St. Stephen's Anglican Catholic Church

09/05/2026

The Readings for Sunday, September 6, 2026
The Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
Morning Prayer
Psalms: 19 & 24 OR 65 OR 85
First Lesson: Micah 6:1-8 OR 1st Chronicles 29:10-17
OR Genesis 45:1-28
Second Lesson: Philippians 4:4-13 OR Luke 17:5-10
OR Romans 12:9-21
Evening Prayer
Psalms: 50 OR 92 OR 42 & 43
First Lesson: Jeremiah 7:1-11OR Deuteronomy 8:1-20
OR 1st Kings 3:4-15
Second Lesson: Luke 13:18-30 OR Luke 17:11-19
OR Acts 17:16-34

The Collect for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Galatians 5:16-24 I SAY then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

The Holy Gospel: St. Luke 17:11-19 AND it came to pass, as Jesus went to Jerusalem, that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were l***rs, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And He said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Homily for the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity In today’s story of the ten l***rs, Jesus reminds us that only one returned to give Him thanks. All of them were healed, but only the man who returned and gave thanks was made whole. “And one of them when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.” The l***r’s return to thank Jesus showed that he recognized the God who heals and restores, the God who has mercy and saves. Returning and giving thanks cannot be commanded, nor can it be coerced. Thanksgiving is not thanksgiving at all if it is forced.

Thanksgiving is at once totally our doing - and yet totally God’s doing in us. God’s grace in us is our freedom: our freedom to will what God wills for us. God will not have it any other way. Our giving of thanks to God for what we have received is a free act. But we should also think of it as an obligation, something we owe to one another. It has the quality of necessity about it as well.

Thanksgiving is at the heart of the Christian Gospel, and so it is at the heart of Christian life. Thanksgiving captures something of the meaning of the Son whose whole life - eternal and incarnate - is oriented towards the Father. When we return and give thanks, we participate in the Son’s thanksgiving to the Father in the bond of the Holy Spirit.

Last Sunday the Gospel presented us with The Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which Jesus confounds a lawyer by making the hero of His parable a Samaritan – one of those people who were despised and rejected by the Jewish culture. In today’s Gospel, the one healed l***r who returns and gives thanks is a Samaritan: he might well be called, ‘The Grateful Samaritan.’ Samaritans in the Gospel thus become the clear examples of the love of God that has reached beyond the barriers of human divisions and come near to us, and which becomes real in us, moving our hearts and souls where they would not be moved before. There is no inside track to God. Salvation is not genetically possessed. It can only be freely entered upon because of what has been freely given. The task for us as members of the Body of Christ is to love and praise; to return and give thanks.

The Samaritan’s actions relate to the very character of our pattern of worship. In our Liturgy, in the Confession and in the Prayer of Humble Access, we fall on our knees and call out for mercy, acknowledging the mercy that has been shown to us in Christ Jesus. In the free act of thanksgiving, we do not and cannot presume upon our own merits, but only upon the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. He seeks not only our healing but also our wholeness – that we may dwell in Him and He in us. This is what we pray for in The Prayer of Humble Access, ‘We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies.’

Then, after we have received the Sacrament, we don’t rush out the door. Instead, emulating the Samaritan in today’s Gospel, we return to our pews and kneel to give thanks in The Prayer of Thanksgiving, ‘Almighty and everlasting God, we most heartily thank thee, for that thou dost vouchsafe to feed us….’ Then we stand to give glory to God in the words of the Gloria in Excelsis: ‘Glory be to God on high…’ That is the quality of the Son’s thanksgiving at work in us, in our loving service towards one another because of our love towards God. We are set in motion by the love that has been shown to us.

08/30/2026

September Newsletter

08/30/2026

The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

08/30/2026

Happy Birthday Glen and Patty

08/30/2026

Sunday School creations!

08/30/2026

08/28/2026

The Readings for Sunday, August 30, 2026
The Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

Morning Prayer
Psalms: 104 OR 73 OR 118
First Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 17:1-15 OR Habakkuk 1:12-2:14
OR Genesis 43:1-34
Second Lesson: Mark 3:20-35 OR Hebrews 10:35-39
OR Hebrews 13:1-21
Evening Prayer
Psalms: 11 & 12 OR 12 & 113 OR 20 & 23
First Lesson: Deuteronomy 15:7-15 OR Deuteronomy 24:10-22 OR 2nd Samuel 18:1-33
Second Lesson: Matthew 26:6-13 OR Luke 10:23-37
OR Acts 16:16-34

The Collect for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
ALMIGHTY and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that thy faithful people do unto thee true and laudable service; Grant, we beseech thee, that we may so faithfully serve thee in this life, that we fail not finally to attain thy heavenly promises; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Galatians 3:16-22
TO Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the Covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the Law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

The Holy Gospel: St. Luke 10:23-37
BLESSED are the eyes which see the things that ye see: for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, what is written in the law? How readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And He said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain Priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, gave them to the host, and said unto him, take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity
Today's Gospel from St. Luke tells the story of a lawyer who asks Jesus, ‘Master, What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ As He so often does, Jesus answers the man’s question with a question: ‘What does the Law of Moses say, and how do you understand it?’ The lawyer replies, “Love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind; and love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Jesus is pleased with this answer; He tells the man to do what the Law commands, and he will live. The lawyer then questions Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ He is trying to get Jesus to define "neighbor" as narrowly as possible. St. Luke says the man was seeking ‘to justify himself.’ Jesus does not spare the lawyer -- instead, He tells a parable which reveals that any person who needs your help is a person you should help. To love your neighbor is to help him - to do what is best for him. Jesus places no limitations on the obligation to love, such as, "You only need to be good to people who are nice to you."

The hero of Jesus' parable is a Samaritan, and the people listening to His parable were Israelites. They hated Samaritans, who worshipped pagan gods as well as the God of Israel. The negative examples in the parable are a Priest and a Levite. The people listening to Jesus would have thought priests and Levites were the most righteous and godly people in all Israel, the people who most completely kept the Law, so they would have been shocked to hear them described in the way Jesus portrays them.

In today's Epistle, St. Paul reminds us that God made promises to Abraham, looking forward to the coming of Christ. Then, 430 years after the time of Abraham, God gave the Old Testament Law to the Children of Israel, with Moses acting as the mediator between God and man. The Law was a temporary expedient, revealing to Israel the distinction between righteousness and sin. Over time, regrettably, the people of Israel got the idea that the coming of the Law had put conditions on God's promises to Abraham. St. Paul says, that’s not so – he reminds his readers that a promise with any conditions placed on it is not a promise –it has become a contract. The purpose of the Law is not to make God's promise conditional; the purpose of the Law is to show us that we cannot keep it, and that we need God's forgiveness and His grace. The Law, although it is powerless to lead us into righteousness, is not without value, for it helped prepare us for the life-giving faith we have in Christ.

Faith in Jesus Christ means accepting the forgiveness He bought for us on the Cross. His blood is what makes us right with God -- not our attempts to imagine that we love our neighbors. If we accept what Christ has done for us, then we have a new and stronger motivation for trying to do what is best for other people. We can love our neighbors out of gratitude to God for His gracious gift of eternal life, not out of fear of His retribution. Jesus told the lawyer who sought to justify himself that he should do what the Samaritan had done – love his neighbor as he would love himself. He tells us the same thing, with the promise that God will forgive us when we don't do it, and when we confess that fact.

08/27/2026

The Readings for Saturday, August 29, 2026
The Beheading of St. John Baptist

Morning Prayer
Psalm: 51
First Lesson: First Samuel 23:7-18
Second Lesson: Luke 20:1-21:4
Evening Prayer
Psalms: 54 & 57
First Lesson: Micah 7:1-9
Second Lesson: Romans 7:14-25

The Collect for the Beheading of St. John Baptist
O God, who didst vouchsafe to thy servant John Baptist to be, in his birth and in his death, the forerunner of thy Son: Grant that as he was slain for truth and righteousness, so we may contend for the same unto the end; for the love of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Collect for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

For The Epistle: Jeremiah 1:17-19
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
The Holy Gospel: St. Mark 6:17-29
Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Therefore, Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded John’s head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his co**se, and laid it in a tomb.
The Homily for the Beheading of St. John Baptist
The martyrdom of St John Baptist is one of four recorded in the Holy Scriptures (the other three being those of the Holy Innocents, St. Stephen, and St. James). The most detailed description of John’s death is given in St. Mark’s Gospel (6:17-31) St. John Baptist is the man who bridged the Old and New Testaments: he is both the last of the Old Testament prophets, who pointed the way to the Messiah, and the first of the New Testament witnesses and martyrs. John suffered martyrdom for announcing that the kingdom of God was near, and because of his fearless condemnation of Herod Antipas’ unlawful marriage to his brother’s wife, Herodias. And so he incurred the hatred of Herodias, who had John imprisoned and finally killed. He was beheaded because of the promise King Herod had made during that birthday party in front of his guests. Herodias took advantage of the weakness of Herod. Her intent was malicious and wicked. Herod had no choice if he wished to save face in front of his guests, so he gave in to the request of Herodias’ daughter, who has traditionally been named Salome.
There is a positive implication of this expression: “A Promise is made to be broken.” Yes we ought to keep our promises. But if the promise involves doing something wrong or unjust, then we have no obligation to keep that promise, we must break it. The promise, in fact, loses all its binding force because of its immorality. In the case of Herod, he did not want to kill St. John Baptist, because he had certain respect for him. However, he was “trapped” by his rash oath to Salome, and so his main concern was his reputation among his guests and not the safety of the life of St. John. Herod’s action was an example of the way St. Paul had described himself: “The good I want to do I do not do. The evil that I do not want, that I do.” We know that it is sometimes difficult to tell the truth, because we enjoy hearing nice things said about us, and we want to be praised. But G. K. Chesterton, the great British writer and poet, wisely said: “I don’t want a Church that tells me when I am right. I want a Church that tells me when I am wrong.”

08/26/2026

The Readings for Friday, August 28, 2026
Saint Augustine of Hippo
Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church

Morning Prayer
Psalms: 142, 143
First Lesson: Second Samuel 11:1-13
Second Lesson: Luke 24:13-25
Evening Prayer
Psalm: 145
First Lesson: Ecclesiasticus 1:11-27
Second Lesson: Romans 15:1-16

The Collect for Saint Augustine of Hippo
O LORD GOD, who art the light of the minds that know thee, the life of the souls that love thee, and the strength of the hearts that serve thee: Help us, after the example of thy servant Saint Augustine, so to know thee that we may truly love thee; so to love thee that we may fully serve thee, whom to serve is perfect freedom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

The Collect for the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who art always more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont to give more than either we desire or deserve; Pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy; forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Hebrews 12:22-29
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.

The Holy Gospel: St. John 17:1-8
These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

A Portion of a Homily by St. Augustine of Hippo: The Two Roads
“It is our Savior, Jesus Christ Himself, who tells us in St. Matthew’s Gospel: “Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad the road leading to destruction, and many there are who go that route. But how narrow the gate and hemmed in is the road leading to life, and few there are who find it!” The Lord teaches that there are two roads lying before us—one narrow, the other wide; one leading to life, the other to death. So, my dearly beloved brothers, if you don’t want to perish eternally, flee the road that leads to death -- and choose the road that leads to life, so that you may live eternally. For, as our Savior warns, the broad way leads to damnation. Now, exactly what is that broad road, the one used by vices and evil passions, and why is it called broad? Because it’s constantly traveled by swarms of people. Just as our earthly roads are called highways because they’re much used and consequently offer many attractions, so, from the spiritual viewpoint, a broad way is one frequented by multitudes of people who indulge in vice. Therefore, don’t let yourselves be tempted either by society or by the example of the majority, since there are always more people who love sin rather than righteousness. Isn’t it preferable to possess the heavenly and eternal kingdom with the few than to plunge into death and eternal punishment with the crowd? Follow the small number of the just rather than the multitude of sinners. Be worthy of eternal life with the few, and fear hell - despite the hordes who gleefully dive into it.”