• 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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Abortion in case of rape

A while back, my Facebook shared an amazing, gentle, yet knock-out response to an awful and awfully biased article from CBS which I thought was worth sharing…

CBS News is currently using a heart-breaking situation involving an 11 year old girl to advocate for abortion, and against a new Ohio heartbeat law that would prohibit most all abortions.

Rape is such a horrible crime, and if the man currently charged is found guilty of committing it against this girl, then he should be prosecuted and sentenced to the full extent of the law. Any woman or girl who has suffered such a terrible violation needs and deserves our compassion and help, not accusations of “delinquency” — as the story alleges.

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Want to Help the Elderly?

Last week I received an email from Beverly from StandupForCaregivers.org asking if I would share some information about helping the elderly, particularly during this time. Here’s what she sent me…

Image from Unsplash

Want to Help the Elderly? How the Church Can Learn About Their Daily Challenges and Take Action

The church has a long history of helping the elderly. As times change, however, we must stay on our toes and always be willing to learn new ways to help the seniors in our communities. This is especially true for the elderly who do not have relatives or friends nearby to help them navigate the challenges of daily life. The first step we should take is to learn about some of the difficulties they face. Then, we need to take that knowledge and actively engage in the caregiving village.

If you’re part of a local church, these resources might prove useful to you as you set out to help improve the lives of seniors in your area:

Common Challenges

Many seniors face a variety of physical, mental, and emotional challenges on a daily basis.

Connecting with the Church

Whether or not a senior is a Christian, you can offer to connect them with a local church community or another type of organization that holds social events and meetings.

Helping Them Around the House

One practical way to help seniors in your community is to ask them if there is anything you can do to help make their home safer, more comfortable, and more accessible.

Even the smallest of gestures can mean the world to a senior who needs assistance. Continue to learn about the challenges that many elderly people encounter each day, and use your knowledge to help the seniors in your community who need it most.

PWJ: S3E19 – Bonus – “Cupid & Psyche: The Myth Told”

This Season we’ve been reading Till We Have Faces, which is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche Myth. However, what was the original myth like? In this episode, I read a version of the original story…

S3E19: “Cupid & Psyche: The Myth Told” (Download)

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunesGoogle Play, Podbean, Stitcher, TuneIn and Overcast), as well as on YouTube.

If you’d like to support us and get fantastic gifts, please join us on Patreon.

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PWJ: S3E18 – AA – Andrew Lazo

Since we’ve now finished Part I of Till We Have Faces, Andrew Lazo came back on the show to walk us through what we’ve just read, and to prepare us to read the final part of the book.

S3E18: “After Hours” with Andrew Lazo (Download)

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe manually, or any place where good podcasts can be found (iTunesGoogle Play, Podbean, Stitcher, TuneIn and Overcast), as well as on YouTube.

If you’d like to support us and get fantastic gifts, please join us on Patreon.

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Music Monday: Drawn To You

All my devotion is like sinking sand
I’ve nothing to cling to but your sweet hand
No clear emotions keeping me safe at night;
Only your presence, like a candle light.

After everything I’ve had
After everything I’ve lost
Lord, I know this much is true
I’m still drawn to you.

I pour out my sorrows like a precious oil
I kiss your feet, Lord, with a holy joy
My tears an offering of my highest praise;
Your eyes say ‘welcome.’ I receive Your gaze.

After everything’s been said
After everything love costs
Lord, I know this much is true
I’m still drawn to you

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