“My soul doth magnify the Lord – my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden. From henceforth, shall all generations call me blessed.” The great song of praise which Mary poured forth, which we know as the Magnificat. Mary says all generations shall call me blessed…

The Feast of Saint Andrew Matthew 4:18-22, John 1:35-42 “The trouble with the idea of vocation,” writes Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, “is that most of us, if we are honest, have a rather dramatic idea of it.” We tend to think of it as God finding us a part to play in the ongoing…

Luke 21:25-31 When I first read these lessons over earlier in the week, my first reaction was: what on earth can I of make of these, they seem all too . . . real, somehow: splitting apart of mountains, refugees, confusion and a sense of timelessness, distress among nations. It’s as if Zechariah and Luke…

John 18:33-37 This Last Sunday after Pentecost is also called, The Feast of Christ the King. The words of one of the antiphons for the first Evensong of Christmas Day speaks to me especially this year. “ The King of Peace is highly exalted, passing all the kings of the whole earth.” This theme of…

It is our custom here at the monastery on most Saturdays to remember the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our chapel is dedicated to Mary and, as guests will know, we begin Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer every day with the recitation of the “Angelus,” (as in “angels”). Support SSJE Please…

Mark 13:14-23 Alright, I’ll admit I wasn’t thrilled when I realized that I would be preaching today on a text from Mark 13 — these are difficult words to understand and to interpret! The 13 th chapter of Mark’s gospel reflects a genre of writing that we call “apocalyptic.” Apocalyptic thought occurs in both the…

John 1:1-14 As a young boy I remember a great feeling of solace in reading the inscription on the cornerstone of our parish church. The inscription read: “Holding Forth the Word of Life.” Even by a young age I already knew that life was full of changes, most of which absolutely delighted me as I…

Mark 12:38-44 The Widow’s Mite, the story of the poor woman who gave all that she had to the Temple Treasury is a lesson about openhanded generosity and placing one’s trust fully in God. It is a story we need to hear, an encouragement to live fully and generously. The widow’s contribution in monetary terms…

A friend of mine was preaching at an All Souls’ Day service, about life after death, and afterwards asked his churchwarden what he thought would happen to him after he died. He said, “I suppose I’ll go to everlasting bliss, vicar, but I wish you wouldn’t talk about such unpleasant subjects!” Support SSJE Please support…

Mark 10:45-52 I love books of old photographs, and I particularly like the classic works of such as Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier Bresson. I recently came across two photos placed side by side, and they made a powerful impression on me. The first one was the sort of thing you get in magazines like…