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fr. ryan

@rtlockwood.bsky.social

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fr. ryan

@rtlockwood.bsky.social

Thrilled to be getting my new parish office put together.

July 10, 2025 at 2:00 PM

fr. ryan

@rtlockwood.bsky.social

Good stuff from St. Basil tonight 🕯️

Week of 5 Easter - Monday
A reading from the treatise On the Holy Spirit by Basil the Great, Bishop of Caesarea (379):
Our Lord made a covenant with us through baptism in order to give us eternal life. There is in baptism an image both of death and of life, the water being the symbol of death, the Spirit giving the pledge of life. The association of water and the Spirit is explained by the twofold purpose for which baptism was instituted, namely, to destroy the sin in us so that it could never again give birth to death, and to enable us to live by the Spirit and so win the reward of holiness. The water into which the body enters as into a tomb symbolizes death; the Spirit instills into us life-giving power, awakening our souls from the death of sin to the life that they had in the beginning. This then is what it means to be born again of water and the Spirit: we die in the water, and we come to life again through the Spirit. To signify this death and to enlighten the baptized by transmitting to them knowledge of God, the great sacrament of baptism is administered by means of a triple immersion and the invocation of each of the three divine Persons. Whatever grace there is in the water comes not from its on nature but from the presence of the Spirit, since "baptism is not a cleansing of the body, but a pledge made to God from a clear con-science."
As a preparation for our life after the resurrection, our Lord tells us in the gospel how we should live here and now. He teaches us to be Peaceable, long-suffering, undefiled by desire for pleasure, and detached (continued on next picture)

(Continued from previous) from worldly wealth. In this way we can achieve, by our own free choice, the kind of life that will be natural in the world to come.
Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to paradise, we ascend to the kingdom of heaven, and we are reinstated as adopted children. Thanks to the Spirit we obtain the right to call God our Father, we become sharers in the grace of Christ, we are called children of light, and we share in everlasting glory. In a word, every blessing is showered upon us, both in this world and in the world to come. As we contemplate them even now, like a reflection in a mirror, it is as though we already possessed the good things our faith tells us that we shall one day enjoy. If this is the pledge, what will the perfection be? If these are the firstfruits, what will the full harvest be?

May 20, 2025 at 4:03 AM

fr. ryan

@rtlockwood.bsky.social

While I prefer the rhythm of the 1979’s Office (mostly for familiarity), it’s lovely to have chant settings of the psalter in traditional language, as well as a robust selection of canticles in solemn and simplified tones. The traditional Marian anthems at the end are a nice touch too.

The beginning of the Salve Regina in plainsong: “Mary, we hail thee, Mother and Queen compassionate; Mary, our comfort, life, and hope, we hail thee. To thee we exiles, children of Eve, lift our crying. To thee we are sighing, as mournful and weeping, we pass through this vale of sorrow.”

Solemn tone for the opening vesicles of Matins and Evensong

May 19, 2025 at 5:57 PM

fr. ryan

@rtlockwood.bsky.social

The feast of St. Dunstan seems an appropriate day to share that I’ve been using this little beauty for the Office the past week or so. It contains everything you need (aside from the lectionary) to chant matins and evensong according to the classical prayer book tradition (1/2) ⚓️