Fr Matt's Blog - reflections on Church, life and books

Today the Church celebrates the life of St Laurence the Deacon and Martyr. St Laurence is one of my favourite saints because of they way in which he stood up to power, and the way in which in doing so he showed what rally matters in the economy of God. The story of St Laurence is that at the time of his martyrdom the Church was suffering persecution. Laurence had been summoned by the Prefect of Rome to present to him the treasures of the Church, of which he had custody. St Laurence dutifully arrived, bearing not beautiful vestments, expensive silverware and books, but accompanied by the poor and need. “These” he said “a re the treasures of the Church!” , he is also reported to have said "The Church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor."  Of course those in power do not appreciate being made to look foolish, and he sentenced Laurence to death. Laurence was imprisoned prior to his martyrdom, and spent the time preaching and baptising those he was impris...

‘Hail to thee O Queen of Heaven, Alleluia.’ (Words from the hymn ‘Regina Caeli’) Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Here assumption is not, as one wag put it to me, something she erroneously believed, but rather her being taken bodily into heaven at the point of her death. (She is it he first human, after Christ, to be resurrected into eternal life – all others preceding her, those like Lazarus we read about in the Bible, had been resurrected back to life, but would eventually die.) In Orthodoxy this Feast is called the Dormition, or falling asleep of the Blessed Virgin, as they believe that she did not die, but was taken into heaven prior to her death, many Catholics see her as having died, and thus her Assumption is also her resurrection. [One of my favourite legends surrounding the Assumption is the story of the arrival of the Apostles to the deathbed of the Blessed Virgin. (Mary is the Mother of the Church, having been ...

As a newly ordained Curate, I remember my Vicar talking about to me about time. Time he said comes in two forms: Chronos (the human perception of time); and Kairos (time in the context of eternity and the divine, time as God sees it). We live, eat and breathe in Chronos time. Chronos time can seem to flow, sometimes fast, sometimes flow, but flow onward like a river it seems to do forwards and towards an end. Kairos time is different, when we step into Kairos time we step into the eternal. It can happen in a moment, expected or unexpected, perhaps when stepping into an ancient church, a place where in the words of the poet T.S. Elliot [---] On Thursday the Church celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration. The Transfiguration is a moment of Kairos time breaking into Chronos time. Suddenly the three disciples see Jesus as he actually is, and as they too will become, that as he is transfigured by a glorious light. And there with him are Moses and Elijah, the two greatest p...

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns.  When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick.  When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’  Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’  They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’  And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’  Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, tw...

Jesus put before the crowd another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’ He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the b...

The Mardyke team of churches Liturgy of the Mass THE GATHERING In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. All        Amen. The Lord be with you. All         And also with you. Prayer of Confession My friends, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries. All     Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we have sinned against you, through our own fault, in thought, and word, and deed, and in what we have left undone. We are heartily sorry, and repent of all our sins. For your Son our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, forgive us all that is past; and grant that we may serve you in newness of life to the glory of your name. Amen. Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent have mercy upon you , pardon and deliver you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness, an...