THE MEDITATION August 31 st, A.D The 11th Sunday After Trinity Sunday

Transcription

1 Thus says the Lord: Stand By the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is: and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. - Jeremiah; Chap. 6, Vs. 16 THE MEDITATION August 31 st, A.D The 11th Sunday After Trinity Sunday The Pharisee and the Publican Hand-illumination from a 15 th Century MONASTIC ANTIPHONAL The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke; Chapter 18, Verses 9-14 The 1928 Book of Common Prayer, Page 205 The People's Anglican Missal, Pages C72 St. Joseph Sunday Missal ( 1958 Ed.), Page 827

2 2. SUMMARY OF THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: In the Parable of the Pharisee and the publican, Jesus teaches us the necessity of humility. TWO MEN IN THE TEMPLE We can, in today's Gospel account, envision that our Lord has a pretty good crowd gathered about Him as He begins this parable. He discerns that there are many amongst the crowd that trust in their own righteousness, and consider themselves to be just and despise those others who do not live as virtuously as they perceive that they do. The contrasts between the two men in Jesus' parable could hardly be more perfectly depicted. There's the Pharisee, undoubtedly standing close to the front of the temple, praying, and giving a very pious outward appearance. He is saying, in his silent prayers, O God, I thank Thee that I'm not like the rest of men; robbers, dishonest, adulterers, or even like this publican. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I possess. We must be careful, in examining this parable, to keep away such thoughts as: Thank God I'm not like that Pharisee! How self-righteous and judgmental he is! It seems that the prayer of the Pharisee is not a prayer at all. He does address the Father and thanks Him, but there is no acknowledgment of any kind of dependence on Him or need for Him but rather a proud catalog of his achievements... things that God already knows the man does, by the way. We can admit that the Pharisees' list of accomplishments is not bad at all. There's nothing wrong with fasting from food and from paying a good percentage of one's income to the Temple (Can any of us say we are doing the same things at present?), but it is clear that he has been doing these things, not for love of the Father, but for love of himself. He has been feeding his own ego. His god is not the Father in Heaven... it is himself. God can't penetrate into a heart so surrounded by pride, self-importance, and self-love He wouldn't be recognized even if He could. The Pharisee has no needs... he's got everything under control. TO ME A SINNER The publican is someone else all together. He understands where he is...in the House of God, and doesn't even dare to approach the sanctuary, but stands far off... perhaps near the entrance, with his eyes cast down, and strikes his breast in the original gesture of sorrow while saying: O God, be merciful to me the sinner! This is a beautiful prayer, in fact, it is a perfect prayer; for it flows forth from the depths of a man who, knowing God and knowing himself draws the inevitable conclusion that having betrayed God's love so often, his only recourse is to seek God's mercy. The sincerity of this admission brings this judgment from the holy lips of our Blessed Lord: This man went down to his house justified rather than the other : for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased ; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. There is no barrier in him to the Father's allpervading love unlike the condition of the Pharisee. Holiness is now possible to the publican. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy upon me, a miserable sinner. This is called The Jesus Prayer for those unfamiliar with this little prayer. It is taken from the very words of Holy Scripture and inserted, with a petition to our most Blessed Lord, is a prayer-gift that comes to the Western Church from the Eastern Church. It was initially used by eastern monks and nuns who prayed it on prayer ropes with beads ( like our rosaries). They said this prayer day and night unceasing until it became automatic... a natural on-going action in their beings, and it still goes on today. It was

3 3. embraced by the West long ago, and not only is used in monastic houses, but by secular clergy and the laity, too. The humble words of the publican have been turned into a means in which one can sanctify their day and their souls at the same time! What failing is more common to us all than that of trusting in ourselves as being just and despising others? How do we really know that we are just? Society says to us that whatever we believe is o.k. as long as we don't hurt someone else... Society tells us that to be assertive, competitive, and full of self-esteem is the correct way to live. What we need to remember is that Society is made up of people just like ourselves, who in trusting that they are just, are attempting to define what is just and right and then impose their concept on everyone around them. This is pharisaic pride, in a way, which makes no sense at all. Pharisaic pride can come from everybody, not just a Pharisee. It can come from the Clergy, Laity, Politicians, Movie Stars,... Everyone! Jesus shows us so very clearly, that such pride makes fools of us all, and in the course of our lives can destroy us ; and yet we continue on and indulge in it. The current social aberration called Political Correctness is just one form of Pharisaic pride that is rapidly being turned into a form of new morality. All of this should bring us to the inevitable conclusion that we are totally dependent upon Jesus Christ for everything... even the recognition of our need for Him! All we can do is to lift up our souls to You, O Lord. We put our trust in You, O God. That we do willingly, hopefully, longingly, in every Mass that we attend, and in every day in which we are given by You. He will, in the end make us see the divine goodness in its perfection, if we lift ourselves up to Him often enough, and then there will be no choice for us to become publicans. The publican himself has left us with the gift of beautiful words turned into prayer with which we can lift ourselves up every time we say them... every moment of the day, should we desire to do so. PRAYER OF THE DAY: Keep Me O God, as the apple of Thine eye : protect me in the in the shadow of Thy Wings. - ( Psalm 17 ) The Pharisee and the Publican; from an old French illustration. PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy upon me, a miserable sinner. ( The Jesus Prayer )

4 4. Pro Clericis : For the Clergy The Publican and the Confetior The call to Vocation and subsequent ordination to the Diaconate or Priesthood, or the consecration of a Bishop is a profound change in the life of the man who is called. It's important to stress that one Order is not more important than another. Each has it's important role to play in the life and growth of our Holy Catholic Church. Each is inter-connected. Almighty God, in His infinite wisdom, places each man into the station where He wants them to be and where he will shine brightest... in short, there are no 'bit-players' or small roles to be played in clerical service to the Church. A good reminder to every clergyman is for them to read- the exhortations contained in the Ordinal in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer to which that man has been called... perhaps once a month. This act can serve as a good reminder and refresher of the awesome responsibilities that every Vocation contains. It's a humbling exercise to say the least! Today's Gospel account; the Parable of the Pharisee and the publican, is well-known to all. The key lesson in this Gospel is humility. No cleric wants to be identified with the Pharisee. However, as mere human-beings who have been called to perform Sacred Vocations, sometimes our personalities, our educations, our egos get the better of us and we are, in one way or another, standing in the shoes of that Pharisee! We get in the way of our vocations. The tough part is that we won't realize it unless it is pointed out... will we be humble enough to listen and accept, or will we trip over our own shoe laces that we have tied together and looking up from the ground at ourselves, see that Pharisee! How can we be more like the publican, who knew his unworthiness to even be standing inside the precincts of the temple, and abandoned himself to God's mercy? What can we do to retain and maintain our humility? The Prayers at the Foot of the Altar come to us from venerable sources in our Church liturgical History. They are said by the Priest and server at the beginning of every Mass, and serve to place both the Celebrant and server(s) in the shoes of the publican. They serve to humble those who are about to participate in the greatest Drama of all times: The un-bloodied sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. The Priest and server, by way of these prayers: ( and in the case of a High Mass; all who are in service at the altar) are purified and laid low before God, so they may worthily ascend the steps to the Altar of Sacrifice. Within these prayers is contained the words of the Confeteor: ( Here is the form from an English Sarum Missal of 1493): I confess to almighty God, to blessed Mary, to all the Saints, and to thee, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, by my fault : I pray Holy Mary, all the Saints of God, and to thee, to pray for me. May Almighty God have mercy upon you, and forgive you all your sins ; deliver you from all evil ; preserve and strengthen you in goodness, and bring you to everlasting life. The almighty and merciful God grant unto you absolution and remission of all your sins, time

5 for true repentance, and amendment of life, and the grace and consolation of the Holy Ghost. 5. Contritely saying these prayers and striking our breasts we distance ourselves from the Pharisee and bow low with the publican acknowledging our unworthiness to stand before the awesome majesty and perfect holiness of the living God. Authentic humility means getting in touch with reality getting real as is said today. The Mass begins as we pause to understand that we don't deserve to even be there. We are all publicans and prodigals who a loving Father embraces and loves, not because of our virtues and even vocations, but in spite of our sins. It is Love that is beyond our comprehension! Our sacred duty then, is to give our all... to Him that gave us All. The Confeteor being said by Celebrant and server in a Carthusian Monastery The order for the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar can be found in any edition of The Anglican Missal; altar edition or the people's edition, should the cleric desire to include them in the Order of Service of his Mass. -ed. The Meditation is produced by the Benedictine Community of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory 4 Shaw Road Raymond, Maine This is a free on-line ministry of our community to anyone who wishes to receive it. Please feel free to copy and pass on this meditation to anyone you feel might benefit from it. To be placed on our weekly mailing list, please contact Father Prior Kevin at : klamarre@ourladyofsevensorrows.org * Visit our Website to view past editions of The Meditation at: and go to 'Meditation' section. * SUNDAY Public MASS with the Office of TERCE: 9:00 a.m. (The Chapel is located on the second floor of the garage. Please enter by left side door and go up the stairs. Please keep silence upon entering the building. ) Also, Please Note: There are no Public Rest Room facilities at the Priory, please plan accordingly.

6 6. PRIORY KALENDAR A.D Week of August 31 st to September 7th Sunday August 31 st... Eleventh Sunday After Trinity See Note 1. Monday, September 1 st.. St. Giles, Ab.-( 8 th cent.).. establishment of the French Congregation of OSB in 1837 by Abbot Prosper Gueranger. Tuesday, September 2 nd... St. Stephen of Hungry, K. & C. - ( 11 th cent.) Wednesday, September 3 rd... feria in Trinity-tide. Thursday, September 4 th..st. Limbania; N. & R. OSB -( 13 th cent. Italy) - please pray for all Hermit Nuns and Holy Women who live as Recluses. Friday, September 5 th.... feria in Trinity-tide. Saturday, September 6 th... feria in Trinity-tide. Sunday, September 7 th... Eleventh Sunday After Trinity. NOTE: NO PUBLIC MASS AT PRIORY CHAPEL TODAY Fr. KEVIN at ST. AUGUSTINE'S, SACO, ME. KALENDAR KEY: Ab. = Abbot, Abs. = Abbess, Abp. = Archbishop, Ap = Apostle, Bp. = Bishop, C. or Conf. = Confessor, Comm. = Commemorate. Dcn. = Deacon, Doct. = Doctor of the Church, Ev. = Evangelist, K = King, M. = Monk, Myr. = Martyr, N. = Nun, P= Priest Po. = Pope, R.= Recluse, Q. = Queen, Vir. = Virgin, W = Widow O.S.B. = Order of St. Benedict. O.C.O. = Order of the Cistercian Observance (Trappists), A = Abstinence, F = Fast, F & A = Fast and Abstinence NOTES: 1. August 31 st ; St Aidan; B. & C. - ( 7 th cent. Northumbria) & comm. St. Raymond Nonnatus; C. - ( 13th cent. Spain ) patron Saint to Mid-wives & Expectant Mothers.

7 St. Raymond Nonnatus ( ) This Week at the Priory Our Visitors - Postscript Well. Dear friends, our three visitors, Father Timir and Brothers Casmir and Vladmir made it back to their little monastery in the African Kalahari Desert after what turned out to be, for them,an interesting and, as you'd now suppose, eventful trip! The details are a bit sketchy, but it's been reported that our three travelers had some adventures with the security departments at every airport they landed in on their way home. No one here is surprised at that! Suffice it to say, they are safely back home at Our Lady of the Dusty Desert Monastery. Already the two brothers are hard at it working on their water source and supply problems. The Abbot also told me in his that they have been in Time-out already! I didn't know they had such a thing! Hmmm.... interesting. _ I know that you were probably wondering what has been happening to our old Brother Sylvester. Last week, we left you with a scene of our glum dear brother contemplating going on a big-time oldfashioned squirrel-type bender! Well, please don't fret, friends... it didn't happen thanks to our indomitable Brother Chip! He no sooner dropped off the Meerkat Mafia as they were nicknamed by the community ( the brethren kept that one from me the whole time! ), and came up with a surprise plan to help Br. Sly beat those blues. On the way back to the Priory, Br. Chip, on the way back to the Priory, stopped at a local donut establishment that is heavily patronized by the members of this community, and surprised Br. Sly with a half-pound of his favorite dark-roast coffee! Br. Sly originates from the West Virginia hills where they like their coffee STRONG, and is known for his frequent but gentlemanly comments on how weak we make the coffee here up North. Good ol' Br. Chip remedied this problem for his fraptious older brother... at least for now. Br. Sylvester, after a couple cups of of his newly-gifted ambrosia, abandoned his funk, rallied, and headed out to right his fallen-over tractor that was still out in the field. No one has told me how this resourceful little squirrel did it, and it's probably best that I don't look into

8 the matter too closely, and just be content that; all's well that end's well. However, we now have a highly-caffeinated little squirrel running about rapidly tackling all those things written out on his to do list. It's very gratifying to see our brother back to his old busy self, but for now, and in the interest of everyone's safety, I've asked that the chain saws, welding equipment, and even the weed-whacker be locked up, at least until Br. Sylvester steadies himself back into a recognizable pace! - Fr. k.l.l. + Brother Chip's column returns in September! 8. Br. Sylvester enjoying his third cup of mornin' coffee....from little squirrels hopped-up on caffeine Good Lord Deliver us! (A new verse recently added to our Morning Litany.) ( photo by Br. Raymond ) PARTING SHOT

9 CAZ Our Little friends sharing a chuckle over their antics dealing with airport security on their trip home. 9. We are always looking for benefactors to help financially with the animals. Our funds are extremely low at this time. If you or someone that you know would like to help, simply mark your check for the animals. It will be gratefully received and deeply appreciated. Give us the tools, and we'll finish the job! - Sir Winston Churchill Please consider including our Animal Outreach and Rescue in your Estate Planning. Contact Sr. Mary Francis, O.S.B. For details. Thank you Thanks to those of you who care for the animals with your donations, Henry and Hope continue to grow and adapt to their handicaps. Henry shows Hope where she needs to be and Hope helps Henry balance by leaning on him so his bowed legs engage and he can play

10 and jump and walk around. You make a difference in the lives of these animals and all the others here at the priory with your gifts large or small. The animals say thank you! - Sr. Mary-Francis. O.S.B. P A X