SHOWING THE WAY TO HEAVEN<\/p>\n
Matthew 5:8 \u201cBlessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God\u201d.
\nSeeing God is what the saints in Heaven do. Today we honor them as we keep our Patronal Festival.
\n3 weeks ago I was in London and I went to Westminster Abbey. Going to a Service in Westminster Abbey
\nmust be the ultimate for Episcopalians. The ultimate in Anglican worship in that magnificent church
\nwhich has associations with the Church of England and the British royal family.
\nBut this was not just any visit…….it was their Patronal Festival. Friday Oct 13 was the Feast of St Edward
\nthe Confessor and I attended Solemn Mass there that evening. The offertory hymn was \u201cHark the sound
\nof holy voices\u201d, which is our offertory hymn today. This hymn was written by Christopher Wordsworth,
\nwho was a canon of Westminster Abbey 1844-69.
\nNext day I returned to the Abbey for Evensong. The anthem sung at that Service was Psalm 47
\ncomposed by Orlando Gibbons. Gibbons was organist of Westminster Abbey 1623-25.
\nHow wonderful it was to be at those Services in Westminster Abbey with a hymn and music composed
\nby two of the staff of the Abbey all those years ago.
\nWestminster Abbey and St Edward the Confessor take us back over 1,000 years to the glory days of the
\nEnglish Church – when the head of state was such a Christian that he was canonized after his death. And
\nit was in the reign of Edward the Confessor that the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham was first set up.
\nLike my experience 3 weeks ago, we celebrate our Patronal Festival here today. Unlike most churches,
\nwe do not have one patron saint – but the whole company of heaven. All those men and women, and
\nchildren, in every age whom the church declares to be saints. It is sobering to realize that there were
\nmore Christian martyrs in the 20th century than in any other.
\nHaving all the saints as our patron is a great advantage, with so many encouraging us and praying for us.
\nHowever it makes the preacher\u2019s task more difficult – for whom can he focus on? So today I would like to
\nfocus on you!
\nHave you thought much about your patron saint? Usually this is the person you were named after, or
\nthe saint whose day you were born on. My baptismal name is Anthony, so I claim 2 patron saints: St
\nAnthony of Padua and St Antony of Egypt.
\nWhen it comes to the day I was born, it was the Sunday after Ascension. It was when the church bell was
\nringing and my grandmother always said I was going to be a priest!
\nAfter I became a priest I had a new patron saint – St John Vianney, the patron saint of priests. Let me tell
\nyou a little about him, for he has relevance for All Saints\u2019. He lived from 1786-1859 in France. He had
\ntrouble getting ordained as he was uneducated. Eventually he was ordained and subsequently sent to
\nbe parish priest of a small village called Ars. It was described as ungodly and the church was in a bad
\nway. But St John Vianney was a wonderful pastor and a holy man. So much so that he was in demand in
\nNovember 5, 2017
\nthe confessional every day and people came from miles around. He would often be in the church in
\nprayer until late at night. In 1858 over 100,000 pilgrims came to see him.
\nIf you go to Ars you will see a statue of St John Vianney. It is rather unusual, in that his arm is pointing to
\nthe heavens. The story goes that as he was making his way to his new parish, he came across a young
\nboy and asked: \u201c Can you show me the way to Ars?\u201d. The boy pointed in the right direction and St John
\nVianney replied: \u201cYou have shown me the way to Ars – I will show you the way to Heaven\u201d, pointing
\nupwards.
\nSurely this is the ultimate vocation of a priest, to show us the way to Heaven.
\nAs we gather here today in a church dedicated to All Saints, the future of our parish is a concern for us
\nall. We might wonder what the future holds. We certainly wonder what sort of priest will be the next
\nRector. Will he not just understand our Anglo-Catholic tradition, but actually love it?
\nSome may question the place of an Anglo-Catholic parish in the Episcopal Church today. Indeed, I have
\nno doubt that others will say that All Saints\u2019 must change.
\nAt this difficult time I think St John Vianney is a special patron saint for you. For surely the purpose of an
\nAnglo-Catholic parish is to point the way to Heaven? To point the way to Heaven through the Eucharist.
\nHere at the altar is the gate of Heaven and our worthy celebration of these mysteries gives us a glimpse.
\nAt the heart of the Eucharist the priest says, \u201cTherefore with angels, and archangels, and with all the
\ncompany of heaven…….\u201d And as we join in saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, they are there with us.
\nThe Mass points us to Heaven. Thus the beautiful and regular celebration of this wonderful Sacrament is
\nat the heart of every Anglo-Catholic parish – as it always has been here. Such parishes are noted for their
\ntradition, music, ritual, ceremonial and beautiful churches. These are all used to point us to Heaven.
\nHowever, any church can have nice music, vestments, processions and incense – but without the truths
\nof the catholic faith, the everlasting gospel of Jesus, those churches are what Jesus referred to as empty
\nsepulchers. Or, as another priest said to me, a country club with hymns!
\nOf course, the heart of an Anglo-Catholic church is not just High Mass on Sunday, but the quiet daily
\noffering of the Eucharist. Once I was walking through Hillcrest and a young man came up to me and said:
\n\u201cyou put on quite a show at All Saints\u2019\u201d! I replied: \u201cYes, it is to show you Jesus\u201d. Then I added, \u201cCome to
\n8 am next time\u201d!
\nJesus said, Blessed are the pure in heart. What is at the heart of every Anglo-Catholic parish is what is at
\nthe heart of the Christian life…..prayer. That is what we are all doing for our beloved All Saints\u2019. How
\nwonderful as we celebrate our Patronal Festival to know that all the saints are praying with us and for
\nus!
\nIn searching for a new Rector you want a priest who prays with the saints.
\n+ Who not only can organize a parish and its worship – but who loves Our Blessed Lord in his heart.
\n+ Who not only can sing and swing a censor – but who loves the catholic tradition.
\n+ Who not only can celebrate Mass reverently – but who loves Jesus in the Eucharist.
\nFor if he doesn\u2019t love Jesus in the Eucharist he will have a hard time loving Jesus in his people.
\nAnd because he loves Jesus in the Eucharist – and in his heart – he will be a man of prayer who will want
\nto offer the Eucharist every day for this parish and its people.
\nWill he be more at the altar than the computer?
\nWill he be on his knees in prayer more than planning the latest new project?
\nNovember 5, 2017
\nYou will want a man who has the heart of a priest – like St John Vianney.
\nBecause, when it\u2019s all said and done, it\u2019s about the heart.
\nDon\u2019t we know that to be true in our own living the Christian life?
\nIn this context let me quote the American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson:
\nWhat lies behind us?
\nAnd what lies before us
\nAre tiny matters
\nCompared to what lies within us.
\nI would like to conclude with a prayer. It is the collect for SS Simon and Jude. I offer it to you as a prayer
\nthat you can say daily for this parish and its future. I have said it every time I receive Holy Communion
\nfor almost 50 years and I now say it with special intention for All Saints\u2019.
\nAlmighty God,
\nWho hast built Thy Church upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being
\nthe chief cornerstone, Grant that we, following their doctrine, May be made an holy temple, acceptable
\nto Thee, through the same Christ our Lord, Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ALL SAINTS\u2019 SUNDAY Father Tony Noble. Rector Emeritus – All Saints\u2019 Episcopal Church, San Diego, CA SHOWING THE WAY TO HEAVEN Matthew 5:8 \u201cBlessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God\u201d. Seeing God is what the saints in Heaven do. Today we honor them as we keep […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-recent-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=877"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":878,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877\/revisions\/878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/frtonynoble.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}