Burial of the Dead And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said untoher, Weep not. And He came and touched the bier; and they that barehim stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto thee,Arise.—St. Luke...

Visitation and Communion of the Sick ~The Rev. John Keble O YOUTH and Joy, your airy treadToo lightly springs by Sorrow’s bed,Your keen eye-glances are too bright,Too restless for a sick man’s sight.Farewell; for one short life...

Matrimony ~The Rev. John Keble THERE is an awe in mortals’ joy,A deep mysterious fearHalf of the heart will still employ,As if we drew too nearTo Eden’s portal, and those firesThat bicker round in wavy spires,Forbidding, to our...

Confirmation ~The Rev. John Keble THE shadow of th’ Almighty’s cloudCalm on this tents of Israel lay,While drooping paused twelve banners proud,Till He arise and lead this way. Then to the desert breeze unrolled,Cheerly the...

Catechism ~The Rev. John Keble OH! say not, dream not, heavenly notesTo childish ears are vain,That the young mind at random floats,And cannot reach the strain. Dim or unheard, the words may fall,And yet the heaven-taught...

Holy Baptism ~The Rev. John Keble WHERE is it mothers learn their love?—In every Church a fountain springsO’er which th’ Eternal DoveHovers out softest wings. What sparkles in that lucid floodIs water, by gross mortals eyed:But...

Holy Communion ~The Rev. John Keble O GOD of Mercy, God of Might,How should pale sinners bear the sight,If, as Thy power in surely here,Thine open glory should appear? For now Thy people are allowedTo scale the mount and pierce...

All Saints’ Day   Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we havesealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Revelation vii. 3. ~The Rev. John Keble WHY blow’st thou not, thou wintry wind,Now every leaf...

St. Simon and St. Jude   That ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was oncedelivered unto the saints. St. Jude 3. ~The Rev. John Keble SEEST thou, how tearful and alone,And drooping like a wounded dove,The Cross in...

St. Luke Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. Colossians iv.14. Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world . . . OnlyLuke is with me. 2 Timothy iv. 10, 11. ~The Rev. John Keble TWO clouds before the...

St. Michael and All Angels   Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for themwho shall be heirs of salvation? Hebrews i. 14. ~The Rev. John Keble YE stars that round the Sun of righteousnessIn glorious order...

St. Matthew   And after these things He went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi,sitting at the receipt of custom: and He said unto him, Follow Me.And he left all, rose up, and followed Him. St. Luke v. 27, 28. ~The Rev. John...

St. Bartholomew   Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw theunder the fig-tree, believest thou? Thou shalt see greater thingsthan these. St. John i. 50. ~The Rev. John Keble HOLD up thy mirror to the...

St. James’s Day   Ye shall drink indeed of My cup, and be baptised with the baptismthat I am baptised with: but to sit on My right hand, and on My left,is not Mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it isprepared of...

St. Peter’s Day   When Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter wassleeping. Acts xii. 26. ~The Rev. John Keble THOU thrice denied, yet thrice beloved,Watch by Thine own forgiven friend;In sharpest perils...

St. John Baptist’s Day   Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of thegreat and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart ofthe fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to...

St. Barnabas  The sea of consolation, a Levite. Acts iv. 36. ~The Rev. John Keble THE world’s a room of sickness, where each heartKnows its own anguish and unrest;The truest wisdom there, and noblest art,Is his, who skills of...

St. Philip and St. James Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but therich in that he is made low. St. James i. 9. 10. ~The Rev. John Keble DEAR is the morning gale of spring,And dear th’ autumnal eve;But...

St. Mark’s Day And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departedasunder one from the other. Acts xv. 30. Compare 2 Tim. iv. 11. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for heis profitable to me for the ministry. ~The...

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary   And the Angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highlyfavoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. St. Luke i. 28. ~The Rev. John Keble OH! Thou who...

St. Matthias’ Day Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time thatthe Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptismof John, unto the same day that He was taken up from us, must one...

The Purification   Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. St. Matthewv. 8. ~The Rev. John Keble BLESS’D are the pure in heart,For they shall see our God,The secret of the Lord is theirs,Their soul is Christ’s...

The Conversion of St. Paul And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul,Saul, why persecutest thou Me? And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? Andthe Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. Acts ix. 4, 5. ~The...

St. Thomas’ Day   Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed; blessed arethey that have not seen, and yet have believed. St. John xx. 29. ~The Rev. John Keble WE were not by when Jesus came,But round us, far and...