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A prayer for the day from the Church of England
Almighty God,
give us grace to cast away the works of darkness
and to put on the armour of light,
now in the time of this mortal life,
in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility;
that on the last day,
when he shall come again in his glorious majesty
to judge the living and the dead,
we may rise to the life immortal;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
From the Morning Bible Readings
The Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners,
he upholds the widow and the fatherless;
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign for ever,
thy God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
–Ps 146:7a-10
A Prayer for the Feast Day of Isaac Watts
God of truth and grace, who didst give Isaac Watts singular gifts to present thy praise in verse, that he might write psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for thy Church: Give us grace joyfully to sing thy praises now and in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.God of truth and grace, who didst give Isaac Watts singular gifts to present thy praise in verse, that he might write psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for thy Church: Give us grace joyfully to sing thy praises now and in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Church of England also commemorates Isaac Watts, Hymn Writer, 1748
Isaac Watts, the 'Father of English Hymnody', credited with some 750 hymns, was the 1st popular English hymn writer. Prior to Watts, the tradition was for congregational psalm singing.
Unknown artist, NPG pic.twitter.com/DPf4tCsnNv
— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) November 25, 2022
A prayer for the day from the Prayer Manual
O God, Who art man’s sovereign good, and dost seek the love of Thy children: deliver us from sloth in Thy work and coldness in Thy cause; rekindle in us love by our looking unto Thee, and by our waiting upon Thee renew our strength; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)
Sunrise – Ardvasar, Isle of Skye #Scotland @StormHour @ThePhotoHour @VisitScotland @angie_weather @BBCScotWeather pic.twitter.com/8dySu2J5HS
— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) November 26, 2022
From the Morning Bible Readings
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
–Philippians 2:1-11
Good Morning 🌎 Have a wonderful and amazing Saturday everyone ..💛🧡❤️💚💙💜 #photo #saturday #goodmorning #saturdaynight #nature #NaturePhotograhpy @StormHour @ThePhotoHour #glasgow pic.twitter.com/INLrEgmjJe
— Dr.P_78Glasgow (@AbhaPaulina) November 26, 2022
One I try to get to Every Year this week–(WSJ) Melanie Kirkpatrick–Thanksgiving, 1789
It is hard to imagine America’s favorite holiday as a source of political controversy. But that was the case in 1789, the year of our first Thanksgiving as a nation.
The controversy began on Sept. 25 in New York City, then the seat of government. The inaugural session of the first Congress was about to recess when Rep. Elias Boudinot of New Jersey rose to introduce a resolution. He asked the House to create a joint committee with the Senate to “wait upon the President of the United States, to request that he would recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging, with grateful hearts, the many signal favors of Almighty God….”
It fell to a New Englander to stand up in support of Thanksgiving. Connecticut’s Roger Sherman praised Boudinot’s resolution as “a laudable one in itself.” It also was “warranted by a number of precedents” in the Bible, he said, “for instance the solemn thanksgivings and rejoicings which took place in the time of Solomon, after the building of the temple.”
In the end, the Thanksgiving resolution passed—the precise vote is not recorded—and the House appointed a committee. The resolution moved to the Senate, which passed it and added its own members to the committee.
The committee took the resolution to the president, and on Oct. 3 George Washington issued his now-famous Thanksgiving Proclamation. In it, he designated Thursday, Nov. 26, 1789 as “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” He asked Americans to render their “sincere and humble thanks” to God for “his kind care and protection of the People of this Country.”
In 1789, President George Washington, on behalf of Congress, issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation designating Thursday, November 26, as a national day of "public thanksgiving and prayer."
Learn more: https://t.co/3nAdNyp6yP pic.twitter.com/tMzvSzcxki
— Mount Vernon (@MountVernon) November 24, 2022
(ESPN) United States make a valiant effort in a draw with England at the 2022 World Cup
The United States was dominant in attack but could not find a way past England as it was held to a 0-0 draw in their second 2022 World Cup game on Friday.
The U.S. was the better side in a game lacking in clear cut chances. The closest threat came when Christian Pulisic rattled the crossbar with a ferocious effort midway through the first half, but neither side was able to break the deadlock.
The result leaves head coach Gregg Berhalter’s team third in Group B with two points from two games, needing a victory in their final group match against Iran on Tuesday to advance to the knockout stages. Meanwhile, England will qualify as long as it avoids a three-goal defeat in their match to Wales.
The United States was dominant in attack but could not find a way past England as they were held to a 0-0 draw in their second 2022 World Cup game on Friday. https://t.co/WCjOHapRw2
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) November 25, 2022
(Local paper) Flu vaccination low in South Carolina as virus rages unchecked
Only 1 in 5 people in South Carolina are vaccinated against the flu as the virus continues to fill doctors’ offices and hospitals. But with the holidays now in full swing, it is a good time to get a shot and get protected, doctors say.
With a heavy early surge of flu, the worst start to the season in a decade, only 21.2 percent of the Palmetto State’s population had received their seasonal vaccination, about 1.1 million people, according to the Department of Health and Environmental Control.
That includes only 14.5 percent of children and 14.9 percent of adults under age 65. Nearly half of seniors — 49 percent — were vaccinated, DHEC reported. Those low rates can have consequences, particularly for kids, said Dr. Elizabeth Mack, chief of pediatric critical care at Medical University of South Carolina.
Just over 1 in 5 people in South Carolina have been vaccinated against the flu as the state faces down an early surge that is the worst start to flu season in a decade. https://t.co/S9qUi1wCRN
— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) November 25, 2022
A Prayer for the Feast Day of James Otis Sargent Huntington
O loving God, by whose grace thy servant James Huntington gathered a community dedicated to love and discipline and devotion to the holy Cross of our Savior Jesus Christ: Send thy blessing upon all who proclaim Christ crucified, and move the hearts of many to look unto him and be saved; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.
The Episcopal Church also commemorates James Otis Sargent Huntington, Priest and Monk, 1935 pic.twitter.com/lgSeiwMh0U
— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) November 25, 2014
A Prayer for the Day from L. E. H. Stephens-Hodge
Almighty God, whose blessed Son taught in all honesty the way of life that thou requirest: Grant that we may so live as dutiful and loyal citizens of our earthly country, that we may show ourselves to be members of that heavenly country whereof thou art sovereign Lord and King; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Good morning and happy Friday all! #fridaymorning #sunrise #Yorkshire pic.twitter.com/wpmuO8fk1w
— David Oxtaby ARPS (@Disc_light) November 25, 2022
From the Daily Scripture Readings
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
–Romans 15:13
It's follow the pathway to the weekend time. Taken this morning in Glastonbury. A bit wild up the top and I did get wet (again) but there was some nice light around. Frost Fayre tomorrow, getting nervous, what if I don't sell anything? Arghhh. pic.twitter.com/lfvFK5JcXe
— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) November 25, 2022
Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State
Happy Thanksgiving! We're thankful for our public lands and waters, our partnerships with Tribal Nations as we work to honor our responsibilities, and our efforts to deliver on climate and clean energy goals. Above all we're thankful for the employees who make it all possible. pic.twitter.com/luXvZs80XD
— US Department of the Interior (@Interior) November 24, 2022
A Prayer of Thanksgiving from B F Westcott
We give thee humble and hearty thanks, O most merciful Father, for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men, for the blessings of this life and for the promise of everlasting happiness. And as we are bound, we especially thank thee for the mercies which we have received: for health and strength and the manifold enjoyments of our daily life; for the opportunities of learning, for the knowledge of thy will, for the means of serving thee in thy Church, and for the love thou hast revealed to us in thy Son, our Saviour; to whom with thee and the Holy Spirit be praise and glory for ever and ever.
–B. F. Westcott (1825-1901)
An early start today. Happy Thursday everyone, with a special hello to my American friends who celebrate #Thanksgiving today 😊🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/F2nnOT6up9
— Andrew Edwards (@AndrewOpera) November 24, 2022
Happy American Thanksgiving to all Blog Readers!
Happy Thanksgiving 🦃🍁🥧🍂🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Hr0daqjbD4
— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) November 24, 2022
The 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation
[New York, 3 October 1789]
By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor — and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be — That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks — for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation — for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war — for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed — for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted — for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions — to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually — to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed — to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness onto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord — To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us — and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
Go: Washington
The U.S. Embassy Dublin will be CLOSED on Thursday, November 24, for Thanksgiving. We will re-open Friday, November 25. pic.twitter.com/1SBGyJDPFK
— U.S. Embassy Dublin (@USEmbassyDublin) November 23, 2022
A Prayer of Thanksgiving from Lancelot Andrewes
Blessing and honour, and thanksgiving and praise,
more than we can utter,
more than we can conceive,
be unto thee, O holy and glorious Trinity,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
by all angels, all men, all creatures,
for ever and ever.
To the American community in Northern Ireland and to our friends, families and colleagues at home & across the world, Happy Thanksgiving! (Photo: @VAStateParks ) pic.twitter.com/Il5W7xLJBv
— US Consulate Belfast (@USAinNI) November 24, 2022
A Prayer for the Day from the Iona Books
Most worthy art Thou, O good and gracious God, of all praise, even for Thine own sake which exceedeth all things in holiness. By Thee only we are hallowed and made holy. As our duty continually bids us, we praise Thee for our glorious redemption, purchased for us in Thy dearly beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Give us therefore the Holy Spirit to govern us. And grant that all things that breathe with life may praise Thee; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, Who reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever.
Mas ar y rhewl hydrefol liwgar ‘ma bore ‘ma…am liwie bendigedig🍂🍁❤️
Bore da xOut on this colourful autumnal back road this morning…what fabulous colours🍂🍁❤️
Bore da x@StormHour @ThePhotoHour @ItsYourWales @S4Ctywydd @Ruth_ITV #autumncolours🍂🍁 pic.twitter.com/Ri4hHbTpG6— Aled Hall 🏴 (@AledHall) November 24, 2022
From the Morning Bible Readings
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.
–Ephesians 1:15-23
Sunrise – Eilean Donan Castle, Lochalsh #Scotland @VisitScotland @BBCScotWeather @ThePhotoHour @StormHour @angie_weather pic.twitter.com/yLhGQH3hUa
— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) November 24, 2022
Church aims to double number of UK Minority Ethnic Head Teachers in England
The ‘Leaders Like Us’ scheme, which is now open for applications, aims to equip UKME teachers with the skills for headship, and has funding to train more than 450 teachers by 2027.
Around one in every three students in schools in England are from UKME backgrounds, but there are fewer than 400 headteachers from the same backgrounds in total, out of more than 20,000 schools.
Research shows that the impact of teacher and school leader representation on students is significant; their attainment and likelihood of progressing to tertiary education is exponentially higher when students see leaders like them. Their exclusion and suspension rates decrease and future aspirations are also measurably lower.
However, data shows that teachers from UKME backgrounds are much less likely to progress to senior positions within their schools than their white peers, becoming increasingly under-represented the more senior the role. A recent report from the National Foundation for Educational Research showed that rather than improving over the last few years, there has in fact been a decline in representation.
The Church of England aims to double the number of UK Minority Ethnic (UKME) Head Teachers in all schools in England over the next five years.
Read more at https://t.co/mVxyLnXnYm.
— The Church of England (@churchofengland) November 23, 2022
(1st Things) Dan Hitchens on Richard Henry Tawney (1880–1962): A 20th Century Prophet
A couple of years ago I stumbled upon a cult. Browsing in a secondhand bookshop, I picked up R. H. Tawney’s Religion and the Rise of Capitalism and, remembering a vague resolution to read it one day, took it to the counter. The fresh-faced student at the cash register was delighted. “It’s . . . amazing,” he said reverently. A few days later, finding myself in full agreement, I emailed a writer in whose work I perceived some Tawney-like themes to ask whether he knew the book. “I read it fifty years ago,” he replied, “and it changed my life.”
In recent decades, membership of his fan club has declined—too Christian for the socialists, too socialist for the Christians—but at one time Richard Henry Tawney (1880–1962) towered over British intellectual life. To his contemporaries he was a legend, “the greatest living Englishman,” according to the historian Sir Michael Postan. The Guardian declared in 1960 that his writings “will be read with delight as long as the English language is spoken.” Surveying Tawney’s contributions, not just as a historian, but as a writer, activist, teacher, and mentor, someone suggested to Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple that what Britain needed was “more men like Tawney.” The archbishop replied: “There are no men like Tawney.” To a generation that had run out of faith in free-market capitalism, he appeared to be that unusual thing, a prophet who actually knew what he was talking about.
Deeply earnest, prematurely bald, self-deprecating to the point of masochism, Tawney nevertheless exuded an unmistakable charisma that can still be experienced today in the texture of his prose—its beautiful cadences, smash-and-grab satirical raids, elegiac melancholy, pin-sharp analysis, metaphorical exuberance, and spiritual clarity. The supreme example is Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, based on the Holland Memorial Lectures he delivered at King’s College, London in 1922. The bestselling history book in interwar Britain, it owed its success partly to a widespread feeling that the reigning economic system had failed, partly to the national weakness for nostalgia: Tawney was one of those writers who located his ideals in a consciously romanticized past, and the book is above all a lament for a lost moral order.
From the twelfth through the sixteenth century, in Tawney’s telling, money was, at least to an extent, governed by Christian moral norms. Feudal lords might be merciless, guilds might be monopolistic, the papacy might be corrupt, but late-medieval society still shone out with, in Tawney’s characteristically memorable phrase, “a certain tarnished splendour.” Widespread cruelty and oppression could not wholly extinguish the idea of social solidarity, of a world that made eternal salvation its ultimate goal and thus put money-worship in its place. Peasant and lord, craftsman and merchant knew their duties to each other, and the strong were regularly prevented from exploiting the weak. In the institutions that fed the hungry and provided credit to the financially insecure; in the ecclesiastical or civil courts where usurers were excommunicated and fined; in the pulpits where avarice was denounced as a deadly sin, and in the confessionals where middlemen would have to repent of overcharging customers or not sharing their goods with the poor, medieval man was prevented from destroying his own soul and his neighbor’s livelihood.
A Twentieth-Century Prophet by Dan Hitchens | Articles | First Things https://t.co/ASCCGEWqog
— john milbank (@johnmilbank3) November 23, 2022
(PRC) How Religion Intersects With Americans’ Views on the Environment
Most U.S. adults – including a solid majority of Christians and large numbers of people who identify with other religious traditions – consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
But the survey also finds that highly religious Americans (those who say they pray each day, regularly attend religious services and consider religion very important in their lives) are far less likely than other U.S. adults to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe.
The survey reveals several reasons why religious Americans tend to be less concerned about climate change. First and foremost is politics: The main driver of U.S. public opinion about the climate is political party, not religion. Highly religious Americans are more inclined than others to identify with or lean toward the Republican Party, and Republicans tend to be much less likely than Democrats to believe that human activity (such as burning fossil fuels) is warming the Earth or to consider climate change a serious problem.
Religious Americans who express little or no concern about climate change also give a variety of other explanations for their views, including that there are much bigger problems in the world today, that God is in control of the climate, and that they do not believe the climate actually is changing. In addition, many religious Americans voice concerns about the potential consequences of environmental regulations, such as a loss of individual freedoms, fewer jobs or higher energy prices.
Most adults (including Christians) consider the Earth sacred and believe God gave humans a duty to care for it. But our new survey also finds that highly religious Americans are less likely to express concern about warming temperatures around the globe. 🧵https://t.co/3zazVaEwYl
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) November 17, 2022
(Washington Post) Ukrainian energy systems on brink of collapse after weeks of Russian bombing
After just six weeks of intense bombing of energy infrastructure, Russia has battered Ukraine to the brink of a humanitarian disaster this winter as millions of people potentially face life-threatening conditions without electricity, heat or running water.
As the scope of damage to Ukraine’s energy systems has come into focus in recent days, Ukrainian and Western officials have begun sounding the alarm but are also realizing they have limited recourse. Ukraine’s Soviet-era power system cannot be fixed quickly or easily. In some of the worst-hit cities, there is little officials can do other than to urge residents to flee — raising the risk of economic collapse in Ukraine and a spillover refugee crisis in neighboring European countries.
“Put simply, this winter will be about survival,” Hans Henri P. Kluge, regional director for the World Health Organization, told reporters on Monday in Kyiv, saying the next months could be “life-threatening for millions of Ukrainians.”
Already, snow has fallen across much of Ukraine and temperatures are dipping below freezing in many parts of the country. Kluge said that 2 million to 3 million Ukrainians were expected to leave their homes “in search of warmth and safety,” though it was unclear how many would remain inside the country.
After just six weeks of intense bombing of energy infrastructure, Russia has battered Ukraine to the brink of a humanitarian disaster this winter as millions of people potentially face life-threatening conditions without electricity, heat or running water.https://t.co/mOe2GjUDoW
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) November 23, 2022
A Prayer for the Feast Day of Clement of Rome
Almighty God, who didst choose thy servant Clement of Rome to recall the Church in Corinth to obedience and stability: Grant that thy Church may be grounded and settled in thy truth by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and may evermore be kept blameless in thy service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
"To God we owe everything" Clement of Rome pic.twitter.com/9Fash4nay4
— laudablePractice (@cath_cov) November 23, 2015
A Prayer for the Day from Eric Milner-White (1884-1963)
Help us, O Holy Spirit, Giver of life and love, to be always so mindful of the love from whence we came, that we may learn more and more the love to which we go: and in this love abounding, daily abide; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)
"What a glorious morning" An epic sunrise on Roker beach this morning. Have a great day …. @StormHour @ThePhotoHour #sunrise pic.twitter.com/sncpyO7iR0
— simon c woodley (@simoncwoodley) November 23, 2022
From the Morning Bible Readings
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us. For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
–Ephesians 1:3-10
Good morning 🌎 and a very happy hump Wednesday to all .. 💛🧡❤️✨ leave you with this capture from the top of Ben A’an of Scotland 🏴 #goodmorning #photooftheday #photo #nature #HumpDay #Wednesdayvibe @StormHour @ThePhotoHour @VisitScotland #NaturePhotography pic.twitter.com/zG93FBPZ5A
— Dr.P_78Glasgow (@AbhaPaulina) November 23, 2022
CS Lewis on CS Lewis Day (III)–on Love, Hell and Vulnerability
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket – safe, dark, motionless, airless – it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is hell.
–C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1960), pp. 138-139
Rodin’s iconic sculptures ‘The Kiss’ and ‘The Thinker’ are now regarded as masterpieces in their own right, but they both started out as small parts of a monumental composition – ‘The Gates of Hell’. #RodinExhibition https://t.co/8vUq3NcQRT pic.twitter.com/7N2GZOpI4B
— British Museum (@britishmuseum) July 16, 2018
(CT) William O’Flaherty–The Top 10 Misquoted Lines from C. S. Lewis for CSLewis Day
2. “You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”
Lewis never wrote those words, but he did admire the person who originally wrote them—or at least something very similar. George MacDonald penned a close variation of this saying in Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood (1867). In the 28th chapter, we find a comment about “the great mistake of teaching children that they have souls.” It goes on to say that “they ought to be taught that they have bodies, and that their bodies die; while they themselves live on.” Years later, in 1892, an article appeared in The British Friend where MacDonald is quoted as saying, “Never tell a child … you have a soul. Teach him, you are a soul; you have a body.”
1. “I believe in Christ like I believe in the sun. Not because I can see it, but by it, I can see everything else.”
The most misquoted line from Lewis. These are certainly great words, but they aren’t quite what Lewis actually wrote. They are close though. Not including punctuation, there are eight differences between this and Lewis’s original. The correct version comes from an essay entitled “Is Theology Poetry?” found in The Weight of Glory. The actual statement Lewis wrote is, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen, not only because I see it but because by it, I see everything else.”
This one needs to recirculated every year on #CSLewis Day–Top 10 Lines Falsely Attributed to C. S. Lewis https://t.co/COWQjiFRxw #churchhistory #quotations #accuracy #histroy #churchhistory
— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) November 22, 2022
CS Lewis on CS Lewis Day (II)–on Friendship, Death and an insight it gives us into the real nature of the Church and of Heaven
[Essayist Charles] Lamb [1775-1834] says somewhere that if, of three friends (A, B, and C), A should die, then B loses not only A but “A’s part in C”, while C loses not only A but “A’s part in B”. In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Now that Charles [Williams] is dead, I shall never again see Ronald [J R R Tolkien]’s reaction to a specifically Caroline joke. Far from having more of Ronald, having him “to myself” now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald. Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend. They can then say, as the blessed souls say in Dante, “Here comes one who will augment our loves.” For in this love “to divide is not to take away”. Of course the scarcity of kindred souls–not to mention practical considerations about the size of rooms and the audibility of voices–set limits to the enlargement of the circle; but within those limits we possess each friend not less but more as the number of those with whom we share him increases. In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious “nearness by resemblance” to Heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each has of God. For every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” to one another (Isaiah VI, 3). The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall all have.
–CS Lewis The Four Loves Chapter 4
Most people know today, 22nd November, as the anniversary of the assassination of JFK but many forget that on that same day, another icon died. A big hero of mine, the creator of Narnia and dozens of books of apologetics, CS Lewis pic.twitter.com/VqnHAsBqy6
— Walter Saywell (@walter_saywell) November 22, 2022