Islamic Decapitation Attack in Nice, France Linked to All Saints Day

Something that is not getting much attention about the Islamic decapitation attack in Notre Dame Church in Nice, France.  It may have been timed to coincide with All Saints Day:

…Several local priests are saying that they were warned about the possibility of an attack days ago.

The timing, they say, is intended to coincide with the Catholic All Saint's Day holiday on Nov. 1. Some in terror circles are making a connection between the Day of the Dead and killing non-believers.

Also, according to eyewitness reports, the attack unfolded inside the church, during morning services, in full view of the priest and clergy. At least two of the three victims were killed inside the church.

Priests said they received threats in the days before the attack.

"We had been warned for two or three days that there might be some additional attacks with the approach of All Saints' Day, since some made a link with the Christian feast of the dead and the fact of increasing the number of dead."

So this year, I will be celebrating All Saints Day with that much more gusto.

And, yes, I may be armed.

St. Jude: “Contend for the Faith”

I must confess I did not pay much attention to the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude (which is today) until I resided at Pusey House during Michaelmas Term 2018.  It then struck me how the day is a fitting harbinger of All Saints Day, a favorite holy day of mine.

Last night, I was struck all the more what a fitting harbinger this day is for the Feast of All Saints when I read the Epistle of St. Jude.  Early in it he writes:

…it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.  (v. 3)

Note that the epistle is addressed “to those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.”  So he is writing to all church people, both clergy and laity, not just church leaders.

Hence it is the responsibility of all of God’s people, of all the saints, to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”  

And judging from the rest of the epistle, Jude did not want the people to be all that nice about it.  “For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (v. 4) And Jude was just getting warmed up about false teachers.

Recent history illustrates that Jude was right that it is the responsibility of all God’s people to contend for the faith and put down false teachers.  I’ve long stated that a big reason most of the mainline denominations have gone to Hell is because people in the pews did not put their feet down and say, “NO!”

Yes, clergy have a heightened responsibility to hold each other accountable.  But should the laity rely on clergy to police clergy? NO.

A weakness of modern Anglicanism is that the laity can be shy about calling out false teaching.  Don’t be.  Follow the good exhortation and good example of St. Jude and “contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

Being on Speaking Terms with All Saints in Oxford

As you may have noticed this All Saints in Oxford has had me reflecting in a number of ways. One way is thinking back on how I have progressed in my relationship with departed saints.

When I was a new Anglican and went to my first Easter Vigil (a glorious one at Smokey Matt’s), it included a Litany of the Saints.  I could not conscientiously participate in that but was just respectfully quiet. To me, it sounded like praying to saints.

But somewhere down the line, I figured that asking a saint to pray for you, as is done in the Litany of the Saints, is different than praying to a saint.  I never have studied the matter deeply; but just I would have no problem asking you good readers to pray for me, I got to the point where I had no problem asking saints to pray for me.  Besides, the triumphant saints are better at prayer than you.

And one of the endearing traits of traditional catholic Anglicanism is we do not put a great gulf between living and departed saints.  “We forever more are one” in Christ.  And, as I’ve mentioned, here in Oxford you can hardly escape the saints!

So where am I now, for better or for worse (but better I think) in practice?  I will use some of my experience here at Pusey House this term to illustrate.  About the only thing I cannot do here is sing the Salve Regina.  Now I can say or sing the Angelus, but not the Salve Regina.  Why? – as both are very Marian.  Whereas the Angelus uses Biblical language and asks Mary to pray for us, the Salve addresses Mary in a way that I think only God should be addressed.

But I am not just respectfully quiet during the Salve Regina.  I quietly say a personal litany of the Saints, which includes Mary but mainly consists of favorite saints, such as Ignatius, King Edward the Confessor, and King Henry VI (Yes, I know the latter is not canonized, but he should be.). And I often incorporate such a litany of the Saints into my personal prayer times.  Hey, I need all the prayer I can get!  And the saints are good at prayer.  In fact, I am convinced the prayers of King Henry VI brought me a very good answer about five years ago. And I will thank him and God once again when I visit St. George's Windsor soon.

This visit to Pusey House, I even kissed an icon for the first time on my initiative.  An icon of St. Nicholas given to the Principal has been on the altar (for forty days I think) in accordance with Orthodox practice. This morning the blessing of it was completed during morning Mass.  As I love Nicholas, I asked to kiss it afterwards.  (I guess now we are getting into the subject of images, but that is a whole ‘nother topic.)

So to sum up, when I was a very new Anglican, I saw the departed saints as a subject of historical study and as examples along with some inspiration, but not much more for me personally.  But now I see them as joining us in worship and prayer and in the fellowship of God’s Holy Church right now.

This loner has learned more and more through the years as a Christian not to be alone.  And because of God and all his holy saints, I am that much less alone.

All Saints Eve and Death in Oxford

With All Saints and All Souls – and my demise (No, I do not intend to die on those days.  But my say on that is limited.) – nearing, I have been thinking about death. 

“Well, that’s cheerful. Let’s dwell on something else,” you may understandably say and I may have said in years past.  But the Lord would apparently have us dwell on just that.

It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.  Eccles. 7:2

Now I have to confess that was not one of my memory verses when I was younger.  I never was a party boy, so I understood “the house of feasting” is overrated.  But I was not particularly interested in dwelling “in the house of mourning.” Besides, the time of my death was sooo far in the future, it practically was never to happen, don’t you know.  So why go there?

But now death no longer seems so far way.  And knowing that not just in my head but in my heart is not pleasant.  But it is good for me.  Knowing that I will soon have to answer to the Lord for what I have done and not done in this life does motivate me to wiser and better living. Just thinking that one day I myself will have to look back on my life and evaluate it is motivation enough.

Still, the nearing of death can be more frightening than just about anything concocted to scare on Halloween. But when I sense fear of death creeping in, I remember Christ has defeated death for me so that I might really live and that now and forever.

When I was younger I did not fear death.  I know that because I had a near death experience in my twenties; a skid and a tire blow-out nearly sent me into a deep ravine in Tasmania.  A lot of things went through my mind including clinically thinking, “I am about to die.” But I did not fear at all. (Now whether I cussed the car to damnation is another question.)  

Now I do fear death a bit, but I have a bigger fear both now and back then.  Far more than death, I have long feared a wasted life.  In my twenties, I was struggling to make something of my life and hated that feeling I had at the end of at least one or two years, that the years were wasted, lost.  Now I fear that when I run out of time and energy, I will look back and see too many years wasted, lost.

Considering that I am going “to the house of mourning” before long goads me not to waste any more years, to make the most of my life with God’s help.  May God indeed help me.  May God help us all that as we rejoice in the new life He gives us, we at the same time make the most of the earthly life He gives us.

On the Feast of Ss. Simon and Jude in Oxford

Yesterday at Pusey House, we observed the Feast of Saints Simon and Jude.  With it falling on a Sunday this year, some are observing it today the day following.

I have to be honest, I’ve not thought much about this holy day much before.  But as the Principal, George Westhaver, pointed out in his sermon, it is the last major saint’s day before and a harbinger of the near Feast of All Saints.

It is hard to ignore the saints in Oxford although one can certainly take them for granted.  They are everywhere here, even in Broad Street where the place of the burning of the Oxford Martyrs is marked with a cross in the street.  (Yes, there were never canonized, and, yes, they were Cambridge men.) So much here and in England is named after saints.  Saints’ days are more remembered here with that of Frideswide being particularly noted in Oxford.  Before I first came here some dozen years ago I had never heard of her!

And before I became Anglican I did not pay much attention to saints at all, other than everyday non-canonized saints still alive.  Such inattention is hard to pull off in Oxford.  And Hebrews chapters 11 and 12 would not have that at all. We should be well aware that “we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.”

When I study in the reading rooms of the Old Bodleian Library, I am reminded of that.  I look up at the wall above the book shelves and see portraits of old worthies supervising my reading*.  I used to find that amusing.  But now they almost speak and ask, “Are you doing your part to pass on the torch of learning?  We played our role and now are dead, but our legacy lives on and you are benefiting from it now.  What are you doing with that?  Are you well playing your role before you, too, must soon leave the stage of earthly life?”

In Oxford, old worthies may supervise even your meals.  Those who have visited the Hall of Christ Church know what I mean. They just won’t leave you alone here.

They serve as a reminder that we are obligated to more than ourselves.  Of course, our first obligation is to God.  But what are we doing with the legacy that old worthies, living and dead, have passed down to us?  What are we doing with The Faith the saints have passed down to us? And are we in turn doing right by the young and those to come?  Are we passing on the legacy and The Faith well to them?  Or are we, out of selfishness and laziness, dropping the ball?

The church through the ages is all connected – or should be connected.  If we just do our own thing, if we just become the Church of Me or the Church of What’s Happening Now, the connections become frayed.

Yes, the approach of All Saints Day has me reflecting.  This time of year with its colder rapidly shortening days reminding us the time is short to play our role can do that.  Oxford can do that.

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*P. S. Oliver Cromwell of all people supervised my studies this morning.

A Glorious Night at New College Oxford

Tonight, I went to Evensong at New College for their College Commemoration.  I thought it might be at least interesting; it was far more than I expected.  It began with a candlelit procession led by the choir around the main quadrangle.  Once in the chapel, the service included a poignant anthem by Parry and an excellent sermon by the Warden on the effect of World War I on New College and on how the way that war was remembered affected later history. I hope to post more on both the anthem and the sermon.  And the choir and the selection of music was excellent, but that is to be expected at New College, of course.

New College is rightly choosing to focus on the 100^thanniversary of the end of the Great War. And that includes an interesting exhibition in the antechapel that I will have to revisit.

As if all that wasn’t good enough, when I went to the Turf Tavern afterward for physical nourishment, I listened to celebratory change-ringing from the bells of the tower of New College right next to the tavern as I finished my pint.  

By the way, this evening is contributing to my reflecting on our role in the company of the saints as we approach All Saints Day.  I hope to post on that as well.

A Sermon on the Octave of All Saints

Today on this 23^rd Sunday after Trinity, which is also Octave of All Saints this year, I preached the following during Morning Prayer.

(Sorry I don’t have all the references up, and the formatting may not be perfect.  I am occupied with additional ministry this afternoon, but still wanted to get this posted quickly while it’s still All Saints.)

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With last Sunday being the Feast of All Saints, this Sunday is the Octave of All Saints.  One of the nice things about traditional Anglicanism is you can take just about any favorite Holy Day and celebrate it for a week!

And All Saints is a favorite holy day of mine.  One reason is that All Saints is a harbinger of my favorite church season of the year, Advent.  When the Feast of All Saints comes, Advent Sunday is only a very few weeks away.

But All Saints and Advent are not only close in our church calendar, but the celebration and liturgy of All Saints has themes that point to Advent, that point to the Second Coming of Christ, to the victory of Christ . . . and of his sharing his victory with his people, with all saints. 

You may remember that the Epistle Lesson for All Saints last Sunday was not from an epistle.  There are other holy days when that is the case, but it is unusual.  The Epistle Lesson came from Revelation, Chapter 7.  And of course the Revelation to John focuses on the end times and on the triumph of Christ at the end of history.  And it does so more than any other book of the Bible.  In chapter 7 last Sunday, we glimpsed the worship of God in Heaven by “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues.”

And we saw the strong yet tender love of God for His people.  Because of His love,

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.  For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

As our church year nears its end with Advent Sunday soon beginning the new church year, the assigned readings often point to Christ’s Second Advent.  For example, in our lectionary, beginning tomorrow the 2^nd Lessons for Evening Prayer begin going through the Book of Revelation. 

Now some may think it is still bit early to read from Revelation.  Reading the Revelation to John now this long before Advent season may seem akin to the enormity of putting up Christmas decorations now.  Well, such are correct about Christmas decorations.  But they would be mistaken concerning the Book of Revelation.  For Revelation has themes that are very relevant to both Advent and All Saints.  For the Revelation to John proclaims the final triumph of Christ AND of all his saints, which we shall see presently.

The 2^nd Lesson this morning of the 23^rd Sunday after Trinity is from Revelation 21 as you just heard.  And in this passage, we heard echoes of themes we heard a week ago on the Feast of All Saints in Revelation 7.  (For reference, the Second Coming of Christ is in chapter 19.)

Now, after the Second Coming, beginning with verse 3 in chapter 21:

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

And I can personally attest that last verse becomes more meaningful as one’s body becomes less new.

Those who have any familiarity with the Bible, and even many who don’t, know that the Book of Revelation focuses on the final triumph of God and of His Christ and on God’s judgement against an evil and corrupt World.  But what is easy to miss amidst the strange beasts, monstrous locusts, awful sores, earthquakes, and diverse disasters is that a recurring theme of the Apocalypse of John is the great extent all the saints, all the church get to enjoy and even participate in the triumph of God.

We begin to see glimpses of this theme in the letters of Christ to the Seven Churches in which the Lord Jesus makes wonderful promises to those who are faithful to the end.  The promise to the Church in Thyatira especially reflects that Christ will share his final triumph with his people:

The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star.

We know from scripture – Psalm 2 being perhaps the most famous example - that it is Messiah, the Christ, who shall rule the nations with a rod of iron.  Jesus here is clearly stating here that he will share even his authority with his faithful people.  We briefly revisit this subject later.

His promise to the Church in Philadelphia is also glorious:

The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.

How intimate, how personal this is that Jesus himself will write his “new name” on the faithful saints.

In chapter 7, we have already seen, in the Epistle Lesson on All Saints Day, the great multitude of all the saints participating in the worship around the throne of God in heaven.  And, yes, our service of Holy Communion reflects this worship.  But time does not permit us to go into that.  And we see God’s tender love for his triumphant saints.

In chapter 11, the worship of the 24 elders also reflect that the end times and the Book of Revelation are not only about judgement but about God blessing his faithful saints.  These 24 elders say in verse 18:

The nations raged,

                  But your wrath came,

                  and the time for the dead to be judged,

          and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,

                  and those who fear your name,

                  both small and great…

And in Chapter 19 is the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which is usually interpreted as the marriage between Christ and his Church.

We could go if we had all day.  We haven’t even gotten to the Second Coming of Christ later in Chapter 19 – and there is a hint that the saints may get to participate in that as well. That old song When the Saints Go Marching In – there’s some good Bible behind that.  But there is so much more to the remaining chapters of Revelation.  22:3-5 about the eternal city of God is especially wonderful.  Take close note of the wording.

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:  4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.  5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

“They” shall reign for ever and ever.  I find that “they” the most astounding pronoun in the Bible.  Christ will not only reign but He will have us reign with Him.  A whole sermon, nay a series of sermons, can be preached on that.  At the same time, what can we say to such things?

I will say that I am not ripping one pronoun out of context here.  We’ve seen Christ’s promise to the Church of Thyatira.  To the Church in Laodicea, Jesus promises that…

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.

Astounding, is it not?  As St. Paul wrote to Timothy,

If we have died with him, we will also live with him.

If we endure, we will also reign with him.

But even with these wonderful verses, we have only scatched the surface of how the Revelation to John and the rest of scripture reveals to us the glory that Christ has stored up for his people, even how all his saints will get to participate in his triumph.

To use Biblical language, these things are “too wonderful” for us, are they not?  We cannot fully comprehend them.

And yet there is much we are not told.  St. Paul mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12 that in Heaven there are “unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”  And in 1 Corinthians 2 he wrote, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

The Collect for All Saints makes reference to these things in daring to mention “those unspeakable joys which thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee.”

My opinion is that one reason God is not telling us everything of how glorious Christ’s Second Advent will be for all the saints is because if He were to tell us everything we could not handle it.  We already see that some today do not handle responsibly what he has told us.  And back in the 1st Century, that was already a problem St. Paul found needful to address when he wrote the Thessalonians.

Still, what God has told us is wonderful indeed.  All Saints and Advent do indeed belong close together.  For out of the astounding grace of God, the triumph of Christ in his Advent will also be the triumph of all his saints.

But, in concluding, let us be frank.  As we walk day to day, with temptations surrounding us, and sometimes just weighed down by concerns and fatigue, it is not easy to be faithful.  And we know we cannot be faithful without God’s help.

But as we walk day by day, let us not look to the drudgery and temptation of today, but let us be encouraged and, yes, energized by looking to Jesus and by looking to the great glory that He has so graciously stored up in his Advent for all his faithful, for All Saints.

Amen

Collect for All Saints

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys which thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

An Excerpt from Pilot Point for All Saints

The Feast of All Saints has in recent years become one I’ve greeted with particular joy.  Perhaps it is because I have gotten to celebrate it in Oxford.  Or because it is for me the first harbinger of the approaching Advent season I so love.

More important than these personal affections, All Saints Day celebrates that in Christ all the saints have an eternal, and wonderful, bond that even death cannot break.

Below is an excerpt from my novel Pilot Point that I find appropriate for All Saints.  I don’t think I had the holiday in mind when I wrote it.  But it reflects my view of the bond of all the saints in Christ – and contains a vision of the Holy Communion of which all the saints share.

(Readers may wish to read this earlier excerpt first.  And any pagination issues are due to blogger.  The less said about that the better.)

May my good readers have an excellent Feast of All Saints this Sunday.

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          After the offering, the confession of sins, and more prayers, [Father] Luke stood behind the table and the bread and wine and pronounced the Comfortable Words as the congregation stood.

         “Hear what comfortable words our Savior Christ say-eth unto all who truly turn to him.

         “Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.

         “So God loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

         “Hear also what Saint Paul say-eth.
    This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

         Clayton glimpsed a hill through the dust.

         “Hear also what Saint John say-eth.
  If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the Propitiation for our sins.”

         Then immediately Father Luke lifted up his arms and sang, “Lift up your hearts.”

         The congregation sang in response, “We lift them up unto the Lord.”

         “Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.”

         “It is meet and right so to do.”

         Father Luke continued singing in prayer, “It is very meet, right, and our bounden duty, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto thee . . .”

         And suddenly Clayton saw that his worship, their worship, was more than that of himself or of Mustang Anglican, much more than he could think or imagine.  For to him, the walls of Mustang Anglican and even the walls of time and space dissolved.  And he and the congregation were giving thanks and praying not just with themselves but with a multitude of the faithful in different times and different places, both exalted and humble, both present and past, ancestors and children, kings and peasants, church fathers and new converts. . . .

          “. . . O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty, Everlasting God.  Therefore, with Angels and Archangels, and with all the company of heaven . . .”

          Now even the barriers of death and of heaven and earth melted away.  And Clayton looked and saw myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands in heaven and on earth, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, worshipping before the throne and before the Lamb.

           “. . . we laud and magnify thy glorious Name; evermore praising thee, and saying . . .”

            And the congregation and heaven and earth erupted in worship:

            Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts: 
heaven and earth are full of thy Glory.
  Glory be to thee, O Lord Most High.

            Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.  
Hosanna in the highest.

            Leslie glanced over at Clayton.  He was sweating.

            “Are you okay?” she whispered.

            “Yes. . . .  I am.”

            The prayers came to the Lord’s Prayer which the congregation prayed in unison.

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

            Then Father Luke and the congregation kneeled, and he prayed, “We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy . . .”

            After further prayer, as the congregation continued to kneel, he stood, raised his arms and proclaimed, “All glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heavenly Father, for that thou, of thy tender mercy, didst give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption . . .”

            And though the years of dust, Clayton saw a hill he had almost forgotten.   On top of it walked a lone man, carrying a cross amidst a field of crosses.

            “ . . .who made there by his one oblation of himself once offered a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction . . .”

            Wind and dust were whipping around him.  And the cross was heavy.  But, though burdened and weary, he did not totter or waver.

             “. . .for the sins of the whole world. . .”

             The Man was so forlorn and windblown, and so alone, as he carried his cross.  As Clayton saw the lonely shadow bowed over through the dust, he was carrying the whole weight of the dust storm as well.

             “. . .and did institute, and in his holy Gospel command us to continue, a perpetual memory of that his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again. For in the night in which he was betrayed, he took Bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is my Body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of me. Likewise, after supper, he took the Cup; and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of this; for this is my Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins; Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.”

             And the memory was not just a memory.  For Clayton, the lone Man was present, very close somehow, though obscured by the dust.

             After a silence, the congregation began singing.

Oh Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world

Have mercy upon us.

             Clayton found himself singing as if that Man was there before them . . . before him.

Oh Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world

Have mercy upon us.

Oh Lamb of God that takest away the sins of the world

Grant us thy peace.

             Clayton felt a strange peace mixed with fear before a presence he could not understand.

             The priest began distributing the hosts.  The sanctuary was silent except for his hushed voice.

             “The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee, and feed on him in thy heart by faith, with thanksgiving.

              “The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ . . .”

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Pilot Point is available in both print and Kindle on Amazon.

In addition, it is available at the Hastings in New Braunsfels, Texas.  Recycled Books in Denton, Texas may still have copies although I am not sure of that.

And don’t forget to like the Facebook page for Pilot Point.

This Octave of All Saints

Ever since I’ve become a wannabe Anglican, I’ve always looked forward to and enjoyed the celebration of All Saints. 

Why? For some reason, it has always seemed a particularly Anglican observance – one of the things I find “fun” about Anglicanism.  Yes, I know Anglicans did not invent the Feast of All Saints.  And I have trouble explaining just what is all that Anglican about All Saints.  It may be just a purely subjective inner connection of mine.  If so, so be it.

I do know I look forward to All Saints as a harbinger of the coming season of Advent, probably my favorite church season of the year.  The two autumns I was studying in Oxford when I was yearning for a completion of my studies and a time to just relax and enjoy being an American Anglican in England for a time before returning home, that harbinger was all the more welcome.

But I am celebrating this All Saints with more joy and vigor than ever.  For yesterday, the Sunday in the Octave of All Saints, a dear friend, for whom I have been praying for some years, joined the company of the saints through Holy Baptism.  And that as I stood beside him as his sponsor.

Thanks be to God, who is so graciously increasing the company of the saints to his glory - and to our joy.