Month: November 2020

Solemn Morning Prayer for the First Sunday in Advent and the Thirty-Eight Sunday in COVIDtide

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Morning Prayer for the First Sunday in Advent

Happy New (Liturgical) Year! 🎉 (Remember it is now Year I of the BCP Lectionary)

Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. -Matthew 3. 2

Advent Prose (Rorate caeli / Drop down, ye heavens) (https://youtu.be/A2aKSpxFymQ)

Psalm: 9 (Sung by the Choir of York Minster)

1st Lesson: Isaiah 1. 1-20

2nd Lesson: Matthew 24. 1-28

Hymn: Lo! He comes with clouds descending (https://youtu.be/jjn3fBTvBjY)

Collect of the Day: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen.

Almighty God, on this first Sunday in Advent, especially during this pandemic, we pray for the coming of better times. We pray for all those who have come before us, and those who have left us this year. We continue to pray for the sick, the essential workers, and all those who suffer during these times. We pray that we can find solace in imposed solitude, so that we may keep others safe. We pray for the wisdom of the past and that our path may be lighted by guidance towards the future. We pray for the hope of our salvation and the bringing of joy and unity; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Morning Prayer for the Sunday Next Before Advent and the Thirty-Seventh Sunday in COVIDtide

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Morning Prayer for the Sunday Next Before Advent

Today is the last Sunday of the (liturgical) year. Next Sunday will be Advent, a season of preparation for the arrival of the Christ child (Christmas). It marks the end of a difficult year for many and hope towards a new future. Everyone prepares for Christmas differently, but I encourage all of you to take some time for prayer, self-reflection, and thinking of all those who are less-fortunate and suffering in the world today.

God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God in him.

Psalm: 80

1st Lesson: Ecclesiastes 11 & 12

2nd Lesson: Hebrews 11. 1-16

Collect of the Day: Stir Up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, as we approach the end of this annus horribilis, may we be strengthened in faith as we turn a new page of life. May the season of Advent be one of peace, quiet, and anticipation of the coming of Christ and the joy and salvation He will bring to this world. We continue to pray for all those who struggle in our world, whether they are suffering because of sickness, poverty, or other reasons. We pray for all those trying to lift up those who suffer and help improve their lives. We pray for the coming of new beginnings, that we may take pause in our busy world so that we can return to the lives and comforts that we so do cherish; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

The Minor Feast of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland

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Today is the minor feast day of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 1093

Margaret of Wessex was an English princess and a Scottish Queen, often called “The Pearl of Scotland.” A pious Christian, she cared for the poor and founded several abbeys in Scotland.

She was buried in Dumferline Abbey, one for the abbeys she founded, just outside of Edinburgh. In 2013, I took the train from Dumferline to Edinburgh (as my ship was docked at the nearby town of Crombie).

Collect: O God, you gave to your servant Margaret such faithfulness as Queen of Scotland that she cared for the poor and relieved the needs of those who lay in prison. Grant us a like devotion, whatever the service to which you call us, that we may be agents of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Saint Margaret of Scotland

Morning Prayer for the Twenty-Third Sunday After Trinity and the Thirty-Sixth Sunday in COVIDtide

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Morning Prayer for Trinity 23

God is love; and he that abideth in love abideth in God, and God in him.

Psalm: 137, 138

1st Lesson: Ecclus 18. 1-13

2nd Lesson: Luke 14. 15-end

(As the lessons start going into the Apocrypha, it is a reminder that the liturgical year is coming to an end, and soon it will be Advent)

Collect of the Day: O God, our refuge and strength, who art the author of all godliness: Be ready, we beseech thee, to hear the devout prayers of thy Church; and grant that those things which we ask faithfully we may obtain effectually; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, our hope and light, bring us steadfastness during these uncertain times. Protect us from the plague that continues to ravage this earth and your people, protect us from all the evils of this earth, seen and unseen, protect us from hatred, intolerance, and misunderstanding, and protect us from ourselves. We pray for all those who continue to fight against the evils of this word and go good works in your name. We pray for all those that need prayer at this time. And we give thanks for the good things that are still in this world, that we may have not noticed but remain there, hopefully to bring us comfort and joy of your vast kingdom; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Holy Eucharist for Remembrance Sunday, being also the Twenty-Second Sunday After Trinity, the Octave Day of All Saints, and the Thirty-Fifth Sunday in COVIDtide

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Remembrance Sunday at the Cathedral
Church of All Saints, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, We will remember them.

On this Remembrance Sunday, I attended the special service at the Cathedral of All Saints, Halifax.

BAS Collect of the Day: O God, it is your will to hold both heaven and earth in a single peace. Let the design of your great love shine on the waste of our wraths and sorrows, and give peace to your Church, peace among nations, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

BCP Collect of the Day: Give rest, we beseech Thee O Lord, to the souls of our departed brethren, and grant that we, who do honour to the memory of their sacrifice may so be filled with the spirit of their love and fortitude that, forgetting all selfish and unworthy aims, we may live to the glory of God, and to the service of our fellow man; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Bulletin for Remembrance Sunday

Evensong for All Souls’ Day or the Commemoration of the Faithfully Departed

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All Souls‘ Day

(Office Setting: Evening Service in G Major, C.V. Stanford)

Psalm: 130 (Sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey)

1st Lesson: Isaiah 38. 10-20

2nd Lesson: John 5. 24-29

Hymn: Christ, enthroned in highest heaven (French Church Melody, c. 16th cent) (https://youtu.be/WqE6SKiPrpo)

Collect during the Octave of All Saints: O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord: Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Collect of the Day: Most merciful Father who has been pleased to take unto thyself our brethren departed: Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as yet by faith, that having served thee faithfully in this world, we may, with all faithful Christian souls, be joined hereafter to the company of thy blessed Saints in glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, world without end. Amen.

Almighty God, on this Commemoration of the faithfully departed, we pray for those who have left this mortal world, remembering:

Paula, Henri and Margaret, Margaret and Bernadette, Bill and Nancy, Jim and Rita, Bill, Ed, and Leopold.

The Crew of Stalker: Kevin Hagen, Brenden MacDonald, Maxime Miron-Morin, Matthew Pyke, Matthew Cousins, Abbigail Cowbrough

From the Canadian Forces Snowbirds: Jennifer Casey

The victims of the Portapique Mass Shooting: Heidi Stevenson, Lisa McCully, Sean McLeod, Alanna Jenkins, Emily Tuck, Jolene Oliver, Aaron Tuck, Jamie and Greg Blair, Corrie Ellison, Lillian Campbell Hyslop, Tom Bagley, John Joseph Zahl and Elizabeth Joanne Thomas, Joey Webber, Kristen Beaton, Gina Goulet, Dawn Madsen and Frank Gulenchyn, Heather O’Brien, Joy and Peter Bond

We pray for all the victims of COVID-19, taken from us prematurely. We pray for all the faithful departed and that we will be one day united with them in the Kingdom of Heaven. We pray for the forgotten dead, who have no graves or markers.

Rest eternal grant them, O Lord: And may light perpetual shine upon them. The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance: they will not be afraid of any evil tidings.

Evensong for All Souls’

Solemn Morning Prayer for the Feast of All Saints (or All Hallows’) and the Thirty-Fourth Sunday in COVIDtide

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Morning Prayer for All Saints’ Day

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race which is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

(Setting: The Great Service, William Byrd)

Psalm: 1, 15, 112 (Sung by the choirs of Wells, Exeter, or Worcester Cathedral, respectively)

1st Lesson: Wisdom 3. 1-9

2nd Lesson: Revelations 19. 6-10

Hymn: For All the Saints (Walsham How/Vaughan Williams) https://youtu.be/mvXDY4HHC1o

Collect of the Day: O Almighty God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord: Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys, which thou hast prepared for them that unfeignedly love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, Father of all peoples, on this All Saint’s Day; we pray for all the Saints, living and dead, past and present, sung and unsung. We pray for all those who do good works through love and in your name. We pray for all those who have worked to join together peoples, heal the sick and wounded, fight for the righteous and neglected, spread the gospel of love and charity, make sacrifices of their own body, mind, and spirit. May the communion of Saints smile upon us and guide us in your righteous ways, strengthen by their fellowship, through the power, honour, and glory of Jesus Christ, our saviour. Amen.