March 2023
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
March 2023 from Father Tim
March 2023 has arrived with some very early Spring flowers. In the Church Ordo Kalendar March begins with the Ember Days (1st, 3rd, & 4th). Along with the Sundays in Lent, other notable days are S. Patrick, Bishop & Confessor (17th), Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (25th – day of obligation in the BCP), and Passion Sunday (26th). The term ‘Passion’ is used absolutely of our Lord’s Redemptive Suffering during the last days of His earthly life and, most especially, His Crucifixion. Passion Sunday is the traditional name for the fifth Sunday in Lent, which marks the beginning of ‘Passiontide’, which is – again traditionally, the last two weeks of Lent, extending from Passion Sunday to Holy Saturday. It was (and still is in the Anglican Catholic Church) customary during this period for all crucifixes, pictures, and images in church to be veiled in purple (the crucifix only being unveiled for the Good Friday Liturgy). The ‘Gloria Patri’, is omitted from the Psalms, the Introit, and the Venite as well. Since 1969, the Roman Catholic Church has dropped Passion Sunday from the calendar and the observance combined with that of Palm Sunday; the veiling of crucifixes and so forth is optional and in any case confined to Holy Week; and there are no observances peculiar to the period as a whole (which makes me very happy to have St. John’s as a place to worship!). Outside the Holy Church, according to one recent article, the Top 5 things in 2023 a person should be passionate about are (1) Health & Fitness, (2) Relationship Health, (3) Learning New Skills, (4) Money Management, and (5) Simplifying Your Life. While all of the aforementioned are worthy goals in our earthly life, we should first and foremost be passionate about our eternal life. After all, what good is health and fitness if it does not glorify God for eternity? Why struggle to strengthen relationships unless we can walk together in Paradise? Why bother with a new skill unless it will affect our work assigned in the Kingdom of God? Why learn good money management unless we intend to use that wealth to build treasure in heaven? Why simplify our life unless we are passionate about choosing Eternal Life? Here at Saint John’s let’s always strive to be the peculiar people with the peculiar observances, never dropping our passion for the Passiontide, and making Eternal Life our personal option of choice. I pray your March is extra peculiar and full of passion for the Day-Spring from on high-! ~ Father Tim
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Is there someone you know who needs a passion for Eternal Life? March is the month of Spring and the coming forth of new life! Please invite a family member or a friend to church where they can observe our passion for God and the Word made flesh. ~ Father Tim
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There is no power like that of prevailing prayer, of Abraham pleading for Sodom, Jacob wrestling in the stillness of the night, Moses standing in the breach, Hannah intoxicated with sorrow, David heartbroken with remorse and grief, Jesus in sweat of blood. Add to this list from the records of the church your personal observation and experience, and always there is the cost of passion unto blood. Such prayer prevails. It turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God. ~ Samuel Chadwick, 1860-1932, Wesleyan Methodist Minister
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Did you know?
Did you know Saint John’s makes a charitable gift each month? Did you know all new windows were installed to improve the Rectory? Did you know we now have a new book club that meets consistently – The Book of Life Club? Did you know that our Wednesday Evening Prayer (6:30 PM) will have a Lenten Soup, Salad, & Bread meal afterward? Did you know that during Lent we will have Stations of the Cross every Friday evening at 6:30 PM?
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St. John March Ordo Kalendar
Wednesday, the 1st of March, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Friday, the 3rd of March, at 6:30 PM, Stations of the Cross
Sunday, the 5th of March, at 10:30 AM, Lent II Mass – Book of Life Club
Wednesday, the 8th of March at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Friday, the 10th of March at 6:30 PM, Stations of the Cross
Sunday, the 12th of March at 10:30 AM, Lent III Mass – Dunn Baptism/Shower
Wednesday, the 15th of March at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Friday, the 17th of March, at 6:30 PM, Stations of the Cross
Sunday, the 19th of March, at 10:30 AM, Lent IV Mass – Vestry Meeting
Wednesday, the 22nd of March, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Friday, the 24th of March, at 6:30 PM, Stations of the Cross
Saturday, the 25th of March, at 3:00 PM, Annunciation of the B.V.M. Mass
Sun., the 26th of March, at 10:30 AM, Passion Sunday Mass – Book of Life Club
Wednesday, the 29th of March, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Friday, the 31st of March, at 6:30 PM, Stations of the Cross
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God loves with a great love the man whose heart is bursting with a passion for the impossible. ~ William Booth, 1829-1912, English Preacher & founder of the Salvation Army
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Do we who have the care of souls know what hell is? Have we seen the state of the damned? Are we aware how dreadful their case is? Do we know that most people go there unaware of their danger? And do we see that our hearers are not aware of their danger? If we knew all this, it would be morally impossible for us to avoid passionately telling them the dreadfulness of that misery and their great exposure to it. We would cry aloud to them! ~ Jonathon Edwards, 1703-1758, American Revivalist Preacher, Philosopher, & Theologian
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March Birthdays & Anniversaries
Joanna Barnett – Birthday – March 16
Cora Adams – Birthday – March 17
Judy Hulsey – Birthday – March 28
Kay Matthews – Birthday – March 31
Kevin Matthews – Birthday – March 31
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Why should we want to worship Jesus well?
It is impossible to contemplate the character of Jesus, with serious and devout attention, and not be charmed with it. We see in Him, all the human passions in the highest perfection. His joys were grave, His griefs were just. His gentleness and His severity, His holiness and His humanity – were in perfect harmony with each other. He manifested great tenderness, and genuine affection, and sensibility to human woe on all occasions. ~ John Fawcett, 1739-1817, British Theologian, Pastor, and Hymn Writer
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Why should we not enter into our inheritance in the church as well as the concert hall? ~ Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958, English Composer – (here is a link to a choral piece for the Benedicite, omnia opera Domini (page 11 in the 1928 BCP), sung here by the University of Toronto’s Hart House Chorus during their Spring Concert, 2001.
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Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Him whom the heavens cannot contain, the womb of one woman bore. She ruled our Ruler; she carried Him in whom we are; she gave milk to our Bread. ~ S. Augustine of Hippo, 354 – 430, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor, Theologian, & Philosopher
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The seeking of Jesus Christ and the quest for chivalry combined lead directly to one place only: Anglican-Catholicism. Courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help and defend the weak and the poor. Welcome to the Anglican Catholic Church. ~ Father Timothy Butler