Sermon for the Sixth Week of Easter

I had the pleasure of preaching again this past Sunday at St. Patrick’s for the sixth week of Easter.  The readings for the day can be found HERE.  What a blessing it was to preach on Mother’s Day with so many reading about love!  The audio for the gospel lesson and sermon are below.  God’s Peace!

Easter Letter

God’s Peace and blessings to you all!  Christ anesti!  Christ is risen!  And so we begin the 50 days of celebration that is the Easter Season.  For many of us, today is often sluggish.  After the rigors of Holy Week and the early Vigil service of Easter morning, we could all usually do with a full day of rest.  As the previous week catches up with us, we hardly have the energy to celebrate on the day after Easter. But we are called not just to celebrate the Risen Lord on Easter morning, but for a full 50 days, outstripping the 40 days of penitence in Lent.

But when the alarm goes off on Monday morning, we wonder how on earth we managed to get up at 3:30 AM the day before.  And for most of us, Monday means that it’s back to the real world, back to the usual schedule and demands of life.  It’s back to work for some.  Back to school for others.  Easter has come.  We have celebrated the miracle of the Resurrection, but life goes on just like before.  And for many in our Order, and those out in the world, life circumstances have left us in the waiting of Holy Saturday, still waiting for the true release that comes on Easter morning.  School is still ongoing, with no clear design after graduation.  The job search is still on, trying to find employment that fulfills and still pays the bills.  Transition in life is still uncertain.  Spiritual discernment is never ending.  We know that it is Easter, but we still feel the anxieties of Holy Saturday just as the Apostles did.

But as contemplatives, we often find our greatest formation in paradox. And as disciples 2,000 years after the fact, we already know the end of the story.  Of course, knowing what is coming, having faith that the tomb of our despairs will be empty, believing that God is waiting to find us out on the road, all this does not make the anxiety of our lives disappear.   We still have to sit with the tension and live through it.  But in truly knowing that the tomb is empty, we have faith that God is here with us, even in the midst of our tension and anxieties.  And remembering that takes effort.

Lent is a period of inner work, penitence and discipline, that leads us to Easter.  But that does not mean that Easter, even as a celebration, is nothing more than coasting and taking it easy.  Like an athlete that trains day after day, preparing for the marathon, we train day after day in Lent to prepare for the marathon that is Easter, but that marathon still requires tremendous effort.  Even in the midst of Resurrection, we will be with Thomas and experience his doubts.  We will walk with the Apostles, still feeling loss because we do not recognize the Resurrected Christ in front of us who is comforting us.  We will fall into despair and require a familiar act like the breaking of bread to remember that the tomb is indeed empty, that the story did not end with the crucifixion, but continues on everyday in the glorious Resurrection!

Remembering to celebrate these 50 days of Easter will take effort, but it is an effort that brings joy, hope, and peace.  This Easter season, I ask you to pray especially for those who are still waiting in Holy Saturday, and who need the promise of Easter more than ever.  We, as contemplatives, have found God inside us.  We have each experienced that Love.  Now, we must be true disciples and carry that Love out to those who so desperately need it.  And as a community of contemplatives, when you find a Brother or Sister who is experiencing the anxieties of life, help each other in this season of Easter by reminding one another that the Christ is Risen, that the Lord is risen indeed!  Alleluia!  God’s Peace.

Silentio Coram Deo,

Br. Kenneth Hosley, O.P.C.

Sermon

Here is the audio for the sermon I preached a few weeks ago on the last Sunday of Epiphany.  The lectionary readings for the day can be found HERE.  I hope you enjoy!  God’s Peace.

Sermon on the Annunciation

Here is the sermon I gave at St. Patrick’s this past December for the fourth Sunday of Advent.  The lectionary readings for that day can be found HERE.  Simply click the play button below to hear the audio.  For those coming across this on Facebook, you can access the audio player on my wordpress page HERE.

Sermon on the Corporate Wheat Field

Here’s the audio for the sermon I preached this past Sunday at St. Patrick’s Episcopal.  The lectionary for the day was Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139: 1-11, 22-23; Romans 8:12-25; and Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 which can be found HERE.  For those finding this through Facebook, you can access the audio player HERE.  Enjoy and God’s Peace.

Please help make our garden grow!

The latest plan for the meditation and permaculture gardens.

Well, with Spring and warmer weather upon us, the Mother House has been bustling.  This year, we are dedicating ourselves to transforming the outside of the residence to allow space for hospitality, reading, meditation and prayer, and even mini-retreats.  While we do not have the land for our Abbey (and we will be starting focused stewardship for that soon out in the community), we can still fulfill our ministry as an Order of urban monasticism by using what we have for the benefit of our community and the Church around us.  It is our hope that we could have the grounds fully relandscaped by June, just in time for our Order’s annual Convocation and retreat so our out of town siblings can enjoy the space while they are here. 
 
Not only for our members in Atlanta, but for all members in the broader Diocese, this will be a readily available space for people to come and enjoy.  For those outside of Atlanta, this will be here for you when you come visit, and your support will help the Order’s ministry in the community.  The members of the Order here in the city and the residents of the Mother House will be putting in all the labor, but of course there is always the cost for materials.  Thus far, it looks like the project will run around $7,000.00 for what would be a $15,000 plus job if contracted professionally.  We have already pooled $1,800 from our own reserves right now.  But that still leaves over $5,000 left to cover.  Since we don’t have the Abbey yet, we want to show that hospitality through community is still possible in small settings which is our commitment in rediscovering urban monasticism.  Still, like all other communities, we need help from the greater community.  After all, that’s what helps to remind us why we are here and that it is ALL of us that make up the Body of Christ.   
 
You’ll find above a sketch of the backyard project which will be the most substantial transformation of the front and backyard. The features of this project are a microcosm of what we will have for the Abbey (consider this our trial run!).  The patios and porch provide space for community dining outside as well as spaces for reading, individual prayer and contemplation, and communal prayer services.  With a small fire pit fitted for one of the patios, the Order will finally be able to host its own all night Easter Vigils!  The down hill terracing will provide space for Br. Addison to design permaculture gardens that will not only feed the residents but also provide teaching space to instruct others (parishes, families, etc.) on how to grow their own sustainable, organic urban gardens.  The terracing will also be designed as meditation gardens with a water feature on the bottom tier to allow tranquil space to sit and rest in God’s creation.    When we offer mini-retreats, the solarium, porch and patios will provide space for instruction and for guests to wonder and sit between the guided lessons. 
 
I would ask that you sit with this request, look over the plan, and pray.  When you’ve shared that sacred space with God, please let us know if you’ll be able to help.  You can contact us directly at contact@ordersaintanthony.org.  God’s Peace.

Sermon for 4/10/11 – Dry Bones, Lazarus and the Olam Ha-Ba.

Here is the audio for the sermon I preached this past Sunday.  The readings for the day were Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 130, Romans 8:6-11, and John 11:1-45; all of which can be found HERE.  God’s Peace!

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

For those that are interested, I had the pleasure of preaching again on my birthday yesterday at St. Patrick’s Episcopal.  You can find the readings HERE.  The audio for the sermon is here.  Just hit play and enjoy.  God’s Peace.

St. Columba of Iona

Part of a Celtic triptych that came to mind which includes the two previous icons of Sts. Brendan and Aidan.  As with the other icons, I’ve named the icon in Irish Gaelic (Naomh Colm Cille meaning Holy or Saint Dove of the Church).  Columba (the Latinized form), was born in 521 in the very north east of Ireland.  He was a direct descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish High King, which placed Columba’s family amongst the royal class.  At an early age he went to study at Clonard Abbey under St. Finnian.  There he was contemporary of many of Ireland’s great celtic monastic saints.  While at Clonard, he was ordained a priest at age 25.  Later he was studying in the monastery of St. Finnian of Movilla Abbey.  While there he copied by hand the psalter of Finnian for his own use.  But accordingly to Irish law back then, a manuscript copy belonged to the owner of the original, not the transcriber.  This set a rift between the two which eventually went to the ruling king, Diarmaid (who was in opposition to the O’Niall family).  The king ruled on behalf of Finnian.  

Another story tells of Columba sheltering a man under the rules of sanctuary from a prince who eventually killed the man.  When Columba protested to the king, the king sided with the prince. 

 Whether it was from the former or the latter, in his outrage, Columba rallied his kinsmen of the O’Niall family to fight against the ruling family.  It should be noted that Columba was also noted as a bard, a very significant class in that time.  A king’s power could grow or disappear due to the accomplished tongue of just one bard.  So legend has it that Columba left King Diarmaid’s court singing a song of the atrocities of Diarmaid which fired up the O’Nialls.  Columba said he would take full responsibility for the war and in the end, 3,000 or Diarmaid’s men were slain.  This was the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne in 561. 

When his temper had cooled, Columba realized what he had done.  He was brought before an ecclesiastical court to be tried for the death of the 3,000, many of whom were Christian.  The court was ruling to excommunicate him when his friend St. Brendan (it is difficult to tell from various sources if this was Brendan of Clonfert or of Birr) spoke on his behalf and recommended exile instead.  The court agreed.

After visiting several confessors, Columba was told that in order to be forgiven and redeemed for his war, he must convert as many people as were slain.  So he left Ireland, his beloved home, and set sail to the east with twelve of his fellow monks.  They landed first on a rocky island that could support them, but Columba could still see the coast of Ireland from the top of the island.  They set sail again and eventually landed on another rocky and windswept island.  There they built small cells from the peat (there were no trees on the island), and made this their home.  This was the holy isle of Iona. 

With this island as his standing point, Columba spent the majority of the rest of this life venturing into Scotland and converting the Picts to Christianity.  After his death, the Abbey of Iona became the prism that would direct the Celtic Christian light of Ireland across all of Scotland and most of England.  Iona was the seat of Celtic Christianity for the British Isle and would send out many famous missionary monks who would become abbots, bishops and saints.  Among these was St. Aidan of Lindisfarne. 

Columba’s soul ascended into heaven in the year 597. 

In this icon, Columba is depicted standing on the rocky land, representing the inhospitable Iona.  His under cassock is red as a reminder of the blood that he caused to spill, the very reason for his exile.  His outer cassock is black signifying his contemplative spirituality and humility.  His right hand offers the sign of blessing as he was a priest, and his left hand carries either the Cathach of St. Columba (the psalter he copied) or the Book of Durrow (an illuminated Gospel attributed to him).  His name, in Irish Gaelic is written in a celtic knotwork dove as a reminder of his name and the grace he received from the Holy Spirit. The knotwork was based off of an illumination from the Book of Kells. 

St. Columba, pray for all of us who have caused others harm, and help us to find a way to spread God’s Word throughout the world.  Help us to remember that we are never beyond redemption as long as we are willing to confess our sins and seek absolution.  Amen. 

Acrylic and gold leaf over pine.  7.75” x 2.5”. 

Complete, the full miniature triptych of Celtic Christian saints looks like this:

St. Aidan of Lindisfarne

The second icon for the miniature triptych of Celtic Christianity that I’m working on. Like the St. Brendan icon, this is only 2.5″ x 4″ in size. This is St. Aidan, Bishop of Lindisfarne (d. 651 AD). In 635, King Oswald of Northumbira sent for a missionary monk from Iona to serve as Bishop for his people. The first monk sent was Corman, who failed to endear himself to the people. He claimed that the Anglo-Saxons of the area would never take to the disciplines of Christianity. It was Aidan who spoke up in council and said that he was too hard on them. He suggested that they first offer the sweet milk of Chirst and then lead them gradually into the rigors of discipline. With that suggestion, Aidan was appointed the new missionary and was sent to be Bishop. He chose the rocky island of Lindisfarne, similar to Iona, as the location for his new monastery. Aidan’s approach to conversion was to talk one on one to pepople, whether poor or noble. He was often seen walking around on foot. At one point, King Oswin (Oswlad’s successor) gave Aidan one of the best horses from his stable so he could ride from town to town. While riding along the road, Aidan came across a poor beggar and promptly gave him the horse. When he later confronted the outraged Oswin, Aidan chastized him with a prayer: “Dear Lord, please forgive our king who shows more concern for his animals than he does for his own poor subjects.” Oswin then knelt before the Bishop and sought forgiveness.

In this icon, St. Aidan is show with the purple chausible and crosier symbolizing his office of bishop. The crosier is based on the crosier of Clonmacnoise (a typical Cletic design). The Gospel that he is holding is the actual cover of the Lindisfarne Gospel. Along with the Book of Kells, the Lindisfarne Gospel is one of the greatest example of Celtic calligraphy extant. Following the theme with the icon of St. Brendan, the name plate is a scroll with celtic knotwork. A horse is depicted symbolizing the gift he received and gave away to the poor begar. His name is written in Irish Gaelic as he was an Ionian monk which drew it’s tradition from Ireland.

St. Aidan, pray for us as we seek to spread the news of Christ, offering the sweet milk of Love rather condemnation and judgement, and pray that we recognize the image of Christ in every person we meet. Amen.

Medium: Acrylic and 23K gold leaf over white pine.