Above:  Henry Alford

Image in the Public Domain

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HENRY ALFORD (OCTOBER 7, 1810-JANUARY 12, 1871)

Anglican Priest, Biblical Scholar, Literary Translator, Poet, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and Bible Translator

Henry Alford, Dean of Canterbury, used to be a famous man.  He translated Homer’s Odyssey and served on a committee that translated the New Testament.  His four-volume commentary, Greek Testament (1849-1861), although outdated in 2019, was a standard reference work in the late 1800s.  Alford also published books of sermons, poetry, and theology, as well as two hymnals.  He wrote or edited 50 books.

Alford, son of Henry Alford (Sr.), a priest in The Church of England, entered the world on October 7, 1810.  Henry (Jr.)’s mother died in childbirth.  Our saint followed in his father’s footsteps.  Henry (Jr.) graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1832 then became a priest the following year.  His first assignment was as Curate of Winkfield, Wiltshire, under his father.  Our saint later served in Comption, Wymeswold, and London before becoming the Dean of Canterbury in 1857.

Alford, an Evangelical Anglican and a moderate liberal by the standards of his day, was, from 1836, the husband of Fanny.  He could have been a bishop in the British Empire, had he accepted one of two offers.  Our saint founded the Contemporary Review in 1866 and edited it until 1870.

Alford’s relative fame in 2019 rests primarily on hymns he wrote or translated.  One of his compositions is “Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand,” from The Year of Praise (1867).  Alford’s most famous hymn is “Come Ye Thankful People, Come,” from Psalms and Hymns (1844).

Alford, popular with Anglicans and nonconformists alike, died in Canterbury on January 12, 1871.  He was 60 years old.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 2, 2019 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORG WEISSEL, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF ANNA BERNADINE DOROTHY HOPPE, U.S. LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER AND TRANSLATOR

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN GOTTFRIED GEBHARD, GERMAN MORAVIAN COMPOSER AND MUSIC EDUCATOR

THE FEAST OF JULIAN EYMARD, FOUNDER OF THE PRIESTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, THE SERVANTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, AND THE PRIESTS’ EUCHARISTIC LEAGUE; AND ORGANIZER OF THE CONFRATERNITY OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Henry Alford and others, who have composed 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:  England in 700 C.E.

Image in the Public Domain

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ST. BENEDICT BISCOP (CIRCA 628-JANUARY 12, 688/689)

Roman Catholic Abbot of Wearmouth

As I read and took notes about the life of St. Benedict Biscop I became increasingly impressed.  I also decided that he was among my kindred spirits separated from me by time and space.  His habit of accumulating a relatively large library spanning a variety of subjects yet focused on service books confirmed that conclusion.

January 12 seems to be an auspicious date for saints from Northumbria.  In the previous post I wrote about St. Aelred of Hexham (circa 1109/1110-1167), an influential abbot and writer.  Now I write about St. Benedict Biscop (circa 628-689/690), also an influential abbot and scholar.

Biscop Baducing came from Northumbrian nobility.  For a time he was a warrior of King Oswiu of Bernicia (reigned 642-670).  Our saint, who traveled to Rome five times (often in part to purchase books), was a friend of St. Wilfrid, Bishop of York (lived 634-709), a predecessor of St. Wilfrid of Ripon (died circa 744), also Bishop of York.  (Some sources identify the first St. Wilfrid as St. Wilfrid the Elder and the second St. Wilfrid, the one from Ripon, as St. Wilfrid the Younger.)  In 665, after returning from his second journey to Rome, Biscop settled on the island of Lerins, where he studied to become a monk for two years then took vows and a new name–Benedict.

Thus St. Benedict Biscop found his calling and pursued it.  In 668 and 669 he accompanied St. Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop of Canterbury from 668 to 690, from Rome to England.  Upon their arrival the Archbishop appointed our saint the Abbot of Sts. Peter and Paul’s, Canterbury, a post he held for two years.  In 674 King Ecgfirth of Northumbria (reigned 670-685) granted St. Benedict Biscop land on which to build a monastery–St. Peter’s, Monkwearmouth.  Our saint traveled in Europe to find the masons to erect the structures in the Pre-Romanesque style.  He also made his final journey to Rome in 679 and returned with books, relics, glaziers, masons, and a papal grant of special privileges for the monastery.  Ecgfirth, impressed, granted more land adjacent to St. Peter’s, Monkwearmouth, in 1182.  Thus St. Paul’s, Jarrow, came to exist.  The priory of St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s became a center of learning, due primarily to its library of almost 300 books–an impressive number for the time and place.  (There were no printing presses in Europe yet, although the Chinese had invented one by that time.)  That library proved invaluable to St. Bede of Jarrow, or the Venerable Bede (circa 673-735), a great historian.

St. Benedict Biscop, who did much to influence the world for the better, spent his last two years in pain and confined to his bed.  He died on January 12, 689 or 690, but his legacy has never ceased to live.  The legacies of teachers survive in their students and those whom the students influence.  To this day the writings of St. Bede remain in print, awaiting more readers.  They would not exist without the efforts of St. Benedict Biscop.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF AARON ROBARTS WOLFE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM MORTON REYNOLDS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, EDUCATOR, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

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O God, you have endowed us with memory, reason, and skill.

We thank you for the faithful legacy of [St. Benedict Biscop and all others]

who have dedicated their lives to you and to the intellectual pursuits.

May we, like them, respect your gift of intelligence fully and to your glory.

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

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Psalm 103

Philippians 4:8-9

Mark 12:28-34

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

MARCH 6, 2013 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT CHRODEGANG OF METZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF EDMUND KING, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF LINCOLN

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Above:  St. Aelred

Image in the Public Domain

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ST. AELRED OF HEXHAM (1109/1110-JANUARY 12, 1167)

Roman Catholic Abbot of Rievaulx

St. Aelred of Hexham became a major figure in the English Roman Catholic Church.  He came from a family in which men served as treasurers of the shrine of St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (lived circa 634-687) at Durham.  Our saint’s father was Eliaf, a priest and treasurer of the shrine.  His father, another Eliaf, was also a treasurer of the shrine.  Young St. Aelred served in the court of King St. David I of Scotland (reigned 1124-1153) for up to a decade (perhaps from ages 14 to 24 years), rising to the rank of steward.  Our saint became disillusioned with court politics, so he entered the monastery at Rievaulx at age 24, in 1133 or 1134.

The monastic life was St. Aelred’s vocation.  In 1142 and 1143 he served as the novice master at Rievaulx.  In 1143 he became the first abbot of the new daughterhouse at Revesby, Lincolnshire.  Four years later he became the abbot at Rievaulx, an office he held for the rest of his life.  St. Aelred increased the number of monks at Rievaulx (to about 600 at the time of his death) and the number of daughterhouses.  Toward the end of his life our saint suffered from arthritis and kidney stones.  He died on January 12, 1167.

St. Aelred, a spiritual writer, hagiographer, and historian, became involved in politics, such as a controversy about the appointment of the Archbishop of York, St. William of York (died in 1154), son of the treasurer to King Henry I (reigned 1100-1135).  Our saint also used some of his writings to advise King Henry II (reigned 1133-1189) on how to govern properly.  Some of St. Aelred’s sermons have survived.  His other major works were, in chronological order:

1. The Mirror of Charity (1142), which he wrote at the request of St. Bernard of Clarivaux (1090-1153);
2. The Life of David, King of the Scots (1153);
3. Genealogy of the Kings of the English (1153-1154);
4. On the Account of the Standard (1153-1154);
5. The Life of Saint Ninian (1154-1160);
6. On the Miracles of the Church of Hexham (1155);
7. A Certain Wonderful Miracle (1160);
8. Jesus at the Age of Twelve (1160-1162);
9. The Formation of the Anchoresses (1160-1162);
10. The Life of Saint Edward, King and Confessor (1161-1163);
11. Pastoral Prayer (1163-1167);
12. On the Soul (1164-1167); and
13. Spiritual Friendship (1164-1167).

St. Aelred understood friendship as a divine gift and a human creation.  Love is a universal gift from God, he wrote, but friendship requires a human effort.  Our saint encouraged expressions of friendship among his monks.  He was correct.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 5, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA, ROMAN CATHOLIC NUN

THE FEAST OF AARON ROBARTS WOLFE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM MORTON REYNOLDS, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, EPISCOPAL PRIEST, EDUCATOR, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR

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Almighty God, you endowed the abbot Aelred with the gift of Christian friendship

and the wisdom to lead others in the way of holiness:

Grant to your people that same spirit of mutual affection, that, in loving one another,

we may know the love of Christ and rejoice in the gift of your eternal goodness;

through the same Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns

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

Ruth 1:15-18

Psalm 36:5-10

Philippians 2:1-4

Mark 12:28-34a

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 167

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Above:  Gaul in 481 C.E.

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT CAESARIUS OF ARLES (468/470-August 27, 543)

Roman Catholic Bishop of Arles

His feast transferred from August 27

brother of

SAINT CAESARIA OF ARLES (DIED CIRCA 530)

Roman Catholic Abbess at Arles

Her feast day = January 12

In this post I combine the feasts of two saints, a brother and a sister, a bishop and an abbess.

St. Caesarius of Arles was one of the greatest bishops of his generation, along with Pope St. Gregory I “the Great” and St. Gregory of Tours.  St. Caesarius was religious even as a young man.  His parents were not devout, however.  So his decision (at age 17) to pursue monastic life did not please them.  He began his life as a monk at the monastery at Lerins, where rose to a position of being in charge of discipline at the abbey.  His rigorous standard displeased many of the other monks, a fact which St. Caesarius took so poorly that he began to starve himself.   So the abbot removed St. Caesarius from that post and sent him to Arles for medical care.  The saint had lived at Lerins for a decade, and Arles was his new home.

Restored to health, St. Caesarius became Bishop of Arles in 502, in his early thirties.  He held that post he held for four decades.  He earned a reputation for aiding the poor, ransoming prisoners, and performing many other good deeds.  The saint founded a monastery and a convent at Arles.  He also encouraged reverence for the sacraments, the frequent taking of the Eucharist, and home Bible studies.  The saint also sided with St. Augustine of Hippo with regard to the question of Semi-Pelagianism (the official Roman Catholic position about the relationship of divine grace and human free will in salvation in time), arguing against it.  Hundreds of sermons survive to this day.  Not surprisingly, they reflect the influence of St. Augustine of Hippo.  And St. Thomas Aquinas read and quoted St. Caesarius of Arles favorably.

St. Caesarius wrote the first monastic rule for women in the Western Church.  He appointed his sister, St. Caesaria, abbess  of the convent at Arles he founded in 512.  She and her sister nuns cared for the poor, the sick, and children.  St. Gregory of Tours and St. Venantius Honorius Clementius Fortunatus wrote of her favorably.

One might disagree with St. Caesarius regarding Semi-Pelagianism.  I do.  But that does not matter.  He was a good man, a devout Christian, and a great theological mind.  And he and his sister cared actively for “the least of these.”  I honor these great saints.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 28, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF KAMAHAMEHA AND EMMA, KING AND QUEEN OF HAWAII

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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 Caesarius and Caesaria of Arles,

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 November 20, 2016

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Above:  Viareggio in Tuscany, Italy, 1870

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI (APRIL 16, 1818-JANUARY 12, 1892)

Roman Catholic Priest

Born into a peasant family in Poggiole di Vernio, Eustacchio Pucci joined the Servite order at age 18, taking the name Anthony Mary.  Ordained a priest in 1843, he became parish priest at Viareggio, where he spent the rest of his life–48 years.  (That is an impressive tenure!)  There the saint fulfilled his sacramental duties.  He also cared for the sick, the poor, and the aged.  He also demonstrated heroism during two epidemics and founded a children’s home.  St. Anthony Mary Pucci tended to the spiritual and material needs of people in his care; Jesus, I am sure, approved.

The Roman Catholic Church beatified him in 1952 and canonized him a decade later.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 28, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF KAMAHAMEHA AND EMMA, KING AND QUEEN OF HAWAII

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Heavenly Father, shepherd of your people,

we thank you for your servant Saint Anthony Mary Pucci,

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

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

we may by your grace attain our full maturity in Christ,

through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 34:11-16 or Acts 20:17-35

Psalm 84

1 Peter 5:1-4 or Ephesians 3:14-21

John 21:15-17 or Matthew 24:42-47

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

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Revised on November 14, 2016

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Snow in January

Image in the Public Domain

1 (EIGHTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Holy Name of Jesus
• World Day of Peace

2 (NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Gaspar del Bufalo, Founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood
• Johann Konrad Wilhelm Loehe, Bavarian Lutheran Minister, and Coordinator of Domestic and Foreign Missions

• Narcissus of Tomi, Argeus of Tomi, and Marcellinus of Tomi, Roman Martyrs, 320
• Odilo of Cluny, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Sabine Baring-Gould, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

3 (TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Edward Caswall, English Roman Catholic Priest and Hymn Writer
• Edward Perronet, British Methodist Preacher
• Elmer G. Homrighausen, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Professor of Christian Education
• Gladys Aylward, Missionary in China and Taiwan
• William Alfred Passavant, Sr., U.S. Lutheran Minister, Humanitarian, and Evangelist

4 (ELEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Angela of Foligno, Italian Roman Catholic Penitent and Humanitarian
• Elizabeth Ann Seton, Founder of the American Sisters of Charity
• Gregory of Langres, Terticus of Langres, Gallus of Clermont, Gregory of Tours, Avitus I of Clermont, Magnericus of Trier, and Gaugericus, Roman Catholic Bishops
• Johann Ludwig Freydt, German Moravian Composer and Educator
• Mary Lundie Duncan, Scottish Presbyterian Hymn Writer

5 (TWELFTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS)

• Antonio Lotti, Italian Roman Catholic Musician and Composer
• Felix Manz, First Anabaptist Martyr, 1527
• Genoveva Torres Morales, Founder of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Holy Angels
• John Nepomucene Neumann, Roman Catholic Bishop of Philadelphia
• Margaret Mackay, Scottish Hymn Writer

6 (EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)

7 (François Fénelon, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cambrai)

• Aldric of Le Mans, Roman Catholic Bishop of Le Mans
• Jean Kenyon Mackenzie, U.S. Presbyterian Missionary in West Africa
• Lanza del Vasto, Founder of the Community of the Ark
• Lucian of Antioch, Roman Catholic Martyr, 312
• William Jones, Anglican Priest and Musician

8 (Thorfinn of Hamar, Roman Catholic Bishop)

• A. J. Muste, Dutch-American Minister, Labor Activist, and Pacifist
• Arcangelo Corelli, Italian Roman Catholic Musician and Composer
• Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei, Scientists
• Harriet Bedell, Episcopal Deaconess and Missionary
• Pepin of Landen, Itta of Metz, Their Relations, Amand, Austregisilus, and Sulpicius II of Bourges, Faithful Christians Across Generational Lines

9 (Julia Chester Emery, Upholder of Missions)

• Emily Greene Balch, U.S. Quaker Sociologist, Economist, and Peace Activist
• Gene M. Tucker, United Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Johann Josef Ignaz von Döllinger, Dissident and Excommunicated German Roman Catholic Priest, Theologian, and Historian
• Philip II of Moscow, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, and Martyr, 1569
• Thomas Curtis Clark, U.S. Disciples of Christ Evangelist, Poet, and Hymn Writer

10 (John the Good, Roman Catholic Bishop of Milan)

• Allen William Chatfield, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Translator
• Louise Cecilia Fleming, African-American Baptist Missionary and Physician
• María Dolores Rodríguez Sopeña y Ortega, Founder of the Centers of Instruction, the Association of the Sodality of the Virgin Mary, the Ladies of the Catechetical Institute, the Association of the Apostolic Laymen/the Sopeña Lay Movement, the Works of the Doctrines/the Center for the Workers, and the Social and Cultural Work Sopeña/the Sopeña Catechetical Institute
• W. Sibley Towner, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar
• William Gay Ballantine, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Educator, Scholar, Poet, and Hymn Writer

11 (Theodosius the Cenobiarch, Roman Catholic Monk)

• Charles William Everest, Episcopal Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Ignatius Spencer, Anglican then Roman Catholic Priest and Apostle of Ecumenical Prayer; and his protégé, Elizabeth Prout, Founder of the Sisters of the Cross and Passion
• Miep Gies, Righteous Gentile
• Paulinus II of Aquileia, Roman Catholic Patriarch of Aquileia
• Richard Frederick Littledale, Anglican Priest and Translator of Hymns

12 (Benedict Biscop, Roman Catholic Abbot of Wearmouth)

• Aelred of Hexham, Roman Catholic Abbot of Rievaulx
• Caesarius of Arles, Roman Catholic Bishop of Arles; and his sister, Caesaria of Arles, Roman Catholic Abbess
• Anthony Mary Pucci, Italian Roman Catholic Priest
• Henry Alford, Anglican Priest, Biblical Scholar, Literary Translator, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and Bible Translator
• Marguerite Bourgeoys, Founder of the Sisters of Notre Dame

13 (Hilary of Poitiers, Roman Catholic Bishop of Poitiers, “Athanasius of the West;” and Hymn Writer; and his protégé, Martin of Tours, Roman Catholic Bishop of Tours)

• Christian Keimann, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• Edgar J. Goodspeed, U.S. Baptist Biblical Scholar and Translator
• George Fox, Founder of the Religious Society of Friends
• Mary Slessor, Scottish Presbyterian Missionary in West Africa
• Samuel Preiswerk, Swiss Reformed Minister and Hymn Writer

14 (Macrina the Elder, Her Family, and Gregory of Nazianzus the Younger)

• Abby Kelley Foster and her husband, Stephen Symonds Foster, U.S. Quaker Abolitionists and Feminists
• Eivind Josef Berggrav, Lutheran Bishop of Oslo, Hymn Translator, and Leader of the Norwegian Resistance During World War II
• Kristen Kvamme, Norwegian-American Hymn Writer and Translator
• Richard Meux Benson, Anglican Priest and Co-Founder of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist; Charles Chapman Grafton, Episcopal Priest, Co-Founder of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist, and Bishop of Fond du Lac; and Charles Gore, Anglican Bishop of Worcester, Birmingham, and Oxford; Founder of the Community of the Resurrection; Theologian; and Advocate for Social Justice and World Peace
• Sava I, Founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church and First Archbishop of Serbs

15 (Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Leader and Martyr, 1968)

• Bertha Paulssen, German-American Seminary Professor, Psychologist, and Sociologist
• Gustave Weigel, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest and Ecumenist
• John Cosin, Anglican Bishop of Durham
• John Marinus Versteeg, U.S. Methodist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Nikolaus Gross, German Roman Catholic Opponent of Nazism, and Martyr, 1945

16 (Roberto de Noboli, Roman Catholic Missionary in India)

• Berard and His Companions, Roman Catholic Martyrs in Morocco, 1220
• Edmund Hamilton Sears, U.S. Unitarian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Biblical Scholar
• Edward Bunnett, Anglican Organist and Composer
• Juana Maria Condesa Lluch, Founder of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Immaculate Conception, Protectress of Workers
• Timothy Richard Matthews, Anglican Priest, Organist, and Hymn Tune Composer

17 (Antony of Egypt, Roman Catholic Abbot and Father of Western Monasticism)

• Deicola and Gall, Roman Catholic Monks; and Othmar, Roman Catholic Abbot at Saint Gallen
• James Woodrow, Southern Presbyterian Minister, Naturalist, and Alleged Heretic
• Pachomius the Great, Founder of Christian Communal Monasticism
• Rutherford Birchard Hayes, President of the United States of America
• Thomas A. Dooley, U.S. Roman Catholic Physician and Humanitarian

18-25 (WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY)

18 (CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER, APOSTLE)

19 (Sargent Shriver and his wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Humanitarians)

• Alessandro Valignano, Italian Jesuit Missionary Priest in the Far East
• Charles Winfred Douglas, Episcopal Priest, Liturgist, Musicologist, Linguist, Poet, Hymn Translator, and Arranger
• Henry Twells, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

20 (Fabian, Bishop of Rome, and Martyr, 250)

• Euthymius the Great and Theoctistus, Roman Catholic Abbots
• Greville Phillimore, English Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Harold A. Bosley, United Methodist Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Harriet Auber, Anglican Hymn Writer
• Richard Rolle, English Roman Catholic Spiritual Writer

21 (Mirocles of Milan and Epiphanius of Pavia, Roman Catholic Bishops)

• Alban Roe and Thomas Reynolds, Roman Catholic Priests and Martyrs, 1642
• John Yi Yon-on, Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr in Korea, 1867

22 (John Julian, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymnologist)

• Alexander Men, Russian Orthodox Priest and Martyr, 1990
• Benjamin Lay, American Quaker Abolitionist
• Ladislao Batthány-Strattmann, Austro-Hungarian Roman Catholic Physician and Philanthropist
• Vincent Pallotti, Founder of the Society for the Catholic Apostolate, the Union of Catholic Apostolate, and the Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate

23 (John the Almsgiver, Patriarch of Alexandria)

• Charles Kingsley, Anglican Priest, Novelist, and Hymn Writer
• Edward Grubb, English Quaker Author, Social Reformer, and Hymn Writer
• George A. Buttrick, Anglo-American Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar; and his son, David G. Buttrick, U.S. Presbyterian then United Church of Christ Minister, Theologian, and Liturgist
• James D. Smart, Canadian Presbyterian Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Phillips Brooks, Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts, and Hymn Writer

24 (Ordination of Florence Li-Tim-Oi, First Female Priest in the Anglican Communion)

• Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo
• Lindsay Bartholomew Longacre, U.S. Methodist Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Hymn Tune Composer
• Marie Poussepin, Founder of the Dominican Sisters of Charity of the Presentation of the Virgin
• Martyrs of Podlasie, 1874
• Suranus of Sora, Roman Catholic Abbot and Martyr, 580

25 (CONVERSION OF SAINT PAUL, APOSTLE)

26 (TIMOTHY, TITUS, AND SILAS, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)

27 (Jerome, Paula of Rome, Eustochium, Blaesilla, Marcella, and Lea of Rome)

• Angela Merici, Founder of the Company of Saint Ursula
• Carolina Santocanale, Founder of the Capuchin Sisters of the Immaculate of Lourdes
• Caspar Neumann, German Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Mary Evelyn “Mev” Puleo, U.S. Roman Catholic Photojournalist and Advocate for Social Justice
• Pierre Batiffol, French Roman Catholic Priest, Historian, and Theologian

28 (Albert the Great and his pupil, Thomas Aquinas; Roman Catholic Theologians)

• Andrei Rublev, Russian Orthodox Icon Writer
• Daniel J. Simundson, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Biblical Scholar
• Henry Augustine Collins, Anglican then Roman Catholic Priest and Hymn Writer
• Joseph Barnby, Anglican Church Musician and Composer
• Somerset Corry Lowry, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

29 (LYDIA, DORCAS, AND PHOEBE, CO-WORKERS OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)

30 (Lesslie Newbigin, English Reformed Missionary and Theologian)

• Bathildas, Queen of France
• David Galván Bermúdez, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in Mexico, 1915
• Frederick Oakeley, Anglican then Roman Catholic Priest
• Genesius I of Clermont and Praejectus of Clermont, Roman Catholic Bishops; and Amarin, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Jacques Bunol, French Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945

31 (Charles Frederick Mackenzie, Anglican Bishop of Nyasaland, and Martyr, 1862)

• Anthony Bénézet, French-American Quaker Abolitionist
• Menno Simons, Mennonite Leader

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

Above:  St. Margurite Bourgeoys

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS (APRIL 17, 1620-JANUARY 12, 1700)

Foundress of the Sisters of Notre Dame

Born in Troyes, France, St. Marguerite Bourgeoys came from a rich merchant’s family.  She cared for her younger siblings after her mother died in 1639.  Then, after tending to her family, the saint joined the Congregation of Troyes, a women’s order which taught poor children in the area.

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys met the Governor of New France in 1652.  He was recruiting teachers for the outpost at Ville-Marie.  The saint accepted the offer, and she arrived at the fort the following year.  She was initially the nurse and teacher.  She organized the construction of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in 1655.  (That structure has ceased to exit, and the current chapel sits on the same site)  The following year, the saint organized the first school in Montreal.  She enlisted teachers from France during the succeeding years, and proceeded to oversee the founding of schools in Quebec and to work with the First Nations, some members of which were hostile.

The saint founded the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1676, serving as superior until 1698, when she resigned.

Her order continues the good work.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE

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O God, by whose grace your servant St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, kindled with the flame of your love, became a burning and a shining light in your Church:  Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Acts 2:42-47a

Psalm 133 or 34:1-8 or 119:161-168

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

Matthew 6:24-33

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

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Revised on November 15, 2016

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