A Glorious Feast of St. Michael and All Angels

“….Through Him Your majesty is praised by all the holy angels and celebrated with one accord by the heavens and all the powers therein. The cherubim and seraphim sing Your praise, and with them we laud and magnify Your glorious name…” Just got back from the Divine Service for this holy day. We sang “Stars of the Morning,” “Lord God, to Thee We Give All Praise,” “Let All Mortal Flesh,” and “Christ, the Lord of Hosts Unshaken.” Liturgy was Divine Service 3 with Pastor Ball as celebrant. Pastor Mark Preus served as Deacon and chanted (exquisitely!) the Gospel and preached us very sweet and joyous homily (even more exquisitely!!!). Three school children formed our choir and sang the Introit, Gradual and Alleluia Verse. We had full procession with incense, cross, torches, and Gospel Book. Aside from the school children, a number of parishioners attended and some guests from neighboring parishes. Now, don’t forget about tonight’s hymn festival at Good Shepherd at 7 p.m.! It promises to be simply glorious. What a perfect St. Michael and All Angels day from start to finish!

 

Pic from this Morning

 

Patristic Quote of the Day

Blessed is God, who works wonders alone, who makes all things and transforms them. Those who were captives until yesterday are now free and citizens of the Church; those who were formerly in disgrace because of sins now have boldness and righteousness. They are not only free but also holy, not only holy but also righteous, not only righteous but also sons, not only sons but also heirs, not only heirs but also brothers of Christ, not only brothers of Christ but also joint heirs, not only joint heirs but also members, not only members but also temples, not only temples but also instruments of the Spirit.—St. John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on the Newly Illumined

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The Book of Wisdom speaks truly when it says about such children, “For his soul pleased the Lord; therefore hasted He to take him away from among the wicked.” (Wisdom 4:14) What could it be but love if someone were to free us from a solitary, dark underground prison and lead us into a hall of light where we would be united with our best friends? What else it be but love if someone were to bring us from a place full of danger to a perfectly secure castle? What else could it be but love if someone moved us from bitter poverty to riches, from the deepest shame to the highest honor, from misery and distress to joy, from continual sickness into lasting health, from dying into never-ending life?—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 744.

Lewis

Let me implore the reader to try to believe, if only for the moment, that God, who made these deserving people, may really be right when He thinks that their modest prosperity and the happiness of their children are not enough to make them blessed: that all this must fall from them in the end, and that if they have not learned to know Him they will be wretched. And therefore He troubles them, warning them in advance of an insufficiency that one day they will have to discover.—Business of Heaven, p. 244.

Catechesis

Since by faith the believer has overcome death’s terrors, there is no longer in the believer’s death that sting and sense of anger of which Paul says, “The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.”—Ap XIIb:56.

Patristic Quote of the Day

Therefore, the faith in this [i.e., baptism], which grants the forgiveness of sins, bestows upon us this adoption. And the things that follow, sufficient to instruct us about who has been liberated and who has been honored by this mystical rite. For as they emerge from those holy pools, all those present embrace, greet, kiss, rejoice, and are glad that those who were formerly slaves and captives have become free and sons, and have been invited to the royal banquet. After the ascent from there, they are immediately led to the terrifying table, full of countless goods, and they partake of the body and blood of the Lord, and they become the dwelling place of the Spirit. And they go forth adorned like certain earthly angels, appearing everywhere and shining with the rays of the sun.—St. John Chrysostom, Second Sermon on the Newly Illumined

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

The unbelieving world thinks it is impossible to sing a hymn of thanksgiving at the coffins and graves of its loved ones. Rather, it wants to quarrel with its Creator and Ruler, cursing God as a cruel tyrant who has jealously taken from it its dearest on earth and, with a merciless hand, destroyed its life happiness. But believers, standing at the coffins and graves of their loved ones who have fallen asleep in faith have a completely different outlook. They humbly submit themselves to the wondrous counsel of their God and Father. They sing in firm faith, “What God ordains is always good.” But they also thank Him that, out of His eternal goodness, He created them, preserved them, governed them, and redeemed them by His Son.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 742.

Lewis

No doubt Pain as God’s megaphone is a terrible instrument; it may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man can have for amendment. It removes the veil, it plants the flag of truth within the fortress of a rebel soul.—Business of Heaven, p. 243.

Catechesis

True prayers, true alms, and true fastings have God’s command. Where they have God’s command, they cannot be omitted without sin.—Ap XIIB:46

Patristic Quote of the Day

For indeed, baptism is both a burial and a resurrection. ‘For the old man is buried in sin, and the new one, being renewed in the image of the Creator, rises up.’ We put off and we put on. We put off the old garment, tattered by the multitude of sins, and we put on the new one, free from every stain. But what am I saying? We put on Christ Himself: ‘For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.’—St John Chrysostom, On the Newly Illumined

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

You may think you do not fear death, but have you ever looked directly into its smirking face, into its hallow, staring eyes? Truly, it is not the might of man, but God’s grace alone, that can overcome this king of terror.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 738.

Lewis

We can rest contentedly in our sins and in our stupidities; and anyone who has watch gluttons shovelling down the most exquisite foods as if they did not know what they were eating, will admit that we can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world. —Business of Heaven, p. 242. 

Catechesis

True terrors, true grief of mind, do not allow the body to satisfy itself in sensual pleasures, and true faith is not ungrateful to God. Neither does true faith hate God’s commandments. In a word, there is no inner repentance unless it also produces the outward putting to death of the flesh.—Ap XIIB:34

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Patristic Quote of the Day

Have you seen the condescension of the Master? Have you seen the impossible philanthropy? He does not ask for anything burdensome or difficult from us. For He did not say, ‘Learn from Me, for I have worked miracles, raised the dead, and performed wonders, all by My own power.’ But what did He say? ‘Learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ Have you seen how great the gain is from this yoke? How great the benefit? Therefore, if anyone is worthy to come under this yoke and capable of learning from the Master that He is gentle and humble in heart, he will provide rest for his whole soul. For this is the essence of our salvation.—St. John Chrysostom, On the Newly Illumined

Old Lutheran Quote of the Day

For the small earthly good we contribute to the preservation and spreading of the Word of God, we have a means of making a poor person’s soul rich in imperishable treasure. With it we have a key to unlock eternal joy and a seed that will grow into a fruitful tree.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p., 732. 

Lewis

They [Adam and Eve] wanted, as we say, to ‘call their souls their own’. But that means to live a lie, for our souls are not, in fact, our own. They wanted some corner in the universe of which they could say to God, ‘This is our business, not yours.’ But there is no such corner.—Business of Heaven, p. 239. 

Catechesis

Therefore, it would be wicked to remove private Absolution from the Church. If anyone despises private Absolution, he does not understand what the forgiveness of sins or the Power of the Keys is…. The ministry of Absolution is favor or grace; it is not a legal process or law.—Ap XIIb:3-6

Patristic Quote of the Day

Consider whom He calls: those who have spent their resources in transgressions, those who are burdened by sins, those who can no longer stand upright, those filled with shame, those who have no boldness. And for what purpose does He call them? Not to demand an account or to sit in judgment. But what? To grant rest from their toil, to remove the heavy burden.—St. John Chrysostom, On the Newly Illumined