Good day,

Only one reminder again today – the Annual Lay Leader/Church Leader Conference is coming quickly. You can register and join in via Zoom simply by emailing your info to Dr. Carol Knox:  carolknox3@gmail.com (Please provide Carol with your name, email address, parish, deanery, and role in the Church). You can get more info here:  https://www.dioceseofalgoma.com/2023/07/11/2023-lay-readers-church-leaders-conference-information-now-available/

A Liturgical Note For You (actually two notes for you):

First, a short one…You may have noticed – especially if you’ve had experience with being responsible for preparing the altar for worship – each day of the Christian calendar is assigned a colour (at the moment it is mostly green) but the colour of the day changes depending on what is being acknowledged and the colour of a single day can change in the evening. Why is this? Well, the answer is very simple. This goes back to the ancient way in which the Jewish people celebrated the Sabbath. The Sabbath was celebrated from dusk on the Friday until dusk on the Saturday. And so, days like the Holy Day of St. Mary the Virgin, are considered to begin with Evening Prayer the day before and end with the final worship service on the actual day listed on the calendar. This is, by the way, why, during our worship services on Christmas Eve, we are celebrating Christmas – the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.   

Now the longer one: Why Anglicans Do Not Pray to the Saints:  Tuesday is the Holy Day of St. Mary the Virgin which brings up an interesting difference between prevalent Anglican and Roman Catholic thinking on the issue of praying to saints.  The issue is actually more nuanced than my title would suggest.  Roman Catholics do not pray to the saints either – in the sense that they are worshipping them. Worship belongs solely to God. They pray to the saints to ask them to intercede on their behalf with God.  Roman Catholics do have prayers that are addressed specifically to certain people – such as St. Anthony who is the patron saint of lost things. This is the prayer to him: O great St Anthony, who has received from God a special power to recover lost things, help me that I may find that which I am now seeking. Amen.

Arguably, the most famous Roman Catholic prayer to a saint is to Mary – i.e. the prayers of the rosary.  This is actually a common misconception. The rosary prayers begin with the Apostles’ Creed, followed by the Lord’s Prayer – not with “Hail Mary” as you would hear in popular media (but, yes, the “Hail Mary” is in there).  

Anyway, most Roman Catholics do pray to saints as intercessors whereas most Anglicans do not (There are no prayers in the BCP nor in the BAS that directly address a saint).  We believe that, when we pray, we do not need any mediator on our behalf other than Jesus Christ who reconciled us to God through his death.  This doesn’t mean that Anglicans do not have intercessors. We frequently ask people to pray on our behalf or for our loved ones. The intercessor we’ve asked to pray for us then prays directly to God.  The difference lies in who we are asking to be our intercessor. You’ll notice I’ve said “most” Anglicans. You may encounter Anglicans who do pray to saints to intercede on their behalf but, as I mentioned, the prevalent Anglican thinking is that we do not do this. As perhaps you have noticed during the Eucharistic Prayers, we pray with the saints – not to them. 

Anglicans certainly acknowledge the importance of many people throughout our salvation history. In our prayers, we note the significant contributions of the person(s) and ask God that we may continue their work and share in their particular gifts of ministry. The prayers for Tuesday focus on sharing God’s love and the joy of God’s eternal kingdom as Mary did. Here is the Collect:

O God, you have taken to yourself the blessed Virgin Mary, mother of your incarnate Son. May we who have been redeemed by his blood, share with her the glory of our eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

For Your Devotions:

 Monday, August 14th is the commemoration of the martyrs Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Maximilien Kolbe, died 1945, 1941. Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who first became widely known for his attack on “cheap grace” (the unlimited offer of forgiveness which he believed functioned for many as an excuse for unethical and immoral behaviour). He was killed in 1945 for his involvement in a plot to overthrow Adolf Hitler. More info:  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dietrich-Bonhoeffer

Kolbe, as a young, Polish, Roman Catholic priest, established a printing house consisting of 800 friars dedicated to evangelizing Poland. Because this group was so large, it was called “The City of the Immaculate”. His massive printing operation led to his arrest by the Nazis – twice. When he was arrested the 2nd time, Kolbe ended up in the concentration camp at Auschwitz. It was here, in 1941, that Kolbe offered himself up to die in the place of another prisoner who was the father of 10. For more info:  https://saintmaximiliankolbe.com/biography/

Tuesday, August 15th is the Holy Day of St. Mary the Virgin. The Eastern Orthodox Church believes Mary was taken up to heaven after death. Most Roman Catholics believe Mary did not experience death. Where do we as Anglicans fall on this issue? Find out here (along with a beautiful legend surrounding Mary’s final days):  https://interruptingthesilence.com/2011/08/15/the-feast-of-st-mary-the-virgin-dormition-and-assumption/

Wednesday, August 16th is the memorial of the Holy Women of the Old Testament. Our Story of Salvation was shaped by some pretty feisty and creative (i.e. tricky) women. Sometimes barren, sometimes of “ill repute” but always interesting…some, like Eve, who got a “bad rap”, others, like Jael, who did what they had to – like driving a tent spike through a general’s forehead while he slept, and of course Rahab, a prostitute who saves the skin of a couple of Joshua’s spies and is welcomed into their community. Before you judge any of them, Jesus and the gospellers make it clear that we are to be inclusive – not judgmental. Just check out the four Old Testament women Matthew lists in Jesus’ family tree: http://faithlifewomen.com/2012/12/4-unlikely-grandmothers-in-jesus-family-tree/

August 17th is the commemoration of John Stuart, Missionary among the Mohawks until his death in 1811. As a loyalist, Stuart’s life was made unpleasant (and sometimes dangerous) in New York and so he travelled first to Quebec and then to Ontario. He arrived in Cataraqui (Kingston) in 1785 and was, apparently, the first resident Anglican clergyman in Ontario. For more info:  http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques/Plaque_Frontenac13.html    This site has a link to even more information if you’re interested.

In the joy of Christ,

Susan