August 2021
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
August 2021 from Father Tim
August is usually the most humid month of the year. In 2021 it appears it will once again live up to its reputation. The first day of August falls on the first Sunday Mass this year, the Ninth Sunday after Trinity, and the commemoration of Saint Peter’s Chains and Saint Paul. It also just happens to be Lammas Day. Lammas is the conventional name of the Quarter Day which falls on August 1st. The Quarter Days—Candlemas (February 2nd), May Day (May 1st), Lammas Day, and All Saints’ Day (November 1st)—marked the four quarters of the calendar as observed in the British Isles. In the early English church it was kept as a harvest festival, when loaves of bread made from the new grain were consecrated. Lammas was derived from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “loaf-mass.” As we begin August at Saint John’s we must praise God for the harvest of new grain given to our parish this year. We have new visitors most Sundays, a new Rectory, several new storm windows, and new charitable organizations as partners just to name a handful—and there are many more. As a church family we must continue to sow and reap the good news of Jesus Christ, for those of us at Saint John’s now, and especially for those seeking souls yet to come in the near future. In the Gospel of John the disciples are concerned that Jesus has had nothing to eat. But Jesus said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath any man brought him ought to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. In August let’s do the will of God and reap while rejoicing together. ~ Father Tim
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Is there someone you know who is white already to harvest? Are they good grain lost in a world of tares? August is a bright and sunny month to invite someone into the Holy Church to begin rejoicing together with us throughout the year. This is a perfect time to begin gathering the fruit of eternal life. Invite a lost or seeking soul 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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Know also that you will probably gain more by praying fifteen minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than by all the other spiritual exercises of the day. True, Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, for He has made the promise, ‘Ask, and you shall receive,’ but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament will obtain a more abundant measure of grace. ~ S. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor, feast day 2nd of August
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Did you know?
Did you know that Saint John’s made a large charitable donation to Hosea House Soup Kitchen and The Northern KY Salvation Army in July? Did you know we now have steady service contracts for our church landscaping and lawn care? Did you know that we are in the process of securing the next repair quote for the windows high above the Narthex? Did you know we will have guest speakers from Holly Hill Child & Family Solutions and The Ion Center for Violence Prevention at two of our August Coffee Hours?
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We must sow the seed, not hoard it. ~ S. Dominic, Confessor, feast day 4th of August
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St. John August Ordo Kalendar
Sunday, the 1st of August at 10:30 AM, Trinity IX
Wed., the 4th of August at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 8th of Aug. at 10:30 AM, Trinity X, Holly Hill Child & Family Solutions 12:30 PM
Wednesday, the 11th of August at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 15th of August at 10:30 AM, Assumption, B.V.M., The Dormition
Wednesday, the 18th of August at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 22nd of August at 10:30 AM, Trinity XII, The Ion Center 12:30 PM
Wednesday, the 25th of August at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 29th of August at 10:30 AM, Trinity XIII
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God commands you to pray, but forbids you to worry. ~ S. John Vianney, Confessor, feast day 9th of August
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My body is well done. Turn it over; it is roasted enough on that side. ~ S. Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, feast day 10th of August.
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August Birthdays & Anniversaries
Andrew and Britt Masters – Anniversary – August 8
Janet Butler – Birthday – August 28
Savannah Barkdoll – Birthday – August 29
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We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others. ~ S. Clare of Assisi, Virgin, feast day the 12th of August
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What can be more foolish than to think that all this rare fabric of heaven and earth could come by chance, when all the skill of art is not able to make an oyster? To see rare effects, and no cause ; a motion, without a mover ; a circle, without a centre ; a time, without an eternity ; a second, without a first : these are things so against philosophy and natural reason, that he must be a beast in understanding who can believe in them. The thing formed, says that nothing formed it ; and that which is made is, while that which made it is not, This folly is infinite. ~ Bl. Jeremy Taylor, commemoration day the 14th of August
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If then you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. For a canal spreads abroad water as it receives it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, and thus communicates, without loss to itself, its superabundant water. In the Church at the present day, we have many canals, few reservoirs. ~ S. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor, feast day the 20th of August
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Bl. John Mason Neale, Confessor, Anglican Priest, Scholar, Translator and Hymnwriter, comm. day the 8th of August
All Glory, Laud and Honour
A Great and Mighty Wonder
O come, O come, Emmanuel
Of the Father’s Heart Begotten
Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle
To Thee Before the Close of Day
Ye Sons and Daughters of the King
Good Christian Men, Rejoice
Good King Wenceslas
O come, O come, Emmanuel
A Great and Mighty Wonder
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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