• The Crucifix Prayer

    Blessed are you, Lord God,
    Father all-holy,
    for your boundless love
    The tree, once the source of shame
    and death for humankind,
    has become the cross
    of our redemption and life.

    When his hour had come to
    return to you in glory,
    the Lord Jesus,
    Our King, our Priest, and our Teacher,
    freely mounted the scaffold of the cross
    and made it his royal throne,
    his altar of sacrifice, his pulpit of truth.

    On the cross,
    lifted above the earth,
    he triumphed over our age-old enemy.
    Cloaked in his own blood,
    he drew all things to himself.

    On the cross,
    he opened out his arms
    and offered you his life;
    the sacrifice of the New Law
    that gives to the sacraments
    their saving power.

    On the cross,
    he proved what he had prophesied:
    the grain of wheat must die
    to bring forth an abundant harvest.

    Father,
    we honour this cross as the sign
    of our redemption.
    May we reap the harvest of salvation
    planted in pain by Christ Jesus.
    May our sins be nailed to his cross,
    the power of life released,
    pride conquered,
    and weakness turned to strength.

    May the cross be our comfort in trouble,
    our refuge in the face of danger,
    our safeguard on life’s journey
    until you welcome us to
    our heavenly home.

    Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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  • The Prayer of St. Ephrem

    {Making a prostration}

    O LORD, Master of my life,
    grant that I may not be infected with the
    spirit of slothfulness and inquisitiveness,
    with the spirit of ambition and vain talking.

    {Making a prostration}

    Grant instead to me, your servant,
    the spirit of purity and of humility,
    the spirit of patience and neighborly love.

    {Making a third prostration}

    O Lord and King,
    grant me the grace of being aware of my sins
    and of not thinking evil of those of my brethren.
    For you are blessed, now and ever, and forever.

    Amen.

    Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings,
    You have power over life and death.
    You know what is secret and hidden,
    and neither our thoughts nor our feelings
    are concealed from You.
    Cure me of duplicity;
    I have done evil before You.
    Now my life declines from day to day
    and my sins increase.
    O Lord, God of souls and bodies,
    You know the extreme frailty of my soul and my flesh.
    Grant me strength in my weakness, O Lord,
    and sustain me in my misery.
    Give me a grateful soul that I may
    never cease to recall Your benefits,
    O Lord most bountiful.
    Be not mindful of my many sins,
    but forgive me all my misdeeds.
    O Lord, disdain not my prayer –
    the prayer of a wretched sinner;
    sustain me with Your grace until the end,
    that it may protect me as in the past.
    It is Your grace which has taught me wisdom;
    blessed are they who follow her ways,
    for they shall receive the crown of glory.
    In spite of my unworthiness,
    I praise You and I glorify You,
    O Lord, for Your mercy to me is without limit.
    You have been my help and my protection.
    May the name of Your majesty be praised forever.
    To you, our God, be glory.
    Amen.

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  • PWJ: S4E103 – Bonus – “Season Finale” (Part 2)

    David, Andrew, and Matt wrap up Season 4 with the Season Finale. This is Part 2 of that Finale. Listener Survey: https://forms.gle/X4zq7Uk69KmYo1v3A

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  • PWJ: S4E102 – Bonus – “Season Finale” (Part 1)

    David, Andrew, and Matt wrap up Season 4 with the Season Finale. This is Part 1…

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  • PWJ: S4E101 – Bonus – “Jack vs Tollers”

    After the previously-planned interview fell through at the last minute, David sat down to record a solo episode to talk about his newborn son, Sidecar Day, blue flowers in Narnia, and also to make his tongue-in-cheek case as to why C.S. Lewis is better than J.R.R. Tolkien.

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  • PWJ: S4E100 – AH – “After Hours” with The Gray Havens

    The Gray Havens are an American Christian folk pop husband and wife duo, David and Licia Radford, from Crystal Lake, Illinois. On October 8th they will be releasing their new album, Blue Flower, so David Radford came on the show to talk to Andrew and David about how C.S. Lewis inspired their recent work.

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  • PWJ: S4E99 – AH – “After Hours” with Mike “Gomer” Gormley

    As we approach the end of Season 4, David is joined on the show by Michael “Gomer” Gormley. Among other things, they discuss Ted Lasso, tea, and the Atonement. Also, find out what Gomer would do if he ever became the Pope!

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  • PWJ: S4E98 – AH – “After Hours” with Patti Callahan

    New York Times bestselling author, Patti Callahan, returns to the show to talk about her forthcoming book, “Once Upon A Wardrobe”, which will be released on October 19th.

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  • PWJ: S4E97 – AH – “After Hours” with The Tolkien Road

    A few months ago, John and Greta from The Tolkien Road podcast did a series of episodes on religion in Tolkien’s Legendarium. David invited him onto the show to talk about those episodes and to encourage the Pints With Jack listeners to listen to them.

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  • PWJ: S4E96 – AH – “After Hours” with Rod Bennett

    Author Rod Bennett joined David to talk about a presentation on he gave at a big Christian rock festival about C.S. Lewis’ relationship to “Pulp Fiction”.

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Advice from an insomniac

As some of you know, I occasionally have a real issue with insomnia.

It first became a real problem in my final year of University.  However, it was shortly after leaving University that it really started to become a regular (frustrating) feature in my life.

The cause of the insomnia eventually became clear – stress.  When I can’t sleep, it’s because I’m worrying about something. Even at times when I’m not conscious that I’m worrying, my body refuses to let me sleep.  My body clearly knows me better than my own conscious mind!  My body decides it wants to help me and that the best way to do that is to deprive me of sleep until 3am each night, thereby giving me ample opportunity to reflect on the possible sources of this stress in my life!

But anyway, this isn’t really a post about insomnia.  A few of my friends have recently indicated from their Facebook statuses that they’ve been sleeping poorly.  An adult needs about 7-8 hours of sleep every night so here are some helpful strategies I’ve used over the past ten years to get good night sleep…

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Peace, but not as the world gives…

I didn’t want to let another week pass without commenting on a blog entry entitled The Sign of Peace – theory and practice by my favourite Australian monk over at Dominus Mihi Adjutor.

He opens the blog entry describing some of the awkwardness that routinely arises at the“Sign of Peace” in a typical parish.

For those unfamiliar with this moment of the Mass, it is when members of the congregation are encouraged to give “a sign of peace” to one another, usually in the form of a handshake, or sometimes a kiss or hug for family members or close friends.  This takes place shortly before receiving communion, with the priest saying:

Priest: Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: “I leave you peace, my peace I give you”.  Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

Priest: The Peace of the Lord be with you always.

All: And also with you.

Deacon or Priest: Let us offer each other a sign of peace…

[Sign of Peace]

All: Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us…

As Fr. Hugh mentions, the Sign of Peace is actually an optional part of the Mass and I quite often go to a Mass here in San Diego where the priest omits it entirely which some people love and others hate. The Byzantine Rite parish I visit whenever I can has no general Sign of Peace.

Fr. Hugh traces the development of the Sign of Peace from New Testament times through the early centuries and into the modern Church.  He argues that the Sign of Peace which takes place in most parishes today doesn’t really fulfill its intended liturgical purpose and is often more of a disturbance than anything else.

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Carried to the Table

Today I’d like to share a few thoughts about one of the lesser-known stories about my Biblical namesake, arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history, David.

Hail to the King, baby!

In the eighth chapter of Second Samuel, we are told of David’s great military victories and the tribute brought to him by other kings. David had clearly “made it”: his Kingship was secure, Israel was safe and the Ark of the Covenant had been brought back to Jerusalem where it belonged.

Personally, I would have expected that it would be time for David to put up his feet and enjoy some of the benefits that came from being king. However, what follows in 2 Samuel 9 is something rather different:

“David asked, ‘Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’  …Is there no one still left…to whom I can show God’s kindness?” – 2 Samuel 9:1, 3

What a reaction! Rather than simply indulging himself, David looks to use his wealth and power to bless others!

Background: Biblical Homeboy

To understand the meaning behind David’s question, we must look a little further back in events recorded in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. The “Jonathan” David referred to above, was son of the “Saul” he mentions, the same Saul who was the former king of Israel (1 Samuel 10:24). Because of Saul’s disobedience, God rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:23), choosing the shepherd boy, David, to be his successor (1 Samuel 16:13).  Despite Saul’s jealousy (1 Samuel 18), Jonathan and David were extremely close friends, even from their first meeting:

“Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself… And Jonathan made a covenant with David… Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt” – 1 Samuel 18:1-4

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New Year Resolutions

Well, it’s a new year, which means it’s time for New Year Resolutions.  Here are those available for public consumption:

1. Spend 30 minutes every day in Scripture: Commentaries and spiritual reading don’t count

2. More dancing: 2010 was an utter failure on that front

3. No more rushing: Stop trying to pack too much into a day

4. No chocolate: This is going to be a toughie… (Note: doesn’t include hot chocolate!) This exception has been viewed as “cheating” by most of my friends and has therefore been dropped.

5. Get into the best shape of my life: I’m in my 30’s now ya know…

6. At least five minutes of guitar practice every day: Gotta get better…

7. Keep proper track of my finances: Even if it is really, really boring…

8. Get back to England for a couple of weeks: It’s about time…


Sunday Lectionary: Home by another way…

For western Christians, today is the “Feast of The Epiphany” where we commemorate the visitation of the Magi:

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him…

… On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route– Matthew 2:1-12

Since the earliest times the appearance of the Magi has been interpreted by Christians as speaking of the universal nature of the God’s Kingdom and a foreshadowing of the incorporation of the gentiles into the promises of Israel.

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