Almighty God, you raised up your servant Anselm to teach the Church of his day to understand its faith in your eternal Being, perfect justice, and saving mercy: Provide your Church in every age with devout and learned scholars and teachers, that we may be able to give a reason for the hope that is in us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 – Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006

REFLECTION

St. Anselm served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 – 1109 AD. He was a Benedictine monk, then abbot, and ultimately elevated to the rank of Archbishop. He was a reluctant to accept the appointment, as he was very introspective and did not have political aspirations. He was also involved (directly and/or indirectly) with the Investiture Controversy of the 11th and 12th centuries. His primary concern was serving the people of England, not advancing his clerical-political career.

It seems that I was destined to have a relationship, if only a passing one, with St. Anselm. I recall in high school, being pressed by one of the school administrators to attend “St. A’s” in New Hampshire “because its a good, small, Catholic school.” Despite me not being Roman Catholic, the Benedictines could not compete with the Jesuits, so I did not attend St. Anselm College.

Fast forward a couple of years, I am now an Anglican, reading about the lineage of the Archbishops of Canterbury. I stumble upon the name of St. Anselm. In the end, it kind of comes full circle for me.

St. Anselm represents what is needed in Christ’s Church;  clergy who are concerned with the souls of those who placed in their care. What I see now is a growing clergy body composed of careerists. His Holiness Pope Francis addressed this very thing early in his pontificate. This is something that affects all the church, not just non denominational, Pentecostal churches. The constant chase for purple shirts and titles is leaving those who need spiritual nourishment behind. Hopefully, we can address this before it’s too late.

 – JMH+

Almighty God, in your providence you chose your servant Patrick to be the apostle of the Irish people, to bring those who were wandering in darkness and error to the true light and knowledge of you: Grant us so to walk in that light that we may come at last to the light of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 – Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006

REFLECTION

St. Patrick’s Day is one of interest to me. I was quite ignorant of the impact His Grace (he is a Bishop) had on society as a whole. Perhaps its because I live in Boston where he is sometimes reduced to a mere color and baby clover. It was when I was presented with the prospect of being ordained (Anglican priesthood) on his feast day*, I decided to do a little more research on him. He was quite the remarkable man.

He is British by birth, NOT Irish. He is the son of a deacon and grandson of a priest.** He was kidnapped by Irish pirates and forced into slave labor at the age of sixteen. Six years later, he fled back to Britain. According to his writings, the six years of captivity, in a foreign land, lead to him converting (in an authentic way) to Christianity. While in Britain, he studied for the priesthood and was ordained. He then felt God calling him to return to Ireland and preach to the masses. He did this and would become Bishop of Ireland, and ultimately the Patron Saint of Ireland.

St. Patrick is interesting because, in many ways, he found Jesus in jail. This is something that does happen. Although many who are ignorant of this believe that one can’t grow closer to God in the midst of captivity, St. Patrick does. The act of returning to the place of his captivity, to preach to those whose souls are held captive by sin is nothing short of admirable.

In the National Guard Armory where my headquarters is located, there is a very large (probably 6 feet in height, 3 feet in width) painting of St. Patrick hanging on a wall of the drill shed. Everyone who walks in stops and admires it. It’s quite a sight! I believe it’s the only armory in Massachusetts to have something like that in it. It’s there because of its historical value. It was placed there by soldiers of the community years ago. It’s a direct connection to the past. Many people have tried to get it removed (screaming anti-religious rhetoric)  but to no avail. It is a mainstay. It is a relic of the not only the immediate past, but the distant past, of that young man, who decided to serve something bigger than himself.

* Alas, I was ordained on the 16th. 😦

** At that point, there was only one CHRISTIAN Church where priests could get married and have children.

Frs. John and Charles Wesley

Lord God, who didst inspire thy servants John and Charles Wesley with burning zeal for the sanctification of souls, and didst endow them with eloquence in speech and song: Kindle in thy Church, we beseech thee, such fervor, that those whose faith has cooled may be warmed, and that those who have not known thy Christ may turn to him and be saved; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

 – Collect for the Feast of John and Charles Wesley, Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2006.

REFLECTION

Fathers John and Charles Wesley are interesting to say the least. They are fine examples of priests who strove to grow closer to God and empower others to do the same. This is made evident by their desire to build a community of believers in the Church of England that adhered to a strict interpretation of the Book of Common Prayer. If the Wesleys were alive today, they would be accused of being “fundamentalists” in the most negative of senses.

The conflict between the brothers (John’s ordaining of American “elders” against the wishes of Church authorities in England, and his brother Charles) is what ultimately lead to the founding of the Methodist denomination. I’ve often wondered about John’s action, was it just or not?

On one hand, he is a representative of the Church of England in the New World. He took the same ordination vows that I would take some 300+ years later: that we would adhere to the instruction of our Bishops. It is clear that John Wesley did not.

On the other hand, John Wesley has several communities of believers, those who need pastoral care and support. It is more than he or his brother Charles could handle. If the Church of England were to send more priests to the New World, that would have solved the problem. However, that did not to seem to be the case. The only feasible solution would have been to enlist lay leaders as “elders” to provide pastoral oversight in their absence.

I struggle with this story because I understand both the duty to the Church Universal and the duty to the local parish. However, I must admit, that I place a little more stock on the Church Universal than the local church. This may be shocking considering that I come from a Baptist background where local church autonomy is the law of the land. Even then, I agreed with that concept in principal. I believe the needs of the local congregation are important, but they are not important than the authority of the Universal Church.

I believe that this is what happening with the church today. We have priests who are succumbing to the pressures of the congregation and are violating the authority, history, tradition and scriptural interpretation of the Universal Church. This violation leads to the extreme liberal and conservative wings of the Church which leaves out a large segment of our society being un-churched. This segment are those, like myself, who don’t view the world in only black and white but rather some shades of grey. There are some issues that are black and white, but there are many that are grey.

With that said, I understand the situation in which John Wesley was in. However, I also understand the situation that Charles Wesley was in. In the end the priest must seek guidance from God, his clergy superiors, his colleagues and parishioners that have his and the congregations best interest at heart. Doing this and above all, trusting in God, will he avoid falling to the pressure of one segment of the church that alienates another.

 – FR. JMH

O everlasting God, who didst reveal truth to thy servant Phillips Brooks, and didst so form and mold his mind and heart that he was able to mediate that truth with grace and power: Grant, we pray, that all whom thou dost call to preach the Gospel may steep themselves in thy Word, and conform their lives to thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

– Collect from Lesser Feasts and Fasts, 2006

Phillips Brooks was an American clergyman and author. During the American Civil War he upheld the cause of the North and opposed slavery, and his sermon on the death of Abraham Lincoln was an eloquent expression of the character of both men. In 1869 he became rector of Trinity Church, Boston; today, his statue is located on the left exterior of the church.

“{My only ambition}”, Brooks once wrote “is to be a parish priest and, though not much of one, would as a college president be still less”.
He briefly served as Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the early 1890s. In the Episcopal liturgical calendar he is remembered on January 23. He is known for being the lyricist of “O Little Town of Bethlehem”.

– Adapted from wikipedia.org

REFLECTION

I first heard of Phillips Brooks as a child. My family lived around the corner from a school named after the clergyman. I recall wondering why was this school so close to my house, more elaborate than the one I had to travel twice the distance to attend? The school has since been converted into low income housing. As I began my secondary education in one of the better Boston Public high schools, Snowden International School at Copley, I would walk pass the following statue:

With my adolescent/teenage eyes, I noticed the figure in the foreground (being Brooks) proclaiming something and the figure in the background, unknown to me at the time, watching. I would give the statue a cursory glance (completely ignoring the text at the base) and assumed it was honouring someone from the Enlightenment period. I assumed it was some bourgeois statesman proclaiming the pursuit of knowledge and a faith in God that justified owning African slaves. I assumed this because of the emphasis of the Enlightenment in my history and literature courses at the time and the figures who were lauded as American icons who, more often than not, believed in God, and owned African slaves. It wasn’t until one evening, years later, I sat in front of the statue to take a closer look:

I realized that Phillips Brooks was a clergyman and he guided his actions by the words of Christ, as illustrated in the statue. I was amazed that this display would be in public. The act of preaching and allowing Christ to guide the words is something that is becoming a rarity. I find that the temptation to preach to the congregation’s taste is strong. I see some of my colleagues across all religious lines either fight or submit to this temptation. I have faced this temptation as a Baptist minister in the past, and now as an Anglican Priest. This statue to me is a reminder to allow the hand of God to guide me, despite who may be happy or upset. I have a framed picture of the statue in my office and I visit the statue periodically to remind myself of God’s presence.

 – JMH+