July 2021
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
July 2021 from Father Tim
Our first Mass in July this year begins with the Fifth Sunday after Trinity and the commemoration of Independence Day. The other significant holy day in July is the Feast of Saint James on Sunday, the 25th. The fourth of July this year looks to be a large celebration, especially since many people finally feel they have won their independence from the covid scare. Summer parties and summer vacations appear to be picking back up as well. All of this is good news, however, as the world tries to regain what it considers normality there will once again be the usual worldly things (and temptations) which try to usurp God. Most of the world will now pray less, worship less, praise less, adore less, attend the Holy Church less. At Saint John’s we must refuse to be “less” like “most of the world”. Anglican Bishop J.C. Ryles once wrote, “If there is any point on which God’s holiest saints agree it is this: that they see more, and know more, and feel more, and do more, and repent more, and believe more, as they get on in spiritual life, and in proportion to the closeness of their walk with God. In short, they “grow in grace,” as St. Peter exhorts believers to do; and “abound more and more,” according to the words of St. Paul (2 Pet. 3:18; 1 Thes. 4:1).” It is this “growing in grace” that allures those of us at St. John’s away from temporal things and purges us of the transitory. We must never forget that to be full of worldly things is to be empty of God, while to be empty of worldly things is to be full of God. I pray Independence Day, and all of July, will see you grow in grace. ~ Father Tim
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Is there someone you know who is full of worldly things but empty of God? Are they lost in a world of “less is better” when it comes to knowing Godthe Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost? July is a warm and bright month to invite someone into the Holy Church to begin “growing in grace”. This is a great time to celebrate the King of Kings with a lost soul we may know, and help them understand how a close knit church family can nurture their growth toward eternal union with God. ~ Father Tim
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Behold, my brother, we have shared the same destiny, ploughing the same furrow; I now fall in the field at the end of my day. I know that you greatly love your Mountain; but do not for the sake of the Mountain give up your work of teaching. ~ Ss. Cyril & Methodius, Bishops & Confessors, feast day 7th of July
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Did you know?
Did you know that Saint John’s made a large charitable donation to Holly Hill Child & Family Solutions in June? Did you know our website has been reconstructed? Did you know that major window repair is going on right now at Saint John’s? Our newest storm windows and repairs should be completed in July. Did you know a slow but steady renovation of the downstairs continues at Saint John’s?
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How could I bear a crown of gold, when the Lord bears a crown of thorns? And bears it for me! ~ S. Elisabeth of Portugal, Queen & Widow, feast day 8th of July
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St. John July Ordo Kalendar
Sunday, the 4th of July at 10:30 AM, Trinity V, Independence Day
Wed., the 7th of July at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 11th of July at 10:30 AM, Trinity VI
Wednesday, the 14th of July at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 18th of July at 10:30 AM, Trinity VII
Wednesday, the 21st of July at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 25th of July at 10:30 AM, S. James, AP.M.
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Be careful to be gentle, lest in removing the rust, you break the whole instrument. ~ S. Benedict, Abbot, Commemoration Solemnity the 11th day of July
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July Birthdays & Anniversaries
Leslie Shelton & Michael Griswold – Anniversary – July 9
Judie Boughner – Birthday – July 21
Mike Lenz – Birthday – July 31
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[To his brother’s penitent murderer who had stretched out his arms in the form of a cross and implored him, for the sake of Our Lord’s holy Passion, to spare his life] – John said, “I cannot refuse what you ask in Christ’s name. I grant you your life and I give you my friendship. Pray that God may forgive me my sin.” ~ S. John Gualbert, Abbot, feast day the 18th of July
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The Merciful Knight, by Edward Burne-Jones
John Gualbert was the knight (above) who forgave his enemy when he might have destroyed him and how the image of Christ kissed him in token that his acts had pleased God. Gualbert entered the nearby Benedictine church at San Miniato al Monte to pray and the figure on the crucifix bowed His head to him in recognition of his generous and merciful act. Gualbert begged pardon for his sins and that week cut off his hair and began to wear an old habit that he had borrowed. This holy miracle forms the subject of Edward Burne-Jones’s above artwork, “The Merciful Knight”. Joseph Shorthouse, an Anglo-Catholic author, adapted this in his celebrated novel “John Inglesant”.
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Any old woman can love God better than a doctor of theology can. ~ S. Bonaventure, Bishop, Confessor, & Doctor, feast day the 20th of July
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St. Swithin’s day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain;
St. Swithin’s day, if thou be fair,
For forty days ’twill rain na mair
~ Translation of S. Swithin, Bishop and Confessor, feast the 15th day of July
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“Someone complained to Meister Eckhart that no one could understand his sermons. Whereupon he said: ‘To understand my preaching, five things are needed. The hearer must have conquered strife; he must be contemplating his highest good; he must be satisfied to do God’s bidding; he must be a beginner among beginners; and denying himself, he must be so a master of himself as to be incapable of anger’.”
“Some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people.” ~ John 7:12
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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