The Practical Parson

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.    Speak unto others as you would have them speak unto you.   Speak of others as you would have them speak of you.    Love others as you would have them love you.   Give unto others as you would have them give unto you.   Be a friend unto others as you would have them be a friend unto you.   Care for others as you would have them care for you.    For by the standard that you judge others, you yourself shall also be judged.  If we say that we are above the judgement of man, yet judge other men; how shall we be spared ourselves from the more righteous judgment of God?  We speak ill of those we despise, we treat with contempt those with whom we disagree, we lash out against those who have angered us; forgetting that we ourselves are reflecting the manner in which we desire to be treated by our treatment of others.   Love your enemies, do good to those...

 As one who does not regularly watch the Olympics, I do not ordinarily hold much opinion about them as a general rule of thumb.  I mean, apart from the blatantly neo-pagan ritual they hold at Mount Olympus in Greece in order to light the Olympic flame, there isn't ordinarily too much for one to object to on a moral level.  Judge my surprise, when the sight of a bevy of Drag Queens mimicking and mocking the Last Supper was broadcast on international television.  Men dressed as parodies of women, posing about a table to mock the famous image of the Last Supper; with a nude figure in blue representing the ancient Roman pagan deity Bacchus (god of wine) on the table in front of them.  These blasphemers and God-haters don't even TRY to hide their contempt for religion anymore.  To top it all off, the cathedral of Notre Dame has finally been able to unveil its great spire and roof after 4 years, since being destroyed in a great fire; and THIS is how "the communit...

 Yesterday Evening, president Donald Trump was the target of an attempted assassination in Pennsylvania at a political rally.  While he himself escaped with relatively mild injuries, One attendee was tragically murdered by the gunman's fire, and 2 more are in critical condition at present.  The gunman himself was killed by return fire from secret service snipers.   After taking a brief moment in prayer for the deceased victim, we will continue. May his soul rest in peace. +++ Listen, my children, to the word of wisdom which has long been avoided in preference of outrage and intrigue:   When you consistently and constantly scream that an individual is "an existential threat to our democracy", and call for your followers and friends to "take him down", you forever abandon the right to act surprised or disturbed when someone makes good your demand.   You cannot constantly work to demonize someone, and then expect others less than yourself to wit...

   “Holy Communion is not a reward for good behavior, but spiritual food for the starving!” While on the surface this may sound like a noble and pastoral sentiment, it underlies a lack of knowledge of the depth of the great mystery of Holy Communion, and a lack of respect for the dignity of the mystery itself.   While it is indeed true that Holy Communion is not a reward for good behavior, it must be understood quite clearly that the church has never held nor taught that only those who are on their best behavior are able to receive it.  Rather, the church advises and admonishes the faithful (as they are charged so to do, 1 Corinthians 11:27) to prepare themselves as best they may in order to receive the great mystery of our Lord’s true presence in the sacrament.  Why does the church do this?  Is it because they want to prevent sincere souls from seeking Christ?  Heaven forbid!  It is rather because the church truly loves those even outside of...

 Recently, I was watching a group interview with members of GAFCON and ACNA speaking about the creation of a new, Independent Anglican Diocese info Australia (Diocese of the Southern Cross).  A theme which kept recurring in the discussion they engaged in was the term and references to "Revisionists" and "revisionism".  At face value, to anyone who holds Sacred scripture as the groundwork of our faith, that sounds like a terrifying concept- who would dare try to revise holy writ?  And I think that, that is to an extent what the bishops of GAFCON and ACNA were going for- the shock factor of others attempting to revise what the scriptures teach.  However, as Anglicans, it is an intriguingly odd notion to accuse anyone else of attempting to revise teachings; when the revision of teaching itself is the cause for the Anglican Communion's very existence.  Had it not been for Henry VIII and Cranmer changing the foundational teaching of the church's independence and...

We preach Grace when we have offended. We preach repentance when we have sinned. We preach forgiveness when we have erred. We preach salvation when we have strayed. We preach acceptance when we have excluded others. We preach the Love of God while keeping it from others. We preach the truth of the Gospels while we hide it from the world. We preach the presence of Christ while denying others to it. We preach many things in our lives as Christians, as Priests, as Ministers; but do we do so honestly? The truth is nothing; unless it can change both the recipient, as well as he who carries it. -The Practical Parson