“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations.” Matthew 25:32 When the Lord Jesus returns to earth in glory, as discussed in our last reflection on the Nicene Creed, it will not…
The Rev’d Ben Jefferies has served as a parish priest since 2014. He is the editor of the St. Bernard Breviary, and is presently doing doctoral research on E.B. Pusey. He is married with three daughters and lives in Wisconsin.
We Believe: He Will Come Again in Glory
Up until this point in the Creed, we have confessed what Christ has done in the past. When we confess “He will come again,” our attention pivots rapidly from the past to the future: What our Lord Jesus Christ will do, in time to come. We lift our eyes to the horizon of time, and we see the finish…
He Is Risen: A Manifesto for Leavened Communion Bread
Let’s stop using wafers! Let’s return to regular bread. Pita bread from the store is better than wafers from an online store, but homemade bread is even better!
46 Theses on Lectio Divina
There are many excellent books on Lectio Divina, the sacred reading of Scripture. The problem with these books is that they are books—long and easily divorced from the actual contemplative practice. Instead, I offer a list of 46 “theses” or “chapters” on Lectio Divina. Each thesis is short, distilling thoughts and quotations into a single…
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…
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…
E.B. Pusey: Knowing and Reading Oxford’s Priest-Scholar
The Life of E.B. Pusey Early Life Edward Bouverie Pusey was born in 1800 to a devout aristocratic family. Late in his life, when he was famous (and infamous) as a great theologian, he would often say that all of his theological convictions had their root in the faith that he learned from his mother…
Explaining Our New Prayer Book
When the first Book of Common Prayer was released on Pentecost in the year 1549, it was such a shock to the liturgical and theological intuitions of some portions of the Church in England that riots and rebellions broke out over the matter. Especially in Norfolk and in Devon, and most memorably in the city…
