On 31 October 1517, German Augustinian monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the All Saints Church in Wittenburg, Saxony. This event is considered by many as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.
Luther originally had no intention of breaking from the Roman Catholic Church, he only sought to reform the practice of selling of indulgences, which he saw as the selling of salvation with money. Luther would eventually be tried for heresy and excommunicated, but he and his followers would break away from the Roman Catholic Church and form one of the largest Protestant denominations.
Luther hammers his 95 Theses to the door, Ferdinand Pauwels, 1872, oil on canvas
The minor feast of Alfred the Great, King is commemorated in the Anglican liturgical calendar on 26 October.
Collect of the Day: Almighty God, who didst enable King Alfred to save his country from ruthless foe, and to bless the people by his faith and wisdom: Stablish, we pray Thee, the thing which Thou hast wrought in us, and make us worthy of Thine unending mercies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Alfred (849-899), King of the Anglo-Saxons, known for his perchant for education, legal reform, military reorganization, and fighting off the Vikings. He was the only English king to have the moniker “the Great.”
Today is St. Crispin’s Day, or the Minor Feast of St. Crispin and St. Crispinian, Martyrs, 285 AD
👞💼 St. Crispin and St. Crispinian are the patron saints for cobblers, tanners, and leather workers. However, their feast day is best remembered for the St. Crispin’s Day Speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V (also known as the Band of Brothers Speech).
Collect for Feast of St. Crispin and St. Crispinian: Grant, O Lord, that we who commemorate Thy holy martyrs Crispin and Crispinian, may do Thee service after their example, working with our hands the thing which is good, and ministering to the needs of men, alike in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be rememberèd— We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition; And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day. -Henry V (Act 4, Scene 3) (W. Shakespeare)
216 years ago, the Royal Navy fleet under the command of Vice-Admiral Viscount Horatio Nelson, Duke of Brontë, KB, engaged and defeated the combined French and Spanish fleet off Cape Trafalgar. England was facing invasion by Napoleon, and Nelson knew he had to neutralize the threat, no matter what the cost may be. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Royal Navy defeated the enemy is one of its finest victories in its history; no British ships surrendered during the Battle and 21 enemy ships were captured and one sank. But during the battle, Nelson was struck by a bullet from a French sharpshooter and he would not live to see his victory.
Prior to the Battle, is it recorded that Nelson was found praying in his cabin and he recorded the following prayer:
May the great God, whom I worship, grant to my country and for the benefit of Europe in general, a great and glorious victory: and may no misconduct, in any one, tarnish it: and may humanity after victory be the predominant Feature in the British fleet. For myself individually, I commit my life to Him who made me And may His blessing light upon my endeavours for serving my Country faithfully. To Him I resign myself and the just cause which is entrusted to me to defend Amen. Amen. Amen.
Nelson at Prayer, on going into battle at Trafalgar (Horatio Nelson) by Ferdinand Jean de la Ferté Joubert, printed by McQueen (Macqueen), after Thomas Jones Barker line engraving, declared to the Printsellers’ Association 14 June 1854, National Portrait Gallery, London
The following prayer from the Book of Common Prayer was probably said by the sailors on board prior to battle:
O Most powerful and glorious Lord God, the Lord of hosts, that rulest and commandest all things: Thou sittest in the throne judging right, and therefore we make our address to thy Divine Majesty in this our necessity, that thou wouldest take the cause into thine own hand, and judge between us and our enemies. Stir up thy strength, O Lord, and come and help us; for thou givest not alway the battle to the strong, but canst save by many or by few. O let not our sins now cry against us for vengeance; but hear us thy poor servants begging mercy, and imploring thy help, and that thou wouldest be a defence unto us against the face of the enemy. Make it appear that thou art our Saviour and mighty Deliverer; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
👨🏽⚕️🩺🏥 Collect for the Feast of St Luke: Almighty God, who calledst Luke the Physician, whose praise is in the Gospel, to be an Evangelist, and Physician of the soul: May it please thee that, by the wholesome medicines of the doctrine delivered by him, all the diseases of our souls may be healed; through the merits of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ and his apostle Luke went about doing good, and healing all manner of sickness and disease among the people: Continue, we beseech thee, this His gracious work among us especially for all those combatting the Coronavirus; cheer, heal, and sanctify the sick; grant to the physicians, surgeons, and nurses wisdom and skill, sympathy and patience; and send down thy blessing upon all who labour to prevent suffering and to forward thy purposes of love. Have pity upon us miserable sinners, who have forgotten and become fatigued by the continuing plague that spreads around us; may we humble people take the proper precautions and be humbled by this continued destruction and that you may see it fit to command the destroying Angel to cease from punishing, so it may now please thee to withdraw from us this plague and grievous sickness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saint Luke of Antioch, Evangelist, Physician, Artist
16 October is the commemoration of Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, Bishops and Martyrs, 1555.
Along with Thomas Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley were known as the Oxford Martyrs. Trying to undo the Protestant reforms brought in during the reign of Henry VIII and Edward VI, Latimer, Bishop of Worcester, and Ridley, Bishop of London, were burned at the stake at Oxford in 1555 for heresy under the reign of Mary I. Archbishop Cramner was forced to watch the execution of Latimer and Ridley and he himself would burn at the stake five months later.
Collect for Martyrs: Almighty God, by whose grace and power thy Martyrs, Latimer and Ridley, were enabled to witness to the truth and to be faithful unto death: Grant that we, who now remember them before thee, may likewise so bear witness unto thee in this world, that we may receive with them the crown of glory that fadeth not away; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
While we continue in some degree of COVIDtide, I am thankful that we are able to spend time with friends and family without much restrictions. I am thankful for farmers, fishers, and all those that allow us to have food on our tables. I am thankful for all the luxuries of life, the ability to enjoy leisure time, a stable and prosperous country, all those who serve this country, especially those away from home at this time.
I hope all of you are thankful for something this year and that you reflect on the good things in your life.
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Collect for Harvest Thanksgiving (Book of Common Prayer Canada 1962): O Most merciful Father, we humbly thank thee for all thy gifts so freely bestowed upon us; for life and health and safety; for power to work and leisure to rest; for all that is beautiful in creation and in the lives of men; but above all we thank thee for our spiritual mercies in Christ Jesus our Lord; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Today is the Minor Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, 1226.
Francis of Assisi was a thirteenth-century Italian whose greatest honour was to be known as il Poverello, “the little poor one of Christ.”He grew up in a very wealthy family and seemed to have not a care in the world until he was twenty years old, when a chance encounter with a leper left him appalled by his own uselessness. Soon afterwards he heard Jesus speaking to him from a painting of the crucifixion over the altar of a local church. He threw away his wardrobe and renounced his father’s wealth in order to care for the poor and the crippled. In 1208 he heard the commission which the risen Lord gave to his apostles, “Go, make all nations my disciples,” and knew that it was also addressed to him. Francis began to train his followers for the task of making Jesus truly known and loved among the ordinary people of Italy. Out of this movement developed the Order of the Lesser Brethren, commonly called the Franciscans.
Francis had a great love for nature and animals, thus it is very common for animals to get blessed on his feast day.
Collect (For All the Saints): Grant us, Almighty God, after the example of your holy servant Francis, to do what you would have us do, and always to desire what is pleasing in your sight, that cleansed by your love, enlightened by your truth, and kindled with the fire of your Holy Spirit, we may follow in the footsteps of your beloved Son and make our way to you, O God most High; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Animals getting blessed at the Pet Blessing service at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, Halifax, 3 October 2021
High Anglican Haligonian 