A Prayer Book October
October 10Now constantly there is the sound,
quieter than rain,
of the leaves falling.
Under their loosening bright
gold, the sycamore limbs
bleach whiter.
Now the only flowers
are beeweed and aster,
spray of their white and lavender
over the brown leaves.
The calling of a crow sounds
Loud — landmark — now
that the life of summer falls
silent, and the nights grow.
Wendell Berry.
October falls between the High Festivals of Autumn, Michaelmas in late September and Hallowmas at the beginning of November. There is, then, something of a quietness to a Prayer Book October, reflecting the quiet of the Autumnal landscape, captured beautifully by Berry.
Quietness, yes, but not emptiness. So what are the characteristics of a Prayer Book October?
Sundays after Trinity
The long stretch of Sundays after Trinity continues into October. Now, however, we begin to feel that they are drawing to a close. This year, the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Sundays after Trinity fall in October. By month's end there will only be four such Sundays remaining.
The collects for these Sundays offer a rich Autumn fare, setting before us the grace which sustains us in this mortal life:
because [thy Church] cannot continue in safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore by thy help and grace - Trinity 16;
we pray thee that thy grace may always prevent and follow and us - Trinity 17;
grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil - Trinity 18;
Mercifully grant that thy Holy Spirit may in things direct and rule our hearts - Trinity 19.
The constant reiteration in the collects throughout the long Trinitytide season of our need of grace if we are "to be given to all good works" (Trinity 17) is - quite appropriately for Autumn - described by Sparrow as "Invocations upon God for the assistance of his holy Spirit, and bringing forth the fruits of it".
Harvest Thanksgiving
While it is routinely suggested that Harvest Thanksgiving has its roots in the 1843 decision of Parson Hawker in Cornwall to institute such a festival, it is clear - as Common Worship: Times and Seasons admits - that "was already a relatively widespread practice". Above all, the very widespread practice, over centuries, of administering the Sacrament at Michaelmas was a recognition of Harvest.
The provision for Harvest Thanksgiving in the various post-1662 iterations of the BCP exemplifies how the Prayer Book tradition can organically evolve, embracing popular custom and providing a liturgical context to both reflect and shape popular piety. 'A Form of Thanksgiving for the Blessings of Harvest' in Ireland 1878 is an early example of this, with proper psalms, readings, and collects for Mattins and Evensong, and collect, epistle, and gospel for Holy Communion. Canada 1918 and Scotland 1929 are other examples of goodly provision, while, of course, PECUSA 1892 also included Thanksgiving Day material with a distinct harvest theme.
The folk piety which continues to make Harvest Thanksgiving popular rightly roots the Church in the earthy, physical, given reality of the created order. To not give thanks for the bounty of the earth would be an entirely unnatural act, an expression of cold and banal secularism. While those in the United States must wait until late November for Thanksgiving, for those of us in these Islands and in Canada, the early weeks of Autumn are marked by Harvest Thanksgiving, adding a joyful richness - what Laurence Whistler in The English Festivals described as an "air of earth-loving generosity" - to a Prayer Book October.
Saint Luke's Day
The feast of the "beloved physician" falls in the midst of October. Cranmer's collect for the feast beautifully captures this theme: "Physician of the soul ... wholesome medicines ... all the diseases of our souls may be healed". It is a day to rejoice in the healing balm of the Parables of the Good Samaritan and of the Prodigal Son, amongst the most nourishing fare which can bring healing to the soul.
Luke is also, of course, the Gospel of Canticles - of Benedictus, Magnificat, and Nunc Dimittis - in which day by day at Mattins and Evensong the Incarnation is celebrated. Mindful too that it is this Gospel's Nativity account which most significantly shapes our imagination regarding the Lord's Nativity, Saint Luke's Day is an early reminder to us that we are approaching the celebration of Christmas.
Black Letter Days
Amongst October's Black Letter Days, one particularly stands out: the Translation of King Edward the Confessor on the 13th. Ronald Knox's great sermon on the Confessor comes to mind, just as the waning year and the falling leaves of Autumn stir in us a recognition of our own mortality:
When we venerate St Edward, we venerate a failure. We do so advisedly ... Ask yourself which you would rather have been, in life, of all those great dead who lie in Westminster Abbey ... is there any Christian who would not ask to change places with the Confessor; who would not choose his resting-place, there to wait for the opening of the great Doomsday Book, in which nothing is recorded of men but whether they meant good or evil, whether they loved or neglected God? ... The Conqueror, who diverted the stream of history, went to his grave disappointed and lies there a historical memory. The Confessor, whose ambitions could be satisfied by finding a poor man his dinner, saw no corruption in death, and lives the patron of his fellow countrymen.
We are drawing closer to what Donne termed "the year's midnight". Soon the Advent collect will be ringing out, "that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and the dead". It is good to have King Edward the Confessor thus commemorated in October, calling us to reflect on the last things.
Saint Simon and Saint Jude
October draws to a close with the feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude. In doing so, it prepares us for what happens next: Hallowmas. The collect for the Saint Simon and Saint Jude wonderfully anticipates All Saints:
O Almighty God,
who hast built thy Church upon
the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the head cornerstone.
The fact that the Prayer Book calendar precedes both this feast day and All Saints with "Vigils, Fasts, and Days of Abstinence" further emphasises this sense of preparation for Hallowmas. Vigils and abstinence prepare us for the festivities of All Hallows. The closing days of a Prayer Book October orient us towards celebrating the great festival of all "thy blessed Saints".
(The first painting is Grant Wood, 'Fall Plowing', 1931. The second is by contemporary artist Katrina Jones, 'Day's End in October Barn Scene'.)
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