Festival of St. Olaf II, King and Martyr
Posted on July 29, 2023 by under
Scripture: St. Luke 11:34-36 (NKJV)
11:34 The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. 36 If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.”
Devotion
When King Olaf became lighted by the Gospel, his whole body became full of light. Before, he would have worshiped the Norse gods and lived as other Vikings, being the ‘king’ of a region, sort of like today’s warlords of Somalia or other places. When he was brought to faith in Christ while resting in France, though, he returned to Norway with a new purpose. He wanted the whole country united as one, and united in this one God who had actually, provably, done something for His creatures. This God sent His Son to die in battle to save His people and to rise from the dead so they could never die. Would that all who lead or rule might have such clear understanding, faith, and purpose!
We pray each week in the General Prayer for “all in authority, especially” our “President and Congress…Governor and Legislature…and all our Judges and Magistrates.” (“Magistrates” in this usage includes all that carry out the legitimate functions of lawful government, from police officers to bureaucratic workers, and from criminal and civil attorneys to those serving in the Armed Forces.) We are praying that they may fulfill God’s desires by carrying out their duties, and that they may have His blessing of health and prosperity, so that they might acknowledge Him and rejoice in having the vocation of protecting and promoting the vocations of others by their faithful service.
Prayer: O Lord, grant steadfastness in a faithful confession to those among the magistracy whom Thou hast gathered into Thy holy Church, and direct the hearts of the faithful to support them in their vocation; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
The Collect for the Seventh Sunday after Trinity Sunday
O God, Whose never-failing Providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth: We humbly beseech Thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which be profitable for us; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
