Flannery O’Connor
Flannery O’Connor is considered one of America’s greatest fiction writers and one of the strongest apologists for Roman Catholicism in the twentieth century. Born of the marriage of two of Georgia’s oldest Catholic families, O’Connor was a devout believer whose small but impressive body of fiction presents the soul’s struggle with what she called the “stinking mad shadow of Jesus.” Flannery O’Connor was a painstaking and disciplined writer, devoting each morning to her work and making great demands of herself even in her last years as she struggled with lupus. Like the comedy of Dante, O’Connor’s dark humor consciously intends to underscore boldly our common human sinfulness and need for divine grace. Even her characters’ names (Tom T. Shiflet, Mary Grace, Joy/Hulga Hopewell, Mrs. Cope) are often ironic clues to their spiritual deficiencies. O’Connor’s recurrent characters, from Hazel Motes in Wise Blood to O. E. Parker of “Parker’s Back,” are spiritually lean and hungry figures who reject mere lip service to Christianity and the bland certainty of rationalism in their pursuit of salvation. These same characters, usually deprived economically, emotionally, or both, inhabit a world in which, in O’Connor’s words, “the good is under construction.” O’Connor was a Roman Catholic in the Bible Belt South; her fiction, though, is largely concerned with fundamentalist Protestants, many of whom she admired for the integrity of their search for Truth. The publication of her essays and lectures, Mystery and Manners (1969), and the publication ten years later of The Habit of Being confirmed the strong connection between O’Connor’s fictional treatment of the search for God and the quest for the holy in her own life. Indeed, her life and work were of a piece. She attained in her brief life what Sally Fitzgerald called (after St. Thomas Aquinas) “the habit of being,” which Fitzgerald describes as “an excellence not only of action but of interior disposition and activity” that struggled to reflect the goodness and love of God. 1
Antiphon https://tinyurl.com/5fdmknbz
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread?
When those who do evil draw near, they stumble and fall. Psalm 27
Praise to you, God of our salvation.
You come to our help and set us free.
May your strength be our shield
and your word, our lamp,
that we may serve you with pure hearts
and find deliverance in Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen. BCW
Music: https://tinyurl.com/ycn4djk5
O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Praise to you, O Christ, Alleluia!
HYMN: Johann Heinrich Schröder; trans. Frances Elizabeth Cox
Tune: Eins ist Not https://tinyurl.com/4caryr92
1 One thing’s needful; Lord, this treasure
Teach me highly to regard;
All else, though it first give pleasure,
Is a yoke that presses hard.
Beneath it the heart is still fretting and striving,
No true, lasting happiness ever deriving.
The gain of this one thing all loss can requite
And teach me in all things to find true delight.
2 Wilt thou find this one thing needful,
Turn from all created things
Unto Jesus and be heedful
Of the blessed joy He brings.
For where God and Man both in one are united,
With God’s perfect fullness the heart is delighted;
There, there is the worthiest lot and the best,
My One and my All and my Joy and my Rest.
3 How were Mary’s thoughts devoted
Her eternal joy to find
As intent each word she noted,
At her Savior’s feet reclined!
How kindled her heart, how devout was its feeling,
While hearing the lessons that Christ was revealing!
For Jesus all earthly concerns she forgot,
And all was repaid in that one happy lot.
4 Thus my longings, heav’nward tending,
Jesus, rest alone on Thee.
Help me, thus on Thee depending;
Savior, come and dwell in me.
Although all the world should forsake and forget Thee,
In love I will follow Thee, ne’er will I quit Thee.
Lord Jesus, both spirit and life is Thy Word;
And is there a joy which Thou dost not afford?
5 Wisdom’s highest, noblest treasure,
Jesus, lies concealed in Thee;
Grant that this may still the measure
Of my will and actions be,
Humility there and simplicity reigning,
In paths of true wisdom my steps ever training.
Oh, if I of Christ have this knowledge divine,
The fullness of heavenly wisdom is mine.
6 Naught have I, O Christ, to offer
Naught but Thee, my highest Good.
Naught have I, O Lord, to proffer
But Thy crimson-colored blood.
Thy death on the cross hath Death wholly defeated
And thereby my righteousness fully completed;
Salvation’s white raiments I there did obtain,
And in them in glory with Thee I shall reign.
7. Therefore Thou alone, my Savior,
Shalt be All in all to me;
Search my heart and my behavior,
Root out all hypocrisy.
Restrain me from wand’ring on pathways unholy
And through all life’s pilgrimage keep my heart lowly.
This one thing is needful, all others are vain;
I count all but loss that I Christ may obtain.
PSALMS
Psalm 18
(Anglican Chant: https://tinyurl.com/yx7qz95s)
1 I will love thee, O Lord, my strength;
the Lord is my stony rock, and my defence *
my Saviour, my God, and my might, in whom I will trust,
my buckler, the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge.
2 I will call upon the Lord, which is worthy to be praised *
so shall I be safe from mine enemies.
3 The sorrows of death compassed me *
and the overflowings of ungodliness made me afraid.
4 The pains of hell came about me *
the snares of death overtook me.
5 In my trouble I will call upon the Lord *
and complain unto my God.
6 So shall he hear my voice out of his holy temple *
and my complaint shall come before him,
it shall enter even into his ears.
7 The earth trembled and quaked *
the very foundations also of the hills shook,
and were removed, because he was wroth.
8 There went a smoke out in his presence *
and a consuming fire out of his mouth,
so that coals were kindled at it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down *
and it was dark under his feet.
10 He rode upon the cherubims, and did fly *
he came flying upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place *
his pavilion round about him with dark water,
and thick clouds to cover him.
12 At the brightness of his presence his clouds removed *
hail-stones, and coals of fire.
13 The Lord also thundered out of heaven,
and the Highest gave his thunder *
hail-stones, and coals of fire.
14 He sent out his arrows, and scattered them *
he cast forth lightnings, and destroyed them.
15 The springs of waters were seen,
and the foundations of the round world were discovered,
at thy chiding, O Lord *
at the blasting of the breath of thy displeasure.
16 He shall send down from on high to fetch me *
and shall take me out of many waters.
17 He shall deliver me from my strongest enemy,
and from them which hate me *
for they are too mighty for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my trouble *
but the Lord was my upholder.
19 He brought me forth also into a place of liberty *
he brought me forth, even because he had a favour unto me.
20 The Lord shall reward me after my righteous dealing *
according to the cleanness of my hands shall he recompense me.
21 Because I have kept the ways of the Lord *
and have not forsaken my God, as the wicked doth.
22 For I have an eye unto all his laws *
and will not cast out his commandments from me.
23 I was also uncorrupt before him *
and eschewed mine own wickedness.
24 Therefore shall the Lord reward me after my righteous dealing *
and according unto the cleanness of my hands in his eye-sight.
25 With the holy thou shalt be holy *
and with a perfect man thou shalt be perfect.
26 With the clean thou shalt be clean *
and with the froward thou shalt learn frowardness.
27 For thou shalt save the people that are in adversity *
and shalt bring down the high looks of the proud.
28 Thou also shalt light my candle *
the Lord my God shall make my darkness to be light.
29 For in thee I shall discomfit an host of men *
and with the help of my God I shall leap over the wall.
30 The way of God is an undefiled way *
the word of the Lord also is tried in the fire;
he is the defender of all them that put their trust in him.
31 For who is God, but the Lord *
or who hath any strength, except our God?
32 It is God, that girdeth me with strength of war *
and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like harts’ feet *
and setteth me up on high.
34 He teacheth mine hands to fight *
and mine arms shall break even a bow of steel.
35 Thou hast given me the defence of thy salvation *
thy right hand also shall hold me up,
and thy loving correction shall make me great.
36 Thou shalt make room enough under me for to go *
that my footsteps shall not slide.
37 I will follow upon mine enemies, and overtake them *
neither will I turn again till I have destroyed them.
38 I will smite them, that they shall not be able to stand *
but fall under my feet.
39 Thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle *
thou shalt throw down mine enemies under me.
40 Thou hast made mine enemies also to turn their backs upon me *
and I shall destroy them that hate me.
41 They shall cry, but there shall be none to help them *
yea, even unto the Lord shall they cry, but he shall not hear them.
42 I will beat them as small as the dust before the wind *
I will cast them out as the clay in the streets.
43 Thou shalt deliver me from the strivings of the people *
and thou shalt make me the head of the heathen.
44 A people whom I have not known *
shall serve me.
45 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me *
but the strange children shall dissemble with me.
46 The strange children shall fail *
and be afraid out of their prisons.
47 The Lord liveth, and blessed be my strong helper *
and praised be the God of my salvation.
48 Even the God that seeth that I be avenged *
and subdueth the people unto me.
49 It is he that delivereth me from my cruel enemies,
and setteth me up above mine adversaries *
thou shalt rid me from the wicked man.
50 For this cause will I give thanks unto thee, O Lord, among the Gentiles *
and sing praises unto thy Name.
51 Great prosperity giveth he unto his King *
and sheweth loving-kindness unto David his Anointed,
and unto his seed for evermore.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son :
and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be :
world without end. Amen.
Psalm 18 (Gregorian Tone 7a)
2 I love you, Lord, my strength;
3 O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my savior;
my God my rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold. †
4 I cry out, “O praised be the LORD!” *
and see, I am saved from my foes.
5 The waves of death rose about me; *
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the snares of Sheol surrounded me; *
the traps of death confronted me.
7 In my anguish I called to the LORD; *
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice; *
my cry to him reached his ears.
8 The earth then reeled and rocked; †
the mountains were shaken to their base; *
they quaked at his terrible anger.
9 Smoke came forth from his nostrils, †
and scorching fire from his mouth; *
from him were kindled live coals.
10 He bent the heavens and came down *
a black cloud was under his feet.
11 On a cherub, he rode and he flew; *
he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He made the darkness his covering, *
the dark waters of the clouds, his tent.
13 A brightness shone out before him, *
with hailstones and flashes of fire.
14 The LORD then thundered in the heavens; †
the Most High let his voice be heard, *
with hail and coals of fire.
15 He shot his arrows, scattered the foe, *
flashed his lightnings, and put them to flight.
16 The bed of the ocean was revealed; *
the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD, *
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
17 From on high he reached down and seized me; *
he drew me forth from the mighty waters.
18 He saved me from my powerful foe, *
from my enemies, whose strength I could not match.
19 They assailed me in the day of my misfortune, *
but the LORD was my strong support.
20 He brought me out to a place of freedom; *
he saved me because he loved me.
21 The LORD rewarded me because I was righteous,*
repaid me, for my hands were clean,
22 for I have kept the ways of the LORD, *
and have not fallen away from my God.
23 For his judgments are all before me; *
his commands I have not cast aside.
24 I have been blameless before him; *
I have kept myself from guilt.
25 The LORD repaid me because I was righteous, *
and my hands were clean in his eyes.
26 With the faithful you show yourself faithful; *
with the blameless you show yourself blameless.
27 With the sincere you show yourself sincere, *
but the cunning you outdo in shrewdness;
28 for you save a lowly people, *
but bring low the eyes that are proud.
29 It is you who give light to my lamp; *
the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
30 With you I can crush the foe, *
with my God I can scale a wall.
31 As for God, his way is blameless; *
the word of the LORD is pure.
He indeed is the shield *
of all who trust in him.
32 For who is God but the LORD? *
Who is a rock but our God?
33 It is God who girds me with strength, *
and keeps my path free of blame.
34 My feet he makes swift as the deerʼs; *
he has made me stand firm on the heights.
35 He has trained my hands for battle, *
and my arms to bend the bronze bow.
36 You gave me your saving shield; †
with your right hand, you gave me support; *
you bent down to make me great.
37 You lengthened my steps beneath me; *
and my feet have never slipped.
38 I pursued and overtook my foes, *
never turning back till they were slain.
39 I struck them so they could not rise; *
they fell beneath my feet.
40 You girded me with strength for battle; *
you made my enemies fall beneath me.
41 You made my foes take flight; *
those who hated me I destroyed.
42 They cried out, but there was no one to save them, *
cried to the LORD, but he did not answer.
43 I crushed them fine as dust before the wind, *
trod them down like dirt in the streets.
44 From the feuds of the people you delivered me, *
and put me at the head of the nations.
45 People unknown to me served me:
when they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreign nations came to me cringing:
foreign nations faded away.
Trembling, they came forth from their strongholds.
47 The Lord lives, and blest be my Rock!
May the God of my salvation be exalted,
48 the God who gives me redress
and subdues the peoples under me.
49 You saved me from my furious foes;
you set me above my assailants;
you saved me from the violent man.
50 So I will praise you, Lord, among the nations:
to your name will I sing a psalm.
51 The Lord gives great victories to his king
and shows merciful love for his anointed,
for David and his seed for ever.
PRAYER
O God,
our stronghold and our salvation,
in Christ you draw near to us with compassion.
Give us such strength of love
that we may reach out to our neighbor
without counting the cost;
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. BCW2018
THE WORD OF GOD
READING: Exodus 32:1-14
When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us, who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took these from them, formed them in a mold, and cast an image of a calf, and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a festival to the Lord.” They rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought sacrifices of well-being, and the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to revel.
The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ ” The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, how stiff-necked they are. Now let me alone so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, and of you I will make a great nation.”
But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce wrath; change your mind and do not bring disaster on your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, how you swore to them by your own self, saying to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” And the Lord changed his mind about the disaster that he planned to bring on his people.
HYMN: Herman G Stuempfle ©
Tune: Rutherford https://tinyurl.com/t2hxtyrk
1 Cast down, O God, the idols
That hold us in their pow’r,
The empty gods we worship
When darkness has its hour.
We bow to other masters
And by their promise live.
Redeem our wayward passions;
Our rebel wills forgive.
2 In vain we search for meaning
Where transient joys abound,
And seek the soul’s contentment
Where peace cannot be found.
We wander, lost and homeless,
In endless, aimless quest,
Our hearts forever restless
Until in You they rest.
3 O God, we have our being
In You and You alone.
Recall us from our wand’rings;
Reclaim us as Your own.
Restore in us the image
Revealed in Christ, Your Word,
Till heart and will pay homage
To Him, our God and Lord.
READING: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the partnership of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
HYMN: Isaac Watts
Tune: St Magnus https://tinyurl.com/yxyefjhh
1 Begin, my soul, some heavenly theme,
awake, my voice, and sing
the mighty works, or mightier name,
Of our eternal King.
2 Tell of his wondrous faithfulness,
And sound his power abroad;
sing the sweet promise of his grace,
the quickening word of God.
3 Engraved as in eternal brass,
the mighty promise shines;
nor can the powers of darkness rase
those everlasting lines.
4 His every word of grace is strong,
as that which built the skies;
the voice that rolls the stars along
speaks all the promises.
5 Now shall my fainting heart rejoice
to know thy favour sure:
I trust the all-creating voice,
and faith desires no more.
READING: Matthew 16:1-12
The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you gathered? How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
CANTICLE Colossians 1:12-20
(Chant by John Michael Talbot https://tinyurl.com/ya95yzto)
Ant. He is the first born of all creation,
in every way the primacy is his.
Let us give thanks to the Father
for having made you worthy
to share the lot of the saints in light.
He rescued us from the power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Through him we have redemption,
the forgiveness of our sins.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creatures.
In him everything in heaven and on earth was created,
things visible and invisible.
All were created through him; all were created for him.
He is before all else that is.
In him everything continues in being.
It is he who is head of the body, the church!
He who is the beginning, the first-born of the dead,
so that primacy may be his in everything.
It pleased God to make absolute fullness reside in him
and, by means of him, to reconcile everything in his person,
both on earth and in the heavens,
making peace through the blood of his cross.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
THE PRAYERS BCW
God of all mercies,
we praise you that you have brought us to this new day,
brightening our lives with the dawn
of promise and hope in Jesus Christ.
Especially we thank you for
the warmth of sunlight,
the wetness of rain and snow,
and all that nourishes the earth…
the presence and power of your Spirit . . .
the support and encouragement we receive from others . . .
those who provide for public safety and well-being . . .
the mission of the church around the world. . . .
Merciful God,
strengthen us in prayer
that we may lift up the brokenness of this world for your healing,
and share in the saving love of Jesus Christ.
Especially we pray for
those in positions of authority over others . . .
the lonely and forgotten . . .
children without families or homes . . .
agents of caring and relief . . .
the church in Asia and the Middle East….
Setting by Eric Wyse:2
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread;
and forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
O God, by your Holy Spirit you give to some the word of wisdom, to others the word of knowledge, and to others the word of faith: We praise your Name for the gifts of grace manifested in your servant Flannery O’Connor, and we pray that your Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP79
Music: https://tinyurl.com/y9efvwm5
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen. 2 Cor. 13:14
BCW Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 1993.
BCP79 The Book of Common Prayer (1979), The Episcopal Church
1 https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/flannery-oconnor-1925-1964
BCW2018 Book of Common Worship, Presbyterian Church U.S.A., 2018
2 Eric Wyse, Lord’s Prayer, ©; audio from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_a40ME7aVk
The main scripture readings are from the New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The traditional psalm texts are from The Book of Common Prayer (1662). The contemporary psalm text is from The Abbey Psalter as recorded for the Chants and Rants YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@chantsandrants
Musical links are usually either to artists’ albums posted on Spotify or to recordings made available at smallchurchmusic.com. Audio stripped from YouTube videos is footnoted accordingly above.
Compilation © 2026 Stephen T. Benner. All links worked at the time they were created, but I cannot accept responsibility for their content or any damage resulting from their use. The linked content is under the control of the respective content creators and is subject to change at any time. Any copyright texts included in this compilation are provided for non-commercial purposes related to study or worship. Please contact the respective copyright holders for permission to use the texts in other contexts.
Oremus 