A Treasure To Be Shared

Easter Eve by John Keble Transcribed by David Price from the 1887 Cassell & Company edition of The Christian Year. As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water. Zechariah ix. 11. At length the worst is o’er, and Thou art laid Deep in Thy darksome bed; All still and cold beneath yon dreary stone Thy sacred form is gone; Around those lips where power and mercy hung, The dews of deaths have clung; The dull earth o’er Thee, and Thy foes around, Thou sleep’st a silent corse, in funeral fetters wound. Sleep’st Thou indeed? or is Thy spirit fled, At large among the dead? Whether in Eden bowers Thy welcome voice Wake Abraham to rejoice, Or in some drearier scene Thine eye controls The thronging band of souls; That, as Thy blood won earth, Thine agony Might set the shadowy realm from sin and sorrow free. Where’er Thou roam’st, one happy soul, we know, Se...

Good Friday by John Keble from THE CHRISTIAN YEAR BY THE REV. JOHN KEBLE Transcribed from the 1887 Cassell & Company edition by David Price He is despised and rejected of men. Isaiah liii. 3. Is it not strange, the darkest hour That ever dawned on sinful earth Should touch the heart with softer power For comfort than an angel’s mirth? That to the Cross the mourner’s eye should turn Sooner than where the stars of Christmas burn? Sooner than where the Easter sun Shines glorious on yon open grave, And to and fro the tidings run, “Who died to heal, is risen to save?” Sooner than where upon the Saviour’s friends The very Comforter in light and love descends? Yet so it is: for duly there The bitter herbs of earth are set, Till tempered by the Saviour’s prayer, And with the Saviour’s life-blood wet, They turn to sweetness, and drop holy balm, Soft as imprisoned martyr’s deathbed calm. All turn to sweet—but most of all That bi...

THE CHRISTIAN YEAR BY THE REV. JOHN KEBLE Thursday before Easter Transcribed from the 1887 Cassell & Company edition by David Price As the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. Daniel ix. 23. “O Holy mountain of my God, How do thy towers in ruin lie, How art thou riven and strewn abroad, Under the rude and wasteful sky!” ’Twas thus upon his fasting-day The “Man of Loves” was fain to pray, His lattice open toward his darling west, Mourning the ruined home he still must love the best. Oh! for a love like Daniel’s now, To wing to Heaven but one strong prayer For God’s new Israel, sunk as low, Yet flourishing to sight as fair, As Sion in her height of pride, With queens for handmaids at her side, With kings her nursing-fathers, thronèd high, And compassed with the world’s too tempting blazonry. ...

THE CHRISTIAN YEAR BY THE REV. JOHN KEBLE Wednesday before Easter Transcribed from the 1887 Cassell & Company edition by David Price Saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done. St. Luke xxii. 42. O Lord my God, do thou Thy holy will— I will lie still— I will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm, And break the charm Which lulls me, clinging to my Father’s breast, In perfect rest. Wild fancy, peace! thou must not me beguile With thy false smile: I know thy flatteries and thy cheating ways; Be silent, Praise, Blind guide with siren voice, and blinding all That hear thy call. Come, Self-devotion, high and pure, Thoughts that in thankfulness endure, Though dearest hopes are faithless found, And dearest hearts are bursting round. Come, Resignation, spirit meek, And let me kiss thy placid cheek, And read in thy pale eye serene Their blessing, who by faith can wean Their hearts from sense, and learn to love God...

St Stephen Saint Stephen (Greek: Στέφανος, meaning "crown") was a first-century Christian, the protomartyr of Christianity. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he was one of seven deacons selected by the Apostles in Jerusalem to manage the distribution of food to widows, chosen specifically for being "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6)." Filled with grace and power, Stephen performed great wonders and signs among the people, engaging in debates with members of various synagogues who could not withstand the wisdom of his words driven by the Spirit. www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070110.html Stephen, falsely accused of blasphemy against Moses and God, was brought before the Sanhedrin, where he gave a long speech tracing Israel’s history from Abraham to Solomon. He highlighted God’s presence beyond the temple and accused his opponents of resisting the Holy Spirit and betraying Jesus, the “Righteous One.” O...

Pope Leo's letter that follows was read at the installation of Sarah Mullally. Some will inevitably claim the letter as an endorsement of her ministry, yet a more careful read will show a wise pope acknowledging that relationships between Christians must necessarily be founded upon truth and love, and there can be no real love without truth. MESSAGE OF POPE LEO XIV ON THE OCCASION OF THE INSTALLATION OF THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY To The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dame Sarah Mullally Archbishop of Canterbury [Do not read too much into the use of a title. To state a title or rank that is used among a group of people is not an endorsement. Remember, the Catholic Church has her own hierarchy in England.] Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love. (2 Jn 1:3) With this assurance of God’s abiding presence, I send prayerful greetings to Your Grace on the occasion of your Installation as Archbishop of Ca...

This past week the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released a document acknowledging the vital contribution of communities of the Personal Ordinariate to the spiritual health of the Church. The document highlights important aspects of the Ordinariate charism and the character of communities that have developed since Pope Benedict issued the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus on November 4, 2009, the Feast of St. Charles Borromeo. What are some defining features of the Ordinariate within the life of the Church? A Distinctive “Ecclesial Ethos”.  The Bishops first spoke of a distinctive “ecclesial ethos,” marked by the broad participation of both clergy and laity in the life and governance of the Church. This culture, grounded in relationships that shape the ecclesial life of each Ordinariate, is inherently consultative and collaborative . It is also characterized by a capacity to welcome converts into Catholic communion while preserving the uniqueness of their spi...

https://thecatholicherald.com/article/vatican-publishes-new-document-on-anglican-ordinariates www.doctrinafidei.va/en/documenti/characteristics-of-the-anglican-heritage-as-lived-in-the-ordinar.html Characteristics of the Anglican Heritage as Lived in the Ordinariates Established Under the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus 24 March 2026 During the Plenary Meeting of the Bishop Ordinaries of the Personal Ordinariates established under the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus (2009), held at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1 to 3 March 2026, His Eminence Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect, invited the Bishops to describe the lived experience of the patrimony at the heart of their Ordinariates, as it relates to how they have received and integrated elements that came from the Anglican tradition. The Bishops affirmed that, notwithstanding the vast geographical distances encompassed by their Ordinariates—from Inverness to Devon, from Edmonton to Or...

Loose Canon Our Protestant brothers and sisters—Evangelical, Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, etc.—follow the shorter Old Testament, so they have a 66-book Bible. Because Martin Luther disagreed with certain accepted apostolic teachings found in specific writings, he placed four New Testament books in an appendix, denying that they were divinely inspired: the E pistle to the Hebrews, the Epistle of James  (which Luther referred to as "an epistle of straw", the Epistle of Jude, and the Revelation of John.  Even though Luther tried to remove said books from the canon, both Catholics and modern Protestants share the same collection of New Testament books. There are Protestant writers who insist the early Church relied solely on Saint Jerome's list of canonical books and attributed to him the principle that only books written in Hebrew were to be admitted into the official Canon of Holy Scripture. That is a half-truth. Saint Jerome initially had doubts about the deuterocanoni...