October 2022
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
October 2022 from Father Tim
October has arrived and, along with it, some very beautiful weather. This month on the Church Ordo Kalendar, in addition to the Trinity Sunday’s, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Walsingham (15th), S. Luke, Evangelist & Martyr (18th), Ss. Simon & Jude, Apostle & Martyrs (28th), and Christ the King (30th). This year I will share a tidbit about Our Lady of Walsingham which is very special to Anglicans. The year was 1061. For Richeldis de Faverches, a Saxon noblewoman, the life of prayer, good works, and generosity was rewarded by a vision. In this vision she was taken by Mary to be shown the house in Nazareth where Gabriel had announced the news of the birth of Jesus. Mary asked Richeldis to build an exact replica of that house in Walsingham. This is how Walsingham became known as England’s Nazareth. The vision was repeated three times, according to legend, and retold through a fifteenth century ballad. The materials given by Richeldis were finally constructed miraculously one night into the Holy House, while she kept a vigil of prayer. The 20th century saw the restoration of pilgrimage to Walsingham as a regular feature of Christian life in England, and indeed beyond. Fr. Hope Patten, appointed as Vicar of Walsingham in 1921, ignited Anglican interest in the pre-Reformation pilgrimage. It was his idea to base a new statue of Our Lady of Walsingham on the image depicted on the seal of the medieval Priory. In 1922, this statue was set up in the Parish Church of St. Mary, and regular pilgrimage devotion followed. From the first night that the statue was placed there, people gathered around it to pray, asking Mary to join her powerful prayer with theirs. This work of intercession continues to this day. Our Diocese has a shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Cleveland, Ohio at The Anglican Catholic Church of St. James. Since our own St. John’s fall picnic (Sunday the 16th) this year is so close to the feast day it is proper that we celebrate it as the festival of Our Lady of Walsingham. I hope and pray that your October is a beautiful pilgrimage. ~ Father Tim
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Is there someone you know who is in need of powerful prayer? October is a beautiful month to bring a friend to church and ask for intercessory prayer from Mary to her Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is ‘powerful prayer’ (Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you) that can help them begin their own pilgrimage through the very gate of heaven. Please invite someone to St. John’s this October! ~ Father Tim
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Then I felt a slight pain in the heart and such love toward Jesus Christ that I wished I could throw myself at His feet, lovingly embrace them, and thank Him for this great consolation which He gives in His mercy and love to His unworthy and sinful creatures through His name. Then I experienced a kind of blessed warmth in the heart which spread throughout my whole breast. ~ Anonymous 19th century pilgrim, The Way of a Pilgrim & The Pilgrim Continues His Way
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Did you know?
Did you know that St. John’s made a charitable donation to the Dayton Sr. Citizen Center? Did you know Fr. Tim & Janet just returned from a Anglican Mission Retreat? Did you know we improved the Rectory with new electrical wiring and a new 96% efficient furnace? Did you know that Wednesday Evening Prayer (6:30 PM) and a small meal afterwards has begun once again? Did you know we will have six people enrolled in our Catechism – Inquirer’s Class this fall? Did you know we will soon have an ‘Events’ page on our website soon?
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St. John October Ordo Kalendar
Sunday, the 2nd of October at 10:30 AM, Trinity XVI
Wednesday, the 5th of October at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 9th of October, at 10:30 AM, Trinity XVII
Wednesday, the 12th of October, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Saturday, the 15th of October, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer, 7:00 PM Catechism Class
Sun., the 16th of Oct., at 10:30 AM, Trinity XVIII, Our Lady of Walsingham Fall Picnic
Wednesday, the 19th of October, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 23rd of October, at 10:30 AM, Trinity XIX
Wednesday, the 26th of October, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 30th of October, at 10:30 AM, Christ the King
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I told him that the soul could be freed from sinful thoughts only by guarding the mind and cleansing the heart and that this could be done by interior prayer. I added that according to the holy Fathers, one who performs saving works simply from the fear of hell follows the way of bondage, and one who does the same just in order to be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven follows the path of a bargainer with God. The one they call a slave, the other a hireling. But God wants us to come to him as children to their father. He wants us to behave ourselves honorably from love for him and zeal for his service. He wants us to find our happiness in uniting ourselves with him in a saving union of mind and heart. ~ Anonymous 19th century pilgrim, The Way of a Pilgrim & The Pilgrim Continues His Way
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The trouble is that we live far from ourselves and have but little wish to get any nearer to ourselves. Indeed we are running away all the time to avoid coming face to face with our real selves, and we barter the truth for trifles. ~ Anonymous 19th century pilgrim, The Way of a Pilgrim & The Pilgrim Continues His Way
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October Birthdays & Anniversaries
Jean Marie Centers – Birthday – October 8
Michael Griswold – Birthday – October 13
Virginia Jackson – Birthday – October 16
Katie Craft – Birthday – October 17
Leslee Shelton – Birthday – October 24
Sheila & Ben Myers – Anniversary – October 28
Rick & Eileen Hanson – Anniversary – October 31
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He who lives among a certain sort of people becomes accustomed to that kind of habit, behavior, and morals. Consequently the cool become enthusiastic, the stupid become sharp, the idle are aroused to activity by a lively interest in their fellow men. Spirit can give itself to spirit and act beneficially upon another and attract another to prayer, to attention. It can encourage him in despondency, turn him from vice, and arouse him to holy action. ~ Anonymous 19th century pilgrim, The Way of a Pilgrim & The Pilgrim Continues His Way
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God, in His love, rewards man a thousand times more than his actions deserve. If you will give God a mite, then He will give you a gold piece. If you will only decide to go to your Father, He will come to meet you. When you feebly say, ‘Lord receive me and have mercy on me!’ He embraces you and kisses you. This is the kind of love that the heavenly Father has for us unworthy children ~ Anonymous 19th century pilgrim, The Way of a Pilgrim & The Pilgrim Continues His Way
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In short, every action of every day should cause you to remember and praise God, and if you do this, then you will be praying ceaselessly and your soul will always be joyful. ~ Anonymous 19th century pilgrim, The Way of a Pilgrim & The Pilgrim Continues His Way
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Our Lady of Walsingham Shrine, Feast day the 15th of October
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No prayer, good or bad, fails in God’s sight. ~ Anonymous 19th century pilgrim, The Way of a Pilgrim & The Pilgrim Continues His Way
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The sense of personal accountability is illusory and meaningless, unless a personal being exists whose authority over human conduct is beyond appeal, and whose will is the final standard of righteousness. ~ Francis J. Hall, The Being and Attributes of God
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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