Phil

Feb 6, 20227 min read

DEVOTED TO SERVICE

TODAY MARKS THE 70th ANNIVERSARY OF HER MAJESTY'S ACCESSION TO THE THRONE. WE GIVE THANKS FOR HER DEVOTED, UNTIRING SERVICE.

On this day, we celebrate with thanksgiving

the faithful service to God and her people

which has been the mark of Her Majesty the Queen

in the seventy years of her reign.

Let us acknowledge our failure

to live as faithful subjects of Christ our King,

and so prepare ourselves to meet Him.

I confess to almighty God

that I have greatly sinned,

in my thoughts and in my words,

in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

through my fault, through my fault,

through my most grievous fault;

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,

all the Angels and Saints,

to pray for me to the Lord our God.

May Almighty God have mercy on us, ✠ forgive us our sins,

and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

THE COLLECT: Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,

bless our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth,

and all who are in authority under her;

that they may order all things

in wisdom and equity, righteousness and peace,

to the honour and glory of your name

and the good of your Church and people;

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

THE READING Isaiah 6

In the year of King Uzziah’s death

I saw the Lord seated on a high throne; his train filled the sanctuary;

above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings.

And they cried out one to another in this way,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

His glory fills the whole earth.”

The foundations of the threshold shook

with the voice of the one who cried out,

and the Temple was filled with smoke.

I said: “What a wretched state I am in!

I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips

and I live among a people of unclean lips,

and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in his hand a live coal

which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs.

With this he touched my mouth and said:

“See now, this has touched your lips,

your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

“Whom shall I send?

Who will be our messenger?”

I answered, “Here I am, send me.”

The Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God.

The Homily: WHAT AN AMBASSADOR!

She is probably the most photographed woman in the world.

Family, friends, celebrities, heads of state,

people she’s met at events;

all of them testify to her grace, her warmth, her smile,

even at the end of a long day meeting loads of people.

She has done a great job for our country and Commonwealth;

a skilled ambassador, who has managed to keep the Commonwealth,

that disparate body of countries, more-or-less on track.

An accomplished diplomat, who keeps a tight reign on her tongue,

which her consort, Prince Philip, didn’t always manage!

We may not know

what the Queen thinks about a whole host of things,

but we do know what shapes her understanding of her role,

what resources her for it, and upon Whom she models her life.

It is all deeply rooted in her trust in, and imitation of, Christ.

In a splendid book prepared for Her Majesty’s Ninetieth Birthday,

“The SERVANT QUEEN and the KING she serves”

she talks candidly, proudly and without reservation

about her Christian faith,

at a time when many are frightened to admit to having such.

Our Servant-Queen says of what it is that inspires her:

“For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace,

is an inspiration and an anchor in my life.

A role-model of reconciliation and forgiveness,

he stretched out his hands in love, acceptance and healing.

Christ’s example has taught me to seek to respect

and value all people of whatever faith or none.”

She talks of the Parable of the Good Samaritan as her model

for Christian service: She is both direct about neighbourly duty,

and clear about the cost:

“In difficult times we may be tempted to find excuses

for self-indulgence and to wash our hands of responsibility.

Our Christian faith stands for the opposite;

we need to go out and look for opportunities

to help those less fortunate than ourselves,

even if that service demands sacrifice.”

Jesus gave his best and His all for us.

It is clear that our Monarch, over these last seventy years,

has given of her best and devoted her life to serve the nation

under God with a Christian faith, based upon prayer.

Our Queen has given us a lead,

a challenge to live the faith we profess;

to be proud of the title “Christian”,

and to be constant in the practice of our faith

in prayer, scripture

and the privileged encounter we have

of an audience Sunday by Sunday

with the King of Kings in the Mass.

“For Christians, as for all people of faith,

reflection, meditation and prayer

help us to renew ourselves in God’s love,

as we strive daily to become better people.

God’s love is for everyone.

There is no one beyond its reach.”

She has a clear vision of the kind of nation

she would like to see.

It is a vision marked by kindness

and a deep commitment to one’s neighbour,

where love goes beyond spontaneous acts of generosity.

It is in giving the best service we can towards others

that we show love, not least of all, our love for God.

Her Majesty has tried to live the well-known prayer of St.Ignatius;

her Christian example challenges us to do the same…..

“Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve;

to give and not to count the cost;

to fight and not to heed the wounds;

to toil and not to seek for rest;

to labour and not to ask for any reward,

save that of knowing that we do your will.” Amen.

PRAYER

Lord God, the Ancient of Days,

you are sovereign over all your people;

Give to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth

enduring wisdom and faith

in the service of the people of this land

and of you, her Lord and master.

Grant that her faithful witness

may be to others a source of hope,

that they may come to know more fully

your Son Jesus Christ,

who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and for ever. Amen.

At the Saviour’s command

and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say:

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come, thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,

graciously grant peace in our days,

that, by the help of your mercy,

we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress,

as we await the blessed hope

and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

For the kingdom,

the power and the glory are yours

now and for ever.

SPIRITUAL COMMUNION:

Lord Jesus, we desire earnestly to experience your love

as guests at the heavenly feast you have prepared for your children on earth

in the most holy Sacrament of the Altar.

As were are not able on this day to be gathered at your Table,

may we receive you into our hearts by faith,

trusting the word of your promise,

that "those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them,

and we will come to them and make our home with them."

Strengthen our faith, increase our love and hope;

and after this life grant us a place at your heavenly table,

where we shall eat of the eternal manna,

and drink of the river of your pleasure forevermore.

Hear us for your own Name's sake. Amen.

A TIME OF SILENCE

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev. 3)

Jesus to me: "I know what is in your heart...... I know your loneliness and all your wounds, the rejections, the judgments, the humiliations, I carried it all before you. And I carried it all for you, so you could share My strength and My victory.

I know, above all, your need for love,

how much you are thirsting for love and tenderness.

“Come to Me all you who thirst … ”

I will satisfy you and fill you.

I love you more than you can imagine … to the point of dying on a cross for you. So precious are you to Me; I will fill your heart and heal your wounds.

I will make you a new creation

and give you peace even in your trials.

BLESSING Christ our exalted King pour upon us His abundant gifts,

that through faithful service we may be true citizens

of God’s Kingdom; and may the blessing of almighty God,

the Father, the Son, ✠ and the Holy Spirit,

come down upon us, and remain with us for ever. Amen.