Saturday, May 19, 2007

Leo the Great on the Ascension

Dearly beloved, through all this time between the resurrection of the Lord and his ascension, the providence of God thought of this, taught this and penetrated [the disciples'] eyes and heart. He wanted them to recognise the Lord Jesus Christ as truly risen, who was truly born, truly suffered and truly died. The manifest truth strengthened the blessed apostles and all the disciples who were frightened by his death on the cross and were doubtful of his resurrection. The result was they were not only afflicted with sadness but also were filled with "great joy" when the Lord went into the heights of heaven.

It was certainly a great and indescribable source of joy when, in the sight of the heavenly multitudes, the nature of our human race ascended over the dignity of all heavenly creatures. It passed the angelic orders and was raised beyond the heights of archangels. In its ascension, our human race did not stop at any other height until this same nature was received at the seat of the eternal Father. Our human nature, united with the divinity of the Son, was on the throne of his glory.

The ascension of Christ is oour elevation. Hope for the body is also invited where the glory of the Head preceded us. Let us exult, dearly beloved, with worthy joy and be glad with a holy thanksgiving. Today we not only are established as possessors of paradise, but we have even penetrated into the heights of the heavens in Christ. The indescribable grace of Christ, which we lost through the 'ill will of the devil,' prepared us more fully for that glory. Incorporated within himself, the Son of God placed those whom the violent enemy threw down from the happiness of our first dwelling at the right hand of the Father. The Son of God lives and reigns with God the Father almighty and with the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Leo the Great

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Monday, May 07, 2007

Parsons in California

This Parsons would be me, and I catch a flight tomorrow.

There are two things that happen when I get worn out: I stop reading, and I stop writing. As I enjoy doing both those things, getting worn out takes a lot of the fun out of my life. I've stopped reading and writing. It feels a lot like how I felt a year ago at this time, during my year of chaplaincy. This time, however, I left the parish this morning thinking about how much I love my work. It tires me out sometimes, but I love it. I continue to be sure that this time I am in the right place, doing the right thing. Thank God! (Really. Thank God.)

So it is with thankfulness on my part that St. Mary Magdalene has sung a blessing on a trip to California. I will spend time with Karen, see Berkeley and San Francisco again, and take a couple days of study leave while Karen is continues her final residential quarter at UCDavis. We'll spend some time in the bleachers at McAfee Coliseum, hear the San Francisco Symphony, the American Bach Soloists, I will read, and I will sleep. I certainly hope to get a cup or two of cappuccino in as well!

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Saturday, May 05, 2007

Parsons in Uganda

Away from the luxuries of compressed suction, air drills and running water, Dr. Eric Parsons and his daughter Naila travelled to the rural areas surrounding Kampala, Uganda in February. They were part of a charity movement extended through the Diocese of Rupertsland Anglican Church.
Make-shift clinics were set up in homes, churches and halls where people would line up and wait their turn to see the dentist. Most of the dental work was done from a chair where Parsons said he extracted about 200 teeth over the six days of clinic held during the trip.
That's my dad and my sister!

Nice to see family in the news, especially for doing good works. Well done, guys.

Read the rest here.

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