The Hail Mary is dew falling from heaven to make the soul fruitful. It is a pure kiss of love we give to Mary.

Above:  Trichet and Montfort

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT LOUIS-MARIE GRIGNION DE MONTFORT (JANUARY 31, 1673-APRIL 28, 1716)

Founder of the Company of Mary (the Montfort Missionaries)

Founder of the Brothers of Saint Gabriel 

Co-Founder of the Daughters of Wisdom

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BLESSED MARIE-LOUISE TRICHET (MAY 7, 1684-APRIL 28, 1759)

Co-Founder of the Daughters of Wisdom

Also known as Marie-Louise of Jesus and the First Daughter of Wisdom

Alternative feast day = May 7

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–St. Louis de Montfort

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Your real superior is Mary; I am but her servant.

–Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet

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St. Louis de Montfort and Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet come to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.  Both saints share the same feast day on the Roman Catholic calendar because they died on April 28.  Furthermore, properly telling the biography of one saint is impossible without telling of the life of the other one.

MONTFORT (I)

 

St. Louis de Montfort became an advocate of Marian devotion.  He also had a strong devotion to angels, especially guardian angels.

Montfort, born in Montfort-sur-Meu, France, on January 31, 1673, was one of eighteen children of Jeanne Robert Grignion and notary Jean-Baptiste Grignion.  Our saint grew up on the family farm near Montfort-sur-Meu.  When twelve years old, he matriculated at the Jesuit College of Saint Thomas Becket, Rennes; an uncle was a parish priest there.  Montfort remained at the College of Saint Thomas Becket to study theology.  These were formative years for our saint, who developed his interest in missions and his devotion to St. Mary of Nazareth.

Theological studies continued at the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, starting in 1693.  The scholarship proved inadequate, so Montfort lived among the poor of Paris in boarding houses.  His health also failed.  Somehow, our saint survived the bloodletting in the hospital in 1695.  Montfort, then appointed the seminary librarian, studied spiritual classics, especially of a Marian nature.

Montfort, ordained to the priesthood in June 1700, became a parish priest.  His first assignment was in Nantes.  Our saint, frustrated that he could not become a missionary to New France, felt stymied in fulfilling his vocation.  He became a Dominican tertiary in November 1700.  The following year, our saint began to serve as the chaplain of the hospital in Poitiers.  There he met Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet.

TRICHET (I)

Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet came from a pious Roman Catholic family.  She, born on May 7, 1684, was the fourth of eight children of Françoise Lecoeq and court magistrate Julen Trichet, of Poitiers, France.  One brother, Alexis, became a priest.  He, ordained in 1710, died the following year while ministering to plague victims in a prison camp.  One sister became a nun.  Another sister, Jeanne, paralyzed when thirteen years old, received healing during a pilgrimage to Notre Dame des Ardilliers, Samur, France, three years later.  Blessed Marie-Louise, educated by the Sisters of Sainte Jeanne de Lestonac, devoted her life to caring for the poor and the ill.

MONTFORT AND TRICHET (I)

Blessed Marie-Louise, seventeen years old, encountered Father Louis de Montfort at the Poitiers General Hospital in 1701.  He was the new chaplain; she was a volunteer.  Technicalities required Blessed Marie-Louise to enter the hospital as an inmate.  The pious, displeased mothe told her:

You will become as mad as that priest.

Blessed Marie-Louise did become as “mad as that priest.” effective February 2, 1703.  She moved into General Hospital, officially as an inmate.  Actually, she served as a nurse for a decade and helped Montfort administer the hospital.  Blessed Marie-Louise also expanded the hospital’s mission to include feeding beggars.

TRICHET (II)

Blessed Marie-Louise and Catherine Brunet departed Poitiers in 1715.  Brunet had joined Blessed Marie-Louise in hospital administration at Deux-Sèvres the previous year.  The women, accepting the invitation of the Bishop of La Rochelle, opened a free school for children of the poor in that city in 1715.

MONTFORT (II)

Despite all his good deeds to date, Montfort perceived that he was not fulfilling his vocation.  He wanted to serve as a missionary.  The priest consulted Pope Clement XI (r. 1700-1721), who assured him that he could fulfill that vocation in France.  The Supreme Pontiff also gave Montfort a new title:  Apostolic Missionary.  So, Montfort’s time as chaplain of the General Hospital, Poitiers, ended a few years after it had begun.  He became a traveling missioner.  Montfort also wrote books about Marian devotion.  He encouraged consecration to Jesus via Mary.  He also founded the Company of Mary (the Montfort Missionaries).

MONTFORT AND TRICHET (II)

On August 22, 1715, at La Rochelle, Montfort and Blessed Marie-Louise founded the Daughters of Wisdom.  Blessed Marie-Louise became Marie-Louise of Jesus.  The new order focused on teaching children and caring for the poor.

MONTFORT (III)

Montfort, aged forty-three years, had been a priest for about sixteen years when he died at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvres, France, on April 28, 1716.  The priest had worn himself out.  His final sermon had been about the tenderness of Christ and the Incarnate Wisdom of God the Father.

Holy Mother Church has formally recognized Montfort.  Pope Pius IX declared him a Venerable in 1869.  Pope Leo XIII made our saint one of the beati.  Pope Pius XII canonized Montfort in 1947.

TRICHET (III)

Blessed Marie-Louise expanded and managed the work of the Daughters of Wisdom after Montfort’s death.  The order cared for orphans, as well as for the elderly and the handicapped.  The order also operated schools, and many members worked in hospitals.

Blessed Marie-Louise died at Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvres, on April 28, 1759–forty-three years to the day after her mentor’s death.  She, aged sixty-six years, never recovered from a fall from a horse.  Her tomb was next to that of Montfort.

Holy Mother Church has formally recognized Trichet.  Pope John Paul II declared her Venerable (1990) then Blessed (1993).

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 1, 2022 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, LORD SHAFTESBURY, BRITISH HUMANITARIAN AND SOCIAL REFORMER

THE FEAST OF CHUCK MATTHEI, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE EQUITY TRUST, INC.

THE FEAST OF MARIE-JOSEPH AUBERT, FOUNDER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF OUR LADY OF COMPASSION

THE FEAST OF RALPH W. SOCKMAN, UNITED METHODIST MINISTER AND SPIRITUAL WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT ROMANUS THE MELODIST, DEACON AND HYMNODIST

THE FEAST OF SAINT THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN AND MYSTIC

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Almighty God, you have surrounded us with a great cloud of witnesses:

Grant that we, encouraged by the good example of your servants

Saint Louis de Montfort and Blessed Marie-Louise Trichet,

may persevere in running the race that is set before us,

until at last we may with them attain to your eternal joy;

through Jesus Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Micah 6:6-8

Psalm 15

Hebrews 12:1-2

Matthew 25:31-40

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 724

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Above:  Blessed Jozef Cebula

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED JOZEF CEBULA (MARCH 23-1902-APRIL 28, 1941)

Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941

Blessed Jozef Cebula died for his faith.  He, born in Malni, Poland (Poland was a region, not a nation-state, at the time.), on March 12, 1902, eventually joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary.  He matriculated at the Oblate Junior Seminary in 1920, taught at the minor seminary at Lubliniac from 1923 to 1931, served as the superior there from 1931 to 1937, and became the Novice Master at Markowice in 1937.  Along the way he became a priest in 1927.  Cebula earned his reputation as a kind and prayerful man.

Then, in 1939, the Third Reich and the Soviet Union divided Poland between themselves.  That October Nazi officials placed the 100 members of the order at the Markowice novitiate under house arrest.  In October 1940 authorities evicted the Oblates and converted the structure into a center for the Hitler Youth.  Cebula continued as an underground priest, hearing confessions and saying Masses.  For this offense Nazi officials arrested him the following year.  He wound up at the concentration camp at Mauthausen, Austria.  There guards made our saint carry 60-pound rocks two miles from the quarry to the camp and forced him to climb a 144-step staircase as they beat and insulted him.  On April 28, 1941, guards ordered him to run with a rock on his back then shot and killed him on the pretense that he was attempting to escape.  Cebula was 39 years old.

Pope John Paul II declared Cebula a Venerable then a Blessed in 1999.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 22, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE, EQUAL TO THE APOSTLES

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Almighty God, who gave your servant Blessed Jozef Cebula

boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world,

and courage to die for this faith:

Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us,

and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

2 Esdras 2:42-48

Psalm 126 or 121

1 Peter 3:14-18, 22

Matthew 10:16-22

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2910), page 713

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Above:  Statue of St. Pamphilus of Sulmona

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT PAMPHILUS OF SULMONA (DIED CIRCA 700)

Roman Catholic Bishop and Almsgiver

St. Pamphilus of Sulmona earned his reputation for piety and good works.  He, a convert from paganism, came to Christ and alienated his family as a result; his father disowned him.  Our saint, Bishop of Sulmona, with his see city being Abruzzi, in Italy, from 682, had a routine.  He sang the midnight office, said Mass, gave alms to the poor, then ate breakfast with those poor.  Certain priests, who did not follow that routine, became self-conscious in their bishop’s context.  They, out of jealousy, falsely accused him of being an Arian.  However, Pope St. Sergius I (reigned 687-701) cleared St. Pamphilus of the allegation and sent him home with a generous donation to distribute to the poor.

St. Pamphilus died circa 700.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 22, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARY MAGDALENE, EQUAL TO THE APOSTLES

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Heavenly Father, Shepherd of your people, we thank you for your servant Saint Pamphilus of Sulmona,

who was faithful in the care and nurture of your flock;

and we pray that, following his example and the teaching of his holy life,

we may by your grace grow into the stature of the fullness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 34:11-16

Psalm 23

1 Peter 5:1-4

John 21:15-17

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 718

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raise the level of wonder and appreciation of God’s awesome creation, justification, and sanctification.

Above:  Jaroslav Vajda

Image Source = hymntime.com

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JAROSLAV JAN VAJDA (APRIL 28, 1919-MAY 10, 2008)

U.S. Lutheran Minister, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer

Jaroslav Vajda was a hymn writer who, in his words, sought to

–Quoted in Paul Westermeyer, With Tongues of Fire:  Profiles in 20th-Century Hymn Writing (St. Louis, MO:  Concordia Publishing House, 1995), page 153

Vajda grew up in the old Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church (1902-1971), later renamed the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and , since 1971, the SELC District of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod.  Our saint, born in Lorain, Ohio, on April 28, 1919, was a son of a minister.  Vajda studied in Racine, Wisconsin; and East Chicago, Indiana; before attending Concordia Junior College, Fort Wayne, Indiana (Class of 1938); and Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri (B.A., 1941; M.Div., 1944).  He interned at Sts. Peter and Paul Lutheran Church, Central City, Pennsylvania.  Our saint was an intellectually active person interested in Slovak culture and language, as evidenced by his thesis, a history of Jiri Tranovsky‘s Cithara Sanctorum (1636), or Harp of the Saints, a hymnal containing 414 texts.  As a young man he had mastered the Slovak language, completing his first translation from Slovak at the age of 21 years.  He was also a talented poet in the English language.  Vadja began to compose poetry at the age of 18 years.  At that age, when he submitted some poems to The Cresset, a literary magazine of the Missouri Synod, he received positive and encouraging feedback.

Vajda was a minister and a married man.  In 1945 he married Louise Mastaglio of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the couple went on to have four children.  Our saint served on the parish, denominational, and ecumenical levels.  The congregations he served were:

1. Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Cranesville, Pennsylvania (1945-1949), a bilingual Slovak-English congregation, as pastor;
2. Our Blessed Savior Lutheran Church, Alexandria, Pennsylvania (1949-1953), as pastor;
3. St. John’s Lutheran Church, Brackenridge, Pennsylvania (1953-1963), a bilingual Slovak-English congregation, as pastor; and
4. St. Lucas Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri (1963-1976), as assistant pastor.

Beyond the parish level Vadja edited The Lutheran Beacon, of the Slovak Evangelical Lutheran Church, from 1959 to 1963; edited This Day, a family magazine of the Missouri Synod, from 1963 to 1971; served on the Missouri Synod’s Commission on Worship from 1960 to 1978; served on the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship from 1967 to 1978, and therefore helped to create the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978); served on the committee that created the Worship Supplement (1969); and edited and developed books for Concordia Publishing House from 1971 until 1986, when he retired.

Vajda translated hymns of Jiri Tranovsky (1592-1637), the Luther of the Slavs and the Father of Slovak Hymnody, from Slovak and composed many original hymns.  The oldest translation by our saint of a text from Tranovsky I have found dates to 1960.  Vajda, by his own accounts, wrote his first hymn in 1968, at the age of 49 years, and composed most of his texts after he retired, at the age of 67 years, in 1986.  Our saint’s contributions to hymnody were numerous and impressive, numbering 225.  (Aside:  Concordia Publishing House sells Sing Peace, Sing Gift of Peace:  The Comprehensive Hymnary of Jaroslav J. Vajda.)  Paul Westermeyer, in With Tongues of Fire (1995), listed 179 hymn titles alphabetically.  Not surprisingly, the greatest concentrations of Vajda’s hymns, apart from dedicated volumes, have been in Lutheran hymnals, given the confessional Lutheran theology in the texts.  My survey of hymnals and hymnal supplements of the main two Lutheran denominations in the United States has yielded the following counts of hymns by our saint:

1. Worship Supplement (1969)–4,
2. Lutheran Book of Worship (1978)–9,
3. Lutheran Worship (1982)-5,
4. With One Voice (1995)–3,
5. Hymnal Supplement 98 (1998)–7,
6. Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006)–6, and
7. Lutheran Service Book (2006)–10.

Vajda, a longtime member of the Hymn Society of America, became a fellow of that organization in 1988.

Vajda, the recipient of many honorary doctorates, was a cultured man.  He studied Slovak Lutheran hymnody extensively.  He even wrote the article “Slovak Hymnody” for the excellent Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship (1981), a fine reference work and one of the best of the hymnal companion volumes.  Our saint also played the violin and translated works from Slovak into English.  Aside from hymns by Tranovksy, Vajda translated Bloody Sonnets (1950), Slovak Christmas (1960), Janko Kral (1972), An Anthology of Slovak Literature (1976), and an operatic libretto, Zuzanka Hraskovia (1978).  Original writings, aside from hymns, included They Followed the King (1963), Follow the King (1977), and Men and Women of the Bible:  45 Meditations on Biblical Heroes of the Faith (1996).

Vajda died, aged 89 years, at Webster Groves, Ohio, on May 10, 2008.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JULY 19, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT POEMEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT JOHN THE DWARF AND ARSENIUS THE GREAT; ROMAN CATHOLIC MONKS

THE FEAST OF SAINT AMBROSE AUTPERT, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN PLESSINGTON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Jaroslav Jan Vajda and others, who have composed and translated hymn texts.

May we, as you guide us,

find worthy hymn texts to be icons,

through which we see you.

In the Name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15

Psalm 147

Revelation 5:11-14

Luke 2:8-20

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH

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Above:  Wallis and Futuna

Image Source = Hammond’s World Atlas–Classics Edition (1967)

Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

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SAINT PETER CHANEL (JULY 12, 1803-APRIL 28, 1841)

Protomartyr of Oceania

Born Pierre Louis Marie Chanel

Each of us has a set of rules to fulfill in the project of glorifying God.  The question is how many of us will seek to fulfill those roles.  Even when one does this, the reality of what one’s roles are might prove surprising to one.

St. Peter Chanel was French.  He, the fifth of eight children of Claude-Francois and Marie-Anne Sibellas Chanel, worked as a shepherd prior to commencing studies at the parochial school at Montrevel-en-Brasse, Ain, in 1814.  Our saint, who made his first communion on March 23, 1817, developed a lifelong interest in foreign missions while still at home.  He continued his education at various church-run schools from 1819 to 1827.

Chanel became a priest in 1827.  He served briefly as assistant at Amberieu-en-Bugey before transferring to Crozet.  During his tenure of three years he revitalized that rural parish.  Yet our saint wished to become a missionary.  In 1831 Chanel joined the new Society of Mary (the Marists), a missionary order.  The Marists assigned him to serve as the spiritual director at the seminary at Belley for five years.

Chanel got his opportunity to serve as a missionary in 1836.  He became the superior of a group of seven Marish missionaries to the southwestern Pacific Ocean.  They arrived at Futura Island on November 8, 1837.  At first Niuliki, the local king, welcome them.  Our saint learned the local language well and began to have success converting people.  This fact made Niuliki, a priest-king, nervous.  He became hostile when his son, Meitala, requested baptism.  The king sent a warrior, Musumusu, to prevent that from happening.  Musumusu killed Chanel.  Niuliki’s efforts were in vain, for priests converted most of the population to Christianity within five months of ours saint’s martyrdom, dated April 28, 1841.

The Roman Catholic Church beatified Chanel in 1889 and canonized him in 1954.

Chanel did not live long enough to see most of the population of Futuna Island convert, but his efforts contributed to the fulfillment of that goal.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 17, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTONY OF EGYPT, DESERT FATHER

THE FEAST OF SAINT BERARD AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS IN MOROCCO

THE FEAST OF EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS, UNITARIAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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Father, you called St. Peter Chanel to work for your Church

and gave him the crown of martyrdom.

May our celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection

make us faithful witnesses to the new life he brings,

for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Psalm 117

Mark 1:14-20

—New Saint Joseph Weekday Missal–Complete Edition, Volume 1–Advent to Pentecost (2002), pages 983-984

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Above:  Lamb of God

Seeking the Peace of God

APRIL 3, 2016

APRIL 28, 2019

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THE FIRST READING

Acts 5:27-32 (New Revised Standard Version):

When the temple police had brought the apostles, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying,

We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you are determined to bring this man’s blood on us.

But Peter and the apostles answered,

We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.

THE RESPONSE:  OPTION #1

Psalm 118:14-29 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

14  The LORD is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation.

15  There is a sound of exultation and victory

in the tents of the righteous:

16  ”The right hand of the LORD has triumphed!

the right hand of the LORD is exalted!

the right hand of the LORD has triumphed!”

17  I shall not die, but live,

and declare the works of the LORD.

18  The LORD has punished me sorely,

but he did not hand me over to death.

19  Open for me the gates of righteousness;

I will enter them;

I will offer thanks to the LORD.

20  ”This is the gate of the LORD;

he who is righteous may enter.”

21  I will give thanks to you, for you answered me

and have become my salvation.

22  The same stone which the builders rejected

has become the chief cornerstone.

23  This is the LORD’s doing,

and it is marvelous in our eyes.

24  On this day the LORD has acted;

we will rejoice and be glad in it.

25  Hosanna, LORD, hosanna!

LORD, send us now success.

26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;

we bless you from the house of the LORD.

27  God is the LORD; he has shined upon us;

form a procession with branches up to the horns of the altar.

28  ”You are my God, and I will thank you;

you are my God, and I will exalt you.”

29  Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;

his mercy endures for ever.

THE RESPONSE:  OPTION #2

Psalm 150 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1 Hallelujah!

Praise God in his holy temple;

praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts;

praise him for his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the blast of the ram’s-horn;

Praise him with lyre and harp.

4 Praise him with timbrel and dance;

praise him with strings and pipe.

5 Praise him with resounding cymbals;

praise him with loud-clanging cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath

praise the LORD.

Hallelujah!

THE SECOND READING

Revelation 1:4-8 (New Revised Standard Version):

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:  Grace to you and peace from him who is and was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.  Amen.

Look!  He is coming with the clouds;

every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him;

and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wait.

So it is to be.   Amen.

I am the Alpha and the Omega,

says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

THE GOSPEL READING

John 20:19-31 (New Revised Standard Version):

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said,

Peace be with you.

After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again,

Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.

When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him,

We have seen the Lord.

But he said to them,

Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said,

Peace be with you.

Then he said to Thomas,

Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.

Thomas answered him,

My Lord and my God!

Jesus said to him,

Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The Collect:

Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Prayer of Praise and Adoration:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter/

Prayer of Dedication:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter/

Prayer:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/02/27/prayer-for-the-second-sunday-of-easter/

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Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.

–John 20:22b-23, New Revised Standard Version 

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Jesus had returned from the dead, a death which human authorities had ordered.  So, in Acts 5:27, St. Simon Peter could defy human authority in good conscience.  (That adds a wrinkle to an argument I made here:  http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2012/06/03/devotion-for-the-seventh-day-of-easter-saturday-in-easter-week-lcms-daily-lectionary/.)  Back in time, closer to the Resurrection, Jesus comforted his surviving eleven Apostles, saying

Peace be with you.

The Apostles’ task was to spread that peace to others.

What, then, does John 20:22b-23 mean?  In other words, who retains unforgiven sins?

Recently I watched The Twenty (2010), an independent movie which deals with that question.  The three main characters loathe themselves.  The recovering alcoholic who has been sober for just a few weeks before resuming drinking detests himself.  The pedophile who has apologized to his victims and lived as a recluse for twenty-two years is ashamed of himself.  Two of his three victims have forgiven him.  The third victim, now a bar waitress and a devout person, has yet to find a way to live with herself either.  The lack of forgiveness of others and of self causes problems for all three characters.  And all these lives intersect because of a message on a twenty-dollar bill, hence the title of the movie.

The film ends ambiguously.  Will the self-exiled pedophile confess his sins in public?  Will the bar waitress force him to do so?  Will the recovering alcoholic save his fragile marriage?  Will anybody forgive himself or herself and find a way to live with the person in the mirror?  And will anybody forgive anybody else?

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

have mercy on us.

Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world,

grant us your peace.

–A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989), page 426

Amen.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 3, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT MORAND OF CLUNY, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND MISSIONARY

THE FEAST OF SAINTS LIPHARDUS OF ORLEANS AND URBICIUS OF MEUNG, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOTS

THE FEAST OF THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Daisies

Image Source = WiZZiK

1 (Frederick Denison Maurice, Anglican Priest and Theologian)

• Giuseppe Girotti, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• John Gray, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Mythologist, Biblical Scholar, and Professor of Hebrew and Semitic Languages
• Ludovico Pavoni, Roman Catholic Priest and Educator
• Syragius of Autun and Anarcharius of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Bishops; and Valery of Leucone and Eustace of Luxeuit, Roman Catholic Abbots

2 (James Lloyd Breck, “The Apostle of the Wilderness”)

• Carlo Carretto, Spiritual Writer
• John Payne and Cuthbert Mayne, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1582 and 1577
• Joseph Bernardin, Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago
• Mykolai Charnetskyi, Ukrainian Greek Catholic Titular Bishop of Lebed, and Martyr, 1959
• Sidonius Apollinaris, Eustace of Lyon, and His Descendants, Roman Catholic Bishops

3 (Luther D. Reed, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Liturgist)

• Burgendofara and Sadalberga, Roman Catholic Abbesses, and Their Relatives
• Marc Sangnier, Founder of the Sillon Movement
• Mary of Egypt, Hermit and Penitent
• Reginald Heber, Anglican Bishop of Calcutta, and Hymn Writer
• Sidney Lovett, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Chaplain of Yale University

4 (Benedict the African, Franciscan Friar and Hermit)

• Alfred C. Marble, Jr., Episcopal Bishop of Mississippi then Assisting Bishop of North Carolina
• Ernest W. Shurtleff, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Gaetano Catanoso, Founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Veronica (Missionaries of the Holy Face)
• Martin Luther King, Jr., U.S. Civil Rights Leader, and Martyr, 1968 (also January 15)
• Ndue Serreqi, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1954

5 (Emily Ayckbowm, Founder of the Community of the Sisters of the Church)

• Mariano de la Mata Aparicio, Roman Catholic Missionary and Educator in Brazil
• Pauline Sperry, Mathematician, Philanthropist, and Activist; and her brother, Willard Learoyd Sperry, Congregationalist Minister, Ethicist, Theologian, and Dean of Harvard Law School
• Ruth Youngdahl Nelson, U.S. Lutheran Renewer of Society
• William Derham, Anglican Priest and Scientist

6 (Marcellinus of Carthage, Roman Catholic Martyr, 413)

• Benjamin Hall Kennedy, Greek and Latin Scholar, Bible Translator, and Anglican Priest
• Daniel G. C. Wu, Chinese-American Episcopal Priest and Missionary
• Emil Brunner, Swiss Reformed Theologian
• Milner Ball, Presbyterian Minister, Law Professor, Witness for Civil Rights, Humanitarian
• Nokter Balbulus, Roman Catholic Monk

7 (Tikhon of Moscow, Russian Orthodox Patriach)

• André Trocmé, Magda Trocmé, and Daniel Trocmé, Righteous Gentiles
• George the Younger, Greek Orthodox Bishop of Mitylene
• Jay Thomas Stocking, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Montford Scott, Edmund Gennings, Henry Walpole, and Their Fellow Martyrs, 1591 and 1595
• Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury

8 (Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, Patriarch of American Lutheranism; his great-grandson, William Augustus Muhlenberg, Episcopal Priest, Hymn Writer, and Liturgical Pioneer; and his colleague, Anne Ayres, Founder of the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion)

• Dionysius of Corinth, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Godfrey Diekmann, U.S. Roman Catholic Monk, Priest, Ecumenist, Theologian, and Liturgical Scholar
• Hugh of Rouen, Roman Catholic Bishop, Abbot, and Monk
• Julie Billiart, Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Notre Dame
• Timothy Lull, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Scholar, Theologian, and Ecumenist

9 (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran Martyr, 1945

• Johann Cruger, German Lutheran Organist, Composer, and Hymnal Editor
• John Samuel Bewley Monsell, Anglican Priest and Poet; and Richard Mant, Anglican Bishop of Down, Connor, and Dromore
• Lydia Emilie Gruchy, First Female Minister in the United Church of Canada
• Mikael Agricola, Finnish Lutheran Liturgist, Bishop of Turku, and “Father of Finnish Literary Language”
• William Law, Anglican Priest, Mystic, and Spiritual Writer

10 (Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Roman Catholic Priest, Scientist, and Theologian)

• Bademus, Persian Martyr, 376
• Bonifacy Zukowski, Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942
• Fulbert of Chartres, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Henry Van Dyke, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Liturgist
• Howard Thurman, Protestant Theologian

11 (Heinrich Theobald Schenck, German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer)

• Charles Stedman Newhall, U.S. Naturalist, Hymn Writer, and Congregationalist and Presbyterian Minister
• George Augustus Selwyn, Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, Primate of New Zealand, and Bishop of Lichfield; Missionary
• George Zabelka, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Military Chaplain, and Advocate for Christian Nonviolence
• Henry Hallam Tweedy, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Symforian Ducki, Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942

12 (Henry Sloane Coffin, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Theologian, and Hymn Translator; and his nephew, William Sloane Coffin, Jr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Social Activist)

• Carl F. Price, U.S. Methodist Hymnologist and Composer
• David Uribe-Velasco, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1927
• Julius I, Bishop of Rome
• Teresa of Jesus of the Andes, Chilean Roman Catholic Nun
• Zeno of Verona, Bishop

13 (Joseph Barber Lightfoot, Bishop of Durham)

• Henri Perrin, French Roman Catholic Worker Priest
• John Gloucester, First African-American Presbyterian Minister
• Lucy Craft Laney, African-American Presbyterian Educator and Civil Rights Activist
• Martin I, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 655; and Maximus the Confessor, Eastern Orthodox Monk, Abbot, and Martyr, 662
• Rolando Rivi, Roman Catholic Seminarian and Martyr, 1945

14 (Edward Thomas Demby and Henry Beard Delany, Episcopal Suffragan Bishops for Colored Work)

• Anthony, John, and Eustathius of Vilnius, Martyrs in Lithuania, 1347
• George Frederick Handel, Composer
• Lucien Botovasoa, Malagasy Roman Catholic Martyr, 1947
• Wandregisilus of Normandy, Roman Catholic Abbot; and Lambert of Lyons, Roman Catholic Abbot and Bishop
• Zenaida of Tarsus and her sister, Philonella of Tarsus; and Hermione of Ephesus; Unmercenary Physicians

15 (Olga of Kiev, Regent of Kievan Russia; Adalbert of Magdeburg, Roman Catholic Bishop; Adalbert of Prague, Roman Catholic Bishop and Martyr, 997; and Benedict and Gaudentius of Pomerania, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 997)

• Damien and Marianne of Molokai, Workers Among Lepers
• Flavia Domitilla, Roman Christian Noblewoman; and Maro, Eutyches, and Victorinus of Rome, Priests and Martyrs, Circa 99
• Hunna of Alsace, the “Holy Washerwoman”

16 (Bernadette of Lourdes, Roman Catholic Visionary)

• Calvin Weiss Laufer, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymnodist
• Isabella Gilmore, Anglican Deaconess
• Mikel Suma, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest, Friar, and Martyr, 1950
• Peter Williams Cassey, African-American Episcopal Deacon; and his wife, Annie Besant Cassey, African-American Episcopal Educator

17 (Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church)

• Emily Cooper, Episcopal Deaconess
• Lucy Larcom, U.S. Academic, Journalist, Poet, Editor, and Hymn Writer
• Max Josef Metzger, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1944
• Wilbur Kenneth Howard, Moderator of The United Church of Canada

18 (Roger Williams, Founder of Rhode Island; and Anne Hutchinson, Rebellious Puritan)

• Cornelia Connelly, Founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus
• Maria Anna Blondin, Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Anne
• Mary C. Collins, U.S. Congregationalist Missionary and Minister
• Murin of Fahan, Laserian of Leighlin, Goban of Picardie, Foillan of Fosses, and Ultan of Peronne, Abbots; Fursey of Peronne and Blitharius of Seganne, Monks
• Roman Archutowski, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1943

19 (Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Martyr, 1012)

• Emma of Lesum, Benefactor
• Olavus Petri, Swedish Lutheran Theologian, Historian, Liturgist, Minister, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and “Father of Swedish Literature;” and his brother, Laurentius Petri, Swedish Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala, Bible Translator, and “Father of Swedish Hymnody”
• Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Anglican Organist and Composer

20 (Johannes Bugenhagen, German Lutheran Theologian, Minister, Liturgist, and “Pastor of the Reformation”)

• Amator of Auxerre and Germanus of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Bishops; Mamertinus of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Abbot; and Marcian of Auxerre, Roman Catholic Monk
• Chiara Bosatta, Co-Founder of the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence
• Christian X, King of Denmark and Iceland; and his brother, Haakon VII, King of Norway
• Marion MacDonald Kelleran, Episcopal Seminary Professor and Lay Leader
• Robert Seymour Bridges, Anglican Hymn Writer and Hymn Translator

21 (Roman Adame Rosales, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1927)

• Conrad of Parzham, Capuchin Friar
• David Brainerd, American Congregationalist then Presbyterian Missionary and Minister
• George B. Caird, English Congregationalist then United Reformed Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Hymn Writer and Translator
• Georgia Harkness, U.S. Methodist Minister, Theologian, Ethicist, and Hymn Writer
• Simeon Barsabae, Bishop; and His Companions, Martyrs, 341

22 (Gene Britton, Episcopal Priest)

• Donald S. Armentrout, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Scholar
• Hadewijch of Brabert, Roman Catholic Mystic
• Kathe Kollwitz, German Lutheran Artist and Pacifist
• Ndoc Suma, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1958
• Vitalis of Gaza, Monk, Hermit, and Martyr, Circa 625

23 (Toyohiko Kagawa, Renewer of Society and Prophetic Witness in Japan)

• Maria Gabriella Sagheddu, Italian Roman Catholic Nun
• Martin Rinckart, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Teresa Maria of the Cross, Founder of the Carmelite Sisters of Saint Teresa of Florence
• Walter Russell Bowie, Episcopal Priest, Seminary Professor, and Hymn Writer

24 (Genocide Remembrance)

• Egbert of Lindisfarne, Roman Catholic Monk; and Adalbert of Egmont, Roman Catholic Missionary
• Fidelis of Sigmaringen, Capuchin Friar and Martyr, 1622
• Frank von Christierson, Finnish-American Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Jakob Böhme, German Lutheran Mystic
• Johann Walter, “First Cantor of the Lutheran Church”
• Mellitus, Bishop of London, and Archbishop of Canterbury

25 (MARK THE EVANGELIST, MARTYR, 68)

26 (William Cowper, Anglican Hymn Writer)

• Adelard of Corbie, Frankish Roman Catholic Monk and Abbot; and his protégé, Paschasius Radbertus, Frankish Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, and Theologian
• Robert Hunt, First Anglican Chaplain at Jamestown, Virginia
• Ruth Byllesby, Episcopal Deaconess in Georgia
• Stanislaw Kubista, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1940; and Wladyslaw Goral, Polish Roman Catholic Bishop and Martyr, 1945
• William Stringfellow, Episcopal Attorney, Theologian, and Social Activist

27 (George Washington Doane, Episcopal Bishop of New Jersey; and his son, William Croswell Doane, Episcopal Bishop of Albany; Hymn Writers)

• Antony and Theodosius of Kiev, Founders of Russian Orthodox Monasticism; Barlaam of Kiev, Russian Orthodox Abbot; and Stephen of Kiev, Russian Orthodox Abbot and Bishop
• Christina Rossetti, Poet and Religious Writer
• Remaclus of Maastricht, Theodore of Maastricht, Lambert of Maastricht, Hubert of Maastricht and Liege, and Floribert of Liege, Roman Catholic Bishops; Landrada of Munsterbilsen, Roman Catholic Abbess; and Otger of Utrecht, Plechelm of Guelderland, and Wiro, Roman Catholic Missionaries
• Zita of Tuscany, Worker of Charity

28 (Jaroslav Vajda, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer)

• Jozef Cebula, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1941
• Louis de Montfort, Founder of the Company of Mary (the Montfort Missionaries) and Co-Founder of the Daughters of Wisdom; and Marie-Louise Trichet, Co-Founder of the Daughters of Wisdom
• Pamphilius of Sulmona, Roman Catholic Bishop and Almsgiver
• Peter Chanel, Protomartyr of Oceania, 1841

29 (Catherine of Siena, Roman Catholic Mystic and Religious)

• Bosa of York, John of Beverley, Wilfrid the Younger, and Acca of Hexham, Roman Catholic Bishops
• Hanna Helena Chrzanowska, Polish Roman Catholic Nurse
• James Edward Walsh, Roman Catholic Missionary Bishop and Political Prisoner in China
• Simon B. Parker, United Methodist Biblical Scholar
• Timothy Rees, Welsh Anglican Hymn Writer and Bishop of Llandaff

30 (James Montgomery, Anglican and Moravian Hymn Writer)

• Diet Eman; her fiancé, Hein Sietsma, Martyr, 1945; and his brother, Hendrik “Henk” Sietsma; Righteous Among the Nations
• Giuseppe Benedetto Cottolengo, Founder of the Little House of Divine Providence
• James Russell Woodford, Anglican Bishop of Ely, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer
• John Ross MacDuff and George Matheson, Scottish Presbyterian Ministers and Authors
• Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, Poet, Author, Editor, and Prophetic Witness

 

Floating

• The Confession of Saint Martha of Bethany (the Sunday immediately prior to Palm Sunday; March 8-April 11)

 

Lowercase boldface on a date with two or more commemorations indicates a primary feast.