Gospel for St Nicholas, Bishop & Confessor

 

Today is St Nicholas's Day - the origin of Santa Claus

13-14“Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom—will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.  ^15-20“But be ready to run for it when you see the monster of desecration set up in the Temple sanctuary. The prophet Daniel described this. If you’ve read Daniel, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you’re living in Judea at the time, run for the hills; if you’re working in the yard, don’t return to the house to get anything; if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Hope and pray this won’t happen during the winter or on a Sabbath.

^21-22“This is going to be trouble on a scale beyond what the world has ever seen, or will see again. If these days of trouble were left to run their course, nobody would make it. But on account of God’s chosen people, the trouble will be cut short.  ^23-25“If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, ‘Here’s the Messiah!’ or points, ‘There he is!’ don’t fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I’ve given you fair warning.

(Matthew 24:14-23, The Message)

a day of masses for the dead…

Model of the Abbey of Cluny

This Feast, in commemoration of all the faithful departed souls in Purgatory, was instituted in the Benedictine Monastery of Cluny by Abbot Odilo in the year 998. On this day, the Office of the Dead is recited by the clergy. Pope Benedict XV granted to all Priests the privilege of saying three Masses of Requiem:

• one for the faithful departed souls in Purgatory;
• one for the intention of the Holy Father; and
• one for the Priest’s intention.

If this date falls on a Sunday it is transferred to the following day.

O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Your servants departed full remission of all their sins, that, through our devout prayers, they may obtain the pardon, which they have always desired. Who live and reign, world without end. Amen.

℣ Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord.

℟ And let perpetual light shine upon them.

℣ May they rest in peace.

℟ Amen.

un œuf est un œuf

Whilst we support the general thrust of what Mr Reade says concerning the greatest Festival in the Church’s year, we must remember that he is merely a layman. He is speaking as a ‘bishop’ or rather as various friends of mine would say,

an official of the department of State called the “Church of England”.

However, his orders or rather lack therof, notwithstanding, Mr Reade makes a very good point about the lack of knowledge surrounding the real message of Easter, following on from the campaign for the real message of Christmass. We give you what the ‘Christian’ Institute says on its website, with our comments or editorial marks in red, just to clarify, you understand.

 

An egg recommended by a layman to an ecclesial community. We feel sure that the Sovereign Pontiff would approve of this despite its heretical recommendation.

 

The “Bishop“of Blackburn has called on supermarkets not to be hesitant to stock a ChurchEcclesial Community of England Easter egg that carries a message about Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

The Church Ecclesial Community said last month that some retailers maybe reluctant to sell the egg because of its overt Christian theme.

But Rt Revd Mr Nicholas Reade said there would be high demand for it and encouraged stores to put it on their shelves.

Easter

The product, called the Real Easter Egg, is made from fair trade chocolate. Its box carries a message about Good Friday and Easter SunDay, and depicts a hill with three crosses on it.

The “Bishop“ said: “With seven million people going to “church” and others going to Church at least once a month and another seven million supporting the ethos behind Fairtrade, there should be substantial demand”.

He added: “I recently came across a truly shocking statistic: more than 80 million Easter eggs are sold in Britain every year, and not one of them mentions the name of our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.”

Support

The “Bishop“ has written to all 250 Anglican clergy lay men and women masquerading as clerics and 300 Church Ecclesial Community of England schools in Lancashire, urging them to get behind the Christian egg

He appealed to the clergy lay people masquerading as clerics, saying: “Can I ask for your help with this, in encouraging “church“ schools to consider their support, by commending this project to your “parish“ community, and raising awareness in your local shops and supermarkets, to make these plans a reality?”

The eggs have been developed by Manchester-based The Meaningful Chocolate Company, working in consultation with a number of churches ecclesial communities and dioceses departments of state.

Donations

Donations from the profits will be made to two charities: Baby Lifeline and Traidcraft Exchange.

Last September it was revealed that thousands of schools were adopting a standardised spring break, rather than moving it to coincide with Easter.

Research by The Daily Telegraph newspaper found that schools in a third of local authority areas had adopted a fixed two-week break.

Holidays

Religious leaders criticised the move for downplaying the significance of Easter for the sake of convenience.

Local councils determine the holiday dates for state schools. A survey of half the local councils in England by The Daily Telegraph found that one third had adopted or were about to adopt a fixed spring break.

However, 46 out of 73 authorities said their schools’ spring holidays will continue to correspond to the date of Easter.

There now, isn’t that a better reading of what the “Christian” Institute says. We thought so.