Saint Michael’s Church
Serving God and Bishop’s Stortford since 673
Clergy Letter For November 2007
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CLERGY LETTER FOR NOVEMBER 2007 |
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The Revd Darryl Jordan writes....
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Praying with the Saints Shortly after my Confirmation and formally becoming Anglican, I attended a two-year teaching series called The Shepherd's School of Spirituality. The Rector of my 'charismatic Anglo-Catholic' parish, Dick Copeland, developed and taught the course. The course involved learning different prayer styles and techniques. Father Dick explained that we would find most helpful a way of praying that matched our temperament and personality type. It was all rather sophisticated, for we learnt not only the practical 'how to' but also the history and theory of those prayer techniques. There was something for everyone, whether 'thinking' (that would be me), 'feeling', or 'doing' types. We read the great masters of Christian spirituality, saints like Augustine of Hippo, Francis of Assisi, Thomas Aquinas, and Ignatius of Loyola. It was easy to see why they'd been canonised, or declared saints by the Church. They were holy geniuses who still inspire us, through their writings and witness. For that's why we honour the saints: imitating them draws us closer to God. After all, Saint Paul the Apostle wasn't afraid to tell the Corinthians, 'Be imitators of me' (1 Corinthians 4.14). I found that people of my temperament ('intuitive thinking') get on especially well imitating Saint Thomas Aquinas. In The Shepherd's School of Spirituality we learned the Jesus Prayer, popular especially with Eastern Orthodox Christians. It goes, 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.' You start by using a string of one hundred beads and repeating the prayer until it becomes automatic, 'praying without ceasing,' rather like a tune you can't get out of your head. We also learned to do the Holy Rosary, especially popular amongst Roman Catholics. It's a series of meditations on the life of Christ and Mary, also using a set of beads and set prayers to allow the mind to focus on the events. We also used Holy Images, statues and icons, to honour Christ and His Saints. Images are 'windows to heaven'. You're meant to pray, not to the image, but through it. Before the Reformation, there would have been hundreds of Holy Images in St Michael's Church, especially in the stained glass. They were lessons for the illiterate. Now they're gone. One can only imagine what beautiful imagery lies hidden beneath the white-washed walls in the nave and chancel. Perhaps some of you watched the BBC Four series 'The Protestant Revolution', hosted by historian Tristram Hunt. It's a travesty what happened to so much of the religious art in English cathedrals and parish churches. And far worse than committing a travesty is heresy. Many of the English reformers were iconoclasts, destroyers of icons. They thought images were idols, based on a rather naive reading of the Third Commandment: 'You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath...' Those 'reformers' might have known their Bible, but they failed Church history. Way back in the 8th century, the Church dealt decisively with Holy Images. On the one side were the iconoclasts, and on the other were the iconodules, those who honoured saints using icons. There was a lot of pressure on the Church. Islam, which condemned all images, was a big military threat. An ecumenical, or general, Church council was held in 787. The iconodules won, in spite of Islam. Iconoclasm was condemned. The Ecumenical Council of 787, accepted by the entire Church, also made an important distinction regarding worship. Saints may be worshipped, especially using icons. Now the idea of 'worshipping' people isn't unheard of in England. No-one objects to organisations like the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers; many mayors are called 'Worshipful'. But the worship given to creatures, like fishmongers, mayors and saints, is different from worship offered to God. Saints may indeed be honoured, but only God is adored. What I best remember today about The Shepherd's School of Spirituality, after all that theory and practise, was a personal comment by Father Dick. We'd just discussed the spiritual theology of Saint so-and-so, and he said, 'We all need to remember that the most spiritual person in the world might be an illiterate Mexican woman, daily praying her Rosary'. That certainly stopped us getting proud! The following poem by Lesbia Scott (1898-1986) captures beautifully the idea of 'saints amongst us'. They lived not only in ages past,
Cezanne's Old Woman with Rosary Darryl Jordan. |
Office Address:
Saint Michael’s Church
Windhill
Bishops Stortford
Hertfordshire
CM23 2ND