Cæli enarrant I come to the end of my Marian sojourn attuned again to the calendar, for August 15 presents even Anglicans an opportunity to celebrate “Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ” (1979 BCP, p. 26), just as the final mysteries of the rosary return to the figure of Mary herself, whom we have accompanied from the start, or vice versa. We have walked … [Read more...] about Assumption, Coronation
Blessed Virgin Mary
Presentation, Finding
liz west/Flickr Cæli enarrant By Christopher Wells The second chapter of the Gospel of St. Luke delivers the narrative basis for the fourth and fifth joyful mysteries of the rosary, both ordered around the cultic center of Jewish worship: the Presentation (vv. 22-40) and the Finding (vv. 41-52) of our Lord in the Temple. And the Presentation occasions our third … [Read more...] about Presentation, Finding
Annunciation
liz west/Flickr Cæli enarrant For more than a decade, I have come to treasure praying the rosary in the car at the outset of a drive: five mysteries, according to the day of the week, rotating between Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious. I have yet to incorporate the Luminous Mysteries of John Paul II’s invention, but look forward to doing so. A dear Roman Catholic … [Read more...] about Annunciation
The Gospel According to Joseph
By Bob Libby The widow Anne supported herself and her daughter, Mary, by running, what we would call today, a boarding house in Nazareth. The house had been built by her late husband, Samuel. He was a stone mason who traced his family trade back more than a thousand years to Solomon’s temple. Samuel had dreams of a large family and had added on to his father’s house. But … [Read more...] about The Gospel According to Joseph
Fiat
Cæli enarrant Having learned the Hail Mary I was prepared for the Angelus when it came along at my first Anglo-Catholic parish, and the rosary popped up with some frequency thereafter in ecumenical and Roman Catholic circles. It took a few years till the Hail Mary became a regular prayer in the car, perfect for repeating over and over, and later I built in the rosary proper … [Read more...] about Fiat
Trinitarian palimpsest
Cæli enarrant I’ve grown attached to reading one of the final sentences of Scripture from the end of Morning Prayer, St. Paul’s “Grace” of 2 Corinthians 13:14, through the lens of three images on the wall of my apartment, apportioning its triune blessing among them. And then, as a further “prayer for the principal gifts of the Three Persons” (Marion Hatchett, Commentary on … [Read more...] about Trinitarian palimpsest
With Mary on Ecumenism’s Trail
August 15 • Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ Review by Peter Doll These volumes on the Blessed Virgin Mary are a testament to the sea change in the understanding of Mary in the Church in the last generation. I use the capital C deliberately, for Our Lady is no longer a figure who automatically divides Roman Catholics, Oriental and Orthodox … [Read more...] about With Mary on Ecumenism’s Trail
Second Annunciation
By Jon Adamson Woman, behold your son: behold your mother Thirty-four years before these words, Our Lady received the angel’s message — declaring her full of grace and soon to be full with the Child who would pour grace upon the whole world. At this Annunciation, she was troubled at the saying. She was betrothed but had not consummated the marriage and her mind reeled to … [Read more...] about Second Annunciation