Spirit of the Eagle – April 2020
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
April 2020 from Father Tim
The month of April boasts the most solemn and sublime event of human history: the Glorious Resurrection of Jesus the Christ – the Paschal mystery. Though the way to the Resurrection was the Way of the Cross, the Sacrificial Lamb of God is now and forever Christ our Light, the Eternal high priest of the New Covenant. And Saint Mary, his sorrowful mother, the Stabat Mater of Good Friday, is now the exultent Mother of the Regina Coeli. We begin April with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Eve. Next we celebrate a triumphant Easter, and after we will spend the remainder of the month of April celebrating. Of course with the current pandemic still running its course, it looks as if most of us will be celebrating at home. As Spring breaks forth even nature will join us as buds and blooms begin to surface, and we spend this month basking in the joy of the Resurrection. We continue throughout the entire month announcing joyfully, “He is risen. The Lord is risen indeed!” Easter is the feast of feasts, the unalloyed joy and gladness of all faithful Christians. This truly is “the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” From Sunday to Sunday, from year to year, the Easters we celebrate in this world will lead us to that blessed day, on which Christ has promised that He will come again, with glory, to take us with Him into the kingdom of His Father. I hope and pray your April, even with the current tribulation each of us is experiencing, remains full of joy and gladness. ~ Father Tim
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Is there someone in your life who is currently experiencing stress, fear, confusion? Are they struggling with a life filled mostly with uncertainty? April is a time of Resurrection, new life, and a perfect time to speak with a lost soul about the peace of Jesus Christ. How about inviting them to attend Saint John’s with you after the current crisis ends? Could this April bring the resurrected and living life of Christ into the heart of someone you cherish? Help someone experience a true commitment by assisting them to begin their own spiritual pilgrimage — which in April begins at the entrance of an empty tomb. ~ Father Tim
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The New Testament writers speak as if Christ’s achievement in rising from the dead was the first event of its kind in the whole history of the universe. He is the ‘first fruits,’ the pioneer of life, He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so. ~ C.S. Lewis
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Bible Study & Spirituality Class
During this Eastertide Season, the class in April will be moved to May and will attempt once again to complete the in depth study of Simon of Cyrene found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27 verse 32. The study of God’s word is central to the life and mission of our parish church of St. John the Evangelist. Please join us after Holy Mass on the 17th of May (hopefully) for an engaging, dynamic, and informative exploration of the Holy Scriptures. All are welcome, but be warned: continued exposure to God’s word will change your life.
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St. John April Ordo Kalendar
Sunday, the 5th of April at 10:30 AM, Palm Sunday
Thursday, the 9th of April at 6:00 PM, Maundy Thursday Holy Mass & Stripping of the Altar
Friday, the 10th of April at 12:00 PM, Good Friday Liturgy & at 3:00 PM, Stations of the Cross
Saturday, the 11th of April at 6:00 PM, Easter Eve Service & Blessing of the New Fire
Sunday, the 12th of April at 10:30 AM, Easter Sunday
Sunday, the 19th of April at 10:30 AM, Easter I
Sunday, the 26th of April at 10:30 AM, Easter II, Good Shepherd Sunday
The April Vestry Meeting, Coffee Hour, and Bible Study are cancelled.
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Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him, everything else thrown in. ~ C.S. Lewis
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April Birthdays & Anniversaries
Brittany Sams – Birthday – April 13th
Ethan Whalen – Birthday – April 15th
Max Meadows – Birthday – April 20th
Carol Petrie – Birthday – April 22nd
Mike & Julie Murray – Anniversary – April 28
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A Parish
The environment with which we can become in contemplative harmony, in which we can be lovingly “at home”, can be expanded still further. We can truly be said to love our village or town or country — even the universe at large, which by principle of recapitulation or microcosm becomes much the same thing. “God so loved the world” —yet the Son of God so loved by a microcosmic love for a few square miles of Palestine. All that concerns us, in following Him, in being his Body in place as his Body was, and remained, in place, is contemplative harmony with, union with, love for, that environmental organism which we have called a parish. ~ Fr. Martin Thornton, Anglican priest and spiritual director, Pastoral Theology
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Regarding the above, we must often ask ourselves: Just how much do we love our Parish? What are we willing to do for our Parish? What are we willing to do in place as his Body for our Parish?
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The seeking of Jesus Christ, and the quest for chivalry combined, lead directly to one place only: Anglican-Catholicism. Courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help and defend the weak and the poor. Welcome to the Anglican Catholic Church. ~ Father Timothy Butler