Blackfriars Oxford Mass (21.04.26) | Tuesday, Memorial of St. Anselm of Canterbury

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[00:04:31]In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[00:04:35]The Lord be with you.

[00:04:38]Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

[00:04:46]I confess.

[00:05:17]May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life.

[00:05:59]Let us pray.

[00:06:02]Oh God, who led the Bishop St. Anselm to seek out and teach the depths of your wisdom.

[00:06:09]Grant we pray that our faith in you may so aid our understanding that what we believe by your command may give delight to our hearts.

[00:06:18]Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.

[00:06:37]A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

[00:06:41]In those days, Stephen said to the people and the elders and the scribes, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.

[00:06:55]As your fathers did, so did you.

[00:06:58]Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?

[00:07:02]And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you now have betrayed and murdered.

[00:07:11]You have received the law as delivered by angels and you did not keep it."

[00:07:17]Now, when they heard these things, they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

[00:07:23]But he But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

[00:07:32]And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

[00:07:40]But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

[00:07:46]Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.

[00:07:50]And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

[00:07:56]And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

[00:08:02]And falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

[00:08:09]And when he said this, he fell asleep.

[00:08:12]And Saul approved of his execution.

[00:08:16]The word of the Lord.

[00:08:37]Into your hands, oh Lord, I commend my spirit.

[00:08:44]Into your hands, [singing] oh Lord, I commend my spirit.

[00:08:52]Be a rock of refuge for me, a mighty stronghold to save me.

[00:08:59]For you are my rock, my stronghold.

[00:09:02]Lead me, guide me for the sake of your name.

[00:09:08]Into your [singing] hands, oh Lord, I commend my spirit.

[00:09:16]Into your hands, I commend my spirit.

[00:09:20]You will redeem me, oh Lord, oh faithful God.

[00:09:24]As for me, I trust in the Lord. Let me be glad and rejoice in your mercy.

[00:09:34]Into your hands, oh Lord, I commend my spirit.

[00:09:42]Let your face shine on your servant.

[00:09:46]Save me in your merciful [singing] love.

[00:09:49]You hide them in the shelter of your presence.

[00:09:53]Secure them from human scheming.

[00:09:58]Into your hands, >> [singing] >> hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.

[00:10:10]Hallelujah.

[00:10:13]Hallelujah.

[00:10:15]>> [singing] >> Hallelujah.

[00:10:21]I am the bread of life, says the Lord.

[00:10:25]Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.

[00:10:30]Hallelujah.

[00:10:35]>> [chanting] >> Hallelujah.

[00:10:41]Hallelujah.

[00:10:44]The Lord be with you. And with your spirit.

[00:10:47]A reading from the holy gospel according to John. Glory to you, Lord.

[00:10:54]At that time, the crowd said to Jesus, "Then what sign do you do that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform?

[00:11:05]Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat."

[00:11:12]Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father gives you the true bread from heaven.

[00:11:24]For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

[00:11:31]They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

[00:11:36]Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life.

[00:11:40]Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."

[00:11:47]The gospel of the Lord.

[00:11:49]Praise to you, Lord Jesus.

[00:11:59]Dominicans are a tough congregation to preach to.

[00:12:04]It's not that we're stubborn or hypercritical.

[00:12:07]Well, it's not just that.

[00:12:10]It's just that preaching is our craft.

[00:12:13]And it's hard to see someone performing your craft without a critical eye, looking under the hood and over their shoulder to judge their work.

[00:12:23]I imagine painters and sculptors have a similar problem. You know, the guild has high standards.

[00:12:30]It's hard not to evaluate.

[00:12:33]Not how I would have preached it.

[00:12:35]You know, what is his point?

[00:12:37]A little too meta to start.

[00:12:41]As bad as we can be, I think we can agree that St. Stephen's congregation was worse.

[00:12:48]Yesterday we heard that he was dragged before a council of accusers.

[00:12:53]False witnesses were brought out against him. They leveled accusations of blasphemies against the temple.

[00:13:00]And then, gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

[00:13:07]Strange response.

[00:13:10]Today the angel opens his mouth to preach.

[00:13:14]The messenger of God delivers his message.

[00:13:18]It turns out that Stephen is not one of those baby-faced cherubs.

[00:13:23]He's one of those Ezekiel angels.

[00:13:26]The kind with the terrifying eyes all over itself.

[00:13:32]Stephen sees into their souls >> [snorts] >> and begins to preach.

[00:13:39]He doesn't begin with a joke.

[00:13:41]His sermon starts calm and cherubic enough, kind of boring actually, so boring that it's skipped in the lectionary.

[00:13:50]Stephen begins by narrating salvation history from Abraham to Solomon. Then right before we pick up today in the in the lectionary, he says, "It was Solomon who built a house for him, yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands, as the prophet says, 'Heaven is my throne and earth my footstool.

[00:14:14]What house will you build for me?' says the Lord, 'or what is the place of my rest?'"

[00:14:20]And this is where our reading picks up.

[00:14:22]Angel face lets them have it.

[00:14:25]"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit.

[00:14:33]As your fathers did, so do you.

[00:14:36]Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the righteous one, whom you have now betrayed and murdered."

[00:14:47]So, I'm not sure how the guild feels about that preaching strategy. You lull them in by retelling God's marvelous deeds, then accuse the congregation, ratchet up the accusation, and then when things are really getting fired up, you look up to heaven and announce that you see the glory of God.

[00:15:05]Keeps people awake.

[00:15:09]Of course, Stephen accuses out of love.

[00:15:12]His congregation refuses to accept that God wants to dwell in them more than in a temple of stone.

[00:15:23]He calls them out to call them higher.

[00:15:27]The only way up is to face the many-eyed angel, to be judged by the message, to be convicted to repent and be saved.

[00:15:43]Well, the guild wants to know, did it work?

[00:15:46]Well, Stephen's sermon didn't lead to altar calls. His congregation did not repent immediately, and we shouldn't gloss over the fact that he was stoned to death at the end of his sermon.

[00:15:58]But notice that it did find its way into scripture.

[00:16:04]Someone in the congregation remembered it.

[00:16:07]It planted a seed deep in at least one man's soul.

[00:16:13]At the time, this man consented to Stephen's death to defend the honor of a temple of stones.

[00:16:22]But he remembered Stephen's sermon.

[00:16:25]And would become the great apostle to the Gentiles, the great preacher of the temple of living stones.

[00:16:36]So, Stephen's sermon challenges us in two ways.

[00:16:41]One as preachers of the gospel, the other is as hearers of it.

[00:16:47]The first, as preachers, is to be angel-faced.

[00:16:53]Not baby-faced, but angel-faced.

[00:16:59]With all the scary eyes and wings and such.

[00:17:04]Which is above all to see our neighbor, to pierce the heart, to see any doubt, any obstacle to the spirit, and to bring the full weight of the gospel down upon it, so that the Holy Spirit might rush into his temple and make great apostles.

[00:17:26]The second challenge is to face the angel, to expect the angel to come, and to not look away from its terrifying visage, even when we are tempted to stop our ears and grind our teeth and say, "Who does he think he is, >> [snorts] >> seeing glory I can't see?"

[00:17:50]We must trust that our our brothers do see a glory that we cannot see, and do see obstacles to the spirit which we refuse to acknowledge.

[00:18:01]To be open and grateful to the challenge. Not just open, grateful, expecting it.

[00:18:07]Expecting that the messenger of God will come to us, not to smile and giggle and make baby faces.

[00:18:17]We're called to repentance, not because you're held in contempt, but because you are revered.

[00:18:25]The angel comes not to destroy, but to throw open the gates.

[00:18:31]The Lord comes even through our brothers to make you his holy temple.

[00:18:38]And now at the altar, he comes to dwell in you, his temple, yet again.

[00:21:06]>> Pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the almighty Father.

[00:21:22]May the sacrifice which we gladly present on the feast day of blessed Anselm be pleasing to you, O God. For taught by him, we too give ourselves entirely to you in praise through Christ our Lord.

[00:21:41]The Lord be with you.

[00:21:43]Lift up your hearts.

[00:21:46]Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

[00:21:51]It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.

[00:22:01]For as on the festival of Saint Anselm, you bid your church rejoice, so too you strengthen her by the example of his holy life, teach her by his words of preaching, and keep her safe and answer to his prayers.

[00:22:14]And so, with the company of angels and saints, we sing the hymn of your praise, as without end we acclaim.

[00:22:26]>> [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] [singing] [chanting] [singing] [chanting] >> You are indeed holy, O Lord, and all you have created rightly gives you praise.

[00:23:12]For through your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by the power and working of the Holy Spirit, you give life to all things and make them holy. And you never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting, a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name.

[00:23:29]Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you, by the same spirit, graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the body and blood of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.

[00:23:46]For on the night he was betrayed, he himself took bread, and giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take this, all of you, and eat of it.

[00:24:01]For this is my body, which will be given up for you."

[00:24:19]In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice, and giving you thanks, he said the blessing, and gave the chalice to his disciples, saying, "Take this, all of you, and drink from it.

[00:24:34]For this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.

[00:24:46]Do this in memory of me."

[00:25:04]The mystery of faith.

[00:25:08]>> [singing] >> Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the saving passion of your son, his wondrous resurrection and ascension into heaven, and as we look forward to his second coming, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.

[00:25:38]Look, we pray, upon the oblation of your church, and recognizing the sacrificial victim by whose death you will to reconcile us to yourself, grant that we who are nourished by the body and blood of your son, and filled with his Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ.

[00:25:57]May he make of us an eternal offering to you, so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect, especially with the most blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, with blessed Joseph, her spouse, with your blessed apostles and glorious martyrs, with Saint Anselm, our holy Father Saint Dominic, and with all the saints, on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help.

[00:26:25]May this sacrifice of our reconciliation, we pray, O Lord, advance the peace and salvation of all the world.

[00:26:32]Be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim church on earth, with your servant Leo, our Pope, Bernard, our Bishop, his assistant bishops, the order of bishops, all the clergy, and the entire people you have gained for your Listen graciously to the prayers of this family whom you have summoned before you.

[00:26:51]In your compassion, O merciful Father, gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world.

[00:26:58]To our departed brothers and sisters, and to all who were pleasing to you at their passing from this life, give kind admittance to your kingdom.

[00:27:05]There we hope to enjoy forever the fullness of your glory through Christ our Lord, through whom you bestow on the world all that is good.

[00:27:17]Through him, and with him, and in him, O God, almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and [singing] honor is yours, forever and ever.

[00:27:41]>> [clears throat] >> At the Savior's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say, >> [singing] [singing] [chanting] >> Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope in the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

[00:29:08]Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you." Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will, who live and reign forever and ever.

[00:29:22]The peace of the Lord be with you always.

[00:29:35]>> [chanting] [chanting] [chanting] >> Behold the Lamb of God.

[00:30:32]Behold him who takes away the sins of the world.

[00:30:36]Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.

[00:31:27]Behold a faithful and prudent steward to give them their allowance of food at the proper time.

[00:36:41]Let us pray.

[00:36:48]Refreshed by heavenly food, we humbly implore you, oh Lord, that attentive to the teaching of blessed Anselm, we may abide at all times in thanksgiving for the gifts we have received through Christ our Lord.

[00:37:02]The Lord be with you.

[00:37:05]May almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

[00:37:09]Go in peace.