Further Thoughts on the Readings

The Fifth Sunday after Trinity

In the end, these lessons turn out to be very anti-worldly. And I think it must be said that the Gospel is not, on the whole, very world-affirming. Certainly, the world is God's Creation; and more than that, it is the sphere of his redeeming love in Christ: "God so loved the world..." But the end and object of God's creative and redemptive power -- the salvation of the world -- is somehow beyond this world. We are solemnly warned again and again not to set our affections on earthly things; and we are certainly not promised rewards of earthly happiness and prosperity. Rather we are promised tribulation. Happy are ye if ye suffer for righteousness sake."

We are bidden to pray for our daily bread, and we are urged to give thanks for all the good and useful things which sustain our earthly life. But we must never forget that these things are not the final object of our prayers and thanks; our daily bread is like the daily rations of a pilgrim or a soldier: it's like the manna in the wilderness, which was just enough for each day. It's not the end of our aspiration. No earthly utopia of plenty -- however astonishing the catch may be -- can be our promised land; the object of our journey lies beyond these things, we are strangers and pilgrims seeking a kingdom which is "not from hence".

Thus it is that Jesus, in today's Gospel, uses the miraculous harvest of the waters to point us towards a different harvest: the harvest of the spirit: the harvest of souls brought to maturity in him. "Henceforth thou shalt catch men" -- souls delivered from the barren and bitter waters of sinfulness and futility.

What we are really concerned with here is the everlasting life of the spirit, and our earthly goods are really goods only insofar as they serve that higher end. In worldly terms, their end is destruction: "moth and rust corrupt, and thieves break through and steal." Even this planet of ours must surely have an end, and our sun is, after all, a dying star. "Here we have no continuing city," "but our homeland is in heaven, and from it we await a saviour." What is saved is the harvest of the spirit -- spirits made perfect in the knowledge and love of God.

Heaven is the everlasting life of the spirit, and that life consists in knowing and loving God. And that life is ours: it begins in us even now.

Robert Crouse

From a Sermon for Trinity 5

See also www.lectionarycentral.com and click on “Trinity 5”
Parish Announcements

Prayer

Daily offices are prayed in the churches Tuesdays to Saturdays ‘til the end of September:

8:30am Morning Prayer at St. James’ LaHave

5:00pm Evening Prayer at St. Mary’s Crousetown

Prayer – Please remember the following persons in your prayers this week:

The Sick: Rhea Bright, Marjorie Edwards, Art Frauzel, Raymond Getson, Susan Harris, Brian Laird, June Manthorne, Fr. Dale Petley, Juanita Smith.

The Grieving: Family and friends of Pauline Sullivan Conrad, John Pearce.

Missions: Our World Vision Children; The Bishop McAllister College, Uganda

Anglican Cycle of Prayer: Portsmouth (Canterbury UK) Bp Kenneth Stevenson

Diocesan Cycle of Prayer:

Fall River, Rev Marian Conrad and Michael; Rev Jim Reid, Hon Assistant, and Beryl

French Village Rev Mark Marshall and Daphne

Hackett’s Cove, Rev Tom Kerr, Priest-in-Charge, and Aileen

Diocese of Moosonee: St. Mary's, Gogama; Mattagami Reserve; Extra parochial Ministry

This Week’s Daily Bible Readings

Morning Prayer / Evening Prayer
Monday / 1 Sam. 1 / Rom. 6 / 1 Sam. 2:1-21 / Lk. 2:1-21
Tuesday / 1 Sam.2:22-36 / Rom. 7 / 1 Sam. 3 / Lk. 2:22-52
Wednesday / 1 Sam. 4 / Rom. 8:1-17 / 1 Sam. 7 / Lk. 3:1-22
Thursday / 1 Sam. 8 / Rom. 8:18-39 / 1 Sam. 9:1-25 / Lk. 4:1-30
Friday / 1 Sam.9:26-10:16 / Rom. 9 / 1 Sam.10:17-27 / Lk. 4:31-44
Saturday / 1 Sam. 11 / Rom. 10 / 1 Sam. 12 / Lk. 5:1-16
Next Sunday
Sunday July 19 – Sixth Sunday after Trinity
9:00am
11:00am
7:00pm / St. Paul’s Cherry Hill
St. James’ LaHave
St. Mary’s Crousetown / Holy Communion
Holy Communion
Evensong

The Selection Committee is charged with the task of discerning, along with the Bishop and potential applicants, who the future rector with be for Petite Riviere and New Dublin Parishes. The members are:

George Hilchie, Dennis House, Paul Shields,

Barry Smith, Glenna Weagle, Ellinor Williams

The first task of the Selection Committee will be to collect the Parish Profile Form questionnaires that have been distributed to parishioners and to summarize that information when they create the Parish Profile. They hope to accomplish this first task when they meet on July 27.

Please fill out the questionnaires and return them to the Parish Wardens as soon as possible (before July 27) so that their work will include your reflections and hopes for the parish.

Please pray for this Committee as it carries out its work for the Parishes.


Welcome to Worship

The Anglican Parishes of Petite Riviere & New Dublin

The Fifth Sunday after Trinity
July 12, AD 2009

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord…And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.
St. Luke 5:8-10
Parish Directory
www.prnd.ca
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Susan Moxley, Bishop of the Diocese of Nova Scotia & PEI
The Rt. Rev. Ron Cutler, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of NS & PEI
both can be reached at:
5732 College Street, Halifax NS, B3H 1X3 Tel: (902) 420-0717
Website: www.nspeidiocese.ca
The Rev. David G. Phillips, Rector
St. Michael’s Rectory, 5822 Highway 331, Petite Riviere, NS B4V 5Y3
Rectory: (902) 688-2228 E-mail:
The Rev. Canon Dr. Robert Crouse, Honorary Assistant Priest and Organist
22 Crouse Rd, Crousetown, NS B4V 6P8 Website: www.prayerbook.ca/crouse
The Parish of Petite Riviere
Wardens:
Mr. George Hilchey 688-2117
Mr. Barry Smith 677-2070
Treasurer:
Mrs. Evelyn Baker 677-2727 / The Parish of New Dublin
Wardens:
Mr. Jerry Fultz 688-2778
Mr. Brady Himmelman 688-2531
Mr. Paul Shields 688-2260
Treasurer and Organist:
Mrs. Yvonne Haughn 688-2651
Assistant Organist: Mr. Paul Shields

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, Jacopo Bassano 1545

Holy Communion
8:00am – St. Michael and All Angels Petite Riviere
9:00am – St. Peter’s West LaHave
11:00am – St. Mark’s Broad Cove
Opening Hymn……………#50 Servants of God awake [375 Darwall]
The Lord’s Prayer and Collect for Purity……………………p. 67
Summary of the Law ……………………...…………………p. 69
Collect………………………………………………..pp. 310, 224
Lesson: 1 Peter 3:8-15…..……………………...... p. 225
Gradual Hymn....#413 (vs. 1,4,5) Children of the heavenly King
Gospel: St. Luke 5:1-11...... p. 225
Nicene Creed…………...……………………………...... p. 71
Sermon
Offertory Hymn...... #186 Jesus calls us! O’er the tumult
Intercession …………………………………………………..p. 75
Invitation, Confession, Absolution, Comfortable Words…...76-78
Sursum Corda……………………………………...…………p. 78
Sanctus and Benedictus………………………………………p. 81
Prayer of Consecration………………………………...……..p. 82
Prayer of Humble Access and Agnus Dei………….…...pp. 83-84
The Communion
Communion Hymn…………...#672 Break thou the bread of life
The Lord’s Prayer and Thanksgiving………………………...p. 85
The Gloria...... p. 86
Blessing
Closing Hymn….....#503 I heard the voice of Jesus say [Kingsfold]

JOHN CASSIAN on DEJECTION or SADNESS

John Cassian studied under the Desert Fathers and Mothers

in the 4th century to learn about the soul and its reformation.

This is from Book IX of his writings called The Institutes

AND so God, the creator of all things, having regard above everything to the amendment of His own work, and because the roots and causes of our falls are found not in others, but in ourselves, commands that we should not give up the company of our brethren, nor avoid those who we think have been hurt by us, or by whom we have been offended. Instead he orders that we pacify them, knowing that perfection of heart is not attained by separating from people so much as by the virtue of patience. When it is firmly possessed it can keep us at peace even with those who hate peace. By the same token, if it has not been acquired, we find ourselves constantly at odds even with those who are perfect and better than we are. For occasions of irritation, on account of which we strive to flee from those with whom we are connected, are never missing so long as we are living among people; and therefore we shall not escape from but only change the causes of dejection on account of which we separated from our former friends…

AND so we must see that dejection is only useful to us in one case, when we yield to it either in penitence for sin, or through being inflamed with the desire of perfection, or the contemplation of future blessedness.…

WE should then be able to expel this most injurious passion from our hearts, once our mind is occupied constantly with spiritual meditation; then we may raise it up with hope of the future and contemplation of promised blessedness. For in this way we shall be able to get the better of all those sorts of dejection—whether those which flow from previous anger or those which come to us from disappointment of gain, or from some loss, or those which spring from a wrong done to us, or those which arise from an unreasonable disturbance of mind, or those which bring on us a deadly despair—if, ever joyful with an insight into things eternal and future, and remaining steadfast, we are not depressed by present accidents, or over-elated by prosperity, but look on each condition as uncertain and likely soon to pass away.