The Meditation The Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity August 26 th, A.D. 2018 The Sermon on the Mount (11431-43)) From a fresco by Fra Angelico (1395-1455) (Guido di Pietro) Early Italian Renaissance Painter & Illuminator 1
The Collect for the Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service: grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Gentleness We see in today s Collect, the phrase; true and laudable service and its performance and disposition for the purpose of attaining everlasting life. Let s examine true and laudable service in light of gentleness a trait that is becoming more and more foreign to mankind nowadays, as people seek to accomplish their ends by shouting one another down, and bringing to light each other s evils, instead of applying the healing balm of love and forgiveness that comes from a gentle heart. St. Paul writes to the Galatians: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. (Galatians; Chap. 6, Vs. 1) St.Paul is urging us to practice our apostleship in a spirit of charity and humility. We read in Psalm 37: The meek-spirited shall posses the earth, and shall be refreshed in the multitude of peace. (Verse 11). and, the great king Solomon himself declares: A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. (Proverbs; Chap. 15, Vs. 1). A person who is gentle in their speech and their ways, can do much good. Gentleness is necessary, especially where its opposite exists. It s all a question of how we react to an unkind word, or an action which we were not expecting, or to the sin of another. Being gentle under such circumstances, requires self-control, sometimes, great self-control. The world sees gentility as a weakness but this is far from the truth, for to be a gentle person amidst conflict and egotism, is proof of a strong personality and long training. The person who can respond with gentleness in all situations, is one who has conquered self-love, selfishness, and their own egotism. This is no small thing for such a person has worked, trained, and suffered, in order to possess this gentleness, or should it be said, be possessed by gentleness! The Bible refers to a gentle person as one who is meek. They have pity on the sinner who has offended them. They refuse to see malice or bitterness in the words and actions of others; words and actions which do more harm to the sinner than the one to whom the words or acts are directed. The meek person has pity on the sinner, because that person is their fellow man. The one who is meek remains calm and friendly; their answer is not an angry defense of their own conduct, but a kind word coming from a heart in which the peace of God dwells, and therefore brings that peace with it. The hot-headed person is calmed by this peace, and their anger diminishes. 2
Jesus has some definite and well-known words about the meek: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth... blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy... Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God. (St. Matthew: Chap. 5, Vss. 5,7, & 9). [1] Few humans are gentle by nature. Our more animal traits come from our past where mere survival depended upon them. Gentleness, however, supposes true Christianity in a person. It s a grace that must be obtained by prayer, self-discipline, and following the example of Him Who was meekness itself, and of Whom Isaiah prophesied: and he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. (Isaiah; Chap. 53, Vs. 7) He urges us to follow by His example: Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest in your souls. (St. Matthew: Chap. 11, Vs. 29). Jesus, the meekest of men, bore insults and mockeries for our sakes and died a shameful death on the Cross, to save us sinners. We shall find it impossible to be hard hearted and unforgiving if we remember Him, and what He underwent for all humanity, however we may be treated by others. They can never do unto us, what was done unto Him. He gave all to save all. Christians long to be gentile like our blessed Lord Jesus in order that we may become instruments of peace to a world in sore need of it. Christ gives Himself daily to us as our Sacred Food and Life-giving Drink at the sacrifice of the Mass. This is His assurance that through the daily un-bloody sacrifice, we shall live, and He shall live in us, just as He lives in the Father. O Lord Jesus, give us your grace that we may help others to be gentle, and may win them over to your ideal of unity, love, and peace. Amen. Meditation Notes: [1] St. Matthew; Chap. 5: This Chapter in the Gospel of St. Matthew constitutes our Lord s famous Sermon on the Mount (St. Matthew; Chapters 5 7), and this sermon sets forth the principles of the Christian ethic. Included in this sermon are the Beatitudes (St. Matt; Ch. 5, Vss. 3-12) and the Lord s Prayer; (St. Matt; Ch. 6, Vss. 9-13). This is a portuion of Holy Scripture every Christian ought to be intimately familiar with, if they are to truly become like Jesus Himself Meekness Incarnate. When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time. St. Francis de Sales: Letters to Persons in Religion; I, 6. He who can preserve gentleness amid pains, and peace amid worry and multitude of affairs, is almost perfect. St. Francis de Sales: Letters to Persons in Religion, 2, 25. 3
Meditation Texts: Where do we get em? The Meditation has been blessed with a recent influx of new subscribers, whom we welcome to our growing family. Our subscribers are made up of people who come from differing Christian faith traditions, and some, none at all, as they are still in their personal journey of seeking. That being said, some of what we often refer to may be unfamiliar, especially if they do not follow Catholic tradition and worship practices. Our very learned scholar-munk, Br. Chip, has kindly agreed upon occasion, to offer tutorials which we hope will help instruct, and perhaps for some, refresh. He ll still be authoring Feasts, Fasts, and Other Things, his regular column, but this will be presented on a timeto-time basis. - Fr. k.l.l. + The Text The Text, to begin with, whether it be for a sermon, homily, meditation, or address of any kind, is defined as a passage from Holy Scripture or other authoritative source chosen for the subject of a discourse, or cited for supporting an argument in a discourse. The text is what Fr. Kevin opens each week s Meditation with, and draws his message or thoughts from. The connection can be very obvious, or, be gleaned after, well, meditating upon it! The text material in Catholic Christian preaching, is usually primarily taken from the appointed Scripture readings in the Mass of the Day* from a book that is called a Lectionary**. Primary readings are the Epistle and Gospel as appointed to an Ordo Calendar. The Ordo Calendar (or the archaic: Kalender) is a yearly calendar as issued from the Lectionary of a diocesan or church liturgical authority, or a monastic order usage. There s a lot we can say about calendars, and we ll save that for another installment, so for this discourse we ll just mention the main sources from which a text for our Meditation is taken. This holds true for sermons given in the church parishes also. The Mass format observed here at the Priory adheres to the traditional Medieval Monastic format. The variable portions (those which change according to the liturgical calendar), are always said in English at our Mass, for they are the teaching parts of the Mass. The rest of the Mass is celebrated according to tradition in Latin following the English Sarum usage. It is always mentioned when a text is presented, from what portion of the Mass of the day it comes from. It s not a random choice by Fr. Kevin, but follows according to the calendar and and/or Lectionary 4
Portions of the Mass where text materials can be obtained: Introit (the Entrance Prayer) Collect(s) Epistle Gradual Tract (Seasonal Prayer) Alleluia verse Gospel Offertory Secret Prayer Proper Preface (Seasonal Prayer) Communion Verse Post Communion Prayer If you have a hand-missal (Anglican or Roman), try looking at it and locate where these portions of the Mass are located. See how they relate to the Mass for the Day, as they are supposed to. They won t be found in a Book of Common Prayer, so you will have to step up to a more richly liturgically appointed devotional The Missal! Next Week: Meditation Texts: Where Do We Get em? - Part II Notes: *Mass for the Day: That would usually be the Mass for the coming Sunday, although certain Feasts and special Saint s Days are also used and are always noted to our readers. **Lectionary: A book containing the extracts (called pericopes ) from Holy Scripture appointed to be read at public worship. The apportionment of particular extracts to particular days began as early as the 4 th century. Originally the beginning (called The Incipit) and the ending, (called the Explicit) of each pericope was noted in the margin of the Church Bible, and a Capitulary, or table of the incipits and explicits was made and included for ready reference. Later, the pericopes were collected into a Lectionary, a separate volume used for the Mass, and were later separated into Epistolarium; (Book of Epistles) and Evangelarium; (Gospel Book). These books were transcribed all over Europe in monasteries and some of the most beautiful illuminations (Page illustrations) can be found in the existing volumes. Parishes following the traditional liturgies still use these two volumes today. Here at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory, we use a book that comes down to us from the Medieval Sarum Use; called the Comes (or Companion ), an early volume dating from Old Sarum in which the Lectionary was expanded to include Feast and Saints Days, as well as some directions to the celebrant. Br. A. Chip Munk, O.S.B. is a munk here at Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory in Raymond, Maine, USA. He serves as our resident scholar and instructor to all here and occasionally is a guest-fellow at other colleges. He ll serve as our instructor in this new occasional column in the Meditation. 5
Priory Kalendar For the week of: August 26 th to September 2 nd - A.D. 2018 In Trinity Season Sunday, August 26 th... Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity Monday, August 27 th... Monthly Requiem (Mass and Offices Suggested) Tuesday, August 28 th... St. Augustine of Hippo; B.C.D. 4 th /5 th cent. Carthage. Wednesday, August 29 th... Beheading of St. John the Baptist Thursday, August 30 th.... St. Rose of Lima; V. O.P. Tert. - 15 th /16 th cent. So. America Friday, August 31 st... St. Aidan; B. C. 7 th cent. Northumbria, England..Day of Abstinence Comm. St. Raymond Nonnatus; Card. O. Merc. - 13 th cent. Spain Saturday, September 1 st... St. Giles; Abt. O.S.B. - 8 th cent. France Sunday, September 2 nd... Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity Comm. St. Stephen of Hungary; K. C. 11 th cent. August 28 th August 29 th August 30 th St. Augustine of Hippo Beheading of St. John Baptist St. Rose of Lima 6
KALENDAR KEY: Abt. = Abbot, Abs. = Abbess, Abp = Archbishop, Anc. = Anchorite, Ancs. = Anchoress, Ap. = Apostle, Bl. = Blessed, Br. = Brother, Bp. = Bishop, Card. = Cardinal, C. or Conf. = Confessor, Comm. = Commemoration/Commemorate, Dcn. = Deacon, Doct. = Doctor of the Church, Ev. = Evangelist, H. = Hermit, LBr. = Lay Brother, LSr. = Lay Sister, K. = King, Mat. = Matron, M. = Monk, M.M. = Month s Mind ( Requiem for the recently departed on the 30 th day after death or burial). Myr. = Martyr, N. = Nun, Obl. = Oblate, P. = Priest, Po. = Pope, Pr. = Prior, Prs. = Prioress, R. = Recluse, RM = Requien Mortuorum, ( Mass and Offices for the departed once a month as designated on Kalendar). SDcn. = Sub Deacon, Q. = Queen, Ven. = Venerable, Vir.=Virgin, W. = Widow. FASTING KEY: A = Abstinence, F = Fast, F & A = Fast and Abstinence RELIGIOUS ORDER ABBREVIATIONS: C.O = Congregation of the Oratory (Oratorians), C.P. = Congregation of the Passion (Passionists), C.S.J. = Congregation of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), Er. Cam. = Camaldolese Hermits, F.P. O. = Franciscans of the Primitive Observance, O. Car. = Carmelite Order, O. Cart. Carthusian Order, O.C.D. = Order of Discalced Friars (Carmelites), O.F.A. = Augustinian Order, O.F.M = Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans), O.F.M. Cap = Capuchin Order, O.P. = Order of Preachers (Dominicans also called Blackfriars ), O. Praem. = Order of Cannons Regular (Norbertines), O.S.B. = Order of St. Benedict (Benedictines), O.Ss. S. = Bridgettines, O.S.U = Ursulines, O.C.O. = Order of the Cistercian Observance (Trappists/Trappistines), O.C.S.O. = Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (Trappists/ Trappistines). Tert. = Tertiary (Third Order religious) About the Meditation and About Us The Meditation is an online apostolate of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows Priory in Raymond, Maine, USA. We are an Anglican-Catholic Benedictine contemplative community that follows the Holy Rule of St. Benedict, the 5 th century Father of Western Monasticism. We are resident within the Diocese of the Northeast (DNE), of the Anglican Church in America (ACA), a member of the worldwide Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC). The Meditation is a weekly online offering that is sent out free of charge to anyone who desires to receive it. Subscribers may copy and pass along The Meditation to their families and friends, or send us their e-address (with their permission) to add to our subscription list so they may receive it directly from us. Each issue is sent out as a BCC (Blank Copy) in respect to subscriber privacy and online security. To subscribe, contact us at: klamarre@maine.rr.com To read past issues of the Meditation, please go to our website at: www.ourladyofsevensorrows.org and you can find them in the section marked Meditations on the homepage. PLEASE NOTE: In respect to our contemplative vocation and the animals in our rescue and rehab center, we do not have guest or bathroom facilities and do not regularly receive visitors. Fr. Kevin is available to hear confessions and give spiritual direction by appointment only. Please contact via email to make an appointment or to make us aware of your needs, concerns and intentions for our prayerful attention. It is our privilege to pray for you. PLEASE CONSIDER REMEMBERING US IN YOUR ESTATE PLANNING Contact Sr. Mary Francis, O.S.B. for more information via our email address 7
Animal News By Sr. Mary Francis, O.S.B. Br. Chip Found! We ve been wondering where Br. Chip s been keeping himself this summer. Now we know! He s been helping Sr. Mary Francis at Tassel Top Park here in Raymond! 8
Sr. s co-worker, Barry Alden decided to make a mini picnic table for our resident chipmunk who shares Sr. s peanut butter and honey sandwich each day.. He comes in and begs on her work boots at 11:15 each day. He watched as Barry crafted the tiny table and then followed Sr. to the porch on the Gatehouse, at the park where she works. He was so excited to have his very own picnic table like the people on the beach, that he immediately sat down for lunch!!! Little wonder why our little Brother Chip headed to the beach With a place as lovely as Tassel Top wouldn t you?! 9
If you d like to see more about Tassel Top Park, check out their wonderful online video! Tassel top video address: www.raymondmaine.org 10
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