ARE WE? No. Here’s why the question comes up. Although we’re in Year C, which is devoted to Luke, the Gospel this past Sunday came from John 8 St. Luke the Evangelist as depicted in the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). … except, not really. The passage we know as John 7:53-8:11, or “the adulteress pericope,” appears thus in Byzantine manuscripts; in the oldest manuscripts of John’s Gospel, these verses are absent. The Greek New Testatment text supported by the Society of... Read more
Go here for Part 1, which has textual notes a and b in it, and here for Part 2, which has notes c through n. I’ve posted the Scripture here a third time to save anybody any tabbing back and forth, but again in small type, and this time with only the verses actually used in the Mass reading. The Prodigal’s Father As we resume, I’d like to make a few remarks about this parable. It’s something of a commonplace... Read more
Go here for Part 1, which has textual notes a and b in it—they proved a lot heftier than I had expected! This post has notes c through n; o to z will hopefully all fit in Part 3. (Update: they did!) I’ve posted the Scripture here again, but in small type and without illustrations, to save a little space. Portrait of St. Luke the Evangelist from the Gospel of Charlemagne (ca. 800). Luke 15:1-3, 4-10, 11-32, RSV-CE Note: To... Read more
An Introduction Deferred Russian ikon of St. Luke writing the first ikon of the Mother of God. I’d hoped by now to be sufficiently on top of things to circle back around to introducing Luke, but actually what’s happened is that (big first for the blog) I have gotten through the whole alphabet with textual notes. So we’re postponing that intro once again for time! We have three parables here, the second and third of which are unique to Luke.... Read more
This is Part IV of a series. Go to these links for the first three parts: Kingdom Come, A Knot of Bread, and The Price of Pardon. Le “Pater Noster” [The “Oure Fadir”]1 (1896), by James Tissot. We’ve now covered six of the eight clauses of the Lord’s Prayer: the opening address and first three petitions in Part I, the fourth petition in Part II, and the fifth in Part III. Time to knock out the sixth and seventh. These... Read more
This is Part Three of a series on the Lord’s Prayer; go to these links for Parts One and Two. καὶ ἄφες ἡμῖν τὰ ὀφειλήματα ἡμῶν, ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν τοῖς ὀφειλέταις ἡμῶν· [kai afes hēmin ta ofeilēmata hēmōn, hōs kai hēmeis afēkamen tois ofeiletais hēmōn:] also release to-us the debts …….our, ….as also .we have-released the ..debtors …our; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. This is the appropriate clause for confessing one’s... Read more
This is the second part of the Lord’s Prayer series. I had originally intended to do the whole second half in this post, but found that both the fifth and sixth clauses of this prayer1 were gigantic, the sixth especially. This might even wind up being a four-parter! At any rate it’s going to be three; let’s now turn to clause number five. τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον· [ton arton hēmōn ton epiousion dos hēmin sēmeron:] ..the... Read more
The Our Father This post picks up from the one on Ash Wednesday’s Gospel. As read, the part about what to pray (as distinct from where to pray) is normally skipped; however, it is part of the text as written, and I’ve been wanting to write a bit about the Lord’s Prayer in any case. This prayer is outlined in two passages from the Gospels. One is in Matthew; the other is in Luke 11:1-13, where the form of the... Read more
A Detour to the Mount As I’d made little progress in my translation of last week’s Gospel text and wasn’t finding I had much to say about it, I’ve decided to skip both it and this coming Sunday’s text, in favor of the Gospel for Ash Wednesday (in hopes of getting this post, which I suspect will be a two-parter, finished before that day). The inaugural Lenten Gospel passage comes from Matthew 6, which is the middle chapter of the... Read more
Okay, This Time Shrovetide Really Has Started First, a little light housekeeping. In my last post, I at first said, incorrectly, that the ninth was Septuagesima Sunday. That day is actually the sixteenth. In the Ordinariates, it is the beginning of the pre-Lenten season of Shrovetide.1 Most of the ritual changes associated with Lent begin in Shrovetide: The color of the vestments and hangings changes to purple; the Gloria is again omitted from the Mass, as in Advent; and (unlike... Read more
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