Forgiveness

I am working on an upcoming sermon for Trinity XXII. The topic of forgiveness is one that has been at the forefront of my mind for some time. Indeed, much of the difficulty our Parish faces has to do with an unforgiving spirit. Sometimes blame for our problems is misdirected, sometimes it is properly attributed, but there is an endemic problem in the way we treat each other.

It has been my opinion that some in the Parish do not pay attention to the Lord's Prayer, especially the implied conditional nature of forgiveness. And frankly, I struggle with this as a preacher; there is a depth to this that I cannot easily breach. Is forgiveness dependent upon repentance and contrition? In other words, are those who wait for an apology for slights real or imagined correct to withhold forgiveness? What if they wait (in vain) for an apology from one who has not wronged them? Or perhaps they wait for an apology from one who will never apologize. What then is our obligation regarding forgiveness?

Evidently, I have much to learn and consider. Indeed, much of my struggle comes from my own unforgiving heart towards those who have tried to damage this Parish. It's funny in a way, because I bear no ill will to those who malign me personally; but I have trouble forgetting or forgiving those who attack our Parish, our Clergy, and those I consider friends.

I don't know why, but Elvis Presley springs to mind:

Well, you can knock me down,
Step in my face,
Slander my name
All over the place.

Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off of my shoes

I don't know that our Clergy would consider themselves flattered at the reference, but it fits in an odd sort of way.

Does every innocent life have worth?

Some have openly suggested that Gov. Palin of Alaska should have aborted her youngest son, who, due to a chromosomal abnormality, has Down's syndrome. Some would consider this to be an act of mercy, saving the poor child (and his family) from a difficult and less-than-normal life.

The testimony of those who live with children or with siblings affected by Down's syndrome put a lie to this disturbed line of reasoning. A commentary found at National Review Online provides some insight from real-life examples of life with Down's.

All kinds of people face all kinds of challenges; physical or mental, congenital or accidental, societal or geographical. We cross into dangerous territory when we allow radical elements of our society decide whose life is worth living.

It is discouraging that, at times, even clergy seemingly find it difficult to draw a hard line in the sand and say, "We go no further." All is not relative; there really are some areas of life that are black and white, right or wrong.

From
First Things
An excerpt from a letter of St. Thomas More to Erasmus, written on the 14th of June, 1532:

"Congratulations, then, my dear Erasmus, on your outstanding virtuous qualities; however, if on occasion some good person is unsettled and disturbed by some point, even without making a sufficiently serious reason, still do not be chagrined at making accommodations for the pious dispositions of such men. But as for those snapping, growling, malicious fellows, ignore them, and, without faltering, quietly continue to devote yourself to the promotion of intellectual things and the advancement of virtue."

Excellent advice to anyone in a leadership role.

One Note Concerning Adverts

You may see Google Ads on this page. As with the Amazon links, including them is an attempt to raise a few dollars to help with the cost of my studies. However, I see that some of the ads may be of concern. For instance, an advertisement for the "Reformed Anglican Catholic Church", which has no affiliation with the Anglican Catholic Church, and which holds many views in stark contrast to the views of the ACC and those of the historic Church.

Please understand that I do not control which ads are placed, and I certainly cannot recommend this "reformed" church.

I will have to re-think the Google ads.

Obedience

My neighbors belong to a very liberal Roman Catholic parish; one in which, evidently, Speaker of the House Pelosi attended Mass during the Democrat convention. I don't know if she received communion.

But I do wonder how, or if, the priest addressed the issue. I assume he would know she was coming, considering the Secret Service detail that accompanies her, which would not allow her to go into a situation that may be dangerous. The priest would likely have advance notice.

So, considering Bishop Chaput has stated in no uncertain terms his views in this case, and considering that Speaker Pelosi expects reception of the Sacrament regardless of her pro-abortion votes (based on statements she's made elsewhere), I wonder what the priest did?

This question of obedience is crucial to any hierarchical church, and a lack of obedience can tear a church apart. Our Parish was torn almost in two when a Deacon arrogantly decided he knew better than his Rector and his Bishop.

For Ms. Pelosi to put this Parish priest in a position of having to decide between accommodating her personal desires or obeying his own oath of obedience to his Bishop is a measure of her ignorance and arrogance.

This is not a political blog, but when a politician seeks to instruct the faithful (incorrectly) and puts a priest in an untenable situation, I believe it is worthy of note.

Plainsong

In a comment on an earlier post, a blogger named Christopher asked a question regarding plainsong.

"I am very interested in how your music has changed. I am interested in introducing chants and removing hymns. How did younger people like the c plainsong as opposed to hymns?"

In our liturgy this was not an either/or choice. We have three Masses on Sunday: the early Mass is a low Mass, with a sermon, but no chanting or hymns. The evening Mass is also low, but without a sermon. The Sung Mass or High Mass (we alternate, depending on the day and the need) uses both chants and hymns. We use the Anglican Missal (either American or English version), which is pointed for the celebrant, and the 1940 American Hymnal.

As an example, the Mass today opened with an organ prelude. Our Processional Hymn, sung by the congregation with organ accompaniment, was “Go Forward Christian Soldier”. The celebrant then chanted the Introit, from Psalm 86, using Gregorian Chant. The Collect for Purity is chanted in plainsong.

The change in our music setting that upset folks starts here. Traditionally, in this Parish, the Kyrie (lead by a Cantor) was sung by the congregation in Gregorian Chant. This was sometimes a challenge to newcomers to the congregation (including my wife and I) because there are six different settings, varying by season and day. The Missa Dominicalis, Missa Angelis, Missa Penitentialis for Advent, Missa Penitentialis for Lent, Missa Paschalis, and... and... and late at night I have forgotten the name of the setting for Masses for the Dead. Some of the settings were very easy for the congregation to sing; some were very challenging, especially since we heard them infrequently. Visitors and newcomers were especially challenged, as no written music was available to aid the novice. This was in part due to an uncharitable (in my mind) attitude among the congregation that "Saint Mary's is not for everyone".

For a variety of reasons, the music setting was changed. The Introit, Collects, and much of the service is still chanted by the celebrant in plainsong or Gregorian chant. The Creed and Lord's Prayer are still chanted by the congregation. The Epistle and Gospel are still chanted by the Servers, Deacons, and Priest. But the Kyrie, the Gloria in Excelsis, the Sanctus and Benedictus, and the Agnus Dei are sung by the congregation using the Healey Willan setting from the Hymnal. Much easier to sing, familiar to many who come into the Anglo-Catholic Church from other traditions, and constant from season to season. And of course, we include several hymns for the congregation throughout the service.

Not as rich a musical tradition, perhaps, but the question becomes one of Church versus museum. We chose Church.

At any rate, I hope this explains the difference. I don't know whether younger people would respond to replacing hymns with plainsong. I might suggest you try plainsong or Gregorian chant for Morning Prayer, or Evensong, and see what kind of response you get. There has been a resurgence of interest in chant; you may be surprised.

By the way, Wikipedia has some good information and a number of links to chant sites. This link is to an audio file of the Epistle for the Solemn Mass of Easter. This chant is in Latin, where we chant in English, but the chant is the same regardless which language is used. I don't chant as nicely as this fellow, though.