The A W Pugin chasuble

Below are pictures of my recently completed gothic revival gold chasuble, the design inspired by the work of ecclesiastical architect A. W. Pugin. I haven't finished the accompanying pieces, but so far I'm quite happy with the results. Pugin pushed the employment of color in his churches. I think the interplay of red, blue and gold here is very effective.

The sweet victory in Jesus

Over Thanksgiving break, Melisa and I watched the film The Gospel, and quite enjoyed it. It is a modern day retelling of the biblical parable of the prodigal son (with great music, of course).

The main song in the movie is "Victory," sung by Yolanda Adams. The clip above is from a performance of the song on an awards show. I liked this version because there is more improvisation. My favorite part is when she just keeps singing, "I love Him! I love Him!"

I've been doing some sewing

In my days off this week, I've been doing some sewing. I have several pieces of fabric that have been sitting in the closet for 5 or 6 years, waiting for me to get around to turning them into vestment sets (see purple and gold). I've completed one set over the break--the rose vestments pictured above. The fabric is rose and silver, with satin rose lining, rose velvet orphreys, and silver and black galloon. The pattern is new; it is my own creation mixing Gothic and Roman features.

Have a Great Thanksgiving

Almighty and gracious Father, we give thee thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of thy great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

For those who are really serious

Serious about moisture . . . serious about flavor . . . serious about stuffing their bird without having to touch it.

My idea of heaven

I have really enjoyed this wonderful song from Leigh Nash. It is certainly how I feel, and I know I'm not the only one. I first saw it at the AmericanPapist, who keeps a wonderful blog on church life and culture. It is well worth a visit.

First communion class pictures

On Sunday, our first communion class gathered with their parents before the Mass in which they would receive their first communions. The teachers showed what they had covered in class and the students posed for pictures with our Rector, Fr. Kresowaty.

Pictures from Diocesan Convention

The convention hall at the Church of Ss Peter and Paul, Arlington.


The delegation from St Alban's, Arlington.


Plus me.


And the old fogeys at the table next to us.


The bishop began with a thoughtful and moving address.


One of my ballots (no peeking).


CBS 11 News interviewing our Canon to the Ordinary at lunch.


Our Canterbury chaplain for the University of Texas at Arlington, Mr. Brian Pickard, addresses the convention in the afternoon session.

The atonement is for suckers

More deep insight from Elizabeth Kaeton? You decide. If anything, the book is interesting.

I've been using this book, Proverbs of Ashes: Violence, Redemptive Suffering and The Search for What Saves Us, by Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Parker, in one of the courses I teach at The Theological School at Drew University.

I highly recommend it.

It is precisely what it says it is, discussing redemption and salvation through the lens of domestic violence and child abuse, and taking direct aim at the Doctrine of the Atonement and the idea of 'Suffering Servant' as part of the problem of violence against women and children.

Read the whole thing here.

Colossians 1:21-22
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

1 Corinthians 1:23
We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.

The Mountain of God

In the ceremony of the Christian eucharistic liturgy, there is an intentional creation of an atmosphere of worship. On the morning of the resurrection (Sunday--the "third day"), the liturgy begins with a purification and vesting of the ministers, who then march into the sanctuary on behalf of the people who remain outside the sanctuary, with organ pipes trumpeting. They ascend the steps of the altar--a mountain which serves as the meeting-place with God. This mountain is then covered in smoke as the celebrant censes the altar. It is at this point in the Anglican rite that the celebrant turns to the people and rehearses the Ten Commandments (or at least the Summary of the Law). Sounds very biblical, doesn't it?

Exodus 19:10--20:3
The LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."

So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people; and they washed their garments. And he said to the people, "Be ready for the third day; do not go near a woman." On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.

Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly. And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the LORD to look and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the LORD consecrate themselves, lest the LORD break out against them." And Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us, saying, 'Set limits around the mountain and consecrate it.'" And the LORD said to him, "Go down, and come up bringing Aaron with you. But do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest he break out against them." So Moses went down to the people and told them.

And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. . . "

Chesterton on original sin

After finishing C. B. Moss' fantastic book The Old Catholic Movement: It's Origins and History, I have picked up G. K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy. I've already come across several gold nuggets--so far none as good as his ever-relevant comments in the second chapter on sin and our tendency to ignore it. It is relevant in today's Episcopal Church which often lauds the sacrament of baptism, but denies the need for it at the same time (as evidenced in the new and illegal fad of giving Holy Communion to the unbaptized).

Modern masters of science are much impressed with the need of beginning all inquiry with a fact. The ancient masters of religion were quite equally impressed with that necessity. They began with the fact of sin—a fact as practical as potatoes. Whether or no man could be washed in miraculous waters, there was no doubt at any rate that he wanted washing. But certain religious leaders in London, not mere materialists, have begun in our day not to deny the highly disputable water, but to deny the indisputable dirt.

Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved. Some followers of the Reverend R. J. Campbell [a "modernizer" in religion during Chesterton's time--ed.], in their almost too fastidious spirituality, admit divine sinlessness, which they cannot see even in their dreams. But they essentially deny human sin, which they can see in the street.

The strongest saints and and strongest sceptics alike took positive evil as the starting-point of their argument. If it be true (as it certainly is) that a man can feel ex­quisite happiness in skinning a cat, then the religious philosopher can only draw one of two deductions. He must either deny the exis­tence of God, as all atheists do; or he must deny the present union between God and man, as all Christians do. The new theologians seem to think it a highly rationalistic solution to deny the cat.

What is "the mystery of faith"?

Someone accustomed to the English liturgy of the Catholic, Episcopal, and Lutheran churches (among others) might instantly chime back, "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again." But there is more to it than that. In Eucharistic Prayer A of Rite Two in the Episcopal Church, this is the "mystery of faith" which the congregation is called to proclaim. In the New Roman Missal, it is a little more ambiguous. In the Roman Canon of the classical Western liturgy, it is something else.

A "mystery of faith" is a profound truth which is difficult to grasp. It is better appreciated than understood, yet neither appreciation nor understanding of a mystery of faith can be exausted. St Paul often described salvation and the gospel as a mystery (see Romans 16:25 and Ephesians 1:9). "Mystery" is the origin of the term "sacrament" (see Ephesians 5:32). Also, in 1 Timothy 3:9, the deacons of the Church are required to "hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience."

Until the new Missal of Paul VI was issued in 1969, the Eucharistic Prayer of the Roman Rite read at the consecration of the cup, "Take and drink of this, all of you. This is the Chalice of my Blood, of the new and eternal covenant--the mystery of faith-- which will be shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. As often as you shall do these actions, you will do them in memory of me." The "mystery of faith" was intimately connected with the consecration of the precious Blood, though it could also be an adjectival phrase describing the New Covenant.

In his 1965 encyclical Mysterium Fidei, Pope Paul VI wrote: "First of all, we wish to recall something which is well known to you . . . that the Eucharist is a very great mystery. In fact, properly speaking, and to use the words of the sacred liturgy, it is the Mystery of Faith. 'Indeed, in it alone,' as Leo XIII, our predecessor of happy memory very wisely remarked, 'are contained, in a remarkable richness and variety of miracles, all supernatural realities.' We must therefore approach especially this mystery with humble respect, not following human arguments, which ought to be silent, but adhering firmly to divine revelation."

The mysterium fidei did not continue into the Book of Common Prayer tradition (until the recent Prayer A reintroduced it, following the new Roman Missal) probably because it was not a part of the biblical text. A pious tradition claims that St Peter is the author of the whole Roman Canon including the insertion of this phrase within the words of consecration. Some have advanced the hypothesis that the phrase was originally a notification by the deacon to the people that the consecration was completed, but there is no historical data to support this conclusion. So why is it there? And what does it mean?

Liturgical scholar Josef Jungmann, SJ had this to say about the Mysterium Fidei in Volume II of his work The Mass of the Roman Rite:

The most striking phenomenon in the Roman text is the augmentation of the words of consecration said over the chalice. The mention of the New Testament is turned into an acknowledgment of its everlasting duration: novi et ceterni testamenti. And then, in the middle of the sacred text, stand the enigmatic words so frequently discussed: mystertum fidei. Unfortunately the popular explanation (that the words were originally spoken by the deacon to reveal to the congregation what had been per­formed at the altar, which was screened from view by curtains) is poetry, not history. (Note: The explanation advanced by K. J. Merk, according to which the words are intended to exclude the epiklesis and accentuate the fact that the consecration was already completed by the preceding words, is without foundation. The explanation given by T. Schermann is no better; according to this the mysterium fidei originally belonged only to the Mass of Baptism, inserted to call the attention of the newly baptized to an action that was entirely strange to them.)

The phrase is found inserted in the earliest texts of the sacramentaries, and mentioned even in the seventh century. (Note: As the Expositio of the Gallican Mass shows, it was already contained in the 7th century chalice for­mula, which was taken over from the Ro­man into the Gallican liturgy. Such a gen­eral diffusion can be explained only by postulating a Roman origin.) It is missing only in some later sources. (E.g., in the Milanese Sacramentary of Biasca (9-10th century.)

Regarding the meaning of the words mysterium fidei, there is absolutely no agreement. A distant parallel is to be found in the Apostolic Constitu­tions, where our Lord is made to say at the consecration of the bread: "This is the mystery of the New Testament, take of it, eat, it is My Body." Just as here the mysterium is referred to the bread in the form of a predicate, so in the canon of our Mass it is referred to the chalice in the form of an apposition.

It has been proposed K that the words be taken as relating more closely to what precedes, so that in our text we should read: novi (et aeterni) testamenti mysterium (fidei). But such a rendering can hardly be upheld, particularly because of the word fidei that follows, but also because the whole phrase dependent on the word mysterium would then become a man-made insertion into the consecrating words of our Lord. (Note: Despite all studies of philological possibilities, it still remains difficult to con­ceive the genitive novi et aterni testamenti as dependent upon the mysterium immedi­ately following, which is already associ­ated with a genitive [fidei]; whereas Paul-Luke combine the words sanguis [meus novi] testamenti into a unit, at least as to sense, and Matthew-Mark do so even in form. Nevertheless the idea gains some support from the curious fact that it is precisely this group of words that is miss­ing in the Sacramentarium Rossianum.)

Mysterium fidei is an independent expansion, superadded to the whole self-sufficient complex that precedes. (Note: The intrusion of such an addition into the very core of the words of consecration could be more easily explained, if, like the aeterni [testamenti] they were of Scriptural origin. The expression is in fact found in I Tim. 3: 9, where the deacons are admonished to preserve the mystery of faith in a pure conscience: habentes mysterium fidei in conscientia pura. Of course, some­thing quite different is here meant, namely, the Christian teaching, and thus it becomes quite difficult to understand how the phrase was seized upon in this connection. Brinktrine tries to establish points of contact; the passage at times was under­stood in a Eucharistic sense, and the nam­ing of the deacons, to whom the chalice pertained, could have led to this chalice for­mula. Florus Diaconus had already drawn I Tim. 3:9 into the exposition of this passage.)

What is meant by the words mysterium fidei? Christian antiquity would not have referred them so much to the obscurity of what is here hidden from the senses, but accessible (in part) only to (subjective) faith. Rather it would have taken them as a reference to the grace-laden sacramentum in which the entire (objective) faith, the whole divine order of salvation is comprised. (Note: That the identification of mysterium and sacramentum is justified for the time that comes under consideration is clear from the fact that the series of catechetical instructions handling this matter is called in one case by Ambrose De mysteriis and then again De sacramentis. Opinions will differ, however, with regard to a narrower limitation of the idea mysterium. O. Casel, who in agrees with Hamm, prefers in to take the "mystery of the faith" as the new mysterium in opposition to the mysterium of the Gnosis. But it is still questionable whether the Gnosis is to be taken into account for this interpolation.) The chalice of the New Testament is the life-giving symbol of truth, the sanctuary of our belief. (Note: The natural Englishing, "mystery of [the' faith," unfortunately suggests only the intellectual side and so seems to interrupt the train of thought.)

How or when or why this insertion was made, or what external event occasioned it, cannot readily be ascertained. (Note: Th. Michels refers to Leo the Great; the pope points out that at that time the Manicheans here and there partook of the body of Our Lord, but shunned "to drink the blood of our Redemption." He supposes that in opposition to them Leo wanted to accentuate the chalice by adding the words mysterium fidei.)

The sacred account concludes with the command to repeat what Christ had done. The text is taken basically from St. Paul; however, the entire Roman tradition, from Hippolytus on, has substituted for the Pauline phrase "whenever you drink it," the phrase "whenever you do this." In some form or other our Lord's injunction is mentioned in almost all the liturgical formularies." Where it is missing, it is presupposed. It is in the very nature of the Christian liturgy of the Mass that the account of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament should not be recited as a merely historical record, as are other portions of the Gospels. Indeed, the words of the account are spoken over the bread and a chalice, and, in accord with our Lord's word, are uttered precisely in order to repeat Christ's action. This repetition, is, in fact, accomplished in all its essentials by rehearsing the words of the account of the institution.

Wholesome example or guilt trip?

For me, it is an illustration of the contrast between exegesis and eisegesis. Was the old widow who gave of her want to the Temple treasury in Sunday's reading truly a wholesome example? Or was she part of a guilt trip Jesus was pulling on the disciples? Elizabeth Kaeton says it might be the latter (possibly).

Guilt. I’m sorry, but that’s what I hear in this morning’s gospel. Guilt.

In the story of the Widow’s Mite, I hear Jesus sending his disciples on a guilt trip this morning. Ah, look at all the rich people putting large sums into the religious coffers. Now, look at the poor widow, putting in two small copper coins–-all she had. And yet, says Jesus, she has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.

See? Get the picture? I do. And, it has GUILT writ large all over it. Then again, maybe it’s not guilt. Perhaps I see guilt because I’m so sensitive to it. Motivation by guilt is an old trick my mother used at the drop of a hat.

You can read the whole thing here.

Pictures from Confirmation Sunday

Blessed are the peacemakers

For all those who have served . . .

Matthew 5:9
"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called the children of God."

Kountry Kitchen at St Alban's

My one political statement on election day

BTW, U R gr8 IMHO

The perseverance of the saints

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Commemorating the feast of All Saints, we give thanks for the multitude of God’s servants who have gone before us—both those we recognize throughout the year, and the many more who are unknown to us. We also give thanks for that central doctrine of the Christian faith—the communion of saints.

In ancient creeds of the Church, the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, we confess our belief in the communion of saints. The catechism in the Prayer Book defines that mystery this way: "The communion of saints is the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love, and those whom we hurt, bound together in Christ by sacrament, prayer, and praise" (BCP 862). As we honor the saints, we also join with them as family in the worship of God.

Both the Old and New Testaments speak of the saints, literally the "holy ones." The saints are those who are holy, the followers of an all-holy God. Baptized believers are saints, not because of our own merits, but by the grace of our new birth in Christ and our adoption into God’s own household. They are set apart as God himself is set apart. In the earliest parts of the New Testament, "saint" is just a name for Christian. St Paul takes up a collection for the saints (the "holy ones") at Jerusalem. But the term quickly began to imply something more. St Paul addressed Christians in his letters as those who are "called to be saints."

All of us are holy ones also because of our vocation to holiness. By God’s design, all of us are called by God to be conformed to the perfect and holy image of his Son Jesus Christ. And since that time, the saints have been those revered heroes of the faith who have really shown us how it is done, by fully embracing God in this life. They have finished the race of life, persevered to the end in faith, and now they cheer us on as a great cloud of witnesses.

Our devotion to the saints is a vital part of our belief in the Incarnation (that God embraced a human nature) and our belief in the Resurrection (that Jesus was raised to new life, and ascended with our humanity). As the Prayer Book puts it, our hope in devotion to the saints is that "encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." May we find encouragement, aid, and strength in all the saints of God.

Each of us are given the same gifts as they were—the virtues of faith hope and love infused at our baptism, and the same sacramental grace to nourish and sustain us. The saints show us how to make the most of it. The deep humility of St Francis, the apostolic and missionary seal of St Paul, the sacrificial spirit of St Polycarp and of St Perpetua and her Companions, the deep learning of St Jerome and of St Thomas Aquinas, the pastoral care of St Alpege and of St Thomas a Becket, the homely spirituality of Lady Julian of Norwich, the dedication of blessed Samuel Schereschewski, and the perseverance of blessed Charles Simeon. All of these examples are but an unfolding of the virtues of faith, hope, and love which are given to us all—an unfolding made possible by God’s grace.

This is what is possible in being joined to Christ through baptism. This is the vocation to holiness made reality by grace. This is the vocation of each and every one of us. Faith in God is what holiness needs first, hope is what it leads to, and charity—the perfect love of God—is its foundation. Holiness of the saints is the maturity of faith, hope, and love. Holiness is not about finding new virtues to practice that the ordinary Christian has not yet found, holiness is about going deeper into those old virtues that are the beginning of every Christian life.

Faith is the saint’s embrace of God himself as Savior and Lord—the source of life. St Paul turns twice to the words of Habakkuk: "The just will live by faith." Faith is a share in God’s life and a share in God’s truth, the truth by which we see the path to Christian maturity. That growth is not automatic, it must be willingly embraced. For the saints, faith and the increase of faith was of the highest value, for it is by our faith that we enter more fully into God’s presence. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. In their perseverance, they showed us faithfulness to the end.

The hope of the saints (the same hope infused within us) is not just the virtue of looking forward to a heavenly reward, but more especially, saintly hope is the confidence in God to renew our lives even now. Hope starts out knowing that life (even Christian life) is going to be difficult. Hope moves forward admitting that without grace, perfection is out of reach. Hope faces disappointments, temptations, and failures as trustworthy indications that the soul is on the path to greater holiness. Hope trusts in God and presses on, seeing the reality of all the promises of God that lie ahead.

The love of God is the life-blood of the pursuit of personal holiness; there are no saints apart from the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. When John wrote that "God is love," he was not referring to some abstract philosophical notion of divine being, John was referring to the reality of the incarnate Lord who had shown his love for the whole world in giving up his life right before John’s eyes.

Like attracts like. The love of the saint yearns for the love of God. The closer to God, the more the saint understands a love beyond knowing. The more of God’s love that fills the heart of a saint of God, the more that love mixes with his own and flows into the world. There is no sanctity without charity—no holiness without love. For those who truly embrace God’s love, sanctity cannot but follow. And love is what it takes to make saints out of us miserable sinners.

It has been said that living saints are meant to be like the saints we see in our church windows—giving color and shape to a Light from beyond. For the dedication of new stained glass windows in my home church growing up, a saintly friend of mine once put it this way: we are fragments of glory.

Supernatural or preternatural?

Following up on a halloween coversation about ghosts, most people don't know the word preternatural--often incorrectly using the word supernatural ("above nature") when they mean preternatural ("beyond nature"). Basically, the former applies to God, the latter applies to creation--even the spiritual parts.

"Supernatural" would apply to God and to grace, the sacraments, the gifts of the Spirit, virtues infused at baptism, the absolution of sins, our heavenly destiny, etc.

"Preternatural" would refer to that which is beyond the ordinary or natural, but which is not strictly supernatural. It is preternatural because natural forces are used by God to create effects beyond their native capacity, or because above human forces (angelic or demonic) are active in the world of space and time. Thus, "preternatural" would apply to things like ghosts or hauntings, ESP, possessions, visions, etc.

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

Why do we pray for the dead?
We pray for them, because we still hold them in our love, and because we trust that in God's presence those who have chosen to serve him will grow in his love, until they see him as he is.
(Book of Common Prayer, p 862)

2 Maccabees 12:38-46
So Judas having gathered together his army, came into the city Odollam: and when the seventh day came, they purified themselves according to the custom, and kept the sabbath in the same place.

And the day following Judas came with his company, to take away the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen, in the sepulchres of their fathers. And they found under the coats of the slain, some of the donaries of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbiddeth to the Jews: so that all plainly saw, that for this cause they were slain.

Then they all blessed the just judgment of the Lord, who had discovered the things that were hidden. And so betaking themselves to prayers, they besought him, that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, forasmuch as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sins of those that were slain. And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection. (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead) And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them.

It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.

Prayers from the Burial Office
Remember thy servants, O Lord, according to the favor which thou bearest unto thy people; and grant that, increasing in knowledge and love of thee, they may go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service in thy heavenly kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Almighty God, Father of mercies and giver of comfort: Deal graciously, we pray thee, with all those who mourn, that casting every care on thee, they may know the consolation of thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days; that, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the Catholic Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favor with thee our God; and in perfect charity with the world. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, we pray thee to set thy passion, cross, and death, between thy judgment and our souls, now and in the hour of our death. Give mercy and grace to the living, pardon and rest to the dead, to thy holy Church peace and concord, and to us sinners everlasting life and glory; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, now and for ever. Amen.