good morning and welcome on this friday morning on the last day of july here to canterbury cathedral it's early but we're sitting in the shade because this is going to be a scorchingly hot day and we're told that kent could reach the mid 30s by this afternoon so we're going to try and keep ourselves cool as we say our morning prayers wherever you are in the world please feel welcome bring your concerns and those you would want to pray for on this day the 31st of july in 1556 ignatius loyola died and we'll think about his ignatian spirituality his spiritual exercises and the society of jesus which he founded in our reflection later but first let's say our morning prayers o lord open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise may christ the day star dawn in our hearts and triumph over the shades of night blessed are you creator of all do you be praise and glory forever as your dawn renews the face of the earth bringing light and life to all creation may we rejoice in this day you have made does we wake refreshed from the depths of sleep open our eyes to behold your presence and strengthen our hands to do your will that the world may rejoice and give you praise blessed be god father son and holy spirit blessed be god forever the night has passed and the day lies open before us let us pray with one heart and mind and as we rejoice in the gift of this new day so may the light of your presence oh god set our hearts on fire with love for you now and forever amen our psalm on the last morning of the month is the beautiful psalm 145. i will exalt you oh god my king and bless your name forever and ever every day will i bless you and praise your name forever and ever great is the lord and highly to be praised his greatness is beyond all searching out one generation shall praise your works to another and declare your mighty acts they shall speak of the majesty of your glory and i will tell of your wonderful deeds they shall speak of the might of your marvelous acts and i will also tell of your greatness they shall pour forth the story of your abundant kindness and joyfully sing of your righteousness the lord is gracious and merciful long-suffering and of great goodness the lord is loving to everyone and his mercy is over all his creatures all your works praise you o lord and your faithful servants bless you they tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your mighty power to make known to all peoples your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom your dominion endures throughout all ages the lord is sure in all his words and faithful in all his deeds the lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all those who are bowed down the eyes of all wait upon you o lord and you give them their food in due season you open wide your hand and fill all things living with plenty the lord is righteous in all his ways and loving in all his works the lord is near to those who call upon him to all who call upon him faithfully he fulfills the desire of those who fear him he hears their cry and saves them the lord watches over those who love him but all the wicked shall he destroy my mouth shall speak the praise of the lord and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever so we turn to the gospel of saint luke and we find ourselves in chapter 22 today we reach the end of that chapter we left jesus standing in the courtyard of the high priest's house surrounded by the temple police who have arrested him these are not roman soldiers they're temple police and others who have come out with clubs and swords to arrest him he's been deserted he's standing there alone even peter now has gone outside weeping at his shame of having denied his lord and we read from verse 63 now the men who were holding jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him they also blindfolded him and kept asking him prophesy who is it that struck you and they said many other things against him blaspheming him when day came the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together both chief priests and scribes and they led him away to their counsel and they said if you are the christ tell us but jesus said to them if i tell you you will not believe and if i ask you you will not answer but from now on the son of man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of god so they all said are you the son of god then and he said to them you say that i am then they said what further testimony do we need we have heard it ourselves from his own lips two very short scenes in those verses but each very powerful first jesus standing alone amongst those who hold him temple police and others they beat his body they mock his prophetic intuition blindfolding him slapping him and saying if you're a prophet tell us which of us hit you they're soldiers games and all the time they insult and revile him standing absolutely alone and the beating was severe that's one scene the next scene is so say more civilized is it just as cruel all the members of the council for whom jesus has been a nuisance in jerusalem at this time they fear the people they fear what may happen next say that it may become more than a nuisance but an insurrection in their minds they want him gone so as day breaks they come together the chief priests the elders the scribes and they sit in judgment but really the decisions already been made and they ask him for the christ tell us jesus has had plenty of opportunity to know their way of questioning and answering or not answering in the temple courtyards as he's been teaching we've seen all that and he keeps his counsel and simply says well if i say you won't answer if i answer you won't believe me and then he talks about himself as that representative that perfect representative of our humanity she calls son of man says from now on that figure son of man will be seen at the right hand of the power of god lifting our humanity to eternity in power by all that he is suffering and they answer because that's really not enough so you're the son of god and his words mean it's you who keep saying that they're your words but it's enough they look at one another and say yes that's enough and sentence is given this is how luke tells it it's a very short telling but two perfect cameos of how our lord and savior was treated physically mentally spiritually and condemned this day as i said is the anniversary of the death of sint ignatius of loyola we remember him as one who having been a soldier whose leg was shattered at a battle and during his convalescence he was given a life of christ to read by one of the sisters at the hospital it transformed his life that life of christ became his companion book but at the same time it formed the foundation stone of his spiritual exercises which have been the formation of the ignatian spirituality which has helped so many and it's based really on looking at those cameos which were given in the gospel entering deeply into them taking our humanity our human situations things we notice things we remember into those situations and giving glory to the humanity of christ that the divine light may give glory to our humanity day by day we also give thanks for his founding of the society of jesus he gave it a motto which is a motto that is a good one for all of us that all things should be done to the glory of god the greater glory of god and mayurim dei you see those words those initial letters amdg carved and we know that it is something that we strive for but when you see a motto of the order of the society of jesus very often those words are written in a circle and in the middle are three letters which if you think of them as capitals in english or latin they are ihs in fact their capitals in greek the first three letters of the name of jesus iota beta sigma and jesus is in the center of those words to the greater glory of god that is how ignatius wanted the whole of human life to be seen and his scholarship his spirituality the companions he drew around him and the course of ignatian spirituality throughout the ages have borne testimony to that it's perhaps good for us who have looked at scene after scene cameo after cameo day by day in the gospel of saint luke sometimes only a couple of verses like our lord being beaten by those temple police who don't understand they're just playing soldiers games with him but they are brutal or else by those who could understand but are simply intent on judging him and putting him to death and clearing him out of the way oh but so many other scenes have we seen in the villages and towns of galilee of samaria of the decapolis over the other side of the sea of galilee of the people and towns and communities of judea and finally the city of jerusalem and the temple courtyards are now here in the courtyard of the high priest ignatius wants us every day to soak ourselves in those scenes to enter into them that we may become christ to the glory of god in every human situation we find ourselves in it was one of the tenets of his teaching that situations were unimportant no good saying if only i were there i could be christ or if i would there every situation has the capacity for someone to be christ to one another to be jesus to show people jesus i love that motion because it's quite quite like our canterbury motto our badge has on it in the middle of the white cross on a blue background the greek words iota kai jesus first letter of that word christ and our motto to show people jesus to the greater glory of god we give thanks for that on this day as we watch in the cameos the shocking pictures of our lord and savior being physically mentally spiritually treated and condemned so let's pray for one another on this day that our life throughout its hours may be lived to the greater glory of god there's a lovely letter from gerald manley hopkins the poet who was himself a jesuit and he'd found a book of poems called christ's company by an anglican clergyman richard watson dixon he didn't know him and he wrote to him it was the first of a very fruitful correspondence which has been published since but in the first letter he simply writes to him in appreciation for the poems and says how much they have taught him about the way of christ and then um it as i say it's it it's called uh the company of christ and he he says at the end um as he writes at the bottom uh gerard m hopkins sj and then in brackets so you see i am of christ's company too and i think that's a lovely thing that we would like to be that of christ's company say our prayers today we pray on this day in our anglican communion this last day of the month for the missionary district of west brazil in brazil the primate there now dalgomis and his people the diocese of boga in congo and bishop mugeny bahamuka and his people and the diocese of port elizabeth in southern africa and edward daniels and his people there here we are in the elam dinery just so that you can locate yourselves in the county of kent if you know it elam the various areas the villages comprise acres chariton street cherishing denton elim itself six churches in folkestone hawkins highs limit lim newington paddlesworth postling saltwood sandgate stanford and wooten i read them fast but when you hear those names some of you will have images of the villages there and we pray for all those communities and today we're asked to pray for all those clergy many of them in retirement who help out in those little parishes and in the churches of folkestone we also of course pray for archbishop justin and bishop rose of dover and tim bishop at lambeth and bring our own faith leaders to our prayers and those whom we would pray for on this particular day so let's say the prayer for this week of the year lord of all power and might the author and giver of all good things graft in our hearts the love of your name increase in us through religion nourish us with all goodness and of your great mercy keep us in the same through jesus christ our lord amen and i think we can't let this day go by without saying the prayer of sint ignatius himself teach us good lord to serve thee as our deservist 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 labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do thy will amen so we say together the prayer that our lord taught us in whatever way in whichever language we like to use 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 for thine is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever are men moment of silence now for your own prayers the peace of god which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of god and of his son jesus christ our lord and the blessing of god almighty the father the son and the holy spirit be upon you upon those whom you love and those who would pray for today and always amen you