How do we read Scripture? What happens when we sit down with our Bibles and begin to pore over the wisdom God has given us through its ancient authors? In our rationalistic world, we often find it easy to study the Bible but not as easy to meditate upon and absorb it. We’re tempted to…
What is the Anglican Rosary?
For over a thousand years, people of faith have used various methods to keep track of their prayers. The Rosary actually finds its roots in the British Isles. The first Christians to use beads with their prayers were in the Irish community of St. Colomba in the ninth century. Though the practice of using stones…
Stepping into Silence
Stepping into a rhythm of silence is counterintuitive to everything we practice in our society, but it has many gifts to impart.
A Rule of Life: What It Is and How to Make One
What is a Rule of Life? Monks living in community live by a common Rule. Benedictine monks, for instance, live by the Rule of St. Benedict. The Rule governs every element of a monk’s life: when they sleep, work, pray, and eat, as well as how they work out community issues, etc. Oblates of monasteries—lay…
Ancient Words in a Crisis of Faith
The pandemic was lonely, scary, and anxiety-inducing for many people the world over. For me, it was even worse because I felt like the bottom fell out of my life, and the pandemic was the icing on the cake. In 2018, I had finished grad school and moved back in with my parents to start…
Chasing After Earnest Confession
Years ago, after an evening of moral failure, I attempted to reconcile with God while on a run, wrestling with whether I meant my recitation of the common confession. A Run with the Confession I woke up with a moral hangover. I tried to fall back asleep to avoid the guilt and shame swirling in my…
A Self-Examination of Sin with the 10 Commandments
Try to be as practical as possible in making your list of sins in preparation for confession. Think concretely. Think about what several sins may have been involved in a single act. Be sure to distinguish proclivities and temptations to sin from actual acts of sin (acts that may be mental or physical). If there is ambiguity, feel free…
How to Make a Self-Examination of Sin
When a leech wants to snack on your leg, it secretes a local anesthetic so you do not become aware of its bite. This way, the leech can remain undetected and keep leeching. Leeches are horrible critters; I only bring them up as an analogy—sin is the same way. When we commit a sin, we…
Let Us Keep the Feast: Reflections on the Pascha Nostrum
The world God made is a world of rhythm and rhyme. Seasons change and come again before leaving us once more. There is a predictable stability in the constant diversity that God has made, something C.S. Lewis once brought out in his masterpiece The Screwtape Letters. As his fictional demon once put it, God has…
Morning Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
It’s very easy to wake up in the morning, get dressed, have a cup of coffee while we check the latest news, and immediately jump into our day. We often check our emails before we check in with our souls. What would happen if, instead, we started our day in praise and thanksgiving to God?…
A Spirit of Unity: Reflections on the Provincial Assembly
The 2024 ACNA Provincial Assembly just wrapped up in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. As the Assembly only happens every five years, this was my first. I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Here at Anglican Compass, we emphasize navigating our tradition with clarity and charity. But I’m well aware that many online Anglican conversations often lack in…
