Clergy Notes — Last Sunday After Epiphany, February 11, 2024

Last Sunday, Fr Kevin highlighted for us the importance of taking time to pause and be quietly with God, particularly in the midst of our very busy lives. This week I had the privilege of doing just that, in preparation for the upcoming Lenten season. The luxury of a few days spent in prayer, holy conversation, silence, and reading, brought refreshment to my soul. One of the ways I can tell I am truly resting in the presence of God is that my creative energy begins to flow more freely, and I am more inspired to write, and to create.

I like to think of these activities as an extension of my prayer: ora et labora, as the Benedictine expression goes. Whatever it is we do, our prayer moves with us to our work, and our work becomes prayer. Our time spent in the Work of God (the Daily Office) gives us fresh energy for our daily labours, and allows us to become more conscious of God’s presence, which is – of course – always with us.

Which brings us to the purpose of the Lenten season, almost upon us. Lenten disciplines are meant to assist us in walking alongside Christ in his wilderness, just as he walks alongside us in ours. Fasting, almsgiving, and prayer are the methods by which the faithful have traditionally sought to do this, but they are not the end goal. Their purpose is always to point us away from the things that distract us and back towards Christ, who is our true goal.

As we approach the beginning of the Lenten season, it may be helpful to begin thinking/praying about what we might need right now in order for us to become more consciously aware of God’s presence. Perhaps we may be encouraged – not just to take up the same pious practice we always do for Lent – but to thoughtfully choose something that might both challenge us and awaken our souls to the ever-present Christ in our lives, right now.

Mother Amanda

Download the Liturgy at Home booklet for Sunday, February 11, 2024.

/by

Clergy Notes — Epiphany 5, February 4, 2024

This week, we welcomed with great joy a new member into the Body of Christ, through the sacrament of baptism. As I think most of us would agree, baptism is a celebration for the whole community as much as it is for the individual. I could talk about it from a theological standpoint all day long, but as anyone who has been present for a baptism knows, there is a mystery and joy abundantly present in this holy sacrament, far beyond words or explanation.

Ironically, only a little over an hour after the baptism that same day, I encountered a young man on the street who demanded to know if I was a Christian and (seeing my collar), proceeded to declare that not only was I not a priest, but that by his list of criteria, I was probably not even validly baptized.

My experience of the abundance and generosity of God in the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion earlier seemed to be in stark contrast with the list of checkboxes this man was using to determine whether or not God might be present in a human life. It had me marvelling at the ways we humans try to contain the work of the Holy Spirit, and how by doing so, we can – sadly! – limit our ability to experience God’s presence and love and joy.

Of course human experience is subjective, and of course reason and order are important… and, sometimes God shows up in unexpected ways. Sometimes in ways which challenge us or make us uncomfortable – perhaps to remind us how impossible it is to place the Divine in a nice neat little box. In baptism, we are marked as Christ’s own forever. I’d like to think this gift of grace (if we are willing) enables us to learn to recognize God in ALL the ways God shows up, not just in the ways we expect.

Mother Amanda

Download the Liturgy at Home booklet for Sunday, February 4, 2024.

/by