Posts Tagged ‘Requiem’
What Shall We Return to the Lord? – Br. Jamie Nelson
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Br. Jamie Nelson
Today is our monthly requiem mass, a time we dedicate to remembering the members of the Society of St. John the Evangelist who died during the month of September.
Later in the service, we will pray for them by name. But beyond their names, I want to offer now a small bouquet of the details of their lives plucked from their obituaries that we read at Compline: five were veterans of the great World Wars;1 four died during this century;2 three were known for their musical talents;3 two were sons of priests;4 and one was a talented tinkerer who could fix almost anything mechanical.5
These 11 men were much like every member of SSJE: distinct individuals in so many ways, yet similar in essentials. They served in almost every place SSJE has had a presence: in Canada, England, India, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States. Together, they tallied 380 years of professed life. I marvel at the vast expanse of that span of years saturated with prayer, worship, and service, and give thanks to God for their lives. Read More
The End of Mourning, Crying, and Pain – Br. Curtis Almquist
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Br. Curtis Almquist
Today we remember the Brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist who have died in the month of August, back to when our brotherhood was founded in 1866. This is our monthly Requiem. The word “Requiem” comes from the Latin, “to rest” or “to sleep.”1 At the time of someone’s death we pray over their body: “Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world … May your rest be this day in peace.”2
This practice of celebrating a Requiem is important to us Brothers. It may also be a meaningful practice for you, personally, to intentionally remember people who have figured importantly into your own life and who have died. Read More
Save Us – Br. Luke Ditewig
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Br. Luke Ditewig
Today is our monthly requiem in which we remember the dead, dying, and loss, and our mortality. Sick, dying, and told he would die, Hezekiah prayed asking God to remember how he had followed, and he wept bitterly. Tears express beyond words: fright, distress, sadness, anger, confusion, and distress. God replied: “I hear you and see your tears. I will save you.” Hezekiah recovers and then writes a lament (Isaiah 38:10–20).[1] He pointedly describes hurt and suffering: “My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd’s tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom …” (Isaiah 38:12). Read More
Telegrammes from God – Br. James Koester
Feast of Saint Edward the Confessor and Requiem for Brother John Goldring SSJE
Wisdom 3: 1-6
Psalm 23
1 John 3: 1-2
John 20: 1-9
I first met John in the fall of 1981. I was at the Mission House in Bracebridge with a group of my fellow divinity students from Trinity College, Toronto for our annual fall retreat. I remember a number of things about that weekend. I remember that it was a wonderful fall weekend, much like the last several days have been here. Father Dalby, whom some of our will remember, was our retreat leader. And John preached at the Sunday Eucharist.
Now I don’t remember what John said in his homily, but I do remember that I, like my other classmates, was stunned by its simplicity, its brevity and its depth.Little did I know at the time, that John’s sermons would become a regular and important part of my spiritual life. Nor would I have ever guessed on that Sunday in the chapel at Brace bridge, that I would be standing here, 35 years later, presiding at his funeral as his brother and Superior. Read More