St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church
A Parish of the Anglican Province of Christ the King
Messages from Father Rick Gregory
The Shepherd’s Staff, our provincial newsletter, is full of photos and inspiration from APCK churches around the Province. Read the Shepherd’s Staff newsletter here.
Highlights in this edition include:
The Regina Coeli is the ancient hymn of Easter joy dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, sung from Easter Sunday through Pentecost. Taking the place of the Angelic Salutation during this season, the prayer calls on the faithful to rejoice with Mary over Christ’s Resurrection.
With its brief jubilant lines, the Regina Coeli captures the spirit of Easter: victory over death and the hope of eternal life. The antiphon simply and beautifully proclaims the fulfillment of Christ’s promise and invites Mary to pray for the Church as her risen Son reigns in glory.
Regina Coeli
Joy to thee, O Queen of Heaven, Alleluia.
He whom thou was meet to bare, Alleluia.
As He promised, hath arisen, Alleluia.
Pour for us to Him thy prayer, Alleluia.
Latin:
Regina caeli, laetare, Alleluia;
Quia quem meruisti portare, Alleluia,
Resurrexit, sicut dixit, Alleluia:
Ora pro nobis Deum, Alleluia.
O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let those who are devout and who truly love God, take part with joy in this beautiful and glorious feast.
Let those who are faithful servants enter rejoicing into the joy of their Lord.
Let those who have labored with fasting now receive their reward.
Let those who have worked from the first hour receive today what they are owed.
Let those who came after the third hour keep the feast with thankfulness.
Let those who arrived at the sixth hour be also confident;
they too will not be deprived.
Let those who have delayed until the ninth hour advance, with no fear.
Let those who have delayed until the eleventh hour be not afraid for their tardiness;
for the Lord is gracious, and will accept the last even as the first.
He gives rest to those who came at the eleventh hour, as well as to those who worked from the first hour.
He is merciful to those who come late, and he cares for those who came at the beginning.
He gives to the one;
and he gives to the other also.
He rewards the work which is done, and he recognizes the incomplete attempt.
He honors the act and He praises the intention.
And so let all enter into the joy of our Lord.
Let the first and the second receive their reward.
Let rich and poor rejoice together.
Rejoice today, those who have fasted and those who have not.
The table is full-laden;
let all feast richly.
The calf is fatted;
let no one leave hungry.
Let all enjoy the feast of faith;
let all receive the riches of mercy.
Let none complain of poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let none grieve for their sins;
for forgiveness has dawned from the tomb.
Let none fear death;
for the death of the Savior has freed us.
He has destroyed death by enduring it.
By descending into hell, He has plundered it.
He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh.
Isaiah prophesied this and said: Hades has been embittered by meeting Him below.
It was embittered, for it was abolished.
It was embittered, for it was mocked.
It was embittered, for it was slain.
It was embittered, for it was annihilated.
It was embittered, for it was then enchained.
It took a body and discovered God.
It took earth and encountered heaven.
It took what it saw and was conquered by what it saw not.
O death, where is thy sting?
O hell, where is thy victory?
Christ is risen, and you are made nothing.
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen.
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice.
Christ is risen, and life reigns.
Christ is risen, and none are left dead in the tomb.
For Christ, being risen from the dead, has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
To Him be glory and dominion unto ages of ages.
Three videos to edify your spiritual journey:
On February 2nd, we will celebrate the feast of The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, commonly called the Purification of the Saint Mary the Virgin, or Candlemas. This year, the holy day falls on a Sunday. The Tables of Precedence in our prayer book give this holy day “precedence of any other Sunday or Holy Day,” so it will replace of the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany in our Liturgy this year.
What happened?
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple is a Biblical event that describes Mary and Joseph bringing the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem 40 days after his birth. The event is described in Luke 2:22-32.
Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to fulfill the Mosaic Law, which required the consecration of the firstborn son to God. Mary also underwent ritual purification as required by Leviticus 12:2-8. Mary and Joseph offered a sacrifice of two turtle doves or two young pigeons, as required by the law.
Simeon and Anna, two devout people who had been waiting for the Messiah, recognized Jesus as the Savior. While there, the aged Simeon took Jesus into his arms, and uttered what we now call the Nunc Dimittis: “Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace…”
When is it celebrated?
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple” is celebrated by the Orthodox Church and many western churches 40 days after Christmas on February 2nd.
What does it signify?
The feast is called Candlemas because the blessing of candles, which traditionally occurs on this day, recalls Simeon’s declaration regarding Jesus, who is the “light to lighten the Gentiles, and… the glory of thy people Israel.”
The Presentation of Christ in the Temple shows how Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant. It also shows that God honors pious devotion, and that he fulfills all his promises in Jesus.
The accompanying picture is a fresco by Domenico Ghirlandaio, done in 1486-90 and entitled “Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple. ” It is displayed in the Cappella Tornabuoni, Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy.
Join us next Sunday, after the Liturgy for the baby shower. All are welcome!
Dear brother and sisters in Christ:
As we near All Hallows Eve, a.k.a. Halloween, I usually get asked some questions and Halloween, a.k.a. All Hallows’ Eve, and its Christian roots and celebration.
Fr. Steve Grunow, from Word on Fire, has some excellent answers to these common questions and he responded with everything you ever wanted to know about Halloween and its deeply Catholic roots.
(Fr. Grunow’s interview was originally published on October 31, 2019.)
Faithfully yours,
Father Rick Gregory
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
We will gather this Sunday, August 25, to celebrate our Patron Saint and our parish, but why is a church family so important?
Because church is like a family reunion. The Bible says that we are brothers and sisters in Christ and part of the family of God (Ephesians 2:19; 3:14-15). As such, we gather to celebrate the Sacraments especially the Holy Communion, pray for one another, encourage one another, and help each other. We need each other’s support to live out the Christian Life and fulfill God’s Will in each of our lives.
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews 10: 24-25
Faithfully,
Fr. Rick
Sunday, August 25
10:00am Morning Prayer and The Holy Communion
10:00 am Children’s Sunday School
Join us for a delicious BBQ feast following the Liturgy. All are welcome.
Dear Parish Family,
Two saints this week offer to us examples of how we can impact our world and the Church for the better. St. Ignatius Loyola founded the Jesuit Order in the Roman Church, but Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises continue to affect Seminarians and the Faithful throughout the Christian world, regardless of denomination. St. Nicodemus worked behind the scenes at the Crucifixion, helping rescue the body of Our Lord and ensure He had a proper burial. (See their stories below.)
Faithfully yours,
Fr. Rick
The founder of the Jesuits was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannon ball shattered his leg. Because there were no books of romance on hand during his convalescence, Ignatius whiled away the time reading a life of Christ and lives of the saints. His conscience was deeply touched, and a long, painful turning to Christ began. Having seen the Mother of God in a vision, he made a pilgrimage to her shrine at Montserrat near Barcelona.
He remained for almost a year at nearby Manresa, sometimes with the Dominicans, sometimes in a pauper’s hospice, often in a cave in the hills praying. After a period of great peace of mind, he went through a harrowing trial of scruples. There was no comfort in anything—prayer, fasting, sacraments, penance. At length, his peace of mind returned. It was during this year of conversion that Ignatius began to write down material that later became his greatest work, the Spiritual Exercises. Read more →
St. Nicodemus was a secret disciple of Jesus. As a member of the Sanhedrin, he would meet Jesus by night so that the others would not see him with Jesus. Eventually, it was Nicodemus who reminded the Sanhedrin that Jesus had the right to a trial. Together with St. Joseph of Arimathea, he prepared Jesus’ body and placed him in the tomb.
Tradition holds that St. Nicodemus was martyred, though no record remains.
Dear Parish Family,
This Thursday, we celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, a Prayer Book Holy Day. Our Lord has now completed His earthly ministry and we await the descent of the Holy Ghost.
The Propers for the Day are found in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, pages 177-178.
-Fr. Rick
From the Orthowiki website:
The Ascension of Jesus Christ is one of the Great Feasts of the Church, celebrated forty days after Easter (and thus always falling on a Thursday).
Forty days after the Resurrection, while blessing his disciples (Gospel of Luke 24:50-51), Christ ascended into heaven, taking his place at the right hand of the Father (Gospel of Mark 16:19 and Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed).
The first account of the Ascension found in the Bible is in the Gospel of Mark (16:14-19); the description is brief. Jesus and the remaining eleven disciples are seated at a table, presumably in a room in or near Jerusalem. Jesus commands his followers to spread the Gospel, and that those who believe will be known by their invulnerability to poison, ability to heal the sick, and the like. After delivering these final words, Jesus is received into heaven to sit at the right hand of God. No description of the Ascension itself is given; Mark simply states that it happened.
The Gospel of Luke is even more brief in its description (24:50-51). Jesus led the eleven to Bethany, not far from Jerusalem. While in the act of blessing them, Jesus was carried up to heaven.
The third, and most celebrated, account of the Ascension is in the Acts of the Apostles (1:9-12). For forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus continued to preach the Gospel. Jesus and the eleven were gathered near Mt. Olivet (or the Mount of Olives), to the northeast of Bethany. Jesus tells his disciples that they will receive the power of the Holy Spirit and that they will spread his message the world over. Jesus is taken up and received by a cloud. Some traditions say that he was taken up in a fiery chariot, much like the Prophet Elijah. Two men clothed in white appear and tell the disciples that Jesus will return in the same manner as he was taken. They say: “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus, Who is taken up from you into Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen Him go into Heaven” (Acts 1:11). Afterwards, the disciples return to Jerusalem rejoicing, remaining continually in the Temple.
The Gospel of Matthew ends at a mountain in Galilee, with Jesus commanding the disciples to spread the Gospel. No mention of the Ascension is made.
The Ascension of Christ shows the last stage in God’s plan for mankind: total union with Himself upon one’s departure from the world. According to V. Rev. George Florovsky, “in the Ascension resides the meaning and the fullness of Christ’s Resurrection….and with Christ, man’s nature ascends also.”
