Author Archives: Matthew Griffin
About Matthew Griffin
I'm a priest serving in the Diocese of Niagara, with both a pastoral and an academic interest in the relationship between liturgy and theology. I enjoy reading, cooking, and spending time with my beloved and our young son.Remembering the Saints
I celebrate him as a saint. I don’t mean by that statement that I think he was more than human, or that others would have recognised a halo around his head. What I do mean is that he helped me to know God more deeply both in what he taught, and in how he offered love to me and to others. Continue reading
High Porticoes of Silence
There are two kinds of silence for campers: there’s the pleasant quiet of dusk, interrupted only by “the loon’s wild, haunting call”, and there’s the rustle of unexpected noises outside the tent as one tries to fall asleep—each noise surely proclaiming the approach of a bear, n’est-ce pas? So too are the two kinds of silence in our services: one that makes space for God, and one that makes people wonder just who it is that forgot it’s that person’s turn to do something in the liturgy. Continue reading
Liturgy and Preparing for Baptism
I think that we as Church invest much time, energy, and creativity in both the catechumenate in our ongoing renewal in our faith. At the same time, with the exception of the Vigil and renewing our promises when we celebrate the sacrament of baptism, we don’t do much liturgically to mark these processes. Continue reading
Audibly and Impressively
I enjoyed a year as a priest-in-charge of one of the more Anglo-Catholic parishes in the Diocese of Niagara. Its forms of worship were new to me, and I had to spend much time preparing for the ceremonies that were so important to that community. That meant reading and re-reading the great book that leaves no detail unwritten concerning one form of Anglo-Catholic customs: Ritual Notes.
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