Pax et Bonum

The Online worship resource for St. James Parish

April 8, 2009

The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God,
While the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.
John Stott
In the sickness of his agony,
The will of Jesus arises perfect at last;
And of itself, unsupported now,
Declares – a naked consciousness of misery
Hung in the waste darkness of the universe -
Declares for God,
In defiance of pain, of death of apathy,
Of self, of nagation,
Of the blackness within and around it;
Calls aloud upon the vanished God.
George MacDonald

The Way of the Cross

12. Jesus dies on the cross

Station 12

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Luke 23:44-49

"God created through love and for love.
God did not create anything except love itself, and the means to love.
He created love in all forms.
He created beings capable of love from all possible distances.
Because no other could do it,
he himself went to the greatest possible distance, the infinite distance.
This infinite distance between God and God,
this supreme tearing apart,
this agony beyond all others,
this marvel of love,
is the crucifixion.
Nothing can be further from God than that which has been made accursed.
This tearing apart…echoes perpetually across the universe
in the midst of silence, like two notes,
separate yet melting into one,
like pure and heart-rending harmony.
This is the Word of God.
The whole creation is nothing but its vibration...
Those who persevere in love
hear this note from the very lowest depths into which affliction has thrust them.
From that moment they can no longer have any doubt."
Simone Weil

Holy God
Holy and Mighty
Holy Immortal One
Have mercy upon us.

Daily Morning Prayer

Daily Morning Prayer

This Week at St. James

Mark your Calendars and join us on Saturday April 25 for the Diocesan Christian Formation Festival, here at St. James. Over 30 workshops to choose from, including good information on parenting, working with children and youth, leadership, and personal spirituality. Both Bishops will be here for the Keynote address, and to lead workshops of their own. $25.00 covers the cost of the day, including lunch and childcare. Sign up on www.ang-md.org

Prayers Etc.

For those on our prayer list:

For Matt Rogers, our Postulant
For Nate, our Intern

In Closing:

The maker of man was made man, that the Ruler of the stars
might suck at the breast;
that the Bread might be hungered;
the Fountain, thirst;
the Light, sleep;
the Way, be wearied by the journey;
the Truth, be accused by false witnesses;
the Judge of the living and the dead,
be judged by a mortal judge;
the Chastener, be chastised with whips;
the Vine, be crowned with thorns;
the Foundation, be hung upon the tree;
Strength, be made weak;
Health, be wounded; life, die.
To suffer these and suchlike things,
Undeserved things,
That He might free the undeserving,
For neither did He deserve any evil,
Who for our sakes endured so many evils,
Nor were we deserving of anything good,
We who through Him received such good.
St. Augustine, Confessions

Pax et Bonum,
Loree+

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