Chapel of Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Chapter x, concluded. In immediate conclusion, I would most earnestly plead, then, in the interests of true Christian service, for what in these hurrying times we need so specially: a deeper entrance of our souls into the secret of the presence of the Lord. Work is not food for the spirit any more than for the body. Amidst a multitude of works the worker’s soul may wither, and the works will feel the difference in due time. We must, because we are servants, and not masters, bondservants and not contractors, limbs and not Head, we must see to it that we are living and serving not only so as to get through a great deal of action, but so as to be vessels meet for the Master’s use, in His way and not our own. And for this we must live, so to speak, behind our service; we must live, in a true and holy sense, independent of it. We must live upon Jesus Christ, not upon energy, upon success, upon notice, upon praise; God forbid. And to live upo...

Anglican TV has a good interview (11:54) with Archbishop Venables regarding the state of the Anglican Communion, posted on the 10th.

I encourage you to hear the recent sermon by Archbishop Venerables at St. James Cathedral, Texas, on anglicantv.org. You will be glad you did. Our parish is associated with the Archbishop through FACA.

Image: John Singleton Copley: Study for The Ascension (60.44.16)". In Timeline of Art History . New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/copl/ho_60.44.16.htm (October 2006) Sermon for the Sunday After Ascension - edited Our world is filled with beautiful things: natural things, such as sunsets, flowers, trees, and man-made things, such as works of art, instrumental music, or good literature. But there is a difference between the beauty one sees in a tree and what one hears in music or reads in a book, is there not? There are different ingredients in what makes any one thing beautiful, and it depends on what one is talking about as to what those ingredients are. There are some things that are beautiful because they bring resolution or order to what was previously could be called “a mess”…. but my concern is not aesthetic philosophy so much as the wonderful beauty of the work of God for us in His Son, Jesus Christ. For, in Him, is ...

Painting by Garofalo; Web Gallery of Art http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/g/garofalo/ Praise be to Thee, O Christ, on this anniversary of thine ascension to the throne of David! Come quickly, O Lord, we pray! Recommended listening for today: Bach's Ascension Oratorio

Plaque in the chapel of Ridley Hall. Chapter x, continued. This leads me to say a little, in closing, of the all-importance to the servant of Jesus Christ of the maintenance of his own personal joy and glory in his Master. The sad secret of the spirit I have just sought to deprecate lies in the subtle substitution, somewhere and somehow, of self for Jesus Christ. It is calling the work “mine” instead of “His.” It is working for my credit rather than for His glory. It is attracting, or trying to attract, to me, not altogether to Him. And where shall we go for the remedy? It must be to Him. It must be found in the renewal of our sight of Him, without one cloud between, even the cloud of our own restless activities. We must get a new view of “the fair beauty of the Lord,” and of the blessedness and pleasantness of our lot and part in Him. “From the loss of our glory in Thee, preserve and keep us, gracious Lord and God.” Such is one response in a solemn Litany of t...

Almighty God, as our brother, St. George, feared not the wrath of man and fought the fight of faith as your good soldier, grant us that same courage of faith, with such oneness of mind and heart, that we may faithfully serve you after his example, and finally come to those unspeakable joys which you have prepared for those who sincerely love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.