December 2, 2011
THE RETURN OF THE KING - ADVENT
On the road visiting the Lord's flock in Wyoming, here are the tremendous sights that our eyes caught. How providential it was! Maranatha, Come O Lord. Part II of the video at the end of the blog. Glory to thee O Lord!
Advent, another new beginning in the Christian Year of Worship and Preparation for His Second Coming. Another year of opportunity to return back to the Lord from whom we come, to whom we belong and to whom we shall go back. Its a great time to turn away from sin and seek His face. May we be found faithful in His service at His Second Coming.
The import of this season is highlighted by Vernon Staley himself. Excerpt from the "Catholic Religion" a manual of instruction for members of the anglican communion by Vernon Staley- 1893 (Courtesy of google books on line):
10. The Return to Judgment.. From thence He shall come to judge the Quick and the Dead."
The second coming of our Lord, which is the hope of His Church, will differ in many ways from His first coming. He came first in great humility when He did not abhor the Virgin's womb, His second coming shall be in awful majesty. His first coming was as the Saviour of the world, He will come again to be our Judge. It is in commemoration of these great events, the one in the past, the other in the future, that the Church keeps the season of Advent.
That our Lord will come again is perfectly certain, for He has said so; but the time of His coming is veiled in uncertainty. He who said,.' they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall He send His angels, and shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost
part of heaven," went on to add, " But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father," [St. Mark xiii. 26, 27, 32]
The purpose of the second coming of Jesus Christ is stated in the Creed,-" He shall come to judge the quick and the dead." By the expression II the quick," we are to understand
the living,-those who shall be -alive on the earth at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Of such it is written that they" which are alive and remain shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air."[ 1 Thess, iv. 17]
The day of judgment is described as "the day when the Son of Man is revealed." [St. Luke xvii. 30] By this we may understand that before pronouncing sentence, Jesus Christ will first satisfy the assembled universe of His righteous claim to be their judge, so that friend and foe alike may be convinced of His perfect equity.
The day of judgment will be the day of justice, when all life's inequalities will be put right, and everyone will get his due. As such St. John speaks of it,-" I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:" and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."[Rev. xx. II-13]
The judge will be none other than our Incarnate Lord Himself, "the Son of Man." "The Father hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man."[St. John v. 27.] We shall be judged by one who is both God and Man. In the divinity of our Lord, we have the assurance that He will judge us fairly, for as God He knows oar frailty, our temptations, and our struggles. In the humanity of our Lord, we have the pledge that we shall be judged tenderly, for as Man He knows from experience what we are, and what we can do. We shall be judged with God's perfect justice, and with man's perfect sympathy. The result of the judgment is separation; the Judge "shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats," every soul going to its own place, the place for which it has fitted itself, at the right hand, or at the left hand of the judge. "Then shall the king say unto them on 'his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,"-and again "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."[ St. Matt. xxv. 31 to end.]
In speaking of this solemn subject St. Basil writes,-" Blessed is that soul, which day and night hash no other care than how, in the great day, when every creature shall stand around the Judge to give an account of their works, she shall be able to relate her life. For whosoever continually places that day and that hour before his eyes, and ever thinks of his defence at that most just tribunal, is likely to commit no sins,or at least very few," [Quoted by Bishop Forbes. Nicene Creed p. 249]
O Come Emmanuel Part II
Posted by frleo at 9:39 AM | Comments (0)
June 23, 2011
Feast of Corpus Christi - The Body and Blood of Christ
Here is an excerpt from the "Catholic Religion" a manual of instruction for members of the anglican communion by Vernon Staley- 1893 (Courtesy of google books on line):
iii. The Eucharistic Feast, commonly called The Holy Communion.
Our Blessed Lord ordained the Sacrament of the Eucharist in order that we might be able on earth to plead His Sacrifice before the Face of God, even as He does in heaven. But beyond this, He had a further object in view, and one of supreme importance, viz., that He might feed our souls with His Body and Blood.
That we may thus be able to feed upon Him, He has given to His Church authority to consecrate, by the power of His Holy Spirit, bread and wine to become His Body and Blood. When we receive the bread and the wine thus consecrated, we verily and indeed receive His Sacred Flesh and Blood.
This is what is known as the doctrine of the Real Presence. The term Real Presence signifies the presence of a Reality. This Reality is the Body and Blood of Christ, present in the Sacrament under the form of bread and wine.1 Our Lord's presence in the Eucharist is a spiritual presence. By a spiritual presence we do not mean something unreal or figurative, but a presence which is not natural or material. Angels are spiritual beings, but none the less real beings. A spiritual presence is a presence of a supernatural kind,—of a higher order than a merely natural presence. Our Blessed Lord is locally present in heaven, He is spiritually present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Holy Communion is thus the most blessed and the most solemn Thing upon earth.it affords the nearest approach to God of which the soul is capable here below. When we come to the Holy Communion we should always remember that we are approaching the Throne of God. The Divine Liturgy of St. James instructs the celebrant to say,—" Not as being worthy, but looking up to Thy Goodness, I address my voice unto Thee. O God be merciful to me a sinner: I have sinned against heaven and before Thee, and am not worthy to present myself before this Thy sacred and spiritual Table, whereon Thine only-begotten Son, and our Lord Jesus Christ, is mystically set forth as a sacrifice for me a sinner."*1 We should never speak of receiving bread and wine in the Sacrament, but rather of receiving the Body and Blood of Christ which are hidden beneath the bread and wine. The reader may learn much more about the Holy Communion by reading our Lord's own words about it, recorded in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St. John, beginning at the twenty-seventh verse.
*1: "The bread, which is produced from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly." St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies. Bk. iv
Posted by frleo at 3:17 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2008
I Believe in Angels: Feast of St. Michael & All Angels
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Psalm 91:11-12
One of our Christmas pageants had the role of Angel Gabriel announcing the message to the Blessed Virgin. The role was assigned to 2-yr-old Ruby. Her part was: “Fear Not.” Whenever Ruby appeared, even when it wasn’t her turn, she would in her little voice say “fear not.” I can’t think of Angel Gabriel without thinking of Ruby’s, “Fear Not.” Children are adorable indeed.
Our remembrance of angels could be from a pageant, movie or story told by someone of their encounter with angels or someone who saw angels in action through humanitarian outreach. The thought of angels is so comforting. We read about them in the Holy Bible—of Cherubs and Seraphs and hosts of angels in service of the Divine Majesty. We see them in churches in adoration before the throne of God, or before the mercy seat. They are more than a figment of imagination. They are spirits and they are real. How wonderful it is to know when in some dire need we come across an unforeseen person coming to our rescue. Could it be an angel?
Years ago long before the age of tubes and you tubes, when pictorial presentation was in vogue, I used to wait for my communion /confirmation preparation class. The parish sexton Antony, used to be our catechist and we better get our answers right, lest there was a cane. He was a good man, putting the church family before his own, living behind the quarters of the church at beck and call of the Parish priest or any family. I have not seen the busiest man like him. He would be prompt to ring the angelus bells, including the toll on the passing away of members of the parish. The parish where I grew up comprised of over 60 villages and around the church were novitiates, philosophates and Christian schools. The peel of the toll bell would remind us of the passing away of a dear soul. From across the parish hill was my own little church surrounded by cemeteries, the place where I was born.
Tony would instruct us and we better be present to learn our lessons every Saturday; that we had to walk to the parish church on our own was another story. The much awaited part of the lesson was the pictorial essay. One picture that I saw is afresh in my mind, apart from the stories of Genesis.
This was the picture of judgment, where our Lord was seated. To the right, was the depiction of the great cloud of witnesses and the scene of an angel accompanying a person to Heaven. The angel’s face was of a happy countenance and so was the soul that the angel accompanied, of course the picture of the devil was very sad and he looked disappointed. To the left it was an opposite scenario. The devil was accompanying a person to hell and the person’s angel was disappointed. Of course the devil was happy over his accomplishment. Jesus’ own words on our angels interceding before God’s throne confirms this scenario: “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 18:10)
How important it is then to treat the children with utmost care. Especially those that commit atrocities against children should beware of this stern punishment from our master: Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea (Matthew 18:5, 6)
Our Lord himself makes reference to Angels: To treat the children with utmost care for their angels are in constant adoration before the Father in heaven. Wish those who abuse children for whatever reasons; be aware of what the Lord thought: It would be better for the millstone be ….
The New Testament speaks of Angel Gabriel (God’s strength) on a mission to Nazareth to young virgin named Mary to deliver the good news of the birth of our savior. Which indeed take place: And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us as John the Divine testifies. The apostle John also testifies to the great war took place in heaven and how the devil was defeated by Archangel Michael (God’s semblance) Revelation 12.7-12 In Tobit of the Apocrypha we read of Raphael (the angel of healing) who is on a mission to heal Tobias a God fearing man of his blindness.
Angels are real and they are at our service appointed by God to lead us towards Him: Here is a song that reminds us of angels.
Today we celebrate the feast of the
Guardian Angel please watch over me
Wherever you go where I be
I know you’re there though you cannot be seen
You are my God’s greatest gift to me
My sweet little child I will watch you today
When you are speaking and when you’re awake
I’ll be there beside you when you’re tired
I’ll be your shepherd and heav’nly guide
O my good angel whom God has appointed you to be my guardian, enlighten, protect, direct and govern me, who have been entrusted to you by the Divine Mercy.
Here is a Youtube on Guardian Angels:
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Posted by frleo at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2008
Message from the Metropolitan Bp. Thomas Kleppinger
EASTERTIDE - 2008
Dear Friends,
When our dear Lord cried out from the Cross, "It is finished!" these were words of victory, not
defeat. Jesus came to save you from your sins. He fulfilled in His Person and Work every
requirement of the Old Testament Law. He offered Himself as Priest and Victim upon the Cross to pay the price of sin. He has finished the work of salvation His Father gave Him to do. His is the victory over the world, the flesh and the devil.
St. Peter says, "Christ died, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." The veil in the temple was rent asunder showing that through His precious blood, Christ is the Way to the Father.You can not enter the Presence of God trusting in your own righteousness, but in His great mercy 'under the blood of the Lamb.'
The teaching of the Old Testament is that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.The Lord did not deal with your sin by simply setting it aside, saying everything is alright. He sent His Son into the world to make the acceptable sacrifice for sin. "There was no other good enough / To pay the price of sin, / He only could unlock the gate / Of heaven, and let us in." None can go unto the Father but through His blood.
In the Sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel our Lord speaks most plainly that you must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have His life in you. "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them." Some found this to be a hard saying and they deserted Him. In the Upper Room our Lord instituted the new covenant in His Body and Blood so that you can feed on Him and have His life in you.
The word Lent speaks to the lengthening of daylight as Spring draws nigh. Spring is the renewal of the earth after the time of death of Winter. It is nature's way of proclaiming the blessed hope of the glorious resurrection of our Lord on the third day according to the Scriptures. Easter is the Spring of Souls from the prison of sin, for Jesus as a sun has risen and the Winter of your sins is flying.Those who believe on Jesus have His life to raise them up from sin and death in newness of life to live forever with the Lord.
We trust that you will have a most Blessed Easter and be filled with the confidences that "Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept." Because He lives, you, too, will live as you will be glorified together with Him. May the words of Jesus' victory become your words of blessed assurance. "It is finished!"
Yours in that Blessed Hope,
The Right Reverend Thomas J. Kleppinger
Posted by frleo at 3:20 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2005
Trinity -- The God I Know, Worship and Love
Do we know and love the God we believe in? This is a good question for Trinity Sunday. We believe in One God, the Father who created us (remember the picture of Michaelangelo's creation of man, God the Father depicted as the graceful grey haired grandpa), the Son who redeemed us (Jesus who died for our sins to save us through His passion, death and resurrection, ascension and His glorious return) and the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of Life, whose life we are still breathing, who is the spirit of wisdom, counsel, understanding, knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
These days our church is revisiting the Nicene Creed and studying the affirmation of faith laid out in the creed in our Christian Education classes, going back to our roots. It is wonderful to see how the entire church came together at Nicea and reaffirmed the divinity and humanity of Christ, at a time when Arius began floating heresies about the nature of Christ, that Christ was only human and not divine. Today we are revisited by the same heresies. Some liberal Christians (can there be liberal ones if we believed in the words of our Lord) continue to twist the truth. We are silent about them. Good to think of this during the season of Trinity. As we celebrate the truth of the Godhead, the Trinity in unity, intellectual ascent alone is not enough. We need to hear, touch and feel God in our everyday lives.
It is also good to consider on an experiential level, who is the God I worship, in whom I live, move and have my being. Is He a God far removed from my cares and worries or one who is close to me? God so loved the world that He donned humanity in His only son who was like us in everything but sin. He knows our every motion and emotion. It is with His spirit that we reach out to Him whenever we call on HIM.
This very son came to bridge the gap that existed between God the Father and humanity and taught us to call Him ABBA, DADDY. It is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that we can call Him in such an endearing term. Even if some of our earthly fathers have let us down, He is THE FATHER and He will never ever let us down because He is faithful.
Even as we read, just take a deep breath and call on Abba, Jesus and the Spirit. Sometimes it is good to call on God even as we take a breather. This is what the saints called UNION WITH GOD. You become so conscious of God's indwelling Spirit within you that you have a hotline always: you can be connected anytime. Let us try this today and be aware of His love and care. God is not too busy to care about you. Each one of us is precious unto Him.
God my Father, thanks be to thee for thy Son my savior and your life-giving Holy Spirit. Guide me along and lead me on through this day, that I may accomplish thy Holy will and find happiness and peace.
Posted by frleo at 8:55 AM
March 24, 2005
Maundy Thursday
The first day of Paschal Triduum that celebrates the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus, is also known as Maundy Thursday. This day celebrates the commemoration of the Insitituion of the Eucharist (The Lord's Supper), Institution of the Holy Priesthood (Do this in memory of Me) and the
Pedilavium (washing of feet) whose traces of which are found in the most ancient rites and are still being observed by many churches worldwide. The essence of the message is the LOVE OF CHRIST and the New Commandment to Love One Another.
"Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end" Jn13:1
Tonight's Liturgy also observes the Stripping of the Altar indicative of the beginning of the Agony in the garden of Gethsamane and the trials and the torture Jesus is being subjected to.
As we observe this Holy Day, let us remember that Jesus who loved me gave Himself up for me. He could have saved the world by sheer magic. Yet he wanted us to know that He loves us. Every blow, Every scourge and Every throbbing pain He endured for our sake to be the LAMB OF GOD who will take away the sins of the world as well as my own.
Posted by frleo at 7:55 AM
March 20, 2005
Come Celebrate Holy Week
All are welcome to join St. Gabriel's in Springdale to explore and celebrate the mysteries of Holy Week. Following is the schedule:
Palm Sunday -- March 20 -- 10:00 AM. Blessing of the Palms, Procession and Holy Eucharist.
Monday, March 21 -- 6:00 PM. Holy Eucharist.
Tuesday, March 22 -- 6:00 PM. Holy Eucharist.
Wednesday, March 23 -- 6:00 PM. Deacon's Mass at St. Gabriel's.
PASCHAL TRIDUUM LITURGY:
Maundy Thursday, March 24 -- 6:30 PM. Washing of the Feet, Holy Eucharist.
Good Friday, March 25 -- 12:00 NOON to 3:00 PM. Stations of the Cross; Meditations on the Seven Words of Jesus from the cross; celebration of the Lord's Passion; Holy Communion. Lenten Soup and Bread to follow.
Easter Even (Holy Saturday), March 26 -- 10:00 PM. Easter Vigil: Service of the Light; Renewal of Baptismal Vows; Holy Eucharist. Lenten Bread and Soup to follow.
Easter Sunday, March 27 -- 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist. An Easter Egg Hunt using Family Life "Resurrection Eggs" along with Candy Eggs will follow at 11:00 AM for all of the children.
St. Gabriel's United Episcopal Church
1803 W. Emma Avenue
Springdale, AR
479-756-5074
Posted by frleo at 9:03 AM
November 2, 2004
November 2nd -- All Souls Day
WE REMEMBER OUR DEARLY DEPARTED ON ALL SOULS DAY.
We remember with gratitude all those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especially two whom we lost within the past few months:
Peggy Swindells and J B Taylor
Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord and let perpertual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen
Here is the tribute from Bill Winkleman to J B TAYLOR:
William Winkleman is the son of Bill and Pat Winkleman, who both played a great role in the beginnings of St.Gabriel's along with the founding members. His mother Pat is the head of St. Gabriel's Altar Guild. William fondly remembers J B Taylor.
Reverend and Dear Sir:Sorry that it has taken me so long to get around to your email.
Should you have the opportunity, please convey my deepest sympathies to
the Taylor family. I spent a lot of time with J B back in the days when we were moving St. Gabriel's to your present location. He did a lot or hard work for the Church, and despite many difficult and frustrating obstacles, J B Taylor always completed his objectives with an admirable and infectious "esprit de corps."I will always remember the day that I spent with him when we went down to buy the Church's pews at a federal auction. We rented a Ryder truck and drove several hours to our destination. I guess neither one of us realized just how heavy those pews would be. It was a job for which we should have had four men at a minimum. After loading the first couple of pews onto the truck, we were ready to quit. You would not believe how tired we were after loading all of them. J B was considerably older than I, and I was dead tired. We make the trip back to Fayetteville, and when J B dropped me off at our house the truck got stuck in the drainage ditch in the front yard. To make things even worse, J B threw his back out from all of the heavy lifting. As I remember, he was several weeks in recovering.
Once those pews were set up in the Church, most folks thought that the place was beginning to look like a "real" church for the first time. I had to admit that they were right, but even so, it was a year of so before J B or I could look at those pews without feeling a twinge of pain in our backs.
I remain, Reverend Sir, your faithful servant in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
William Winkelman
Posted by frleo at 7:29 AM
September 28, 2004
Feast of St. Michael and All Angels
A reminder that St. Gabriel's will have Holy Communion on Wednesday, September 29th at 6:00 p.m. in celebration of the Feast Day of St. Michael and All Angels.
Also, as was announced this past Sunday, we will now hold Eucharistic Services every Wednesday evening at 6:00 p.m. to honor God and afford parishioners the opportunity to increase their involvment with the Church. Please keep your Church in mind as the Wednesday "hump day" approaches each week, and avail yourself of this opportunity to renew your spirit in Christ.
God Bless.
Posted by frleo at 9:05 AM
September 20, 2004
Feast of St. Matthew the Apostle
On Tuesday, September 21st, St. Gabriel's will celebrate the Feast of St. Matthew with Holy Communion at 11:00 a.m.
St. Matthew was a tax collector who dropped everything to follow Jesus when he was called. He is, of course, author of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. He is also known as Levi in the Gospels of Mark and Luke. Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew for the benefit of Jewish believers.
We sincerely hope that all who are able will join us for Holy Communion on this special Feast Day.
Posted by frleo at 12:12 PM
September 13, 2004
Feast of the Triumph of the Cross
On Tuesday, September 14th at 11:00 a.m., St. Gabriel's will have Holy Communion in celebration of the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. We hope our parishioners who can work around their daytime obligations will attend.
This feast day commemorates three aspects of the Cross -- the first being its discovery in 326 by St. Helena Augusta, who traveled to the Holy Lands in search of sacred Christian sites after her son, Constantine, became the first Christian Roman Emperor. We also commemorate the consecration (c. 335) of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which housed the discovered Cross, as well as the recovery of relics of the True Cross which had been looted and taken to Persia. Emperor Heraclius led a military campaign into Persia (c. 638), recovered the relics of the Cross, and personally escorted the relics back to Jerusalem.
On this Feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross, we are reminded of our victory over sin achieved through Christ's death. We are also reminded of the power of the True Cross, the very instrument utilized by Christ to achieve His ends for our personal and collective salvation.
May our Lord God open our minds and hearts to his precious Son, who is ever ready to receive us and guide us.
Posted by frleo at 2:33 PM
August 18, 2004
Feast of St. Bartholomew
The Feast of St. Bartholomew, one of the original Twelve Apostles also known as Nathaniel, will be commemorated with Holy Communion at St. Gabriel's on Tuesday, August 24th at 11:00 a.m. All parishioners and visitors are invited to attend.
Posted by frleo at 12:16 PM
August 1, 2004
Transfiguration of Christ
There will be a special Eucharistic Service at St. Gabe's on Friday, August 6th at 11:00 a.m. in honor of the TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD CHRIST JESUS.
We encourage all parishioners -- who are able -- to attend. We hope to have some educational information regarding this blessed event posted on the website prior to August 6th, so please check back!
God be with you and keep you!!
Posted by frleo at 6:22 PM
June 26, 2004
Feast of St. Peter
On Tuesday, June 29th we celebrate the Feast of St. Peter the Apostle, who is of utmost importance for the Apostolic succession of the Church. St. Gabriel's will have Holy Communion on that day, at 11:00 a.m.
Posted by frleo at 10:04 AM
June 11, 2004
Feast of St. Barnabas TODAY
The liturgy of St. Barnabas and Holy Eucharist will be conducted at St. Gabriel's today -- June 11th -- at 11:00 a.m. Following, at 12:15 p.m., there will be a ringing of the church bells in honor of the late President Ronald Reagan.
We sincerely hope that, despite this short notice, our parishioners will be able to attend.
Posted by frleo at 8:15 AM