Have a dolorous Lent

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. . ." (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Here's wishing you all the most excruciating, starving, sorrowful, miserable Lent. May your days be rainy. May your soup taste bad. May your drinking water be luke-warm. May your bones ache. May your prayers be painful. May your hair fall out. May yours be an all-around dolorous (and, okay, blessed) Lent, and a happy Easter.

Now available!

In 1521, the staunchly Catholic King Henry VIII of England wrote a theological treatise “Assertio Septem Sacramentorum” (aka. a "Defence of the Seven Sacraments") as a rebuttal of Martin Luther’s "Babylonian Captivity of the Church," in which the reformer had crossed the line from reformer to revolutionary, attacking the doctrine of the sacraments and describing the pope as the "antichrist." King Henry received the title "Defender of the Faith" from Pope Leo X for his work of refuting Protestant heresies.

This new edition of the "Assertio" (edited by yours truly) reprints the English (only) text of Henry's work along with Fr. Louis O'Donovan's classic analysis and commentary, plus three new appendices: A historical timeline of events, the text of Henry's Six Articles of Religion, as well as Fr. E.S. Buchanan's translation of Luther's scathing reply to Henry and his “Assertio Septem Sacramentorum.”

Though a crucial element of our Anglican heritage, this classic writing was largely forgotten, until now. You can purchase your copy online for $12.99 or save on shipping costs and make your purchase at the St Alban's Bookstore. Come join us for Mass on Mondays at 10am in the Chapel, with our book study following until noon in Room 10.

Click below to purchase.

Confession makes a comeback

I've always thought that confessional booths are much better than reconciliation rooms, especially for the beginner. By the way, we have a booth at St Alban's. Now it's time to get shriven. I made my confession last Sunday, are you ready to make yours?

By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
Published: February 20, 2009

STAMFORD, Conn. — The day after Msgr. Stephen DiGiovanni was installed in June 1998 as the pastor of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church here, he walked through the quiet sanctuary, appreciating the English Gothic grandeur and tallying all the repairs it required. One particular sight seized him. The confessional at the rear of the pews had been nailed shut. The confessional in the front, nearer the altar, was filled with air-conditioning equipment. And these conditions, Monsignor DiGiovanni realized, reflected theology as much as finance.

In the wake of the Second Vatican Council in the mid-1960s, the Catholic Church began offering confession in “reconciliation rooms,” rather than the traditional booths. Even before the setting changed, habits had. The norm for American Catholics was to make confession once a year, generally in the penitential period of Lent leading up to Easter. Monsignor DiGiovanni, though, soon noticed that there were lines for the St. John’s reconciliation room the only time it was open each week, for two hours on Saturday afternoon. So within his first month as pastor, he pried open the door to the rear confessional, wiped off the dust of decades and arranged for replacing the lights, drapes and tiles.

Then, in the fall of 1998, Monsignor DiGiovanni rolled back the clock of Catholic practice, having St. John’s priests hear confession in the booths before virtually every Mass. By now, as another Lent commences next week with Ash Wednesday, upwards of 450 people engage in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as confession is formally known, during 15 time slots spread over all seven days of the week. Confessions are heard in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Going out West

This morning I was the supply priest at the Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit in Graham, Texas. Melisa, Maddy and I had a great time. We stopped by and looked at some cows on the way back. I also took a picture of this old and interesting looking closed-down hotel in Mineral Wells.

As Pcasso pointed out, it is the Baker Hotel. Just for fun, here is a link to "Ghosts of the Baker Hotel." Also, for some amazing photographs of the hotel interior and exterior, visit Noel Kerns' Baker set on Flickr.

Read the stimulus

Now that we've saddled the grandkids with the bill, be sure to take time to read what they're actually paying for. There is a searchable database at readthestimulus.org which will let you see for yourself. Thanks to the people who provided this service. Like the tagline says, "$850 Billion, 1588 pages, and counting... somebody needs to read it!"

Graphic: Washington Post

Repair to the rose window

The glass in the rose window at St Alban's has been removed as a part of our capital improvements. It has had a perpetual leakage problem whenever it rains. Apparently, when it was remade after being blasted apart by lightning back in the 90s, it was made an inch or two smaller than the holes for the window. The gap was made up with caulk, which would only last so many years. The window is being reframed to make up the difference and ensure a snug fit. It should be back in place around the end of February / beginning of March.

Good and faithful servant

The Rev'd Canon James P. DeWolfe, Jr.
1918--2009

The darkness that is light

This is Dr. William E. Hull, former provost at Samford University and sometime pastor of First Baptist Church, Shreveport. That "sometime" included my childhood (which is the era of the picture), where I fell in love with Jesus and learned the basics of the Christian faith. Coming there as the pastor the year I was born, Hull baptized me at age ten. We moved away the year after he left for Samford.

I was saddened to learn today that he has recently been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). In the face of this diagnosis, Hull gathered with his family and gave this marvelous meditation on life and death and how faith makes a difference in the struggles of life on October 19 at the Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham. The sermon brought Hull's public ministry of preaching and teaching to a close. His ministry will now primarily take the form of writing. His message is worth a look.

Click here to view Dr Hull's sermon.

I have a dream

I admit, I've only seen the second half of Dr King's famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial, which is the most famous part of it (i.e., the "I have a dream" part). But the whole thing is worth watching. I love the use of biblical imagery. Here is the speech in its entirety.

Christ, bless this mansion

Here is a belated view of the Matkin home from the feast of the Epiphany, the doorpost having been inscribed with the traditional blessing. There is an old tradition in which a priest blesses chalk for the people of the parish on the Epiphany, which the people take home and write above their doors the following:

2 0 + C + M + B + 0 9

It is the year, split by the initials of the traditional names of the Kings of the East: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. It also stands for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means “Christ, bless this home.” The inscription remains above the door until Whitsunday (the Feast of Pentecost).

Welcome the newly baptized

You can find more pictures on Maddy's blog.

The best family Bible EVER!

When I got to seminary, I started looking around for a family Bible for me and Melisa. Thankfully, I stumbled upon this one from Thunder Bay Press, published in 2000. I had misplaced it since we moved from Fort Worth and just found it in the garage the other day while looking for something else. It is by far the best large family Bible I have ever seen. The book is sturdy, leather-bound, with gold gilt edges and thick paper. About the only drawbacks are that it is not a red-letter edition and there is no Apocrypha. Unfortunately, they are out of print (heaven only knows why!), but you can still find a few copies around, plus some through Amazon. It is definitely worth the price. Here is the description from the inside, plus photos.

This Illuminated Family Edition of the Holy Bible combines the great beauty of Renaissance art and bookmaking with the text of the Bible considered by many to be the finest prose in the English language, that of the King James Version. The design for this edition is based on one of the masterpieces of fifteenth-century art and bookmaking, the incomparable two-volume Latin Vulgate Bible commissioned by Federigo di Montefeltro, duke of Urbino (1422-1482). This rare treasure was completed by the Florentine book dealer Vespasiano da Bisticci in 1478, its text having taken the scribe Ugo Comminelli of Mezieres four years to compose by hand. The numerous illustrations that grace the parchment of the Urbino Bible were handpainted by such masters as Domenico and Davide Ghirlandaio, among others.

This volume contains all of the major illustrations in the Urbino Bible and features many other artisic details from that book, such as decorative borders, column dividers, and illuminated and historiated initial capitals. In designing this edition of the Holy Bible, we chose the Urbino Bible and other books from the Renaissance for the shear beauty of this period's artwork and it's appeal to contemporary aesthetics. All of the illustrations in this volume have been electronically scanned and removed digitally from their original backgrounds to maintain the highest quality and consistency of design. The extraordinary beauty of the illustrations and text, together with an extensive section reserved for the keeping of family records, make this Bible an heirloom worthy of being passed to generation to generation.

Finding great fabric

On Friday, the girls and I went to some fabric outlets in Dallas to get some material for Melisa to make Maddy's baptismal gown (the baptism will be on January 11th, btw). I couldn't help but look around at potential vestment material, and found some great stuff which led to some great ideas. I just wish I had the time and resources to turn them into reality.