His literary attainments, his knowledge of the history of music, his acquaintance with acoustical laws, his marvelous memory, his philosophical turn of mind, as well as his practical experience, rendered him one of the most remarkable professors of the age.

Above:  The Flag of England

Image in the Public Domain

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HENRY JOHN GAUNTLETT (JULY 9, 1805-FEBRUARY 21, 1876)

Anglican Organist and Composer

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–Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847), on Henry John Gauntlett; quoted in Armin Haeussler, The Story of Our Hymns:  The Handbook to the Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church (1952), 667

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Henry John Gauntlett comes to this, A GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES:  AN ECUMENICAL CALENDAR OF SAINTS’ DAYS AND HOLY DAYS, via The Hymnal (1941), of the old Evangelical and Reformed Church.

You, O reader, may not recognize the name of this saint.  Yet, if you listen to the Festival of Lessons and Carols from England each Christmas Eve, you know one of his compositions–the tune to “Once in Royal David’s City.”

Our saint, born in Wellington, Shropshire, England, on July 9, 1805, came from a musical family.  His father, Henry Gauntlett, was the Vicar of Olney, Buckinghamshire.  At times, the elder Gauntlett doubled and tripled as the organist and choirmaster, too.  The father became the son’s first teacher of music.  At age nine, the younger Gauntlett began to serve as the organist in his father’s church.  Our saint also served as the choirmaster (1819-1825).  He continued to play the organ while studying and practicing law (1826-1842).

Gauntlett left the practice of law to devote his life to music.  He was the organist and choirmaster of:

1. St. Olave’s Church, Southwark
2. Christ Church, Newgate Street;
3. Union Chapel, Islington;
4. All Saints, Kensington Park; and
5. Church of St. Bartholomew the Less, Smithfield.

Gauntlett participated in the production of hymnals, psalters, and related works, including:

1. Hymnal for Matins and Evensong (1844);
2. Cantus Melodici (1845);
3. The Comprehensive Tune-Book (1846-1847);
4. The Hallelujah:  or, Devotional Psalmody (1848-1866)
5. The Church Hymnal and Tune-Book (1852, 1855), with William John Blew (1808-1894);
6. The Choral Use of the Book of Common Prayer (1854);
7. Carlyle’s Manual of Psalmody (1861);
8. The Congregational Psalmist:  A Companion to All the New Hymn-Books, Providing Tunes, Chants, and Chorales, for the Metrical Hymns and Passages of Scripture Contained in Those Books (1861);
9. One Hundred and Fifty-Six Questions on the Art of Music-Making and the Science of Music (1864);
10. Tunes, Old and New (1868); and
11. Pohlmann’s National Psalmody, or New Supplement to Houldworth’s Cheetham’s Psalmody, for Home and Congregational Use (1879, posthumously).

Gauntlett’s compositions included organ music, songs, and thousands of hymn tunes.

In 1853, Archbishop of Canterbury William Howley conferred an honorary doctorate of music upon our saint.  No Archbishop of Canterbury had conferred such a degree in nearly 200 years.

Gauntlett, aged 70 years, died in Kensington, London, on February 21, 1876.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 20, 2021 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF F. BLAND TUCKER, EPISCOPAL PRIEST AND HYMNODIST; “THE DEAN OF AMERICAN HYMN WRITERS”

THE FEAST OF HENRY FRANCIS LYTE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF PRISCILLA LYDIA SELLON, A RESTORER OF RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

THE FEAST OF RICHARD WATSON GILDER, U.S. POST, JOURNALIST, AND SOCIAL REFORMER

THE FEAST OF THEODORE CLAUDIUS PEASE, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,

thank you for those (especially Henry John Gauntlett)

who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.

May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.

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

1 Chronicles 25:1-8

Psalm 145

Revelation 15:1-4

John 4:19-26

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR

THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN

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They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,

Above:  Flag of England

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT ROBERT SOUTHWELL (1561-FEBRUARY 21, 1595)

English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1595

Alternative feast day (as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales) = October 25

Alternative feast day (as one of the Martyrs of Douai) = October 29

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And his love made them strong;

And they followed the right, for Jesus’ sake,

The whole of their good lives long.

And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,

And one was slain by a fierce wild beast;

And there’s not any reason–no, not the least–

Why I shouldn’t be one too.

–Lesbia Scott (1898-1986), 1929

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St. Robert Southwell led a pious and relatively brief life.  He, born in Horsham Saint Faith, Norfolk, England, in 1561, grew up in a Roman Catholic family.  He studied in Douai (1576f) and Paris, joined the Society of Jesus (1580), served as the Prefect of Studies at the English College in Rome, and became a priest (1584).

Southwell sealed his fate when he returned to England in 1586.  He was free for about six years–longer than the average, which was three years.  Our saint worked with Jesuit priest Henry Garnet (1555-1606).  [Note:  Garnet’s opposition to violence did not prevent authorities from scapegoating him for the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, a conspiracy to assassinate King James I.  Garnet became a martyr in 1606.]  Southwell was also the chaplain to Anne Howard, wife of St. Philip Howard (1557-1595), another martyr.  Our saint, author of pamphlets about pious living, became a prisoner in 1592.  He spent three years enduring torture in the Tower of London.  Southwell’s family knew he was going to die; they preferred a swift trial and execution to a long, drawn-out torture.  Between tortures, Southwell studied the Bible and wrote religious poetry.

As I in hoary winter’s night stood shivering in the snow,
Surprised I was with sudden heat, which made my heart to glow;
And lifting up a fearful eye to view what fire was near,
A pretty Babe, all burning bright, did in the air appear;
Who, scorched with excessive heat, such flood of tears did shed,
As though His floods should quench His flames, with which His tears were fed.
“Alas!” quoth He, “but newly born, in fiery hearts I fry,
Yet none approach to warm their hearts or feel My fire but I!
My faultless breast the furnace is, the fuel wounding thorns;
Love is the fire, and sighs the smoke, the ashes shame and scorn;
The fuel Justice layeth on, and Mercy blows the coals,
The metals in this furnace wrought are men’s defiled souls,
For which, as now on fire I am, to work them to their good,
So will I melt into a bath to wash them in My Blood.”
With this He vanished out of sight and swiftly shrunk away,
And straight I called unto mind that it was Christmas Day.

Our saint, finally convicted of treason (of being a priest, and one who had administered sacraments), died via hanging, drawing, and quartering in London, on February 21, 1595.

Holy Mother Church recognized Southwell formally.  Pope Pius X declared our saint a Venerable and beatified him in 1929.  Pope Paul VI canonized Southwell in 1970.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

OCTOBER 1, 2019 COMMON ERA

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

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

THE FEAST OF SAINT ROMANUS THE MELODIST, DEACON AND HYMNODIST

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

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Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love

in the heart of your holy martyr Saint Robert Southwell:

Grant to us, your humble servants, a like faith and power of love,

that we who rejoice in his triumph may profit by his example;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

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

Jeremiah 15:15-21

Psalm 124 or 31:1-5

1 Peter 4:12-19

Mark 8:34-38

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 715

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JESUS, SAVE ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS.

Above:  Flag of England

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED THOMAS PORMORT (CIRCA 1560-FEBRUARY 20, 1592)

English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1592

Alternative feast day (as one of the Martyrs of England, Scotland, and Wales) = November 22

Alternative feast day (as one of the Martyrs of Douai) = October 29

I do not keep statistics regarding this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses:  An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days.  Given that my Ecumenical Calendar is, with a few breaks, frequently a work in progress, with more than one update per week, any statistics I would collect would become obsolete quickly.  However, I attest that martyrs constitute one of the major categories of saints on my Ecumenical Calendar.  Unfortunately, many of these martyrs’ biographies reveal that other professing Christians killed them or were complicit in their deaths.  As a bumper sticker reads,

Blessed Thomas Pormort lived dangerously; he was a Roman Catholic priest in Elizabethan England.  He, born in Little Limber, Lincolnshire, England, circa 1560, studied at Cambridge then at Douai (1581-1582) and Rome (1582f).  Our saint, ordained to the priesthood in 1587, served in the Diocese of Cassano (in Italy) and as the Prefect of Studies at the Swiss College, Milan.  Then he returned to his homeland.  He arrived on April 25, 1590, under the pseudonym Thomas Whitgift.  (“Whitgift” was the surname of the Archbishop of Canterbury.)  Authorities arrested Pormort in London on July 25, 1591.  His crime was being a Roman Catholic priest–treason, officially.  He escaped, but became a prisoner again after about two months on the lam.  Authorities tortured Pormort in prison.  Our saint, convicted of treason (being a priest–in this case, of hearing the confession of a penitent), on February 8, 1592, died via hanging, in London, twelve days later.

Pope John Paul II declared Pormort a Venerable in 1986 then beatified him the following year.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT HONORIUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY

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Almighty God, who gave to your servant Blessed Thomas Pormort

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 (2010), 713

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Above:  John Henry Newman, by Sir John Everett Millais

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED JOHN HENRY NEWMAN (FEBRUARY 21, 1801-AUGUST 11, 1890)

Cardinal

John Henry Newman left The Church of England, his native denomination, in 1845 for Roman Catholicism.  Holy Mother Church, in the person of Pope Benedict XVI, beatified Newman on September 19, 2010.  He will certainly be St. John Henry Newman one day.  That is a technicality, however.  Newman is already on the calendars of saints of The Church of England (on August 11) and The Episcopal Church (on February 21).  I wonder what he would have thought of that.  His feast on the Roman Catholic calendar falls on October 9.

One should celebrate the life of Cardinal Newman without necessarily agreeing with him on any given point of doctrine.  Intellectual concurrence is not a requirement when recognizing a person’s sanctity.  One man who needed to learn that lesson was one of our saint’s younger siblings, Francis William Newman (1805-1897), also an intellectual.  Francis William who became a prominent Unitarian with few kind words for Roman Catholicism, was, according to the article about him in Volume 20 of The Encyclopedia Americana (1962), “versatile,” for he wrote about matters as diverse as religion, theology, history, mathematics, economics, social reform and the necessity of it, health, and northern African languages.  On the other hand, he was, according to that article a “humorless, crotchety man” who wrote a “trenchant” book about his famous brother in 1891.  Contributions Chiefly to the Early History of the Late Cardinal Newman was unkind.  I, as an Episcopalian of the Anglican-Lutheran-Catholic (in that order) school, recognize much in Newman’s theology I affirm while finding much with which to disagree.  The disagreement is within the spiritual family, so to speak.  C’est la vie.

The Newman family was of the moderate school of Anglicanism.  The father, John Newman, was a banker in London.  The mother was Jemima Fourdrinier, a descendant of Huguenots.  John Henry Newman, the eldest of six children, encountered Calvinism while attending the Ealing School.  There, in August 1816, at the age of fifteen years, our saint had a conversion experience under Calvinist influence.  Newman matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford, in December 1816.  Calvinism faded from his theology as time passed.  In 1821 Newman abandoned Plan A–the pursuit of a career in law.  From 1822 to 1843 he was a fellow of Oriel College.  In 1824 our saint joined the ranks of Anglican deacons.  From 1824 to 1826 he was the Curate at St. Clement’s Church, Oxford.  In 1825, the same year he became a priest, Newman began to serve as Vice Principal of St. Alban Hall.  Excessive work and study caused a severe illness in 1826 and 1827.  In 1827 and 1828 Newman served as the public examiner in classics.  Then, from 1828 to 1843 he was the Vicar of the college church, St. Mary’s, Oxford.  He also helped Richard Whately write Elements of Logic (1845).

Newman was a Tractarian, one of those who wrote tracts supporting the Oxford Movement, the Roman Catholic revival in The Church of England an in Anglicanism in general.  He was, in fact, one of the original Tractarians.  Many of the Tractarians remained within Anglicanism, which they transformed.  Our saint, however, moved toward Roman Catholicism.  On September 18, 1843, Newman resigned as Vicar of St. Mary’s.  During the next two years he wrote An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (1845).  On October 9, 1845, Newman joined the Roman Catholic Church.  He studied in Rome in 1846 and 1847.  On March 30, 1847, he became a Roman Catholic priest.

Newman spent most of the rest of his life at Birmingham, England.  There he founded the Oratory of St. Philip Neri and the boys’ school attached to it.  For a while our saint suffered from vicious rumors and even a libel lawsuit.  In 1864, in response to the Reverend Charles Kingsley’s attack on his credibility, Newman composed Apologia pro Vita Sua, an account of why he converted to Roman Catholicism.  That volume marked a turning point in our saint’s reputation; afterward he enjoyed more respect.  Newman was a skilled orator, great intellectual, and capable writer.  He was, like his brother, versatile.  Our saint wrote influential volumes of poetry, prayer, history, prayers, fiction, philosophy, and educational theory.  In 1877 he became an honorary fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.

Newman considered the timing of the declaration of the doctrine of Papal infallibility (in 1870, in the context of the loss of the Papal States and the unification of Italy) inopportune.  He recognized what the article about him in Volume 16 of the Encyclopedia Britannica (1955) called “acknowledged historical difficulties” and feared that the newly proclaimed doctrine might interfere with many conversions to Roman Catholicism.  Nevertheless, he affirmed the doctrine itself.  Despite Newman’s difficulties with the Church hierarchy, frequently in context to his position on Papal infallibility and issues related to its timing, Pope Leo XIII created our saint a cardinal in 1879.

Throughout his life, regardless of his theology at any given moment, Newman stood for the primacy of the spiritual in life.  He was correct on that point.  Our saint died at Birmingham on August 11, 1890.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 8, 2015 COMMON ERA

PROPER 27:  THE TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B

THE FEAST OF JOHN CASPAR MATTES, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST

THE FEAST OF JOHANN VON STAUPITZ, MARTIN LUTHER’S SPIRITUAL MENTOR

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God of all wisdom, we thank you for John Henry Newman,

whose eloquence bore witness that your Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic,

and who made his own life a pilgrimage towards your truth.

Grant that, inspired by his words and example,

we may ever follow your kindly light till we rest in your bosom,

with your dear Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit,

whose heart speaks to heart eternally;

for you live and reign, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Song of Solomon 3:1-4

Psalm 48

1 John 4:13-21

John 8:12-19

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 235

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Above:  Gaul in 628 C.E.

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT ARNULF OF METZ (DIED CIRCA 643)

Roman Catholic Bishop of Metz

His feast transferred from July 18

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SAINT GERMANUS OF GRANFEL (DIED CIRCA 677)

Roman Catholic Abbot and Martyr

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St. Arnulf was originally a courtier to Theodoric II, King of Burgundy from 595 to 612 and of Austrsasia from 612 to 613, a member of the Merovingian Dynasty.  The saint was the father of Ansegisal, Mayor of Austrasia from 632 to 638.  Ansegisal was the husband of St. Begga, daughter of St. Pepin (I) of Landen, Mayor of Austrsasia before and after his son-in-law.  (For more about St. Pepin and St. Begga, follow this link.  The Carolingian Dynasty descended through St. Pepin and St. Arnulf via Ansegisal and St. Begga, parents of Pepin (II) of Heristal, Mayor of Austrasia and Neustria from 687 to 714, who was the father of Charles Martel, grandfather of King Pepin the Short (reigned 747-768), and great-grandfather of Charlemagne (reigned 768-714).  Doda, St. Arnulf’s wife, became a nun, and Arnulf became Bishop of Metz circa 610.  He remained a royal counselor.  St. Arnulf retired to a hermitage which became Remiremont monastery, and died there.

St. Germanus of Granfel was born at Trier, Gaul.  Raised and educated by St. Modoald, Bishop of Trier, uncle of St. Begga and brother-in-law of St. Pepin.  Aged seventeen years, St. Germanus gave his possessions to the poor and became a hermit with St. Arnulf, who advised St. Germanus and his brother, Numerian, to enter the monastery at Remiremont.  The brothers obeyed this counsel.  St. Germanus went on to serve as abbot at Granfel then at St. Ursitz and St. Paul Zu-Werd monasteries in the Moutier Valley.  St. Germanus met his death when he confronted soldiers who were looting the homes of poor people.  Randcald, a companion, died with him.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 8, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF MARTIN RINCKART, ARCHDEACON OF EILENBURG

THE FEAST OF RICHARD BAXTER, ANGLICAN THEOLOGIAN

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Lord God,

you have surrounded us with so great a cloud of witnesses.

Grant that we, encouraged by the example of your servants Saints Arnulf of Metz and Germanus of Granfel,

may persevere in the course that is set before us and,

at the last, share in your eternal joy with all the saints in light,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Micah 6:6-8

Psalm 9:1-10

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Luke 6:20-23

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 59

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Revised on December 4, 2016

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Above:  Baptism of a Child

Image Source = Tom Adriaenssen

Holy Baptism

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

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Genesis 9:8-17 (New Revised Standard Version):

God said to Noah and to his sons with him,

As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.

God said,

This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.

God said to Noah,

This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.

Psalm 25:1-9 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):

1  To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

my God, I put my trust in you;

let me not be humiliated,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2  Let none who look to you be put to shame;

let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes.

3  Show me your ways, O LORD,

and teach me your paths.

4  Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

in you have I trusted all the day long.

5  Remember, O LORD, your compassion and love,

for they are from everlasting.

6  Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions;

remember me according to your love

and for the sake of your goodness, O LORD.

7  Gracious and upright is the LORD;

therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8  He guides the humble in doing right

and teaches his way to the lowly.

9  All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness

to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

1 Peter 3:18-22 (New Revised Standard Version):

Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you– not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him.

Mark 1:9-15 (New Revised Standard Version):

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven,

You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying,

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.

The Collect:

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

First Sunday in Lent, Year A:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/first-sunday-in-lent-year-a/

First Sunday in Lent, Year B:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2011/07/24/first-sunday-in-lent-year-b/

Take My Life, and Let It Be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/take-my-life-and-let-it-be-consecrated-lord-to-thee/

Genesis 9:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/week-of-6-epiphany-thursday-year-1/

http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2010/11/13/week-of-proper-1-thursday-year-1/

1 Peter 3:

http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/thirty-sixth-day-of-easter-sixth-sunday-of-easter-year-a/

Baptism of Christ:

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2010/09/15/first-sunday-after-the-epiphany-the-baptism-of-our-lord-year-a/

http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/05/first-sunday-after-the-epiphany-the-baptism-of-our-lord-year-b/

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The theme of Baptism holds this Sunday’s readings together.

There is a link between Genesis 9:8-17, which tells of aftermath of the mythical Great Flood, and 1 Peter 3:18-22.  1 Peter tells us that the flood prefigured the baptism, something, the epistle tells us, saves us.  This was an odd prefiguring, for, even as 1 Peter admits, only eight people (plus animals) survived that deluge.  I notice these details, and they bother me; maybe that is why I felt out of place in some Sunday School classes while growing up.

The very concise lesson from Mark 1 covers the baptism of Jesus, his temptation in the wilderness, and the beginning of his ministry–all in a few verses.  The baptism of John the Baptist was a one-time ritual act demonstrating repentance.  Yet Jesus was perfect.  So why did he undergo this rite?  He identified with us, mere mortals.

It is also true that rituals play important parts in individual lives and in societies.  Rites mark the passage from one state to another.  We hope, for example, that two people who marry have already committed themselves to each other before their wedding day, and so are already married in the spiritual sense.  But the ceremony, aside from having legal, tax, and benefits consequences, marks the transition for those getting married and for those who look upon them afterward.  Likewise, our Lord’s baptism at the hands of John the Baptist marked the beginning of a new phase in his life.

Lent, in my tradition, is the forty days-long period of preparation for Easter.  As a historical matter, this was when people prepared for baptism at the Easter Vigil and when those severed from the church prepared to reconcile with and rejoin it.  It is also that season during the Church Year that we are not supposed to baptize–just prepare for it.  So the placement of baptism in the readings for the First Sunday in Lent is appropriate; it establishes a theme for the season.

Baptism, when it is what it ought to be, is a ceremony marking what God has done.  The modern Christian ceremony is one of initiation into the Christian community, in which we are responsible for each other.  If we are adults when baptized, the rite marks our response to what God has done; if not, it signifies the recognition of adults responsible for us of their responsibility to raise us to respond favorably to God.  In the case of the latter, confirmation will follow at an appropriate age.

May we take our commitments to God and each other seriously.

KRT

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Published originally in a nearly identical form at LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS BY KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR on July 24, 2011

Winter, by Hendrick Avercamp

Image in the Public Domain

1 (Henry Morse, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1645)

• Benedict Daswa, South African Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr, 1990
• Charles Seymour Robinson, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnologist
• Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian Roman Catholic Composer and Musician
• Mitchell J. Dahood, Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar
• Sigebert III, King of Austrasia

2 (PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE)

3 (Anskar and Rimbert, Roman Catholic Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen)

• Adelaide Anne Procter, English Poet and Feminist
• Alfred Delp, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• James Nicholas Joubert and Marie Elizabeth Lange, Founders of the Oblate Sisters of Providence
• Jemima Thompson Luke, English Congregationalist Hymn Writer; and James Edmeston, Anglican Hymn Writer
• Samuel Davies, American Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer

4 (CORNELIUS THE CENTURION)

5 (Martyrs of Japan, 1597-1639)

• Avitus of Vienne, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Jane (Joan) of Valois, Co-Founder of the Sisters of the Annunciation
• Pedro Arrupe, Advocate for the Poor and Marginalized, and Superior General of the Society of Jesus
• Phileas and Philoromus, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 304

6 (Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, Poet and Hymn Writer)

• Danny Thomas, U.S. Roman Catholic Entertainer and Humanitarian; Founder of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Mateo Correa-Magallanes and Miguel Agustin Pro, Mexican Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1927
• Vedast (Vaast), Roman Catholic Bishop of Arras and Cambrai

7 (Helder Camara, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife)

• Adalbert Nierychlewski, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1942
• Daniel J. Harrington, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar
• Gregorio Allegri, Italian Roman Catholic Priest, Composer, and Singer; brother of Domenico Allegri, Italian Roman Catholic Composer and Singer
• Moses, Apostle to the Saracens
• William Boyce and John Alcock, Anglican Composers

8 (Josephine Bakhita, Roman Catholic Nun)

• Cornelia Hancock, U.S. Quaker Nurse, Educator, and Humanitarian; “Florence Nightingale of North America”
• Jerome Emiliani, Founder of the Company of the Servants of the Poor
• John of Matha and Felix of Valois, Founders of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity
• Josephina Gabriella Bonino, Founder of the Sisters of the Holy Family

9 (Bruce M. Metzger, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Biblical Translator)

• Alto of Altomunster, Roman Catholic Hermit
• Porfirio, Martyr, 203

10 (Scholastica, Abbess of Plombariola; and her twin brother, Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino and Father of Western Monasticism)

• Benedict of Aniane, Restorer of Western Monasticism; and Ardo, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Henry Williams Baker, Anglican Priest, Hymnal Editor, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Norbert of Xanten, Founder of the Premonstratensians; Hugh of Fosses, Second Founder of the Premonstratensians; and Evermod, Bishop of Ratzeburg
• Philip Armes, Anglican Church Organist

11 (ONESIMUS, BISHOP OF BYZANTIUM)

12 (Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, and Jarena Lee, Evangelists and Social Activists)

• Benjamin Schmolck, German Lutheran Pastor and Hymn Writer
• Charles Freer Andrews, Anglican Priest
• Julia Williams Garnet, African-American Abolitionist and Educator; her husband, Henry Highland Garnet, African-American Presbyterian Minister and Abolitionist; his second wife, Sarah J. Smith Tompkins Garnet, African-American Suffragette and Educator; her sister, Susan Maria Smith McKinney Steward, African-American Physician; and her second husband, Theophilus Gould Steward, U.S. African Methodist Episcopal Minister, Army Chaplain, and Professor
• Michael Weisse, German Moravian Minister and Hymn Writer and Translator; and Jan Roh, Bohemian Moravian Bishop and Hymn Writer
• Orange Scott, U.S. Methodist Minister, Abolitionist, and first President of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection

13 (AQUILA, PRISCILLA, AND APOLLOS, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)

14 (Abraham of Carrhae, Roman Catholic Bishop)

• Christoph Carl Ludwig von Pfeil, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• Cyril and Methodius, Apostles to the Slavs
• Francis Harold Rowley, Northern Baptist Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Writer
• Johann Michael Altenburg, German Lutheran Pastor, Composer, and Hymn Writer
• Victor Olof Petersen, Swedish-American Lutheran Hymn Translator

15 (New Martyrs of Libya, 2015)

• Ben Salmon, U.S. Roman Catholic Pacifist and Conscientious Objector
• Henry B. Whipple, Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota
• John Tietjen, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Ecumenist, and Bishop
• Michael Praetorius, German Lutheran Composer and Musicologist
• Thomas Bray, Anglican Priest and Missionary

16 (Philipp Melanchthon, German Lutheran Theologian and Scribe of the Reformation)

• Charles Todd Quintard, Episcopal Bishop of Tennessee
• Christian Frederick Martin, Sr., and Charles Augustus Zoebisch, German-American Instrument Makers
• Louis (Lewis) F. Kampmann, U.S. Moravian Minister, Missionary, and Hymn Translator
• Nicholas Kasatkin, Orthodox Archbishop of All Japan

17 (August Crull, German-American Lutheran Minister, Poet, Professor, Hymnodist, and Hymn Translator)

• Antoni Leszczewicz, Polish Roman Catholic Priest, and His Companions, Martyrs, 1943
• Edward Hopper, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Janini Luwum, Ugandan Anglican Archbishop and Martyr, 1977
• Johann Heermann, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• John Meyendorff, Russian-French-American Orthodox Priest, Scholar, and Ecumenist

18 (Colman of Lindisfarne, Agilbert, and Wilfrid, Bishops)

• Barbasymas, Sadoth of Seleucia, and Their Companions, Martyrs, 342
• Guido di Pietro, a.k.a. Fra Angelico, Roman Catholic Monk and Artist
• James Drummond Burns, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

19 (Nerses I the Great, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church; and Mesrop, Bible Translator)

• Agnes Tsao Kou Ying, Agatha Lin Zhao, and Lucy Yi Zhenmei, Chinese Roman Catholic Catechists and Martyrs, 1856, 1858, and 1862; Auguste Chapdelaine, French Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr, 1856; and Laurentius Bai Xiaoman, Chinese Roman Catholic Convert and Martyr, 1856
• Bernard Barton, English Quaker Poet and Hymn Writer
• Elizabeth C. Clephane, Scottish Presbyterian Humanitarian and Hymn Writer
• Massey H. Shepherd, Jr., Episcopal Priest, Ecumenist, and Liturgist; Dean of American Liturgists

20 (Henri de Lucac, French Roman Catholic Priest, Cardinal, and Theologian)

• Stanislawa Rodzinska, Polish Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1945
• Wulfric of Haselbury, Roman Catholic Hermit

21 (John Henry Newman, English Roman Catholic Priest-Cardinal)

• Arnulf of Metz, Roman Catholic Bishop; and Germanus of Granfel, Roman Catholic Abbot and Martyr, 677
• Robert Southwell, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1595
• Thomas Pormort, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1592

22 (Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst, Anti-Nazi Martyrs at Munich, Germany, 1943)

• Bernhardt Severin Ingemann, Danish Lutheran Author and Hymn Writer
• Margaret of Cortona, Penitent and Founder of the Poor Ones
• Praetextatus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Rouen
• Thomas Binney, English Congregationalist Minister, Liturgist, and “Archbishop of Nonconformity”

23 (Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp of Smyrna, and Irenaeus of Lyons, Bishops and Martyrs, 107/115, 155/156, and Circa 202)

• Alexander Akimetes, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Austin Carroll (Margaret Anne Carroll), Irish-American Roman Catholic Nun, Author, and Educator
• Samuel Wolcott, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Missionary, and Hymn Writer
• Stefan Wincenty Frelichowski, Polish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• Willigis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Mainz; and Bernward, Roman Catholic Bishop of Hildesheim

24 (MATTHIAS THE APOSTLE, MARTYR)

25 (Gregory of Nazianzus the Elder, Nonna, and Their Children:  Gregory of Nazianzus the Younger, Caesarius of Nazianzus, and Gorgonia of Nazianzus)

• Bernhardt Severin Ingemann, Danish Lutheran Author and Hymn Writer
• Felix Varela, Cuban Roman Catholic Priest and Patriot
• John Roberts, Episcopal Missionary to the Shoshone and Arapahoe
• Karl Friedrich Lochner, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Theodor Fliedner, Renewer of the Female Diaconate; and Elizabeth Fedde, Norwegian Lutheran Deaconess

26 (Antonio Valdivieso, Roman Catholic Bishop of Leon, and Martyr, 1495)

• Andrew Reed, English Congregationalist Minister, Humanitarian, and Hymn Writer
• Charles Sheldon, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Author, Christian Socialist, and Social Gospel Theologian
• Emily Malbone Morgan, Founder of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross
• Jakob Hutter, Founder of the Hutterities, and Anabaptist Martyr, 1536; and his wife, Katharina Hutter, Anabaptist Martyr, 1538
• Paula of Saint Joseph of Calasanz, Founder of the Daughters of Mary

27 (Nicholas Ferrar, Anglican Deacon and Founder of Little Gidding; George Herbert, Anglican Priest and Metaphysical Poet; and All Saintly Parish Priests)

• Anne Line and Roger Filcock, English Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1601
• Fred Rogers, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
• Gabriel Possenti, Roman Catholic Penitent
• Marian Anderson, African-American Singer and Civil Rights Activist
• Raphael of Brooklyn, Syrian-American Russian Orthodox Bishop of Brooklyn

28 (Anna Julia Haywood Cooper and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright, African-American Educators)

• Mary Lyon, U.S. Congregationalist Feminist and Educator
• Joseph Badger, Sr., U.S. Congregationalist and Presbyterian Minister; First Missionary to the Western Reserve
• Samuel Simon Schmucker, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Theologian, and Social Reformer

29 (John Cassian and John Climacus, Roman Catholic Monks and Spiritual Writers)

• Luis de Leon, Spanish Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian
• Patrick Hamilton, First Scottish Protestant Martyr, 1528

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