"O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!"
Dolindo Ruotolo was the Italian Roman Catholic priest known for the "spirituality of surrender." A "novena" is a series of nine days of prayer and reflection. The 'Surrender Novena" captures the essence of both the prayer and the approach.
Day 1
Why do you confuse yourselves by worrying? Leave the care of your affairs to me and everything will be peaceful. I say to you in truth that every act of true, blind, complete surrender to me produces the effect that you desire and resolves all difficult situations. O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything! (10 times)
Day 2
Surrender to me does not mean to fret, to be upset, or to lose hope, nor does it mean offering to me a worried prayer asking me to follow you and change your worry into prayer. It is against this surrender, deeply against it, to worry, to be nervous and to desire to think about the consequences of anything ...
The Cathedral's Spirituality of the Seasons group met to make their own prayer beads on the afternoon of Wednesday, 22 May.
Originally scheduled as a Spirituality of Easter session, the date was postponed into Pentecost. Due to the popularity of the varied sessions, gatherings have extended but will break before the summer.
Deacon Debbie Edmondson led the beading session, providing instructions, materials and prayers for participants.
"Anglican prayer beads (also known as the Anglican rosary) were created as a tool for prayer. It is a prayer form which is a blending of the Marian (Roman Catholic) Rosary and the Orthodox Jesus Prayer Rope and encourages a wider range of prayers. It is a simple form of prayer available to all of God's children, and is a way of allowing God's Word to sink deeply into the soul and become prayer in us." (Download the resource: 'A Circle of Prayer: The Anglican Rosary for All of God’s People' from the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer)
Other members of the congregation (and beyond) have indicated interest in attending a beading session at a different time of day, and we hope to be able to offer this in the future.
[Pictured in photo: Sandra Noftell, Pamela Naugler, Janet Maston, Charlene Worrall, and Rachel Ranson]
“Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10
One might be tempted to identify God himself as the deepest mystery of faith. In our times, being able to hold on to a worldview and way of making sense of reality that includes belief in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, invisible yet revealed may seem increasingly uncommon. But ordering one’s life around love in such a way is no less life-giving than ever.
I entered the room and the lights were low. A voice spoke softly. “Al, I love you.” It was Al and Mary in the room. The doctor had shared with Mary that it would only be a day or two now. The recent period of declining health had brought Al into Hospice care. “Al, I love you,” Mary said again, quietly.
This couple had been married for over five decades. When they married Al worked a construction job. Mary was the homemaker who enjoyed giving attention to the small but important details. It was the 1960's and life seemed simple enough. Soon came the announcement that a baby was on the way. Their first daughter was born. Life changed. Mary and Al had to give up the freedom they enjoyed as newlyweds. They had new responsibilities, and they seemed to be the perfect little family. A couple of years went by and another announcement – a second girl. Resources were tight enough but so wasn’t the family. Some necessary adjustments and sacrifice and they were four. Another year and number three, a boy was more of a challenge. How would a three-bedroom, post-war bungalow accommodate? But dreams of a back porch combined with a new bedroom came to be, and then there were five.
The oldest had just graduated from high school when the diagnosis came. Al had multiple sclerosis. He would begin several decades with the disease that slowly chipped away at his physical abilities. Mary had gone to work for the first time since high school and loved it. But becoming the breadwinner wasn’t without its challenges. A colleague asked her one day if it was what she had signed up for. Her answer: “I do whatever I need to do.”
“Al, I love you.” When Mary and Al had stood in the little church back home and answered the question “Will you?” with “I will,” neither of them knew what would come. The commitment they made to one another was for a lifetime. Our most important commitments are like that. Love is like that.
When the boy Samuel heard the voice in the night call to him, “Samuel, Samuel,” he first thought it was his mentor. Old Eli told Samuel that when you hear this again, say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” The message was for Eli and for the house of Israel – a word of harsh judgment. A word of challenge. God was about to punish Eli and the nation for their misdeeds, their blaspheming, their iniquity, wickedness, sin. Samuel was learning early that loving is seldom easy. Even though it may begin with hopeful excitement and joyful expectation, it would require something of him too.
The disciples were walking through the grainfield. We’re not told if they casually and unintentionally brushed the heads of wheat that day, grabbing a snack to curb the hunger of the moment. But it was the Sabbath. Pharisees looked on and immediately saw a violation of the age-old law.
We often find it easy to criticize the Pharisees. We blame them for their legalism and nitpicking the letter of the Law. But maybe we shouldn’t judge them just yet. It’s early in the Gospel of Mark. The Pharisees loved God. They had learned through years of study and service – sacrifice, that the way to love the Lord our God was to do as God commands. The law as it was revealed and delivered was complicated and extensive. Ten Commandments only hit the highlights. What about the Sabbath? To rest from work is a commandment. It includes instruction about the what and when to be sure but more importantly, like every rule, behind it is a good reason why. We are commanded to rest because we need it. But it's more than that. It’s also family time, a time to restore relationships, and do that which revives both body and soul. These days stores are open 24/7, hockey tournaments are strategically scheduled on Sundays, mobile phones dinging and danging at all hours of the day and night, and most weeks are packed full of trying to do it all. Sabbath convenience for us means work for someone else. The jury is still out. There’s a cost we haven’t yet counted. Pharisees loved God and they showed it by doing what God commanded.
Jesus was not about redefining the Law. He came not to abolish but to fulfill.
Jesus was not about redefining the Law. He came not to abolish but to fulfill. But he did bring a needed emphasis to the why. He upheld the importance of the spirit of the Law not just its letter. A re-focus on the why of a commitment may mean adjustment, change, reorientation, and almost always, sacrifice.
“Al, I love you.” Mary was there to the very end. Her words were perhaps the last Al heard before his eyes closed for the final time. They were far from empty. In them was the why of the commitments by which they both lived their lives. The commitments we make to love God, the commitments we make to love one another require sacrifice. They require adaptation, change, and giving. The commitments are not about us, they are almost always about the other and the greatest mystery may be, that we are the better for them. “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.”
The Diocese of Fredericton is blessed with Camp Medley, Camp Brookwood, and the St. Michael’s Youth Conference, all of which offer our children and youth unforgettable summer experiences in God's creation.
In our Diocese we believe that no child should be turned away from summer camp because of their financial circumstances. It is hoped that with participation from people and parishes across the Diocese of Fredericton, this year’s Say Yes! to Kids campaign will encourage camperism by increasing the amount of sponsorship funds available to all three camps.
Join our Diocesan family as we seek to make the summer 2024 camping season as accessible and enjoyable to as many children as possible.
Make a donation to our Diocese of Fredericton Says Yes! to Camping Ministry team. DONATE ONLINE HERE.
Pray for the success of this year's Say Yes! to Kids campaign and for youth ministries in your community, in our diocese, and across the Anglican Church of Canada.
P.S. You can also mail a cheque, payable to the Anglican Foundation of Canada, with "Fredericton Says Yes!" in the memo line to the address below. Or watch for your Spring AFC newsletter and make your donation using the donation form and business reply envelope.
A five-part presentation and conversation series called 'Living with Dying' will held in the Cathedral on five consecutive Wednesday evenings in May and June.
The series will consider many of the important topics related to death and the dying process. Topics will include: End of life care options (with presentations from Palliative Care and Hospice professionals); Medical assistance in dying (with a lawyer sharing legal dimensions and interpretations of MAiD legislation); and Christian teaching on death and dying.
All sessions will run from 7:00 p.m. until approximately 8:30 p.m.
15 May: Introductory Session ~ An informal conversation facilitated by Dean Geoffrey Hall, introducing some of the big ideas and considerations around end-of-life issues. We'll look forward in this session also to hearing from audience members about the most pressing concerns & questions on their minds regarding living and dying well.
22 May: Palliative Care Session ~ Palliative Care is a way to care for patients with life-threatening illnesses, with a focus on quality-of-life – including the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of patients and their families. We look forward to having the chance in this session to meet and chat with some members of the local (hospital-based) and extramural palliative care teams.
29 May: Hospice Care Session ~ Hospice Fredericton provides excellence in end-of-life care and bereavement support to palliative patients and their families. Come along to this session to meet a representative of the specialized team from Hospice House, our city's 10-bed residential facility. (*Special note: The "grief library" at Hospice House is named in honour of our very own Penny Ericson!)
5 June: MAiD Session ~ In June 2016, the Parliament of Canada passed federal legislation that allows eligible adults in Canada to request medical assistance in dying. Come along to this session to hear from a practicing lawyer updates and about legal dimensions and interpretations of the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation.
12 June: Faith Perspective Session ~ Our concluding session of the series will consider the important Christian teaching(s) regarding end-of-life questions and considerations. Come join facilitator Archbishop David Edwards for this conversation.
Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.
Join the global wave of prayer calling all Christians to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know the love and peace of Jesus Christ. We hope that you choose to participate in this global prayer movement. This year, a special emphasis is suggested as we pray for youth and young families.
Christ Church Cathedral will participate from 09-19 May 2024, with group and individual prayer initiatives. View the Guide for Eleven Days of Prayer for information about events, resources for all ages, and readings to help you focus. Printed copies are available at the Cathedral and Hall. Resources such as a Prayer Journal and Novena are also available to download for free on the Thy Kingdom Come website.
Thy Kingdom Come begins with Ascension and ends with Pentecost. Celebrate the Ascension of the Lord on Thursday 09, May at 7:30 p.m. in the Cathedral. Celebrate Pentecost on Sunday, 19 May at 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in the Cathedral.
In the days between Ascension and Pentecost, it has been the habit of many Christians, for centuries, to make the focus of our prayers the same as those first believers. Christ’s last instruction to His disciples on the day of his Ascension is to ‘wait for the gift my Father promised’ (Acts 1:4).
Join us on weekdays during Thy Kingdom Come for a local discussion (45 min) about the series of reflections by Bishop Anthony Poggo, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion on passages from Revelation. We begin at 5:15 p.m. Friday 10 May in the Memorial Hall boardroom or via Video Conference (see our calendar).
Committoattending the Daily Office in the morning (8:45 a.m.) and the evening (4:45 p.m.) in the Cathedral. Join us for this prayer Tuesday - Friday during Thy Kingdom Come (due to the Victoria Day holiday on Monday, May 22). It takes about 15 minutes.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you ...John 15:12
The words of the gospel on the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year B) finish up what was begun a week ago. You might remember that Jesus was on about vines and branches, abiding, pruning and fruit-bearing. All were images he used to help the disciple see their relationships in concrete ways. He was illustrating how they were to continue to abide with him ... even after they would no longer be able to see him, and how they were to treat one another (“... they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love”). And a week before that, Jesus compared the shepherd who loves the sheep to the hired hand who high tails it out of there at the first sign of trouble.
In this season, following the events of Easter, we see a kaleidoscope of images that provide commentary for us about the kind of life Jesus came to show us to live. We like to joke a bit about how the disciples never seem to get the point. We recount their all too human, fickle ways. Thomas couldn’t first bring himself to believe. Peter denied even knowing Jesus multiple times. In the emotional trauma of the whole scene, Judas committed suicide. I think we enjoy remembering all these less-than-heroic examples of the characters who were closest to the Son of God. And I think we are smugly far too certain that we are nothing like them.
Someone once said it’s impossible to see clearly with much understanding until you can see from 20,000 feet. That is to say, so often our perspective is encumbered with so much intricacy, that it’s limited in all sorts of complicated ways. Our self-interest is most often in the way of our perception. Unless we can see the way whatever might be happening right under our nose impacts us personally and directly, regardless of its import, we don’t really pay very much attention at all.
I’ve been slowly making my way around to Cathedral groups to gently suggest, recommend, (sometimes beg) that we give attention to acquiring the training prescribed under the Safe Church protocols the Anglican Church has been working to implement for over a decade. What’s interesting is, that most of us, when the suggestion is first made, can’t seem to see how it has anything to do with them. We either have a ridiculously narrow concept of what being safe in the church means, we can’t see how it could be of any benefit to us personally, we’re 100% certain that we’re guilty of nothing, or we can’t imagine how we could be part of making Christ Church Cathedral a place where everyone feels safe. That’s funny, since you and I are Christ Church Cathedral. Most eyebrows go up when there’s suggestion that safe church protocols have little, if anything to do with clergy abusing children. It could but it thoroughly misses the point.
But I digress. While we’re so busy musing over the stupidity of 2000-year-old disciples, from where hindsight is 20/20, maybe from 20,000 feet on a cloudless day, we still surprisingly often just don’t get it. Jesus uses simple, straightforward, concrete illustrations to make certain he is understood. The logic he uses is not complicated. Still, what he has to say is a foreign language to us. The reality out of which Jesus speaks is not our reality. – Exactly! It’s not our reality. And that’s our problem.
... it’s important that we all do something right
Why is this even important to us? Because the way we live now is a mirror of the way we will live in eternity. The way we acquire assurance of where we will be is by the way we are now. “Abide in me ... bear fruit, fruit that will last.” St. Paul said “we look as in a mirror dimly, then we will see face to face ... there is “a more excellent way,” he said. And that way is love. And Paul did not spare the specifics:
“Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you ...” It can’t get much simpler than that. It’s not about thoughtless, unquestioned obedience to some completely irrelevant purpose. It’s about joining in on the larger purpose of the creator of the universe. We do that through his Son who was sent to show us in concrete ways to show us "the Way." He is the way, truth and the life.
Why are prisons full? Why are there homeless people on the streets? Why does law enforcement receive crisis calls at all times of the day and night about domestic violence. This is, unfortunately, not the mirror of eternity. This is not the world God would have it be. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you ...” As a human race, as Canadians, New Brunswickers, Frederictonians, and as citizens, I’m afraid we still just don’t get it.
Learning how to love is our homework and it never ends. We can always do it better. Learning about safe church protocols is for my own good and yours. Not because you’ve done something wrong but because it’s important that we all do something right. It’s because we care about the community – the family to which we belong and of which we want to actively a part. It's important to be assured that we’re all aware of what makes this place as safe as it can be.
At Christ Church Cathedral we endeavour to maintain daily public prayer in the church by saying the offices of morning and evening prayer. Individuals signup to lead the daily offices and training is available for those who haven’t but wish to participate.
One thing I really look forward to during Thy Kingdom Come is praying with my grandchildren. Why not join in with me?
Here are five ways in which your family or your children’s group might join together in praying during Thy Kingdom Come, 18th-28th May 2023.
Plant seed stick prayers – Pray for your 5 non-Christian neighbours and friends and plant a seed! Write their name on the top of the seed stick and watch the sunflowers grow as you pray each day. Thy Kingdom Come Pray for 5 Seeds
Tune into the Cheeky Pandas! Why not tune in to an episode with the Cheeky Pandas, try an accompanying activity pack and order some of the Cheeky Pandas stickers and share with your friends?
And a sneaky 6 th idea Take a glass of water and drop a fizzy vitamin tablet in it and as you watch it change the water ask God to pour his love into the hearts of those you are praying for.
by the Reverend Canon Jean Kerr for Thy Kingdom Come 2023
ησο ς Χριστὸς νικ is the Greek that in English is often written IC XC NIKA.
This symbolism is perhaps most appropriate to the Easter season and important at any celebration of the Resurrection such as a funeral or memorial – “Jesus Christ conquers.”
The IC and XC are the first and last letters in the Greek words for Jesus and Christ, respectively. NIKA is connected to the word for victory, which we know from Greek mythology and even consumerism as “Nike.” Nike is the Greek goddess of victory, both in regards to war and friendly competition. She is often associated with Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, and Zeus, the king of the Gods.
Christian denominations through history have incorporated this symbol in their denominational imagery, and it appears on various vestments, banners, or engravings. Popular in the Eastern Christian tradition, it often appears in iconography. Traditions where Communion is important have often had the formula stamped on communion breads.
Some biblical passages worth reflection and associated with the message:
Psalm 20
What kinds of “victories” do we yearn for? What victory does the Psalmist describe? How are they similar or different from the victories of Romans 8?
1 John 5:1-5
How might this passage influence your understanding of Christ as conqueror?
"O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything!"
