St. Gabriel and All Angels

Every Sunday morning we get out of bed, get prepared to come to church and arriving we come through the church doors and choose a seat. Individually, we do all of these things and also hopefully get a moment of prayer , some meditation time and maybe even a chance to read todays Epistle and Gospel before we begin our Holy Eucharist.

As we begin each Eucharist we are encircled by the opening procession, sensing us as ONE, gently connecting us all together. From outside the church our singing voices can be heard, but not as individual voices, rather as one voice singing together. The sign of the cross during the opening invocation now unites us together with the holy Trinity; Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. The celebrating Priest then blesses with holy water the alter, the church space we worship in and all there in. The celebrant then calls on the Angel of the Eucharist to come and help us in building together the spiritual temple. Next we sing the Canticle followed by repeating the Confiteor, In the Confiteor we acknowledge the truth of our being created to be immortal, made to be an image of God's own eternity and the wish of our creator to have us know this fully.

IF FOR SOME REASON YOU ARE RUNNING LATE, AND GET TO CHURCH AFTER WE HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED THE CONFITEOR—TAKE A MINUTE WHEN YOU SIT DOWN TO READ THE CONFITEOR TO YOURSELF. YOU WILL FIND THAT THIS WILL IMMEDIATELY CATCH YOU UP TO WHERE WE ARE, BEING FULLY PREPARED TO RECEIVE THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST IN THE EUCHARIST AND HOLY COMMUNION.

We now are not only engaged in individual worship but more importantly TOGETHER in Liturgical Worship, following our prescribed church Liturgy for the Holy Eucharist.

Mathew, chapter 18:Verse 20, says “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”. As we worship together, we temporarily surrender our individual small self for the greater activity of our liturgical worship. We come together singing hymns that we did not individually select. We do the same with the words that we follow in our church missal, we sit together, kneel together, stand together without debate.
Our personal beliefs, we still have, and we honor them, for they are what have brought us here together.

“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another and be at peace among yourselves. We exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men” says St. Paul to the Thessalonian's .

Being connected as one body, joined in heart and mind in our Liturgical Worship, we become more open to receiving Christ. This growing fullness that we see every Sunday on everyones faces, leads to living the way St. Paul advised, as a result, and not a directive.

St. Mark said,”for he that hath, to him shall be given and for he that hath not,from him shall be taken even that which he hath”.

St. Mark is clearly speaking to us about the spiritual journey we all travel, as do all of the scriptures. As Christ is born and grows in us, more graces are given to us on many levels, some we are not even aware of. We still have times, I KNOW I DO, when I get overwhelmed, scared,or feel alone. In those moments I can relate to Mark in feeling like what I have, is being taken away from me.

Liturgical Worship is not separate from life, but rather it is essential to life. Our gains in life are rewards for living a life of Liturgical Worship. When we experience and understand this, more and more, we give honor to our own personal path and everyone else's. Seeking to understand, we forget some of our small self, opening our ears to the hearts and minds of others. Lending one of our hands, some of our time and or resources we again forget some of our small self for someone else. Participating in the Holy Eucharist, building the spiritual temple, we bless not only ourselves but the world around us.

Our Sunday Eucharist, the practice of our Liturgical Worship, cultures, through a very innocent self-forgetfulness, our connection with the unity of the Holy Trinity, with everything that lives, as do all of the Sacraments. We grow in this experience together, sensing, seeing, feeling the very breath of life moving. Advent the beginning of our Liturgical church calender year, is a time when we prepare, we fine tune, we start a new as we continue on our spiritual path, remembering that our path is also one with everyone else's.

O GOD, CREATOR AND PRESERVER OF MANKIND, WE THANK THEE FOR THY NEVER-FAILING LOVE AND DO MOST EARNESTLY DESIRE AND RESOLVE TO SHOW FORTH THY PRAISE NOT ONLY WITH OUR LIPS, BUT IN OUR LIVES, BY GIVING UP OURSELVES TO THY SERVICE AND BY WALKING BEFORE THEE IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS ALL OUR DAYS; THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.

Deacon Steven Arndt