Author: thehomelyhours

Candlemas 2021

Published by

Happy Candlemas! Today, we’re sharing a charming new coloring page from Michelle Abernathy Art (and consequently updating this site for the first time since May!). Download the Candlemas proverb coloring page here. What are your plans for today? Besides this coloring page, in my home, we’ll be praying this Candlemas Family Liturgy for evening prayer. I’m planning a candlelit breakfast-for-dinner with the traditional crepes. And, last night, I filled some birthday balloons with water so that we can put out ice luminaries this evening in our front yard. We’ll see how that works out. Here is a link to last year’s quick Candlemas post (which includes links to all of our resources for this feastday.) “Today as we bear in our hands lighted candles, how can we not fail to remember that venerable old man Simeon who on this day held the child Jesus in his arms — the Word who was latent in a body, as light is latent in a wax candle — and declared him to be ‘the light to enlighten the …

A Cross, a Candle, and a Vase of Flowers

Published by

Thanks to Layne Hilyer for this contribution to our previously paused, but now perhaps ongoing Meaningful Homes Series. If you happen to be inspired by this series (now that we’re all staying at home a bit more), consider writing a guest post and emailing thehomelyhours@gmail.com. I have a confession: virtual church services have left me with a hard heart. The calcification began the first week of the stay-at-home order as my wife and I prepared for worship by propping up a cellphone facing the couch like a little television. On screen was the inside of our parish from an angle I had not seen—I would never sit so close to the front—and there was our priest whose voice I heard microphoned for the first time ever as the acoustics in the small sanctuary make audio equipment unnecessary. These changes among others made me so uncomfortable and frustrated that I considered just waiting for the stay-at-home order to pass before “going” to church again. It seems to me that what is so unsatisfying about church via …

Holy Week at Home: A Pandemic Guide

Published by

Thank you to Jay and Emelie Thomas for putting together this guide to Holy Week at Home. We are grateful to be able to share something tailored specifically for this year, in addition to the resources we already have. Jay and Emelie are young parents who are constantly learning how to “raise up their children in the way they should go” through the historic rhythms and practices of the Church. They both hold degrees in English Literature from the U.S. Naval Academy. Jay is a Postulant in the Special Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy (ACNA), and both Emelie and Jay are resident in the Anglican Diocese of Christ our Hope.  The COVID-19 Pandemic has brought with it an uncannily sheltered and isolated Lenten season. Many have commented that it is perhaps appropriate that we have endured this societal fast during a season of fasting. Although we do not intend to say the same, we will say that as we prepare for Holy Week, the Triduum, and Eastertide – as much as this season …

Holy Week in the Domestic Church

Published by

I can hardly believe that Palm Sunday is in a few days. This is going to be a very brief post sharing what we have available here on this site to help us celebrate Holy Week at home this year. Family Prayer for Holy Week and Easter Last year, I put together a this family prayer booklet  to help families go through the collects and events of Holy Week. It’s essentially family prayer from the 1928 Prayer Book. The suggested readings follow the events of each day of Holy Week. I’m also going to print out the images above. I formatted an image a day with the collect for the day and we will look at the painting during our family prayer time. I’ll then display it on our “little oratory” throughout the day. Here is the Holy Week Family Prayer Booklet (and here it is as a PDF with pages arranged as booklet) Here are the Holy Week images with collects. (Please email me at thehomelyhours@gmail.com if you would like any of these files in another format …

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Published by

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, friends! I’m making this quick post so that our Saint Patrick’s Day posts are easy to find on our homepage. Here is a free coloring page of Saint Patrick from Michelle Abernathy: Download the Saint Patrick coloring page here. In addition to Irish folk songs, make sure you sing the Breastplate of Saint Patrick today. 1 I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity by invocation of the same, the Three in One and One in Three. 2 I bind this day to me forever, by power of faith, Christ’s incarnation, his baptism in the Jordan river, his death on cross for my salvation, his bursting from the spiced tomb, his riding up the heavenly way, his coming at the day of doom, I bind unto myself today. 3 I bind unto myself today the virtues of the starlit heaven, the glorious sun’s life-giving ray, the whiteness of the moon at even, the flashing of the lightning free, the whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks, the stable earth, the deep …

More Resources: Prayers in Time of Infectious Disease

Published by

Fr. Matthew Brench over at St. Aelfric’s Customary has put together a wonderful resource for prayer. It’s just the sort of thing that I’ve been looking for. It’s an order of prayer, not to replace Morning and Evening Prayer or the Great Litany, but something extra for us to use in our homes in this time. You can find it here: Prayers in Time of Infectious Disease. “Five groups of prayers (most of which are collects, but let’s not get hung up on nit-picks) are appointed: Preparatory Prayers = more generic prayers to set the tone and capture the spirit of the times For those who are vulnerable, at risk, or sick = specific petitions for various demographics and groups, ultimately praying for the suffering and the needy For those who are responsible for others = specific petitions for those who care for the sick, for the infrastructure and leadership, and even the media, all of whom play they parts for good or for ill during a crisis For peace of mind = these prayers …

A Quick Post for Candlemas

Published by

Tomorrow, February 2nd, is Candlemas! At right is the painting I’m printing out for picture study– Simeon and Anna at the Temple by Rembrandt (1627).  We’ll see if it works out as well this time to print it through Walgreens (In this post, I explain my goal to print out more great art for feast days). This year, I’m rolling some beeswax candles to take to our blessing at church tomorrow morning. We’ve used the Toadily Handmade Advent candle kit for the past two years. Last year (2018), I let my kids help me make them and the candles melted very very fast. But, this past year (2019), I was amazed how long the candles lasted when I tightly rolled them, so I decided to buy the kit with the natural beeswax color. Today, I will let my kids each make their own token candle– that I will expect to swiftly melt — and I’ll keep the rest to roll on my own at a good time.These will be the candles that we use throughout the year …

The Conversion of Saint Paul

Published by

On this day we celebrate the conversion of Saint Paul, formerly Saul of Tarsus. He had been a persecutor of Christians (present at martyrdom of the Deacon Stephen) and was confronted by Christ Himself on the road to Damascus. This feast has been celebrated since the sixth century. For the feast, the epistle lesson is Acts 9:1-22 and the Gospel is St. Matthew 19:27-30. Here is the collect: “O God, who, through the preaching of the blessed Apostle Saint Paul, hast caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world; Grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same, by following the holy doctrine which he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” John Chrysostom reflected on Saint Paul: “Paul, more than anyone else, shows us what humanity really is, in what our nobility consists, and of what virtue this particular animal is capable. . . The most important thing of all to Paul, however, was that he knew himself …

Celebrating Epiphany

Published by

Collect for Epiphany O God, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles; Mercifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.  What is the feast of the Epiphany? The Feast of the Epiphany is the culmination after the Twelve Days of Christmas. On this day, we remember several events that “manifest” the glories of Christ’s divinity through his humanity: (1) the coming of the magi to worship Jesus, (2) Christ’s baptism in the Jordan River, and (3) the first miracle when Jesus turns water to wine at the wedding in Cana. This article, an excerpt from Elsa Chaney’s book The Twelve Days of Christmas (1955), is a beautiful explanation of why Epiphany is so important. She states: Unless we realize the significance of this great day, we see only one side of the mystery of the Incarnation. Now after contemplating the staggering fact that God has become a …

Family Prayer in the New Year

Published by

Happy New Year! As 2020 begins, perhaps you are resolved to build the habit of morning and evening family prayer in your home. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by options and resources. But, whether you are Anglican or not, if you appreciate the Book of Common Prayer, you can find a simple place to start. The Shortest Form of Morning and Evening Prayer Here is a printable for the most basic form of a family prayer in the 1928 Prayer Book. It contains the Lord’s Prayer, a prayer for morning/evening, and a benediction. (If you own a 1928 Prayer Book, you can find the section on “forms of Prayer to be used in Families” at the very end, after the catechism and before the Articles of Religion). When you click on the printable, you’re probably going to think, “Really, that’s all?” It is indeed very short. But, as the great Anglican Jeremy Taylor said, “I’d rather your prayers be often than long.” Even though it’s short, you’re still praying the “Lord’s Prayer” at least twice …