Good Books

While looking online for a good homeschool Greek curriculum I came across a reading list recommended by Mortimer J. Adler, the former editor-in-chief of the Encylopaedia Britannica and my favorite modern philosopher. (He spent his life talking himself into believing the truth of Christ and abandoned pagaism for Christianity in his 80s.) Many of the books on his list we have already read to our boys but many I've never heard of. For instance, we have the red, gree, and blue fairy books but until now had no idea there were brown, lilac, and yellow fairy books.

“The Good Books”
Literature Reading List
Nursery – 8th Grade

Nursery (7 Books)
The Complete Tales of Peter Rabbit (all 23 little books) by Beatrix Potter
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway
Kate Greenaway’s Mother Goose Coloring Book by Kate Greenaway
The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Red Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Preschool (9 Books)
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
The Complete Poems of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne
The Lilac Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Nonsense Poems by Edward Lear
The Pink Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Anderson’s Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Anderson
The Olive Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Violet Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Ride a Cock-Horse and other Rhymes and Stories by Randolph Caldecott

Kindergarten (10 Books)
A Treasury of Mother Goose
Perrault’s Complete Fairy Tales by Charles Perrault
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Dr. Dolittle: A Treasury by Hugh Lofting
The Orange Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Green Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Favorite Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris
The Brown Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm

First Grade (10 Books)
The Aesop for Children by Aesop
The Story of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting
Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling
Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Kate Greenaway Birthday Book by Kate Greenaway
The Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
The Grey Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
The Pied Piper of Hamlin by Robert Browning

Second Grade (12 Books)
Arabian Nights edited by Andrew Lang
Smoky by Will James
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgeson Burnett

Third Grade (12 Books)
The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann Wyss
Log of the Cowboy by Andy Adams
Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott
Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Verses by Hilaire Belloc
The Lost World by Sir Arthur Doyle
The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
The Princess and the Curdie (CD ROM) by George MacDonald
Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb

Fourth Grade (17 Books)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott
Captain’s Courageous by Rudyard Kipling
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
Otto of the Silver Hand by Howard Pyle
Around the World in80 Days by Jules Verne
The Boy Knight by G. A. Henty
Kidnapped by Robert Lois Stevenson
The John Carter Mars Collection (CD ROM) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Knight of the White Cross by G. A. Henty
Story of a Bad Boy by Thomas Bailey Aldrich
The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
A Tale of the Western Plains by G. A. Henty
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Call of the Wild by Jack London

Fifth Grade (18 Books)
An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott
Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
20,000 leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne
From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne
Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dogdes
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan: The Beasts of Tarzan, the Son of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Jungle Tales of Tarzan (CD ROM) by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott
The Dash for Khartoum by G. A. Henty
The Ranch on the Beaver by Adams Adams
The Chessman of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Wells Brothers: the young Cattle Kings by Andy Adams
Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott
Bonnie Prince Charlie by G. A. Henty
In Freedom’s Cause by G. A. Henty

Sixth Grade (22 Books)
Jo’s Boys by Louisa May Alcott
Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott
Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley
Sketchbook by Washington Irving
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Moods by Louisa May Alcott
The Dragon and the Raven by G. A. Henty
Work by Louisa May Alcott
In the Reign of Terror by G. A. Henty
Won by the Sword by G. A. Henty
Under Drake’s Flag by G. A. Henty
Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
The Lion of St. Mark by G. A. Henty
Main-Travelled Roads by Hamlin Garland
Son of the Middle Border by Hamlin Garland
Facing Death by G. A. Henty
Michael O’Halloran by Gene Stratton-Porter
With Wolfe in Canada by G. A. Henty
Evangeline by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
Beric the Briton by G. A. Henty
A Girl of the Limberlost by Stratton-Porter

Seventh Grade (22 Books)
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Kim by Rudyard Kipling
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Wulf the Saxon by G. A. Henty
Winning his Spurs by G. A. Henty
The Young Carthaginian by G. A. Henty
For the Temple by G. A. Henty
The Silverado Squatters (CD ROM) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Two Years before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Comedy of Errors by Shakespeare
Freckles by Stratton-Porter
The Pathfinder by James Fenimore Cooper
The Lion of the North by G. A. Henty
The Harvester by Stratton-Porter
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
By Pike and Dyke by G. A. Henty
With the Lee in Virginia by G. A. Henty
Across the Plains by Robert Louis Stevenson
In the Heart of the Rockies by G. A. Henty
Penrod by Booth Tarkington
The Complete Stalky and Co. by Rudyard Kipling

Eighth Grade (22 Books)
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
A Daughter of the Land by Stratton-Porter
At the Foot of the Rainbow by Stratton-Porter
The Two Admirals by James Fenimore Cooper
The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
St. Bartholomew’s Eve by G. A. Henty
The Ways of the Hour by James Fenimore Cooper
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Pilot: A Tale of the Sea by James Fenimore Cooper
The Wing-the-Wing by James Fenimore Cooper
Chainbearer by James Fenimore Cooper
The Prairie by James Fenimore Cooper
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Barnaby Ridge by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott
The Pioneers by James Fenimore Cooper
Kenilworth by Sir Walter Scott
Mr. Midshipman Easy by Marryat
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Doyle


Update: Basil Wenceslas, who is 4 years old, will not sit still for any of the Fairy Books.

Review: Word of Promise New Testament

The Word of Promise New Testament Audio NKJV Bible (Thomas Nelson)
Total Listening time: 21 hours.

Reviewing a Bible is really hard, for while cringing because of some of the production decisions I can not help but be moved by the words. So, because the words are God's and beyond my power to to criticize - God forgive me for even thinking it! - I am confining this review to the readers/actors, music, and the sound effects.

Orthodox auditors, used to hearing the Holy Scriptures chanted will be distracted at first by the dramatic reading style. But that distraction goes away by the 2nd or 3rd chapter of Matthew. The distraction that remains is the music. For example, while Stacey Keach reads 1st Corinthians there is an orchestra backing him up. And that might be fine if we didn't also hear cricket's chirping and St. Paul's pen writing on an animal hide, too. This resulted in me imagining two different things: Was I listening to St. Paul reading aloud while writing God's words? Or, was I listening to a tuxedoed Mr. Keach standing a stage in a concert haul with a symphony orchestra in the pit? The music and sound effects are a problem on all the recordings.

There is more about that pen sound effect. The pen can be heard in the recordings of all the Epistles. It is truly annoying. I was listening to the Epistle of St. James but kept seeing Stacey Keach, who played St. Paul, scribbling on parchment. And it seems to fade in and out without explanation. The pen and the orchestra: They detract much from the experience.

There is one book however where the music and sound effects really work: Revelation/Apocalypse. The trumpets, the dragon growling, the war in heaven: It mostly works, though at a couple of places (i.e. the last few verses of chapter 12) it seems the conductor went overboard, it works more often than it doesn't.

I would not have chosen Louis Gosset, Jr. to play St. John. He sounds too young, too strong for St. John's ninety-plus years but I can live with it. Another casting mistake is Jim Caviezel as Jesus. Coming out his mouth the words sound like someone else's. It is as though he is in awe of the words he is reading, which is understandable, but I want to hear Jesus not Mr. Caviezal. This is not to say his performance is entirely lacking. Though I think his vocal interpretation in the Gospel of Matthew is not very good, it is better in the other Gospels, and in Revelation 22 it is stunning. The hopefulness of Mr. Caviezel's voice, contrasted with Mr. Gossett's voice has a very good affect on this hearer. The urgency of St. John to communicate the yearning of Jesus for his people and that of his people for their Savior, as revealed in the actors' voices, is thrilling.

Oh, there is one more thing I want to mention. I really like Michal York introducing each book. There is a certain quality about him that reminds me of James Mason, and really, who doesn't think James Mason was one of the coolest actors ever?

Is this 20 CD set (there is also a bonus DVD about the recording process) worth the money? Yes. Is this for serious Bible students? No way. Is it a replacement for a printed New Testament? No. But how many people are serious Bible students? This set is ideal for the 90% of people who want to be more familiar with the New Testament but, for whatever reason, don't want to actually read it. It would make a good gift for high school graduates, I think. Grade: B-

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven

I have been enjoying a particularly bookish movie, 84 Charing Cross Road, and heard such a moving poem. Here it is reproduced for your pleasure.

HAD I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
- Wm. B. Yeats

A letter I received today

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Christ is risen!

I would like to inform everyone that the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna will visit Holy Trinity Cathedral on May 1 at 11:30 a.m. It will be a brief visit because she has to leave by noon. I also would like everyone to make every effort to greet her so that Her Imperial Majesty, the Grand Duchess Maria, will know that Orthodoxy in America is thriving by our presence here at Holy Trinity Cathedral. This announcement also will be made from the ambo after the Divine Liturgy. I hope that all of the parish council memebers will be at the church door to greet her with the rest of us.

On behalf of His Grace, Bishop BENJAMIN, our rector, with his blessing, I will greet Her Imperial Highness with the cross as she enters the Cathedral. Subdeacon Johann and I will escort her through the tour of the cathedral. Our deacons also will join us.

Tentatively, if you agree, I would like ask the head of stwards, Katherine to bake the bread. She will also have the honor to greet Her Imperial Highness with a bouquet of flowers. As usual, our warden, Anthony Frank, will present bread and salt. Reader Stephen will give a short tour. I also would like him to appoint bell ringers.

If there is anything that you would like to add to this list or change, please feel free to notify me. We would like to review this in the next parish council meeting this Sunday.

We would like to greet her with bread and salt, a bouquet of flowers. We will present a framed picture of Holy Trinity Cathedral, post cards, and a booklet of our history with a commemorative mug from the 100th anniversary. If you would like to add anything or have another idea, please inform me.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. I look forward to see you all on that special day after next Sunday.

Indeed, He is risen!

With Love in Christ,

Archpriest John Takahashi, Dean

Holy Trinity Cathedral, San Francisco

Natalia Winovich's Farmers Cheese Recipe

"you need 1 gallon Berkeley Farms whole milk and half a gallon berkeley farms buttermilk (for mine i used "bulgarian" or sth like that)
in a big pot heat up the whole milk, dont over boil, just make it super warm, then pour all the buttermilk in, lower the heat and stir constanty for about a minute maybe 2 but not too long, just until its all curdled and seperated.
pour it through a cheesecloth doublefolded and spread over a coliander. let it drain. its ready as soon as it cols down.
you can pachk it tight in a box store in the fridge, you will be able to cut in slices. its great for bliny, pierogi, or on a toast with jam. the best part its fresh.
enjoy!"

The Smelling Tour

Anselm Samuel, Basil Wenceslas and I set out to fly kites today but, though there was a slight breeze, the wind wasn't strong enough to keep the kites up. So we went on a smelling tour of the neighborhood instead. We smelled scores of different flowers. Roses and orange blossoms. Magnolia and pine cones. Lavender and honeysuckle. Thanks to tradition derived from the ancient and venerable Roman Law XVIII promulgated by Romulus, we harvested oranges and grapefruit from trees overhanging the street. At the end of our walk the boys decided the orange blossoms and roses smelled prettiest, and sadly, our much loved California Golden Poppy smelled worst.

heaviness

Sometimes the most important things, and also the things most interesting to you, gentle readers, are things I can't write about here. It makes me wish I could have a secret blog, but that is not something I would do. I'm not wild about annonimty. If you are a praying person, perhaps, you will pray for me?

Spam comments and viruses

I'm sorry, but because of recent spam comments with links to virus infected sites I am making it a little more difficult to leave comments on this blog. I hate doing it, but I don't want any ofmy readers to be negatively affected.

Got my card

I spent Saturday and Sunday in the California Dept. of Fish and Game's hunter education course. The teacher was great. She's a volunteer but charges $10 per student so she can buy guns for kids. The gun was the cutest little .22 single shot you ever saw. Our class only had one child in it, a 10 year old boy. 80% on the test was passing. He had to get a 95% to win the gun. He got 95%. We all shouted and congratulted him. He was such a neat kid.

Another of my classmates was from Bosnia. He had some interesting observations about hunting in Europe and hunting in America as revealing the cultures of each people. It seems that in Bosnia, to hunt one must join a hunt club which costs the equivalent of about $1,000. Then there is the buying of the gun, which has a 500% tax. But the kicker is that there is not a way for a person to legally go hunting except in a group of 20 or more. My Bosnian friend, a Roman Catholic, says this requirement for being in a group, forcing 20 people to chase one animal, shows that Europeans are "unfair to animals and haters of individual personal liberty." Interestingly, he also said that America is not a good aswe used to be. "America is only 20 years behind Europe. We are going to wind up like them." I thought it was neat that this guy who has only been here 3 years already says "we" when talking about America! I asked him why he came to here. He said, "Pretty soon there won't be any freedom anywhere in the world but, at least today, even a poor man can hunt bears and pigs in America."

So, I passed the test with a 96%. Only one point better than a 10 year old boy but the highest score in the class of 23. I couldn't remember the effective range of several cartridges at 12,000 feet elevation but other than those, I knew my stuff. Hopefully, I'll be able to find some time this month to get some spring turkeys.

Sanctification: Pentecostal and Orthodox

I've mentioned in the past that I think Pentecostals, even more so than Episcopalians ought to be introduced to Holy Orthodoxy. (I don't have anything against Episcopalians, its just that of the couple of dozen I've met, only 2 actually believed Jesus came back from the dead. The Pentecostals are much farther down the road toward Orthodox Christianity than the Episcopalians. We might see mass conversions of Pentecostals, I doubt we will see mass conversions of Episcopalians.)

With similar words (though dissimilar belief) both practice Communion. With nearly identical belief, but sometimes different words, both claim the present day operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Another area of near, if not total agreement is sanctification.

Here is one statement of what the Assemblies of God, the largest Pentecostal denomination and the 4th largest group of Christians in the world (about 50,000,000 worshipers) believes about sanctification:

What is the Assemblies of God belief about sanctification, and how does it differ from other churches?
The basic idea of sanctification is that of separation or setting apart. In the Bible the words sanctification and holiness are interchangeable. At the time a person receives Christ, he is sanctified (1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11), which means he has been separated from his past life of sin and is now dedicated to God. From Scripture we find that the Holy Spirit is the One who sanctifies (2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Peter 1:2).

We believe the Bible is clear in teaching that Christians should continue living a life separated from sin and dedicated to God because, as the apostle Paul tells us, this is His will for them (2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3). We call this the progressive aspect of sanctification. The Scriptures speak of it in a variety of ways, such as growing in grace (2 Peter 3:14) and being gradually transformed spiritually (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The purpose of the sanctification process is that believers might become more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though Christians may not attain absolute perfection in this life, they are expected to make every effort to live a holy life, because "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

Some churches teach that sanctification is a one-time experience that takes place after a person has become a Christian, at which time he is made perfect. The Assemblies of God teaches that sanctification takes place at the moment of salvation and then progresses as the believer continues to submit to the control of the Holy Spirit. (From the AoG USA website)

It is difficult to say, concisely, what the Orthodox belive about sanctification. Brevity is not one of the Orthodox Church's gifts. As Metropolitan (then Bishop) Kallistos wrote in his book, The Orthodox Church, We can't talk about Sanctification without also talking about everything else.

"Theology, mysticism, spirituality, moral rules, worship, art: these things must not be kept in separate compartments. Doctrine cannot be understood unless it is prayed: a theologian, said Evagrius, is one who knows how to pray, and he who prays in spirit and in truth is by that very act a theologian. And doctrine, if it is to be prayed, must also be lived: theology without action, as St. Maximus puts it, is the theology of demons. The creed belongs only to those who live it. Faith and love, theology and life, are inseparable. In the Byzantine Liturgy, the Creed is introduced with the words, ‘ Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Trinity, one in essence and undivided.’ This exactly expresses the Orthodox attitude to Tradition. If we do not love one another, we cannot love God; and if we do not love God, we cannot make a true confession of faith and cannot enter into the inner spirit of Tradition, for there is no other way of knowing God than to love Him.”

However, it is not wrong to say the orthodox view Sactification as one of the most importat ways the Church reveals God to the rest of Creation. As Metropolitan (Then abbot) Jonah wrote in 2001,

The sanctification of the life of the community itself, daily life, is also a fundamental element of the Church as the revelation of the Kingdom of God on earth. The life of each community of the Church is built around the mutual support of the members for one another in their common spiritual process of transformation. (Source)

The life of the community is experienced, primarily, in the Holy Mysteries or Sacraments, thus it is that sanctification is always mentioned as the goal of the Sacraments. For example, before and after Communion there are prayers prayed by the Orthodox stating that we are unworthy, asking for God's mercy, and asking for God's aid in becoming holy. And these prayers are prayed, and the Holy Mysteries are experienced at least once a week by the Orthodox. The reason for this is that the whole point of the Christian life is sanctification, or as Fr. John Breck wrote, the goal

...is to allow the Holy Spirit to re-create us in the Divine Image, to lead us from a self-centered state of sinfulness, corruption and death to one of righteousness, peace and joy, as we dwell in eternal and intimate communion with the Lord of all things.

So, we and the Pentecostals are working toward the same goal. And though they lack the means of the Holy Mysteries God gave the Church they are zealous to reach that goal. Are our bishops talking to the leaders of the Pentecostals? If not, let's pray that God will lead them into conversation with each other.

Basil Wenceslas' Favorite Song

Today during agape Vespers (I did the reading in Latin) I was standing in the choir singing this song when loud above every other voice I heard my four year old son singing with great joy. Here is a video of the same song on the same day but not in my parish and not this year. It's his favorite song. It might be mine, too.

Christ is Risen and Death is Overthrown!

An angel cried to the Lady full of grace, "Rejoice! Rejoice, O pure Virgin! Again I say rejoice! Your Son has risen from his three days in the tomb! With himself he has raised all the dead!" Rejoice! Rejoice, all ye people! Shine! Shine, O New Jerusalem! The glory of the Lord has shone on you! Exult now! Exult and be glad, O Zion! Be radiant, O pure Theotokos in the resurrection, the resurrection of your Son!

A New Blog I've Been Enjoying

I know now, at 41 years, that I'll never be a city planner. But I still am interested in cities and land use. I recently have become a fan of this blog named Planning Commisioners Journal. Maybe you'll enjoy it, too.

On Communion

Today, after the Liturgy, Fr. Basil read us these words by St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d.386)...

"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke and said: Take and eat: This is my body...therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord....For he that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.

Even of itself the teaching of the Blessed Paul is sufficient to give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, of which having been deemed worthy, you have become of the same body and blood with Christ. For you have just heard him say distinctly, That our Lord Jesus Christ in the night in which He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks He broke it, and gave to His disciples, saying, Take, eat, this is My Body: and having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, Take, drink, this is My Blood. Since then He Himself declared and said of the Bread, This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has Himself affirmed and said, This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?...

Wherefore with full assurance let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to you His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that you by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, may be made of the same body and the same blood with Him. For thus we come to bear Christ in us, because His Body and Blood are distributed through our members; thus it is that, according to the blessed Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature.

Christ on a certain occasion discoursing with the Jews said, Except you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you. They not having heard His saying in a spiritual sense were offended, and went back, supposing that He was inviting them to eat flesh.

In the Old Testament also there was show-bread; but this, as it belonged to the Old Testament, has come to an end; but in the New Testament there is Bread of heaven, and a Cup of salvation, sanctifying soul and body; for as the Bread corresponds to our body, so is the Word appropriate to our soul.

Consider therefore the Bread and the Wine not as bare elements, for they are, according to the Lord's declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ; for even though sense suggests this to you, yet let faith establish you. Judge not the matter from the taste, but from faith be fully assured without misgiving, that the Body and Blood of Christ have been vouchsafed to you.

Also the blessed David shall advise you the meaning of this, saying, You have prepared a table before me in the presence of them that afflict me. What he says, is to this effect: Before Your coming, the evil spirits prepared a table for men , polluted and defiled and full of devilish influence ; but since Your coming. O Lord, You have prepared a table before me. When the man says to God, You have prepared before me a table, what other does he indicate but that mystical and spiritual Table, which God has prepared for us over against, that is, contrary and in opposition to the evil spirits? And very truly; for that had communion with devils, but this, with God. You have anointed my head with oil. With oil He anointed your head upon your forehead, for the seal which you have of God; that you may be made the engraving of the signet, Holiness unto God. And your cup intoxicates me, as very strong. You see that cup here spoken of, which Jesus took in His hands, and gave thanks, and said, This is My blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins...

Having learned these things, and been fully assured that the seeming bread is not bread, though sensible to taste, but the Body of Christ; and that the seeming wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Christ ; and that of this David sung of old, saying, And bread strengthens man's heart, to make his face to shine with oil , "strengthen your heart," by partaking thereof as spiritual, and "make the face of your soul to shine." And so having it unveiled with a pure conscience, may you reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord, and proceed from glory to glory, in Christ Jesus our Lord:— To whom be honour, and might, and glory, for ever and ever. Amen."