St. Philip the Deacon

Today the Church honors St. Philip the Deacon who is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.  In the sixth chapter of Acts, we read:

Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, ‘It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait at tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to serving the word.’ What they said pleased the whole community, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, together with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.  (Acts 6: 1-6).

The word “deacon” comes from the Greek word διάκονος (diakonos), meaning “servant”.  Philip and his companions served others, and especially those who were less fortunate, like the widows we hear about in the Acts of the Apostles.  At that time, a woman whose husband predeceased her was virtually destitute.  She would have no one to care for her financially.  In the Acts of the Apostles, we read how the Church cared for those who had no one to care for them.  That was the role of the deacon then, and that is the role of the deacon today. 

There are 2 types of deacons: transitional and vocational or permanent deacons.  All priests are ordained deacons first and serve in that capacity for at least 6 months prior to being ordained priests.  Vocational deacons, on the other hand, are men and women who are ordained deacons and who will remain deacons permanently. Theirs is a servant ministry. 

The Diocese of Texas states that a vocational deacons is “A cleric ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons or Diaconate, one of the three Holy Orders. Deacons are called to fulfill a vocation, as well as a ministry, in the world under the direction of the bishop. While in the world, a deacon interprets the needs of the world, and then communicates such needs to the bishop and the greater church at large. In turn, a deacon ministers to the world as directed by the bishop. Liturgically, a deacon reads the Gospel, sets the table, leads the Prayers of the People and dismisses the congregation.”

Let us pray:  Holy God, no one is excluded from your love; and your truth transforms the minds of all who seek you: As your servant Philip was led to embrace the fullness of your salvation and to bring the stranger to Baptism, so give us all the grace to be heralds of the Gospel, proclaiming your love in Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Blessing of the animals for St. Francis on Saturday, 13 October at 11:00 a.m. on the lawn in front of the cross.

The Adult Christian Education series on the Lord’s Prayer continues this Sunday. Please join the Bains for this wonderful study.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially all of those who are ill, including Patricia and Steve.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

A Penitential Cry

One of the appointed Psalms for today is Psalm 130, and it is a penitential cry:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.

Which one of us could stand if the Lord marked our sins?  I know that I could not.  Yet with God there is forgiveness.  God knows the depths of our hearts.  God knows that try as we might, we will fail.  Nevertheless, God does not count us as lost; rather, God is always there to lift us up.  God is there to redeem us from all of our iniquities.

Let us pray:  Now there is rejoicing in heaven; for you were lost, and are found; you were dead, and are now alive in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Abide in peace.  The Lord has put away all your sins.  Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Blessing of the animals for St. Francis on Saturday, 13 October at 11:00 a.m. on the lawn in front of the cross.

The Adult Christian Education series on the Lord’s Prayer continues this Sunday. Please join the Bains for this wonderful study.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially all of those who are ill, including Patricia.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Paul's Courage in Proclaiming the Good News of Christ

One of the appointed readings for today is taken from the Acts of the Apostles, and we hear how Paul responds in the presence of the leaders of Israel: 
 

Since he wanted to find out what Paul was being accused of by the Jews, the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and the entire council to meet. He brought Paul down and had him stand before them.

While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, ‘Brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.’ Then the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth. At this Paul said to him, ‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?’ Those standing nearby said, ‘Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?’ And Paul said, ‘I did not realize, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, “You shall not speak evil of a leader of your people.” ’

When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead.’ When he said this, a dissension began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit; but the Pharisees acknowledge all three.) Then a great clamor arose, and certain scribes of the Pharisees’ group stood up and contended, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?’ When the dissension became violent, the tribune, fearing that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered the soldiers to go down, take him by force, and bring him into the barracks.

That night the Lord stood near him and said, ‘Keep up your courage! For just as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also in Rome.’  (Acts 22:30-23:11).

Paul proclaims the Good News in Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.  Christ himself tells Paul to keep up his courage.  You and I must do the same; we must keep up our courage as we spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to all we meet.

Let us pray:  Almighty God, whose will it is to be glorified in your saints, and who raised up your servant Paul and all of his companions to be a light in the world; shine, we pray, in our hearts, that we also in our generation may show forth your praise, who called us out of darkness into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

Blessing of the animals for St. Francis on Saturday, 13 October at 11:00 a.m. on the lawn in front of the cross.

The Adult Christian Education series on the Lord’s Prayer continues this Sunday. Please join the Bains for this wonderful study.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially all of those who are ill, including Patricia.

Your servant in Christ,

 
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

St. Francis of Assisi: from Playboy to Saint

Today we recall the life and ministry of St. Francis of Assisi, perhaps one of the best known saints.  He was born in the town of Assisi in 1182.  Francis was the son of a wealthy merchant, who lived a care free life, partying, and spending money.  Then he went away to war. In one of the battles, most of the troops from Assisi were butchered. Only those wealthy enough to expect to be ransomed were taken prisoner. Francis was taken prisoner and chained in a harsh, dark dungeon.  Francis never lost his happy manner, and after a year in the dungeon, he was ransomed. Strangely, the experience did not seem to change him. Francis started his partying with as much joy and abandon as he had before the battle.  

Even through all of that, Francis wanted glory. Then there was a call for knights for the Fourth Crusade.  Francis thought he had a chance to achieve his dream for glory in battle.  His father gave him a suit of armor and a horse.  However, Francis never got farther than a day’s ride from Assisi.  Francis had a dream in which God told him that he had it all wrong and told him to return home. Francis turned around and went back to Assisi.  Francis, who wanted nothing more than to be liked, found himself humiliated, laughed at, and called a coward.

Francis’ conversion did not happen overnight. God had waited for him for 25; now Francis waited. He spent time in prayer. He went off to a cave and wept for his sins. Sometimes God’s grace overwhelmed him with joy.

Francis who lived a life of privilege, was riding through the countryside, and met up with a leper. Francis was repelled by the leper’s appearance and the smell.  But Francis kissed the hand of the leper. When his kiss of peace was returned, Francis was filled with joy. As he rode off, he turned around for a last wave, and saw that the leper had disappeared. Francis always looked upon this moment as an encounter with God.

 

The rest is well known.  Francis became one of the most well known and beloved saints of the Church.

Let us pray:  Most high, omnipotent, good Lord, grant your people grace gladly to renounce the vanities of this world; that, following the way of blessed Francis, we may for love of you delight in your whole creation with perfect joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Please remember the Pearson and Doyle families today they celebrate the Liturgy of the Resurrection for Bishop Doyle’s father-in-law, Fred Pearson, who died earlier this week.  Fred, who is now in the presence of Almighty God, lived his life as Christ’s faithful servant, raising a wonderful family with his wife, Mary, and serving the Episcopal Church as a faithful lay person.  Let us pray: O God, who by the glorious resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ destroyed death, and brought life and immortality to light: Grant that your servant Fred, being raised with him, may know the strength of his presence, and rejoice in his eternal glory; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

This is the last weekend of the 4^th Annual Art Show. If you or your friends have not seen it, please come and invite your friends.

This Saturday, 6 October, Jeff Fisher will be ordained bishop to serve as the Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Texas.

The Adult Christian Education series on the Lord’s Prayer continues this Sunday. Please join the Bains for this wonderful study.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially all of those who are ill, including Patricia.

Your servant in Christ,

 
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

Bishop George Bell, a Courageous Leader

Today the Church honors and remembers George Kennedy Allen Bell, who was born on 4 February 1883 and died on this day in 1958.  Bell was an Anglican theologian, Dean of Canterbury, Bishop of Chichester, member of the House of Lords and a pioneer of the Ecumenical Movement.

Bell was a man of extraordinary vision, giving his support in 1943 to the pioneering notion of a World Council of Religions trying to unify the world's spiritual traditions around a common set of values. Elected the first moderator of the World Council of Church's Central Committee in 1948, Bell also served as a President of the WCC from 1954 until his death. Bell can properly be considered one of the founders of the ecumenical movement.

During World War II, he placed his own career at risk by condemning the saturation bombing of Germany. He was a strong supporter of the anti-Hitler Confessing Church in Germany, and gave asylum to Jewish and other refugees.

Let us pray:  God of peace, you sustained your bishop George Bell with the courage to proclaim your truth and justice in the face of disapproval in his own nation: As he taught that we, along with our enemies, are all children of God, may we stand with Christ in his hour of grieving, that at length we may enter your country where there is no sorrow nor sighing, but fullness of joy in you; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS

This is the last weekend of the 4^th Annual Art Show.  If you or your friends have not seen it, please come and invite your friends.

This Saturday, 6 October, Jeff Fisher will be ordained bishop to serve as the Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Texas.

The Adult Christian Education series on the Lord’s Prayer continues this Sunday.  Please join the Bains for this wonderful study.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially the family of Fred Pearson, Bishop Doyle’s father-in-law, who died this week, and thank you to everyone for your prayers as I recover from knee surgery.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church

Galveston, Texas 77550

Paul, Aquila & Priscilla

One of today’s readings is taken from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and we hear about St. Paul and some of his friends:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. Every Sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them,‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’ Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshipper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.’ He stayed there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. (Acts 18: 1-11).

The passage tells us that Claudius ordered all of the Jewish people to leave Rome. The Roman historian Suetonius wrote that Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome because they were rioting on account of “Chrestus”;he was referring to disputes between Christian and non-Christian Jews in Rome.

Paul probably came to Corinth around the year 50 A.D. where he met Aquila and Priscilla who were tent makers like Paul, and they worked together. It is not clear whether Aquila and Priscilla were already Christians before meeting Paul, or were converted by his preaching. Clearly the pair was dear to Paul, and they were earnest and effective in spreading the Good News of Christ and His saving work. Altogether, Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned six times in the New Testament (Acts 18:2,18,26; Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19), and interestingly, in the odd-numbered mentions, Aquila’s name comes first, while in the even-numbered mentions, Priscilla’s comes first, as if to emphasize that they are being mentioned on equal terms.

Today’s reading also show us how Paul preached the Jews and Gentiles, to all people, about the savings acts of Jesus, who tells Paul not to be afraid, but to preach the Good News boldly.

Let us pray: God of grace and might, we praise you for your servants Paul, Aquila and Priscilla, to whom you gave gifts to make the good news known. Raise up, we pray, in every country, heralds and evangelists of your kingdom, so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

CALENDAR REMIDNERS

The Adult Christian Education Series: Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies on the Lord’s Prayer from the Kerygma Series. We started the study this Sunday, and it was wonderful! Please join Jillian Bain on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and Tammie Taylor on Mondays.

The Fourth Annual St. Augustine Art Show is underway, and is open to the public. We have a record 103 entries!

St. Vincent’s Day Celebration at St. Vincent’s House on 29 September 2012 at 10:00 a.m.

Blessing of the Animals for St. Francis Day, Saturday, 13 October 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cross on the lawn in front of Sutton Hall.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, and especially Fred Pearson and his family and for our newly baptized, Brycen L. Woods.

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+

St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

From Tax Collector to Preacher of the Gospel

On this Friday, the first day of fall, the Church honors and remembers St. Matthew the Evangelist. Here is the story of his call:

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax-collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax-collectors and sinners?’ But when he heard this, he said, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’ (Mt. 9: 9-13).

 
And so Matthew’s life with Jesus started. He went from being a despised tax collector to someone who proclaimed the Good News of Jesus, a message of forgiveness and reconciliation. We hear that same message today as we proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew. Jesus has come to call sinners; that’s you and me.

 

Let us pray: We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, after his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of our Lord to follow him; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMIDNERS

The Adult Christian Education Series: Lord, Teach Us To Pray: Six Studies on the Lord’s Prayer from the Kerygma Series. We started the study this Sunday, and it was wonderful! Please join Jillian Bain on Sundays at 11:00 a.m. and Tammie Taylor on Mondays.

The Fourth Annual St. Augustine Art Show begins this week. The judging will take place during the week, and the show is open to the public starting this Saturday, 22 September, at 6:00 p.m. with a reception. We have a record 103 entries!

St. Vincent’s Day Celebration at St. Vincent’s House on 29 September 2012 at 10:00 a.m.

Blessing of the Animals for St. Francis Day, Saturday, 13 October 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at the Cross on the lawn in front of Sutton Hall.

Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, and especially the family of Anne Ladner who died this week and whose funeral will be on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Grace Episcopal in Houston.

Your servant in Christ,

 
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550