Today the Church remembers and honors Jeremy Taylor who lived from 1613 to 1667. Taylor was born in Cambridge, England. His father was a barber, and he taught his son grammar and math. Taylor went to university at Caius College at Cambridge University where he received his B.A. in 1631, ordained in 1633 and then received his M.A. in 1634.
Archbishop William Laud took Taylor under his wing after he heard the young man preach. Archbishop Laud encouraged Taylor to continue his academic studies, so Taylor became a fellow of All Souls, Oxford. Taylor became rector a country parish where he married and settled down to the work of a country priest. As a parish priest, Taylor was well known and people came to him from far and wide for advice and counsel.
During the Civil War in England, Taylor supported the King Charles I, and he became the King’s chaplain. Unfortunately, Oliver Cromwell and his lot executed King Charles I and Taylor found himself in prison. After the Puritans were removed and the king regained the throne in 1661, Taylor became Bishop of Down and Connor in Ireland.
Jeremy Taylor is most known for his great spiritual writings, and most especially The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living (1650) and The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying (1651). Here is a sample of his writing from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer for the Ministration of the Sick:
O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered; Make us, we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let thy Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days: that, when we shall have served thee in our generation, we may be gathered unto our fathers, having the testimony of a good conscience; in the communion of the Catholic Church; in the confidence of a certain faith; in the comfort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope; in favor with thee our God, and in perfect charity with the world. All which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Let us pray: O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, like your servant Jeremy Taylor, deeply aware of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let your Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Adult Christian Education every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.: Contemporary Moral Issues.
Sunday, 25 August at 9:00 a.m. the Feast of St. Augustine will be celebrated with Eucharist Rite II and a pot luck lunch after. This is the 129th anniversary of our church community.
Retreat on 19-22 September 2013 at Holy Cross Monastery led by the Rev. Dr. Tom Bain, “Standing at the Center with God and Ourselves.” Here is a link to the website:
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List especially Jim Reagan.
Your servant in Christ,
The Rev. Chester J. Makowski
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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