Archbishop Thomas Cranmer, who led the development of the Book of Common Prayer, crafted collects for Good Friday with a special emphasis on the church as the family of God. There are three collects for the day, the only occasion for which Cranmer appointed more than one. The first asks God to “behold this thy…
The Liturgical Home: Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday begins the sacred journey of the Easter Triduum (pronounced tree-do-um), the “Three Days” that span from sundown on Maundy Thursday to sundown on Easter Sunday. These are the holiest and most solemn days of the Christian year, drawing us into the heart of our faith. On this night, we remember the Last Supper,…
Holy Week at Anglican Cathedrals
Holy Week is almost upon us. This is a time when Christians mark the end of Lent with a series of observances that re-enact our Lord’s final days, from his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to his triumph over the grave one week later. Anglican churches across the ACNA will play host to…
Today in the Spirit: Palm Sunday C
In Lent Year C, we come now to Holy Week and the crisis ending in our Lord’s death in Jerusalem. As always on Palm Sunday, the combination of the triumphal entry and the passion narratives will send us as worshipers reeling in the Spirit between the joy of crying “Hosanna” at one moment and the…
Hymn Guide: My Worth is Not in What I Own
“My Worth is Not in What I Own” is a contemporary hymn about the surpassing worth of Christ and his cross. It references the many good things of this world—including possessions, strength, skill, and reputation—but rejects them as the basis of personal worth. Instead, it fixes our value in the unconditional love of Christ, our…
Today in the Spirit: Lent 5C (Passion Sunday)
Passion Sunday at Lent 5 marks the beginning of the traditional Passiontide period, which extends through the Saturday before Palm Sunday. This deep in Lent, we walk with Jesus in our worship into the last week of his life, either just before or after his triumphal entry. In Year C, the assigned Gospel reading is…
Contemplative Movies for Lent
The season of Lent is a time for contemplation. The Ash Wednesday service in the Book of Common Prayer calls us to observe the season “by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and alms-giving; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word” (BCP 2019, pg. 544). In its call for self-examination and repentance, Lent…
Today in the Spirit: Lent 4C (Laetare Sunday)
Generally, at Lent 4 every year, we can discern a transition in the Church’s selected readings from the straightforward message of the horrific consequences of failing to repent from sin (recall the “weeping and gnashing of teeth” from last week’s Gospel reading) to the promises of blessing for those who do. This is evident nowhere more than in…
Today in the Spirit: Lent 3C
The experience of worship in the third week of Lent is part and parcel of the experience of the whole season of Lent. Once again, we hear stories, prophecies, or songs of Israelites receiving God’s commands in the wilderness of Sinai or Palestinians listening to the words of the Son of God incarnate in Palestine,…
A Deeper Devotion at the Cross
Nothing is more essential to the Christian life than what we make of Jesus’ cross. As we grow in Christ, we do not move on to other, higher planes; rather, our perception of the cross deepens. Our fellowship with our crucified Messiah grows more intimate. The cross grows ever more beautiful in our eyes the longer we linger.
