All Saints, All Souls: Radio Walsingham

+

Please do listen to RADIO WALSINGHAM ONLINE.  We have especially beautiful selections for All Saints and All Souls... and for this time of year which some call All Saints Tide.

Please click here to go to RADIO WALSINGHAM's listening website.

If you should like to listen without advertising, please join and become a VIP member for a nominal fee.  As a VIP member, you may listen without any commercial interruptions from Live365.com.

May the souls of the faithful departed, 

through the mercy of God, 

rest in peace.  

+

I love thy Church, O God

+

There is a hymn text by the grandson of Jonathan Edwards that is still sung in many churches in North America. 

Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight

This text by the Rev. Dr. Timothy Dwight IV (1752-1817) is the earliest hymn written by an U.S. American still in regular use.  Dwight reworked Psalm 137 and turned it into a hymn of love for the Lord Jesus Christ's Church.

The full text is never printed in today's hymnals, and it is the full text that most interests me. The theologically interesting note in the text is the identification of the Kingdom of the Lord with the Church on Earth.  The hymn text draws together the individual's Christian action together within the mission and work of the Church as the manifestation and revelation of the Kingdom on Earth.  This is a text a catholic Christian could pray with heart and soul.

The following version is a conglomerate text from several different printings. I suspect that the first edition of this text may be slightly different, but I do not have a copy in hand:

I love thy Kingdom, Lord,

The house of thine abode,

The Church our blest Redeemer saved

With His own precious blood.

I love thy Church, O God.

Her walls before thee stand,

Dear as the apple of thine eye,

And graven on thy hand.

If e’er to bless thy sons

My voice or hands deny,

These hands let useful skills forsake,

This voice in silence die.

Should I with scoffers join

Her altars to abuse?

No! Better far my tongue were dumb,

My hand its skill should lose.

For her my tears shall fall

For her my prayers ascend,

To her my cares and toils be given

Till toils and cares shall end.

Beyond my highest joy

I prize her heavenly ways,

Her sweet communion, solemn vows,

Her hymns of love and praise.

Jesus, Thou Friend divine,

Our Saviour and our King,

Thy hand from every snare and foe

Shall great deliverance bring.

Sure as thy truth shall last,

To Sion shall be given

The brightest glories earth can yield

And brighter bliss of Heaven.

Tim­o­thy Dwight IV

Psalms of Da­vid

1800

+

The Savour of Blessedness

+

“Already is there on you the savour of blessedness, O ye who are soon to be enlightened: already are you gathering spiritual flowers, to weave heavenly crowns withal: already hath the fragrance of the Holy Ghost refreshed you: already are you at the entrance-hall of the King's house: may you be brought into it by the King! 

“For now the blossoms of the trees have budded; may but the fruit likewise be perfected! Thus far, your names have been given in, and the roll-call made for service; there are the torches of the bridal train, and the longings after heavenly citizenship, and a good purpose, and a hope attendant; for he cannot lie who hath said, To them that love God, all things work together for good. 


“God is indeed lavish in His benefits: yet He looks for each man's honest resolve: so the Apostle subjoins, To those who are called according to their purpose. Honesty of purpose makes thee called: for though the body be here, yet if the mind be away, it avails nothing.”

St. Cyril of Jerusalem in The Procatechesis 

(as found in Frank Cross,

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem's Lectures 

on the Christian Sacraments)

+

Fr Paul Wattson IS a saint

+

I was delighted to read the following this morning:

The bishops also will conduct the canonical consultation on the sainthood cause of Father Paul Wattson. Father Wattson was an Episcopal priest who co-founded the Society of the Atonement, also known as the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement, to further Christian unity. He was received into the Catholic Church as were all men and women in the society at the time, and devised the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, still observed each January. 

I  k n o w  that Father Paul Wattson is a saint. And I pray for the day when the Catholic Church formally recognises Father Paul and Mother Lurana as Saints of the Universal Church.

And a little note, Father Paul conceived of and brought to birth the Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity, and the Church should return to the observation of this Octave as Father Paul originally designed it.

Please click here to read the article by Mark Pattison on the Catholic San Francisco website.

Our Lady of the Atonement, pray for us.

+

’Not Enough to Feed the Greediest‘

+

I am grateful to Andrew Rabel for recently publishing the following quote by Dr. Daisy Kulanday of India who famously said: 

“The earth has enough resources to feed the neediest, 

but not enough to feed the greediest.”

Andrew Rabel's article on Bl Pope Paul VI is one well worth reading: please click here.

+

Astounding Thing

$

A friend sent me a text message about a video linked on the Drudge Report.  

I thought, 'Oh, what now....'  

But I clicked on the link, and it proved to be one of the more astounding things I have seen ... in fact, it is something I never thought I would hear in the USA.  



If this sentiment is truly widespread, then the Democrats are dead.  But this should be no joy-filled tidings for the Republicans because a huge number who used to be part of the GOP loyal base have made their own critique of the "Party of Business" and decided to divorce from the Republican Party.

Curiouser and curiouser...

$

If you are a U.S. citizen...

+

If you are a citizen of the USA, I suggest you read this book:

+

Brené Brown on 'Shame'

+

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”

Brené Brown

+

Mother refused abortion: Son now Archbishop of Riga

+

Archbishop Stanckevics

ARCH. ZBIGEVS STANCKEVICS 

Archbishop of Riga (Latvia) 

"I could share my personal experience because it was proposed to kill me in my mother's womb. But my mother rejected it and for this reason I am alive. I can live to fulfill my vocation and my mission in the world. And if I was killed in my mother´s womb, today there would be another Archbishop in Riga.” 

There are challenging pregnancies, but the Archbishop highlights that there are other options, other than abortion, for mothers dealing with difficult pregnancies.

+

Bobby McFerrin & the Pentatonic Scale

+

Bobby McFerrin playing 'The Audience' — a wonderful little video

+

A TEDx talk worth hearing & sharing

+

The following TEDx Houston talk by Brené Brown is one I would dearly love to share with more than a few people I have encountered over the years:



I agree with her assessment of what religion has become in the USAmerican context.

+

Amish Organic Farming

+

Amish Farmers Reinvent Organic Farming

A good read.

+