Music for All Hallowstide

 

Durufle's Requiem

For all the saints

Faure - In Paradisum

Reflections for half term

 

...On 31st October the Church remembers Martin Luther. A few years ago, I carved this pumpkin to celebrate that remembering. 

And this All Hallowstide, saints of all kinds will be remembered too... those featured in church windows, and people who have lived with us, and loved us...

Saints who are symbols of hope

Saints who have known us as closely as it is possible to do so

Saints who remind us of the message of the angels, 'do not be afraid'

Saints who show us there is no Resurrection without death

As we remember them, why not reflect, too, on these questions...

- who has been a saint to you, in your life?

- what might you be able to do at the moment to be, in some way, a saint to others? 

[Photos show pumpkins, carved with - Martin Luther, Noah's ark, Jesus, A smiling angel face, and a Sacred Heart]

Today the Church remembers St Luke the Evangelist...

 

Known as a doctor and icon painter, Luke is both the patron saint of artists and physicians.

Two things that go together really quite well... the ability for art to relax, invigorate, inspire and bring peace is amazing. 

I've shared several icons before, so here's a different piece of art. One my son painted as a present quite a few years ago now:

Maybe you'd like to sit with it for a while today. If so, what does it 'speak' to you?

Today the Church remembers St Ignatius...

St Ignatius of Antioch. Also known as Ignatius Theophorus - 'God bearer', because of his devotion to God; praying and striving that all that he did would be in God's name, and to the glory of God.

'God bearer' because, in some way, God was visible in him to those around him.

It makes me wonder, today... where have you glimpsed God in others, in the past?

...Where might you see God today? or tomorrow?

  

Today the Church remembers St Teresa of Avila...

 Some words of St Teresa, that you might like to use for prayer and reflection today:

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours. 



Let nothing disturb you,

Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

Today the Church remembers Edward the Confessor...

  

One of the main characters in the Bayeux Tapestry.

...How about exploring some other wonderful objects made of fabric today?

Here's a good starting place - V&A museum - Opus Anglicanum

Today the Church remembers Paulinus...

 

Paulinus was the first Bishop of York, and was the first person to begin building a cathedral in York. 

There's no trace of that first structure now, but the building that eventually succeeded it is amazing.

Why not have an explore? - Explore York Minster  

With church buildings having been closed over the last few months - and most are not yet back to being open anywhere near as much as they were at the start of the year - it's been a real time, and opportunity, amongst all the sadness at seeing them locked, to reflect on the buildings, and other places, that are significant to me, and important in some way to my faith. 

There are many, but here are a few...

One is All Saints' Church, Cambridge - a place where I have spent many hours in prayer as an ordinand, where my son was baptised, and where I was one of the 'churchwardens' while at Westcott House. 

Another, St Chad's, Hopwas, is where I first realised that my calling was one to ordination - as it happens, at my own baptism. It's where I found God, through the people that I met there. It's also the church I got married in. All of those together are the reason that my white stole has St Chad's cross on it.

One more place, is The Peak District. Of all the incredible beauty of creation, the Peak District especially helps me to feel close to God - a liminal, 'thin', space where heaven and earth seem to get that little bit closer.

While I reflect on those, and other places that have shaped me and my understanding of God and of my faith, I wonder, too...      ...what places would you add to your list?

Today the Church remembers William Tyndale...

Famous for his work on translating the Bible, Tyndale's legacy lives on not least through the work of 'Tyndale House' in Cambridge.

Here's one offering from them, which you might find interesting if you'd like to look up the meanings and frequency of different words in an book of the Bible - www.stepbible.org

For a free tool, it's incredibly detailed and useful!

Weekend puzzle time

Slightly late this week, but better late than never!

How about this, this week? Shikaku puzzles

(lots of other puzzles available there, too, if you'd prefer!)


Happy puzzling!

Music for the weekend

For various reasons, there'll be a brief gap over the weekend with no new posts.

Some music to accompany the lack of new posts:

Sacred Silence