about Narcissus and ask ourselves, “is this true? Is God telling us something through this story?” Indeed He is, and He uses St Paul to explain it to us in one of his most famous pieces of writing to us.

He tells us quite clearly: we can be expert communicators, we can be the wisest scholars, we can be the most generous person there is yet, if we do not have love, then we have already become nothing. Like both Narcissus and Echo, if our love is not really the Love that God is, we have already wasted away. What has gone wrong?

[PAUSE]

Looking carefully at what St Paul says, the work that we do to become expert communicators, wise, and generous people is not true love because any love that we are showing is being directed inwardly towards ourselves. We can give up everything we have for the sole purpose of gaining respect and affection of others. Some people do indeed do that. They are prepared to make sacrifices so that they can manipulate others through some form of respect and admiration. If our motivation is not from true love, then everything that we do, and everything that we are actually becomes nothing. It will all pass away when we die, and we shall die indeed because God is not there.

Much of the problems in society come about because people think they know what love is. They will demand the right to love whomsoever they want and express that love however they want. Yet, if we look very closely at their language of rights and love, we see that they are motivated only by a ghost of what love is. Many people behave like Narcissus and spurn true love in favour of a love that bigs up their own achievements or even their own beliefs about who they say they are. They reduce themselves to just being a communicator, a wise man, or a “nice guy”, or something else and expect us to love only that aspect of them. It’s like writing your name on a piece of paper and telling people to love that paper rather the real you, the you that really is, not a nothing that really isn’t.

What is this love, then?

[PAUSE]

It’s very simple. God creates us. God wants to create us. God has no need to create us. He does so out of no desire for Himself, but rather that we should be. This is His love and it is directed out from Himself to us, not back in on Himself.

Our love for others needs to be directed out from ourselves. This is why St Paul says, “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth.”

People who suffer for the good of others and are kind direct their love out from themselves. People who envy, or puff themselves up, or behave in an unseemly fashion, or get irritated, these are concerned only with something about themselves.

[PAUSE]

The trouble is, we now face the Joey Tribbiani question. Is there anything that we human beings do that isn’t actually selfish in some way? Possibly. Possibly not. However, one thing is clear: we cannot be anything unless we have love and draw that love from God Himself. Lent is about an examination of our relationship with God and working on turning to Him as our Creator. As long as we are looking to Him and to Him alone, whatever we do doesn’t matter for it will always be done with Love.

Come May, the narcissus will be gone, wasted away into itself. Will we?

Your credentials, please!

Sermon for Septuagesima

You hear a woman calling in the street, "repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!" Of course, you feel uncomfortable by this brazen display of being religious, but one of the questions that might go through your mind is, "who is she to say that?"

What might make us trust her message? What will give us confidence that she is qualified to go around and preach this discomfort?

What if she is a doctor of divinity from Oxbridge?
What if she is a Dominican nun?
What if she is well known for having visions from God?
What if she is an Anglican Catholic?

[PAUSE]

Everyone who makes some authoritative statement in today's society has to present their credentials so that people can be satisfied that they have the required authority and suitability for issuing that statement. We would expect someone who says, "the UK Economy will grow, this year" to have had much experience of working in the global financial industry. Likewise, we would expect someone who says, "Chocolate Orange causes ingrown toenails" to have a medical degree and substantial time in medical research before we accept that.

St Paul has to go through this procedure too. His previous message to the Church in Corinth has caused many in that Church to question his credentials. "Who is he to say that to us?" they say as St Paul takes them to task on their obsession with spiritual gifts. The trouble is that the Corinthians will not hear his message - they will not hear the word of God - until it is shown to be acceptable to their earthly way of thinking. They have ears, but they will not hear it with those ears until they cry out to Our Lord Jesus for those earth-filled ears to be unblocked.

You hear that woman's voice again! "Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand!" Is this woman speaking God's will?

[PAUSE]

You might call into question her credentials. Perhaps she got her doctorate in Divinity by bribery or studied some obscure topic such as "breakfasts of the apostles." Perhaps she has just been expelled from the Dominican Order for preaching too loudly. Perhaps her visions of God are due to a lithium imbalance in the brain. Perhaps she is one of those people who claim to be Anglican Catholic but is just using the name to validate her own sect.

If we don't want to hear the message, it's very easy to discredit the messenger.

And that's the problem. Sometimes, we focus too much on the messengers than the messages that they bring.

St Paul know this well. He regards his own credentials as being magnificently irrelevant. All that he has done, all that he has experienced, all that might give him some qualification, all that might earn him respect, all can be called into question by others because they cannot experience St Paul's life for themselves. There is no worth in his actions that will convince everyone that he is telling the truth.

This is why he is asking us to listen to his message, and evaluate that.

There she goes again, "repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!"

[PAUSE]

Suddenly, the women herself becomes irrelevant, though she is infinitely precious in the eyes of God. It is her words that we hear.

If we are good and if we are honest, we will recognise those words as being of Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Do we, too, ask Our Lord to present His credentials before we will listen to Him?

If we're Christian, there will be one thing that will convince us that this is His message and that His message is true, and that is His Cross. It is that Cross that has the most impact, the most earth-shattering, curtain-rending, heaven-rending impact which must convince the Christian of the truth of the message. This impact we call Glory.

This is how we know whether a message is true - does it bear the glory of Christ's Cross? Does it present the great truth of God made man, born, crucified, risen and ascended? If it does and holds the truth of the Gospel, the message that the Church has always possessed, then it is true and the person of the messenger is irrelevant. For this is the word of God and, in the good and honest heart, it will grow and bear fruit.

You don't need a degree in fruit-bearing for that to happen.

He can lead us into temptation but a pencil must be lead

Recently, Pope Francis has (again) courted controversy this time with his views on the Lord's Prayer. He takes issue with "lead us not into temptation" because he says, "A father does not do that, a father helps you to get up immediately." He prefers to say, "do not let us fall into temptation".

The trouble is that the Greek text which is the earliest record of what the Lord says does say quite clearly "lead us not into temptation". The Greek word is eisenegkēs - "may you bring into..." - a very clear expression of us being led by God. However, what does this actually mean? Is God responsible for putting us into positions where we can be tempted away from Him.

There is an apparent contradiction here:

1) God wills us nothing but Good.
2) God might lead us into temptation.

We must appreciate the hurt and scandal that our Patriarch is trying to address here. There seems to be an inconsistency in God's behaviour towards us. However, we need to try and unpack what Our Lord says when He tells us to pray "lead us not into temptation."

The Greek word peirasmos can mean an experiment, trial or a test. When the Lord is taken into the desert specifically to be tempted (peirasthēnai) of the Devil in St Matthew iv.1, who does the leading? Answer: the Holy Spirit.  God leads His Son into temptation! In verse 7, we hear "Thou shalt not put the Lord to the test" and the verb "putting to the test" (ekpeiraseis) is again related to peirasmos.

It seems that when the Lord tells us to pray "lead us not into temptation" He means it. What of Pope Francis' objections?

It is clear that we need to understand peirasmos. What is temptation?

When we are tempted, we are faced with a choice: there is one choice which is immediately preferable but has serious consequences; there is another which appears hard but ultimately will bring about some good. The chocolate biscuit tastes nice, but not having diabetes is nicer. It seems, then, that temptation is a battle of wills.

Consider the Agony in the Garden. A choice presents itself to Our Lord Himself who seems never to be free from temptation in the way we are only He does not sin. This Agony comes from a very simple question, "Do I have to be crucified?" His Father's will has led Him to this occasion in which the temptation arises. The Lord's human will is tempted, but He aligns it to the Father's will which causes this agony. Our Lord articulates this desire that the cup should pass from Him and, in doing so, He presents His human will to God and thus gives it the respect of its God-given dignity. However, He seeks only the will of His Father.

Our Lord knows what it is to be led into temptation, and He doesn't wish it upon us. He does not want us to suffer, but knows that we must because of the very nature of what it is to love. Love opens itself up to be wounded: there must be agony. God does not want suffering, but suffering is necessary for some greater good that we cannot understand but rather must accept as we learn to trust God.

It is clear that, by telling us to pray not to be led into temptation, Our Lord is saying that we should not want to be put into this position of having to choose between God and not-God. What we should want is for there to be no choice for us to make, that things should be clear-cut if not easy. This means being utterly aligned to the Father's will even as He is.

It also seems that Our Lord is tempted so that we shouldn't have to be.

Thus, we need to voice to God that we do not seek out to be tempted - we do not want the martyr's death - but rather prefer the stable, quiet life in God. We can see this if we try making the opposite prayer: "lead us into temptation!" While this might appear the prayer of a champion of the Faith to test his resolve, we notice that it would be a prayer for Pelagianism: we seek to earn our way into heaven by overcoming temptation off our own merit.

Thus, perhaps we should see "lead us not into temptation" as a prayer for grace to live out God's will knowing our own weakness and fallibility. We have to fear temptation knowing that, with the best will in the world, we will probably fall so very far short by choosing the path of sin. In praying not to be led into temptation, we are praying to rely on God's grace in the face of temptation and receive our salvation at His hands.

If he is indeed questioning what is in plain scripture, Pope Francis may be inadvertently opening up major Catholic Teaching to question. If the Lord's Prayer doesn't say what it says, then why shouldn't other words of Our Lord say something different? Are the Jehovah's Witnesses actually right when they believe that Our Lord says, "this represents my body" instead of "this is my body"? If this is what he is saying, does our venerable patriarch not make it possible for Protestant innovations to become normalised?

Perhaps he isn't saying this after all. I know that I am fallible but, then again, so is he!

The Holy Family presents....

At the beginning of many of of our television programmes and films, our ears are usually sandblasted with a loud jingle and a title card saying "Cosmos Actors present..." To be honest, once our ears have stopped ringing, those first seconds of any film aren't the bit we remember, nor should they be. We don't discuss the title cards around the water cooler the next day. "Did you see Warmer Bothers' latest introduction to the film last night?"

It seems that the big showy music and logo-building aren't really anything save a declaration of who produced the show. We forget it almost immediately when the film gets going.

Yet, in the temple, an ordinary couple make a presentation to God through an aged, tired priest. No jingle, no logo, no title card, just a presentation of a baby to God as has always been done according to Jewish Law. The sacrifice is a bare minimum according to the poverty of this couple. The woman is here to give thanks for her childbearing and for His tender care through a time of very delicate health. Very few might think anything of it.

And yet in this action, the last action of Christmastide, the child presented to God is God Himself. Like holding a mirror up to a mirror, the presentation becomes reflected back, not just on The Holy Family but for us all. God presents His only begotten Son to the world.

There is no great miracle here, just simple recognition by two elderly people who have waited their entire lives to see this, It is the title card for the end of their earthly lives and the beginning of the journey into Eternity. They don't need the miracles, they just need God.

The world demands flash-bang soundbites and logos before it will respect anything, and this respect will be shortlived when the next flash-bang happens. The Christian life is about the constant presentation of ourselves to God as we are and as He knows us to be. To Him, this is more a cause of rejoicing than any empty noise of vanity could hope to engender in the Divine Countenance. We approach God simply, cognisant of our Sin, yet being bold to stand and present ourselves as we are trusting in absolutely nothing that we have done, but in His manifold and great mercies.

Turn again!

Sermon for Septuagesima

It has been about twenty years since Our Lord spoke. Then He was a child of about twelve reminding us that He must always be found in His Father's house. Now He's back and beginning His ministry to declare His Good News to the people whom He loves. And what is His first word?

It is "Repent!"

Not the most compelling start is it?

[PAUSE]

The trouble is, when we hear the word, "Repent!" we automatically see it as something negative. The word "repent" is nearly always followed by the mention of our sins. This is why repentance is always rejected by the World because of its undeniable connection with sin; and sin is a concept that the world both hates and encourages simultaneously.

However, if "repent" is the beginning of God's Good News for us, then it really cannot be a negative thing. We should be welcoming, indeed even begging for, the opportunity to repent!

[PAUSE]

"Repent" comes from Latin meaning "to seek again". It translates a Greek word which literally means to change one's mind, and this is exactly what repentance is - a change of mind so that we focus on God. In all cases, repentance is a positive, active and compelling search for the One Who created us, Who has always wanted to create us, and Who longs for us to seek Him out of our own free choice.

In repentance, our focus is not to run from Sin, but to run to God. This might surprise you. However, we do have to be careful. Remember, we simply cannot get to Heaven by our own effort. Each one of us is affected by sin whether we commit it or suffer the effects of it. We are weakened by sin and there is nothing that we can do of ourselves that will free us from it. When the Lord talks about removing the plank from our own eye so that we can see to pluck the speck in our brother's eye, He is telling us that each one of us does not possess the vision to rid ourselves or each other of sin. This is why so many of us waste our Lent in trying to remove sin from our lives by ourselves. We seem to think that we can repent by looking back at our sin. Our Lord has some harsh words to say about that!

No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Our repentance has to be a positive action. It is not a retreat from Sin, but an assault on Evil itself. In choosing to repent, we do the greatest thing that we can do for ourselves - admit that God is our righteousness and that His way is so much better for us than our own perceptions of it.

The Salvation that God promises to His Church is effected only by the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It is His grace - His active presence with us - that He offers to all men. All we have to do is to turn ourselves to Him and receive it. By seeking first the Kingdom of God, we literally turn our back on our sins. That's true repentance and we have to ask God for help in this.

St Paul shows us that the business of repentance is not easy work. Try holding the rudder of a ship steady in a force nine gale! St Paul urges us to train ourselves to run a race. He bids us prepare ourselves to fight a battle - not against Evil, but simply to hold the course to reach God. This is the beauty of Lent:  it gives us the opportunity to focus our attention on how we are turned to God in each aspect of our lives.

[PAUSE]

Repentance is thus the cause of joy in Heaven. Those who have no need of repentance either have no need of God, or they are the very saints in Heaven whose eyes are permanently fixed on the Beatific Vision of the presence of Almighty God Himself sitting upon His throne. This is why we should beg for repentance, and why we beg Blessed Mary Ever-Virgin, Blessed Michael the Archangel, Blessed John Baptist, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Our Holy Father Benedict and all the saints to pray for us when we confess our sins to God. And Sin has no claim on us when our eyes are truly focussed on God Himself!

Revealing Wise Opinions

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Epiphany 

While you are deep in prayer, it seems that a still, small voice whispers in your ear, "Here the word of the Lord. The world will end on Thursday! "

What do you do?

[PAUSE]

Clearly, you have received a revelation but is it a revelation from God? Well, being a good Christian, you take this revelation with a pinch of salt and remember that St John urges us to test the spirits to see if they be of God. So you go straight to the Bible and read:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."

But why did you go to the Bible? Surely the voice was convincing enough. Perhaps that Bible verse doesn't really mean that no man knows the hour. If you're female then perhaps you really do know the hour.

It's quite possible for you to start to reinterpret the Bible to support the voice that you heard.

If you can do this, what's to stop others from reinterpreting the Gospel to support what things they hear in prayer?

In fact this is where many Christians today fall down. They develop an opinion which they believe to be the same as God's and change meanings to suit them. They become wise in their own opinions.

[PAUSE]

It's a horrible fact that people are even willing to say that "love thy neighbour" doesn't apply to people who are black, or female, or suffer same-sex attraction, or who aren't Christian. They have used this to justify violence and cruelty against people whom God has created. The Bible is clear: neighbour means anyone who is nearby. This includes anyone you pass as you walk down a crowded street just as much as your parents or your spouse. St Paul says that we must not render evil for evil. We must always be ready to bless and to serve and leave all judgement of our neighbour to Him remembering that He will surely judge us with the same standards of righteousness. 

However, what if the voice says to you, "God has called you to be a priest"? What now? 

[PAUSE]

Again, we have to test the spirits. The Catholic Church has received no authority to ordain women: women priests can not be found in Scripture or Tradition. In fact the Bible is clear that women cannot be priests. This is despite Our Lord's clear esteem for women in the way that He treats them in contrast to the religious society of the day.

If God has called you to be a priest, then He will also make it clear to the Church which is charged with administering His grace on all whom He ordains. A man simply cannot declare himself to be a priest just because he has heard a voice telling him so.

God is not the author of confusion, but of order. He simply will not contradict the teaching that He has given the Church because He wants all human beings to be saved whoever they are, wherever they are, whenever they are. The message is the same today as it was in 1534, 1054, 315, 33AD or 738BC. The revelation of God is not something that can be reinterpreted to fit the day and age.

[PAUSE]

While deep in prayer, you hear a voice. If it distracts you from your prayer, then it's unlikely to be from God. However, if you have any doubt, don't worry. Bring your message to church, and then be prepared to accept what is revealed.

Writing the Epiphamy

Sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany

Did you put chalk on your door on the Day of Epiphany? It's not compulsory, just a happy little tradition in which each householder gives their priest a piece of chalk to bless and then writes something like 20 + C + M + B+ 18 on the frame of the main entrance to the house.

What purpose does it have? Well, it's a blessing. CMB stands for Christus mansionem benedicat which means, "may Christ bless this house." CMB also stands for Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar which are the traditional names for the Three Wise Men, though Holy Scripture is actually silent about that. However, this tradition links the blessing of the house with the visit of the Magi and, in so doing, our house becomes a reflection of that first house, that poor meagre dwelling, in which Our Lord is found lying in a manger.

In writing on our door frame, we are participating in the Epiphany of Our Lord.

[PAUSE]

It is important to remember that there isn't a single Epiphany in Holy Scripture. At Epiphany, we remember three things - the visit of the Magi, the Lord's Baptism and the first miracle at the wedding of Cana. In these three events Our Lord reveals Himself to be God. It is our duty to Him as Christians to carry that revelation to the world.

Notice that it doesn't matter how you write on the door frame. Your handwriting may be neat or scruffy, or the surface of the door frame may be uneven which distorts the way you normally write. As long as you write the same thing, you are being part of the Epiphany tradition.

Whether or not you participate in this, you are certainly called to participate in making Christ known to the world. We must all be seeking to commit a glorious bit of Christian graffiti by writing, "may Christ bless this" on God's creation especially our brothers and sisters whomsoever they may be.

[PAUSE]

God gives us the chalk and we must write His blessing on this world which forgets Him through the activity of Evil. How we write does not matter but we must all write the same thing for it is the same Christ who blesses as the Christ who revealed Himself in Bethlehem, in the Jordan and in Cana.

We may not alter what we write but we can and must write it with our own handwriting.

Revealing Revelation

St Paul is responsible for the majority of the content of the New Testament. His ministry begins when Our Lord reveals Himself to him in a bright light which blinds him.

How do we know it was Our Lord? If it wasn't, then huge parts of our Faith could be in doubt. Can we be sure that the revelation to St Paul is true?

[PAUSE]

This will always be a matter of faith for us in the same way that scientists have to have faith that their methods work in making their discoveries.

However, the Epiphany of Our Lord gives us opportunity to reflect on the fact that God doesn't just exist but actively wants to be known by everyone. What we Christians have been given is a record of how God reveals Himself to His people.

And look what happens.

Without fail, each of the principal witnesses to God's revelation is transformed. Enemies of Christianity become its greatest defenders overnight. Ill-educated fishermen become eloquent in their testimony. People become willing to die for this testimony.

[PAUSE]

These days, people seem to demand proof which is stricter than can be given. Some have dismissed the Gospels and in doing so have dismissed eyewitness testimony that would be considered convincing in a court of law. What they want is almost a mathematical proof - an absolute proof - before they will be convinced. That's their problem.

But what if we doubt in God's revelation?

[PAUSE]

The first thing we do is ask God.

St Paul tells us that God's word "is now revealed unto his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit". We believe that the Holy Ghost speaks through the prophets.

Then we remember that the saints form a cloud of witnesses to the Truth. We remember that even pagan writers speak of Jesus as a real human being. And we remember that Christians have always been prepared to die for their testimony.

In the balance of probability, we are unlikely to see a star in the East. We are unlikely to hear the voice from Heaven or see the Holy Ghost descend like a dove. We will probably not taste the water turned into wine. But we can still receive God's revelation.

How will we know it's Him?

Because He will not contradict Himself. 

What He says will be what the Church has already received over the age of ages. The Montanists will say that God gives us a new revelation every day, but this revelation is false because it contradicts the testimony of the Church which God has already given.

This is why Christians must read Holy Scripture and must listen to the Church Fathers. That way, we can all learn to hear God's voice and recognise Him when He speaks to us.

[PAUSE]

The word Epiphany means a revelation that descends upon us. It is God-given and not man made.

All we need is the patience to wait and to listen. God will give us this as well if we let Him.

Currants and Raisins: a response to Fr Chadwick

I am always very grateful for the level of support I receive from Fr Anthony Chadwick who shows much pastoral concern for one in a similar boat (no, not that kind, Father) as himself. One who does not know me as well might ask why I kick up such a fuss about things that don't really have much consequence. Why should I care about what the American ACC and Continuing Anglicans feel about the way I conduct myself?

Perhaps it doesn't matter. It's not as if I exercise authority in the Church other than at a parochial level.

But it does matter, and the events of October's Joint Synod show why. If our concordat means anything, it means that I, in my tiny diocese with my insubstantial mission, am very much part of a greater organic whole and that my actions and attitudes are affected  by those of my confraternity across the world and they also must be affected by mine.

I, therefore have a case to answer to justify myself to those whose hard work not only brought the concordat into reality but also were the architects of Continuing Anglicanism itself. It matters because I, despite my geographical, historical and cultural distance, am linked organically and spiritually with the Congress of St Louis.

It is this commitment that has been called into question by those who define what it means to be Anglicanism by Prayer Book alone (solus Liber Precum Publicarum?) and this included some loud and honourable clergymen of many years' standing and many years' struggling against institutional heresy.

I thus have a duty to them and to myself to answer that question in order to stand in the solidarity of communion with them despite our differences in the light of the Affirmation and the unity of the Concordat.

That is why I bother and stir up what others might see as mere storms in a teacup. It is for this reason that I have concentrated on my raison d'etre in order to find community with those who hold the same faith as me yet express it differently.

Yet, I  am as Fr Anthony suggests, an English Catholic. I ought to say a Canterbury Catholic given the tendency of Catholics to refer themselves to the archetypal See. In many ways I see Bishop Damien as the legitimate Bishop of Canterbury even though his parish has moved to Painters Forstal from Canterbury City Centre. He is the orthodox bishop of the Anglican tradition and it is from him that I, Fr Chadwick, and all my confraternity derive our orders and heritage.

However, as I say, now is the time for developing the Benedict Option here in the UK, promoting stability, obedience and conversatio mores which can only flourish in a state of doctrinal orthodoxy. This is a good use of my oblation, and I pray that God may help me to do so in fidelity to him.

There is much to think about. One problem that seems to dog Christianity is the relationship between being and doing. How does what we do play a part in our salvation? Can it be that while Christ saves us, we determine the 'us' that is to be saved by Him through what we will to do? I am especially interested in the role of consciousness in developing the Christian experience of God as David Bentley Hart (brother of an ACC priest) would write. I have often wondered whether our consciousness is the way our sense of identity extends across the multiverse. It would mean that our subjunctive self is as existent as our indicative self. This is speculation, though - pure courant.

My hope, however, is that whatever the nature of existence is, I in my splendid isolation still have some deep and real connection with all my brethren within the Catholic Church through my walk towards the Divine light. My hope is that my critics find in me someone who, though challenging their definitions, will also stand alongside them in the Faith against the current of Hell-bound indifference to God and true humanity.

My previous title - Currents and Raisons - is my customary love of punning. My current puns are shocking, which makes me as nutty as a fruitcake. Yet I hope in my playing with words - as Wittgenstein might enjoy - I hope I make myself clear at least in intention if not in expression.

Currents and Raisons

The first post of the New Year!

I fully expect my readership to drop again since I have left Facebook probably for good. There is only so much one can take of memes, cultural Marxism, voyeurism for the sake of mawkish sentimentality and infectious reactionary behaviour. This year, I really do want to address my tendency to open my mouth before I think. This needs to be done with a cool mind and a loving heart. I have a tendency for a loving mind and a cool heart.

This leads me to this blog. What is it for?

Thinking on my earlier post and the new raison d'etre of Fr Anthony's blog, I do see it as vitally important for the encouragement and education of all Christians.

I recently had a heated discussion with one of my brother clergy in the US about my "cavalier attitude" towards the prayer book. I explained why I don't use it but, what was difficult for him to understand is that I am not American. The 1928 Prayer Book is an alien species to me. The Venite is "wrong" and there are strange words in the Te Deum which don't make sense to me. For me, our Affirmation of St Louis must be read in the light of the collapse of the Established Church rather than the collapse of a member of its communion through the equally heretical Scottish Episcopal Church.

Nonetheless, the 1928 Prayer Book is a vital text which has preserved much that the 1662 does not. I do wish to reassure my American brothers and sisters that I have not the slightest disdain for their beloved and fundamental version of their Prayer Book - very much the opposite - but must ask that they read the Affirmation again and allow me to use the "Certain Variations Permitted" in order to be true to the Faith that I received here in Blighty AND to grasp their hand firmly across a wide expanse, rejoicing in our shared communion.

This is where I do need to educate myself. I always try to be engaged in some form of study, though child-rearing has cause rather a deceleration of my plans. On my to-do list is another read-through of the 1928 BCP with a view to getting a better sense of culture and the Spirit of St Louis. It will never be "in my blood" nor can I in conscience use it for my prayers, but it can be, perhaps, a text that I can use as a spiritual translation tool by which I can get a greater sense of solidarity with my brethren in "the Colonies".

That is my personal commitment for the year.

For my blogging intentions, I must focus on the encouragement and spiritual upkeep of my dear readers. I know I have only a few but I  do actually care about what they read. I have been far too negative, especially about the CofE, though I have just cause given the decisions of its government. I must leave them alone.

Given that faithful Christians now have to fight a battle against strong social opposition and ostracism which infects even ecclesial establishments, I wish to present myself as part of the Benedict Option that my Diocese seeks to promote. I wish it to be known that I offer myself as a form of paraclete for all who find themselves out of harmony with the secular mores, and if I possess any resource that is amenable to Traditional Catholic Christianity, then I humbly present it for the use of those who will be vilified for holding to that Traditional Catholic Christianity.

This will be my little blog's direction for the present. I hope that it will be an instrument of the love of God in bringing true hope back to the world. Given its reduction in readership following my departure from Facebook, I would be grateful if people would make others aware of this blog if they find any worth in it.

Christmas Time, Christmas Space

Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of the Nativity.

Do you lose track of time between Christmas Day and the New Year? It's almost as if Time loses some of its meaning. We forget which day we're in and lose some of the rhythm of the week.

It is this period of time where it is the date that matters and not the day. Christmas Day is followed by St Stephen's Day, then by St John's Day, the Holy Innocents and St Thomas Becket. The Sunday in the Octave - today - can fall anywhere and even coincide with these feasts. It's a day when people are most likely to forget to come to Church and in which the clergy are trying to get their heads around all these feasts.

Today seems like a befuddlement.

[PAUSE]

If you think about it, the date is a fixed part of the year, and so is determined by our position relative to the Sun. The days of the week are not. They are determined by our position relative to the Moon. Christmas Day is fixed according to the Sun and Easter with the Moon.

Before you worry that we are going to fall into the sin of astrology, it's worth pointing out that our understanding of time is determined by the Sun and Moon. The mystery of the Incarnation is how God, who created Time, Sun and Moon, allows Himself to become subject to them by being born in Time.

How the great Eternal can become Temporal is a mystery. We can attempt to think about it and come up with theories, but we cannot understand this until the Sun and Moon cease to mark Time for us. All we know is that God took our humanity into His Divinity. It seems reasonable, then, that He takes our Time into His Eternity.

What does this mean for us?

[PAUSE]

We celebrate Christmas Day on 25th of December. And we do well to do so. Yet, we cannot separate Christmas Day from any other day because Christ is always with us on every day of the year. We feel this more keenly on Christmas Day but refreshed in our understanding that the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us, we carry this throughout out year.

In the same way, we know Christ always to be present with us. We know that Presence more keenly and with greater clarity and focus in the Sacrifice of the Mass. We take that Presence with us out into our space.

[PAUSE]

Ultimately, we are promised that, upon our resurrection, we will not need the light of Sun and Moon because God Himself will be our Light. He will also be our Time as we worship Him in His glory.

This is why we need to bear Christmas and Easter in our hearts all year round, for doing do we carry Our Lord Jesus Christ with us to hallow our Time and our Space.

Blogday 2017: The beautiful feet of the Laity

And now we are 12. Blogging, apparently, is a dying form which makes this, as usual, a thing of increasing archaism.

It's been a turbulent year which has seen an upheaval of large proportions for the purpose of a greater good.

Dealing with the loss of a chapel and parish is hard, especially when that parish was established well before my return to the Catholic Church. I miss my old congregation and the freedom that I had to perform my duties as a priest.

Yet, I now have opportunities which are yet to emerge but I can see buds forming.

One thing that often does the rounds on Social Media is a rhapsody on the beautiful hands of a priest. My hands are certainly far from beautiful but I understand the sentiment even though it does lend itself too far to idolisation of the clergy. My hands become beautiful only when they bear God's grace to those who need it. They shine with the beauty of the hands crucified which obscure the hands which I have shamefully used for sin. The priest must take "the beautiful hands of a priest" with a grain of salt remembering that it should shame rather than make one feel grand. There is nothing grand about a priest in themselves: they must aspire to reflect Christ.

The hands of the priest are for washing the feet of the Laity.

And these feet are beautiful because in them we see the purpose of every Christian :

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"
(Isaiah lii.7)

Each one of us is a bearer of the Gospel. The fact that the proclamation of the Gospel is an elaborate rite at Mass reflects the earnestness and respect that we should have for proclaiming that Gospel in our lives. We walk barefoot on hard mountains with the joyful message, "repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand."

To a world which is comfortable in sin, these words burn which is why we are assaulted for bearing them. However, these words bear the reality of God's love for us generally and in particular. This is why it is an uphill struggle.

It will be a long time before the Provisional Mission of St Anselm and St Odile is up and running. It must begin with those who are prepared to invest in its growth which will be slow and difficult before it can ever hope to become a parish devoted to theological enquiry which seeks to preserve the Orthodox Faith in a changing world by instilling that Faith into hearts as well as minds.

This is where this blog may have its purpose by continuing what it has always done. The priesthood exists only for the Laity. If the Laity see beauty in their priests then they must know that this is a beauty which goes into serving them. They must also know of their own beauty which seeks to proclaim Good News to the world even if that world finds beauty offensive.

Let us strive to be beautiful.

St Thomas of Canterbury, pray for us!

... and it was very good!

Sermon for the Feast of the Nativity at Midnight

"Heaven and Earth shall flee away when He comes to reign."

The baby is born, and nothing seems to happen. The baby is born, and Heaven and Earth remain unmoved and indifferent. The baby is born, and the man on the street says, "so what?" before putting his turkey in the oven. Heaven and Earth take no flight but remain as they always have.

Has the baby come to reign?

God becomes Man, so His Eternity is still there and hidden. His vast power concealed in His flesh. His crown covered by a baby's soft skull, vulnerable and small. His Kingdom is already here but obscured by the day-to-day business of the flesh.

At this instant of birth, Heaven and Earth cannot be the same again. Here at this birth, God's Creative power works a miracle that spreads back and forth through all Time and all Space. Here the cracks in Existence caused by the Fall are cleansed so that, from the pinnacles of Eternity, God still looks on all He has made and declares it, "very good".

The birth of this baby restores a link to the Divine that we had lost. As one umbilical cord is cut, another is reconnected, supplying the constant stream of the grace of God back into a humanity slumbering in a degradation of its own making. In this Birth and in His later death, our life begins again for all who will be stirred and admit themselves to be shaken into that life.

Heaven and Earth do flee away. They flee from the perception of souls who awaken to the Divine light and the Divine smile. They flee away from the lives of those who let them go so as to grasp the Hand of God which has become flesh precisely so that we may indeed grasp it. They flee away, because He comes to reign, not in that poor, lowly stable, but in the hearts of those who dare to have their hearts broken just so that He may enter.

His birth is the hour of our creation and, behold, it is very good.

A taste of Heaven

i

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Here's the thing. Christians know what Heaven is not. We know that we don't magically transform into angels with wings and halos, playing harps just as the inhabitants of Hell have horns and hooves,  and, according to Gary Larsen, play accordions.

Yet, neither is Heaven going to be a place of do-as-you-please. We're not going to be idle on cloudy sun-loungers, supping angelic pina-coladas and watching reruns of Morecombe and Wise.

We know what Heaven is not. Do we know what it is?

[PAUSE]

There is a famous setting of the words "This is the Record of John" by Orlando Gibbons. It is most often sung with a solo by a male alto. Sometimes it is sung by a female alto, and others by a tenor.

It is beautiful music, but there are some who cannot stand the male alto voice. There are others who won't listen to it if it's sung by a tenor. If this is true, and our personal taste varies so much, how can everyone hope to enjoy the music in the presence of God?

You could say that God will only allow into Heaven those who prefer the female alto voice to sing this anthem. If this were so, there would have to be a reason why found in the doctrine of the Church. Since this anthem was written in the Seventeenth Century, and such choral music did not exist as far as we know in the Early Church, it seems unlikely that God would make appreciation of a particular music a condition for salvation. If it were, we would have known about it from the beginning.

It is clear that a matter of personal taste is not going to factor into our Eternal Life with God. However, if our personal taste is something that is part of us, an expression of who we are, how can we expect this Eternal Life with God to be something that we enjoy? We will be not be allowed to be isolated from others as demonstrated by the great multitudes who praise God in St John's Revelation. What if Eternal Life with God is full of grime music, chewing gum and deely-boppers?

[PAUSE]

This is our problem. We tend to think about Heaven, that is our Eternal Life with God, using our own experiences of life. We see, hear or taste something that makes us feel wonderful and we say, "how heavenly!" and expect Heaven to conform to it.

This makes some sense; Our Lord says that the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. God does not despise His Creation at all, so why would we expect Heaven not to be the best of what we know now.

Our personal tastes and preferences can then become an obstacle to Heaven because we believe that everyone who goes to Heaven must share the same experiences of life. How can we deal with this?

[PAUSE]

St Paul tells us, "Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say rejoice." The reality of the Kingdom of Heaven is to allow Jesus to be the King. We ought to discipline ourselves to rein in our taste and preferences so that we can divert the energy that we spend indulging then in rejoicing in God Himself.

This means that we have to stop worrying about the hymns of the Church because of their tunes, but because of how they present the praises of God the King according to what the Church teaches about Him. It means that we have to stop worrying about the Church decor in favour of presenting a space devoted to the worship of God as we have received through the centuries.

Indeed, to see Heaven is to find the same joy in everything God has created that He does. We need to seek out that joy in what we find delightfull according to our personal taste and also, contrary to it. If God created it, then there is goodness within it.

[PAUSE]

But the world is a dark and evil place, isn't it?

Only the Devil would want to convince you of that. Yes, the Devil's handiwork is always around us, but as we have seen these past few weeks of Advent, the time and influence of the Devil are limited. Advent reminds us of hope. Advent reminds us to rejoice in the Lord at Christmas and always.

 Tomorrow, we shall see how Heaven and Earth will effectively become the same place, and it all begins with the birth of a baby.

Ero and Vero: a cras response

In previous years, I have reflected on the Great O Antiphons of Advent - see for example, my reflections in 2013. This year it strikes me that we do need to reflect on their totality as well as their individuality.

It is well-known that, reading backwards, we have:

O Emannuel
O Rex Gentium
O Oriens

O Clavis David
O Radix Jesse
O Adonai
O Sapientia

We see the acronym ero cras - tomorrow, I shall be! I have written that our so many times before. However, this comes from my use of the traditional Benedictine office. Were I to be a follower of the Sarum Rite, like my dear friend Fr Chadwick, I would have started a day early so that I would say the final antiphon, O Virgo virginum on the 23rd. If we look at the acrostic formed by the Sarum Rite, we then have Vero cras - tomorrow indeed!

Of course, there are many who dislike O Virgo virginum on the grounds that it does not address Christ Our God as the other do. We appeal to God with us, God the King of the Nations, God the Dawning Light, God the Key of David, God the Root of Jesse, God Our Lord, God the Eternal Wisdom, and we appeal to Him for the dawning of our salvation. Does not the presence of the prayer to Our Lady pander to the idea that she is  Co-Redemptrix?

We remember that Our Lady is a redemptrix only insofar that she is an instrument, not a source, of our redemption. In saying, "be it unto me according to thy word," she has agreed to be an instrument and thus the efficient cause of our salvation in born into the world through her "yes!" to Almighty God. Given that we participate in our own salvation, we can only be regarded as "co-Saviours" insofar as we are instruments used for the purpose of salvation. The sacraments are not mine: they are issued at my weak and trembling hands, but I find myself blessed by that grace which flows from them. That is the promise of God effected in little me, and indeed in every Christian soul who is called to be an instrument and agent, but not source, of God's saving power.

O Virgo virginum is a response to Almighty God. We see Him petitioned in the Seven O's and then, we remind ourselves that we have to respond - we have to participate in the Salvation that God offers us by an act of choosing to become.

In the Benedictine Rite, God says ero cras! in response to our petition to cease being infected with sin and Evil.  In the Sarum Rite, we say vero cras! with the greatest joy, knowing that God is entirely faithful.

While, for the sake of Benedictine stability, I remain with the former rite, I am overjoyed that there are those who pray the Sarum Rite on my behalf to and assist me thereby in making that joyful response to God's promise to be with us.

A blessed Sapientiatide to all of you, whichever Rite you use!

Virtually Nine Lessons

By way of an experiment, I have put together a version of the Office of Nine Lessons and Carols. Since the Provisional Mission of St Anselm and St Odile is really in a process of formation, I thought it might be nice to share with my readers something of the late Advent, pre-Christmas season in the hope that we may all feel uplifted for the Feast of the Nativity. Perhaps you will join me in praying and enjoying music written for the glorification of God and for the gladdening of men's hearts.

Essentially, this consists of some YouTube links to carols and music interspersed with the Nine Lessons as read by yours truly. Yes, there will be mistakes and blips on my part, for which I crave your and God's forgiveness. I hope they do not detract from an approximation to an experience of which I was once blessed to be part. The readings will only be available for the next 88 days, but the moment by then will surely have passed!

Please do click on the links in sequence to get the full intended affect. You might also like to listen by candlelight as well and, if you like, sing along with the carols. If you do find this in any way complementary to your experience of the season, please have a mince pie and a cup of mulled wine on my behalf after the benediction.

Hope this works!

Organ Prelude: Noel cette Journée - Jean-François Dandrieu.

Carol: Once in Royal David's City (605 in The English Hymnal)

Introduction and opening prayers.

The First Lesson

Adam Lay Ybounden - music by Boris Ord

The Second Lesson

Carol: Wake, O Wake! With tidings thrilling (12 in The English Hymnal)

The Third Lesson

The People that walked in Darkness from Handel's Messiah

The Fourth Lesson

Carol: O Little Town of Bethlehem (15 in the English Hymnal)

The Fifth Lesson

I sing of a Maiden that is makeless - music by Patrick Hadley

In the Bleak Midwinter -  music by Harold Darke

The Sixth Lesson

This is the Truth sent from above - music by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Seventh Lesson

Carol: A Great and Mighty Wonder (19 in the English Hymnal)

The Eighth Lesson

There shall a star from Jacob come forth - music by Felix Mendelssohn

The Ninth Lesson

In Dulci Jubilo - music by Robert Pearsall

Carol: Lo He comes with clouds descending (7 in the English Hymnal)

Collect and Benediction

Carol: O Come, O Come Emmanuel (8 in the English Hymnal)

Postlude: Toccata on Mendelssohn by David Wilcocks

Hell on Biscuit Barrel

Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent

You are enjoying your favourite biscuit and then one of your friends comes along and tells you not only how many calories are in it, but also what else it contains including which parts of the sheep have been used in cooking it.

Suddenly, the biscuit changes. No longer is it a joy to eat, but rather it becomes an object of disgust.

However, nothing about the biscuit has actually changed. It is still the same biscuit that you used to enjoy, but now it's a horrible thing which you are very tempted to bin. Can the biscuit be saved?

What would it take to bring the biscuit back?

[PAUSE ]

It is a peculiarity of many Christians to deny the existence of Hell and the Devil on the grounds that they are unjust or superstitious nonsense. That is something the Devil truly loves because without knowing what is Evil, we cannot fully know what is Good. If the writing in a book was the same colour as the page, what use would the book be? In order to know where Germany starts, we need to know where France ends. 

We can only truly know the truth of our salvation once we know what it is we're being saved from. If there is nothing to be saved from, what is the worth of salvation. Why bother to suffer on the Cross if it doesn't really do anything?

[PAUSE]

The fact that Jesus suffers and dies for us on the Cross shows us first that there is something that we need to be saved from - something truly terrible, something that God hates. Secondly, it shows us that God believes that we are worth being saved from this terrible fate. He is not indifferent to what happens to us when we die. This means something important that we often forget: each human being is created inherently good. If we are worth saving, then our fall from grace through Sin does not destroy that inherent goodness. 

We can still see that today in this world. There are so many people, often unknown to the media, who are living lives trying to demonstrate the goodness that God gives us in our creation through acts of charity and mercy for no other reason than they just enjoy doing good for other people.

Satan will come along and show us our sins in the hope that we will hate ourselves, hate other and hate God and abandon hope. He seeks to suck the joy out of our existence as being truly human by convincing us that we are merely a shadow and that we should just please ourselves in order to enjoy a dark and dull life. Should we fall for this (and we all do this somewhere along the line), then we actively reject God and turn away. If we do not think that there is anything to be saved from, then we stand in danger of never knowing God, and thereby can never live with God.

[PAUSE]

Here is the importance of Christ's Cross, and indeed, through His Cross, our own personal crosses and suffering. In recognising sin in ourselves, we can choose to be transformed. We can beg for God to make us better, to heal us, to stop us from being just a pale shadow of what He wants for us. We can beg God to give us a sense of what is good in us so that sin does not reign any more in us. And God will give us what we want, because He is a good Father to us.

Alternatively, we can accept ourselves as we are. We can choose to try and change the world around us to fit what we want it to be so that what is wrong in us disappears because we say that it is right. The consequence is that we lose our vision that we are not our own but God's. We lose sight of the True Good in favour of our own personal "good" which is nothing but our own will. And then, the sin that is hidden from us through our own blindness becomes part of us. Because we demand to be accepted as we want ourselves to be, we find ourselves separated from the vision that God sees in us and wants for us. How can we be saved then, if sin actually becomes part of who we are?

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What, then, is Hell?

Forget the medieval paintings of devils poking people up the bottom with pointed sticks. Hell is worse than that. Like the biscuit, Hell is life as we know it, but with no joy, no purpose, no light, no love, no meaning and, crucially, no death. The person in Hell still retains the same goodness that comes with being human, but it is a goodness separated from God, that hungers for God and yet cannot know Him because it will not know Him. It is this hunger for God that burns within the Hell-bound. It is this hunger that produces the agony because it can never be filled. 

And that is the true terror of Hell. 

This means something crucial. If Christ dies a horrible death to save us from Hell, then it must be truly horrible indeed. Yet, if we are truly to love our neighbour as ourselves, then it means that we have a duty to live our lives so that we, too, can help people escape Hell. This is why the Church has such an important mission to bring the Faith, Hope and Love of Christ into a world that is both dark and light at the same time. Our duty is to help people see the light.

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We are told "Keep thy mind in Hell and despair not." As Christians, we must recognise the existence of this terrible place and remember that it is ultimately our own choice and our own fault to  end up there, because we create it ourselves. All we need to do is to turn to God our Father, and, through His transformation of our very selves, we will find the joy that He promises.