As regular readers will have noticed, blogging activity here has been sporadic to non-existent for several weeks. I find that I have become immersed in other priorities and plans, so I need to announce that this blog will be on hiatus for the time being. I hope and expect that blogging will resume in the future, but I don’t know exactly when.

I continue to administer and update the website of Christ Church, Windsor, and make occasional contributions to Anglican Essentials Canada blog.

Those who appreciate the collects and artwork that have been posted here on Sundays and saints’ days should click over to Christ Church, Windsor, where the series carries on.

The collect for today, the Octave Day of Pentecost, commonly called Trinity Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity: We beseech thee, that this holy faith may evermore be our defence against all adversities; who livest and reignest, one God, world without end. Amen.

For the Epistle: Revelation 4:1-11
The Gospel: St John 3:1-15

Artwork: Masaccio, The Holy Trinity with the Virgin, St. John and Two Donors, c. 1427. Fresco, Santa Maria Novella, Florence.

The collect for today, the Feast of St Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton (c. 675-754), Bishop, Apostle of Germany, Martyr (source):

O God our redeemer,
who didst call thy servant Boniface
to preach the gospel among the German people
and to build up thy Church in holiness:
grant that we may hold fast in our hearts
that faith which he taught with his words
and sealed with his blood,
and profess it in lives dedicated to thy Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

For the Epistle: Acts 20:17-28
The Gospel: St Luke 24:44-53

The collect for today, the Feast of St Justin (c. 100 – 165), Philosopher, Apologist, Martyr at Rome (source):

O God our redeemer,
who through the folly of the cross
didst teach thy martyr Justin
the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ:
free us, we beseech thee, from every kind of error,
that we, like him, may be firmly grounded in the faith,
and make thy name known to all peoples;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:18-30
The Gospel: St Luke 12:1-8

One of the greatest and most influential classical composers died in Vienna 200 years ago today. Among his many achievements, Franz Joseph Haydn was the first to compose four-part music for two violins, a viola and a cello on a regular basis, making him the “Father of the String Quartet”. He was also a key contributor to the development of three other now-standard classical forms: the piano trio, the sonata, and the symphony.

In his honour, here is the second movement of Haydn’s “Emperor” Quartet, Op. 76, no. 3.

The tune was adapted from his popular patriotic song, “Gott, erhalte Franz, den Kaiser” (”God save Emperor Franz”), and was later used for Germany’s national anthem “Das Deutschlandleid”. Many Christians recognise it as the music for John Newton’s inspiring hymn “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken”.

Another Haydn string quartet previously blogged here is “The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross”, Op. 51.

AllMusic Blog has posted a Haydn tribute with a list of recommended recorded performances of his works.

The collects for today, The Day of Pentecost, being the fiftieth day after Easter, commonly called Whit-Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):

God, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by the sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly remembrance of the coming of the Holy Spirit upon thy disciples in Jerusalem: Grant that we who celebrate before thee the Feast of Pentecost may continue thine for ever, and daily increase in thy Holy Spirit, until we come to thine eternal kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For the Epistle: Acts 2:1-11

The Gospel: St John 14:15-27

Artwork: Titian (Tiziano Vecelli), The Descent of the Holy Ghost, c. 1545. Oil on canvas, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, Venice.

The claim that Hinduism is a uniquely pacific and tolerant religion is dangerous bunk, says (UK) Guardian columnist Rahila Gupta.

There is a profoundly disquieting myth about Hinduism which has been put about by its adherents so often and so successfully that it is in danger of crystallising into a truth – that of its essentially pluralistic and tolerant traditions. Recently this viewpoint was repeated in the Face to faith column of this newspaper by Nitin Mehta who argued that “There are thousands of sects within Hinduism, and violence between them is unknown.” This is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, dishonest. He appears to gloss over the troublesome fact that caste Hindus have been callous towards their own – the Dalits or the “Untouchables” as they were previously known.

Nitin Mehta uses a piece of sophistry to suggest the superiority of Hinduism particularly vis-à-vis Islam without once mentioning Islam by name. He refers to the tolerance of religions that have their roots in India namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism – thereby implicitly damning Islam as a “foreign” imposition and as intolerant. Well here are the facts: Islam in India dates back to at least the 7th century. A presence of 1400 years is surely long enough to put down roots; there were nearly 10,000 cases of recorded crimes against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe members in 2007 and we know that most crimes do not get recorded in India because of a corrupt and brutal police force; many Indians are still reeling from the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002, one of several over the years; and only last year vicious attacks in Orissa left at least 60 Christians dead. It is little wonder that in the recent elections in India, many parties and political candidates defined their agendas in opposition to the BJP (Bharatiya Janata party), the political face of Hinduism.

Also, of course, many of India’s Christians trace their roots back to the ministry of the Apostle St Thomas, almost 2000 years ago.

Ms Gupta points out that religions that have come into contact with Hinduism have been infected with caste-based hatred; witness the recent killing at a Sikh temple in Vienna by upper-caste Sikhs.

A Singapore court has convicted a Christian couple for handing out a particular brand of religious tracts to Muslims.  The pair could be fined or even imprisoned.

A Singapore court Thursday has found a Christian couple guilty for distributing seditious and objectionable publications to Muslims, media reports said. Between March and December 2007, Ong Kian Cheong, 50, and his wife, Dorothy Chan Hien Leng, 46, had distributed two booklets by US publisher and comic author Jack Chick, which according to the judge could spark ill-will or hostility between Christians and Muslims.

Never mind offending Muslims, Jack Chick tracts have generated ill-will and hostility among Christians. His semi-informed and provocative (to put it mildly) comic diatribes against Catholicism, evolution, infant baptism, rock music, contemporary Bible translations, Harry Potter, etc., are infamous.

But I don’t think handing them out warrants a jail term.

Prince Edward Island’s Human Rights Commission may have nine staff members to police a population of 140,000, making it, as Ezra Levant pointed out, proportionately over ten times larger than the Canadian Human Rights Commission, but it’s not busy enough for at least one Islander. After PEI’s HRC rejected her claim of discrimination in 2003, Debra Kelly went to court.

A judge has now ordered the commission to re-open her case.

A judge has ordered the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission to revisit the complaint of a woman who says she is the victim of discrimination by provincial social assistance officials.

Debra Kelly’s complaint, that she is being denied her full share of social assistance, dates back to 2003. Child support for her two children is considered part of Kelly’s income, so, she says, her welfare has been cut to a few hundred dollars a month.

The CBC news story does not specify the type of discrimination she alleges she suffered at the hands of social assistance authorities, and it’s not obvious from the facts reported. I guess the CBC doesn’t think its readers need to concern themselves with such minor details.

A search of the PEI HRC website turns up nothing on the Kelly case.

One would think the executive director of PEI’s HRC would disagree with the decision. His agency examined and dismissed Ms Kelly’s complaint, not once, but twice. One would think he’d take the view that his investigators gave her complaint careful consideration and found it lacking for good reason.

One would be wrong.

“I think it’s a fine decision,” said commission executive director David Larter.

“I’ll be asking the chairperson to convene a panel hearing in order to have the complaint, and the issues that arose from the complaint, be heard.”

That will do wonders for office morale.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean’s trip to Nunavut has made a monarchist of former republican and Halifax Chronicle-Herald columnist Steve Maher.

THE SIGHT — beautiful beyond words — of Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean holding a bloody piece of raw seal heart in her viceregal mouth has convinced me to abandon my long-held republican beliefs and half-heartedly embrace the monarchy.
[…]
I had already started to think we should move slowly — and politely — away from the Royal Family while maintaining the formal structure of a constitutional monarchy.

Then, on Tuesday, I awoke to read about Ms. Jean, our head of state, and her visit to Rankin Inlet, Nunavut, where she helped butcher a seal with an ulu, the traditional knife of Inuit women, then ate the raw flesh of the creature’s heart.

She pronounced it delicious — which is likely a white lie — and I became a monarchist.

Our head of state eats raw seal meat. Take that, European Union parliamentarians.

On the other hand, it’s obvious that one Chronicle-Herald headline-writer strongly disagrees with Mr Maher.

Animal rights groups outraged by Governor General ’s seal antics

“Antics”?

The Green Party lives up to its usual standards of organisation in the Nova Scotia election campaign.

You can be forgiven if you can’t keep track of who’s running for the Green party.

The party has been grappling with candidates pulling out at the last minute in many ridings. These include:

•Guysborough-Sheet Harbour. The party’s website recently listed Tony Larue as the candidate, but the official list released Tuesday by Elections Nova Scotia names Amy Florian.

• Halifax Chebucto. Jeff Herbert dropped out, and was replaced by Chris Hanlon.

•Hants East. Michael Hartlen withdrew as the candidate. Emerich Winkler appears on the official list.

•Preston. The original candidate was David Smith, replaced by Sarah Densmore.

• Richmond. John Percy has taken over from Trina MacDonald.

N.S. Green leader Ryan Watson admits that his party has a problem.

“We have to build the organizational strength and continuity so that we can hit the ground running next time.”

This time, they’re just hitting the ground.

The collect for today, the Feast of The Venerable Bede (673-735), Monk, Historian, Doctor of the Church (source):

Almighty God, maker of all things,
whose Son Jesus Christ gave to thy servant Bede
grace to drink in with joy
the word which leadeth us to know thee and to love thee:
in thy goodness
grant that we also may come at length to thee,
the source of all wisdom,
and stand before thy face;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

For The Epistle: Wisdom 7:15-22
The Gospel: St Matthew 13:47-52

St Bede was born and, as far as we know, lived his entire life in the north of England, yet he became perhaps the most learned scholar in all of Europe. At the age of 7, he was sent to Wearmouth Abbey for his education; at age 11, he continued his education at the new monastery at Jarrow, eventually becoming a monk and remaining there until his death. He lived a routine and outwardly uneventful life of prayer, devotion, study, writing, and teaching.

Bede’s writings cover a very wide range of interests, including natural history, orthography, chronology, and biblical translation and exposition. He was the first to translate the Bible into Old English. He considered his 25 volumes of Scripture commentary to be his most important writings. His best-known book is Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731. This work earned him the popular title “Father of English History”, and not just because it was the first attempt to write a history of England. His historical research was thorough and far-reaching. For example, he asked friends traveling to Rome to bring him copies of documents relevant to English history, and he made use of oral traditions when written materials were not available. The book provides much historical information that can be found in no other source.

His pupil Cuthbert, later Abbot of Jarrow, has left a moving eyewitness account of St Bede’s last hours. Bede fell ill shortly before Easter 735, when he was in the midst of translating the Gospel of John into the Anglo-Saxon language. Everyone realised that the end was near, but he was determined to complete the translation. Between Easter and Ascension Day, he persisted in the task while continuing to teach his students at his bedside.

After a restless night, he resumed dictating the translation on the morning before the Ascension. That afternoon he called the priests of the monastery to him to distribute his remaining earthly possessions. Seeing they were overcome with grief, he comforted them with these words:

“If it be the will of my Maker, the time has come when I shall be freed from the body and return to Him Who created me out of nothing when I had no being. I have had a long life, and the merciful Judge has ordered it graciously. The time of my departure is at hand, and my soul longs to see Christ my King in His beauty.”

The young man who had been writing down the translation said there was still one sentence remaining, and Bede dictated the final words.

After a short while the lad said, “Now it is finished.”

“You have spoken truly,” he replied. “It is well finished. Now raise my head in your hands, for it would give me great joy to sit facing the holy place where I used to pray, so that I may sit and call on my Father.”

And thus, on the floor of his cell, he chanted, “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit” to its ending, and breathed his last.

When he received word of the great scholar’s death, St Boniface, who had used Bede’s Bible commentaries, said, “The candle of the Church, lit by the Holy Spirit, has been extinguished”. Within a generation or two, St Bede was being called “Venerable”. His bones were translated from Jarrow to Durham Cathedral in the mid-11th century; in 1370 they were placed in the cathedral’s Galilee Chapel. (A photo of the tomb can be seen about halfway down this page).

These are the final words of the Ecclesiastical History:

I implore you, good Jesus, that as in your mercy you have given me to drink in with delight the words of your knowledge, so of your loving kindness you will also grant me one day to come to you, the fountain of all wisdom, and to stand for ever before your face.

St Bede is the only Englishman named in Dante’s Paradise. He is also the only English Doctor of the Church.

(Most of the above is a slightly revised version of a post of 9 October 2006.)

“‘Extreme’ College Drinking And A Sensation-seeking Disposition Lead To Injury” — Science Daily, 25 May

Cry me a river.

Alexander Beers is charged with impaired driving causing death in connection with the death of a 14-year-old Moncton girl in July 2007. He has told a judge that the RCMP violated his rights on the night he was arrested, but the RCMP rejects his version of events.

James Fowler, Beers’s lawyer, said one of the police officers involved swayed the legal advice of the lawyer on duty that night.

Shortly after Beers was arrested, legal-aid lawyer Yves Robichaud was called. He testified he explained his options to Beers and advised him not to take the breathalyzer test.

On that advice, Beers told police he wasn’t taking the test.

He said Sgt. Jeffrey Johnston told him he would face charges for refusing the test and the consequences would be similar to the impaired driving causing death charges.

Beers said he was confused, so the police offered to call the legal aid lawyer back.

Robichaud said Johnston told him he was counselling an offence by telling his client not to take the test and that he would be investigated for his actions.

Robichaud said he had only been on the job for 11 months, and was confused and intimidated by the officer. He said he changed his advice and told Beers to take the test.

Mr Robichaud appears to have some occupational impediments for someone who seeks work as a lawyer: He is easily intimidated and he advises clients to break the law.

Be that as it may, I hope Robichaud’s incompetence doesn’t allow Mr Beers to wriggle off the hook.

Speaking in Israel last Sunday, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney (at right) condemned the new anti-Semitism arising from an alliance between Western leftists and Islamic extremists, calling it even worse than the “old European” anti-Semitism.

“The existential threat faced by Israel on a daily basis is ultimately a threat to the broader Western civilization,” said Jason Kenney, explaining the staunchly pro-Israel positions of his government, led by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

“It’s a threat that comes from profoundly undemocratic forces that don’t have the same conception of human dignity or freedom, and which abuse Israel as a kind of representative of the broader West and Western liberal-democratic values,” said Kenney. “I also very acutely understand the nature of the new anti-Semitism, and I think it’s even more dangerous than the old European anti-Semitism.”

Jason Kenney for Prime Minister.

h/t: Europe News