Above:  Map of Korea, 1836

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT JOHN YI YON-ON (1823-JANUARY 21, 1867)

Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr in Korea

St. John Yi Yon-On is one of the 103 Martyrs of Korea.

St. John Yi, born at Hongju, Chungcheongnam province in 1823, came from a wealthy farming family.  The Korean dynasty persecuted Roman Catholicism, introduced into the kingdom in 1784.  Since Roman Catholicism forbade the veneration of ancestors, it was at odds with traditional Korean Confucianism.  Royal persecutions of Roman Catholicism occurred in 1801, 1839, 1846, and 1866-1867.  The husband and catechist sought to avoid persecution by moving to the remote village of Mungyeong, in Gyeongsangbuk province, south of Seoul.  There he converted about 30 families.  In November 1866 the police raided the village and captured our saint.  They tortured him, but he refused to renounce his faith.  Authorities beheaded him at Daegu on January 21, 1867.

Pope Paul VI declared St. John Yi a Venerable and a Blessed in 1968.  Pope John Paul II canonized our saint in 1984.  St. John Yi has become the second patron saint of the Archdiocese of Daegu; Our Lady of Lourdes is the first.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 23, 2016 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JOHN KENNETH PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN BISHOP; HIS WIFE, HARRIET ELIZABETH “BESSIE” WHITTINGTON PFOHL, U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN; AND THEIR SON, JAMES CHRISTIAN PFOHL, SR., U.S. MORAVIAN MUSICIAN

THE FEAST OF CASPAR FRIEDRICH NACHTENHOFER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MUSICIAN, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT CLEMENT OF ROME, BISHOP

THE FEAST OF SAINT COLUMBAN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

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Almighty God, you gave to your servant St. John Yi Yon-On

boldness to confess his faith to 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, forever 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), page 713

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Above:  St. George’s Cross

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT ALBAN ROE (July 20, 1583-January 21, 1642)

Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr

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SAINT THOMAS REYNOLDS (1561–January 21, 1642)

Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr

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St. Alban Roe was a complicated man.  He could be cheerful and generally positive yet unpredictable and cantankerous.  This description fits many other saints.  It even fits me sometimes.  Moral perfectionism is unrealistic, so may we not be overly critical of Father Roe.  Rather, may we focus on the positive:  This man loved God and Jesus so much that he gave his life for them.

Born Bartholomew Roe in England, he and his brother converted to Roman Catholicism and became monks.  Bartholomew took the name Alban.  He began to study for the priesthood in 1607 but was expelled in 1610 due to bad temperament.  He joined the Benedictine community at Lorraine in 1613 and was ordained a priest two years later.  Then St. Alban Roe returned to England as a missionary, but authorities captured and deported him.  The saint returned in 1618, when authorities arrested and incarcerated him until 1623.  They expelled him again.  He returned yet again in 1625.  Authorities apprehended him again and held him until 1642, when they convicted him of treason and executed him via hanging, drawing, and quartering.

The Roman Catholic Church beatified St. Alban Roe in 1921 and canonized him in 1970.

Hanged, drawn, and quartered with St. Alban Roe was St. Thomas Reynolds.  Ordained in 1592 after studying at Rheims, Reynolds returned to his native England and faced exile again in 1606.  Yet the saint returned again and fulfilled his priestly vocation until his arrest in 1628.  He spent the next fourteen years in prison until he died at age 80.

Both of these men could have lived safely in France, but their faith demanded that they take great risks for God.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 29, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE DAWSON, ENGLISH BAPTIST AND UNITARIAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY DAY, SOCIAL ACTIVIST

THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CHURCH OF NORTH INDIA, 1970

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Gracious God,

in every age you have sent men and women

who have given their lives in witness to your love and truth.

Inspire us with the memory of Saints Alban Roe and Thomas Reynolds,

whose faithfulness led to the way of the cross,

and give us courage to bear full witness with our lives

to your Son’s victory over sin and death,

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

now and forever.  Amen.

Ezekiel 20:40-42

Psalm 5

Revelation 6:9-11

Mark 8:34-38

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

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Revised on November 20, 2016

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Above:  Roman Northern Italy

Image in the Public Domain

Milan = Mediolanum

Pavia = Ticinum

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SAINT MIROCLES OF MILAN (DIED November 30, 316)

Roman Catholic Bishop of Milan

SAINT EPIPHANIUS OF PAVIA (438-January 21, 496)

Roman Catholic Bishop of Pavia

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Of the life of St. Mirocles of Milan we know little.  He died in 316, having become Bishop of Milan sometime before 313.  We do know, however, that he was a relative of Focaria, mother of St. Epiphanius of Pavia.  Raised in the household of Crispinus, Bishop of Pavia, St. Epiphanius became a deacon at age 20 then the bishop’s handpicked successor eight years later.

The times were tumultuous.  The Western Roman Empire was on its last legs in 466, when St. Epiphanius became Bishop of Pavia.  A decade later, Odoacer destroyed the city shortly before Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor, abdicated in 476.  The map of Western Europe changed greatly, with Odoacer ruling as King of Italy and with other successor states rising in the rest of the former empire.  St. Epiphanius could not escape the turmoil of his time.  He went on diplomatic missions related to barbarian invasions and had to negotiate the ransom of his sister, Honorata, kidnapped from Pavia abbey, and that of Romans who had sided with Odoacer, not Theodoric the Great, who succeeded Odoacer and founded the Ostrogothic Kingdom.  Theodoric deprived many of his opponents of their civil rights.  St. Epiphanius interceded for these people before Theodoric, who agreed, provided that the bishop intercede for captives the Burgundians had taken in 489, during the war between Theodoric and Odoacer.  St. Epiphanius undertook that mission during the Winter weather, dying of exposure to the elements en route to keep his word.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 29, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE DAWSON, ENGLISH BAPTIST AND UNITARIAN PASTOR

THE FEAST OF DOROTHY DAY, SOCIAL ACTIVIST

THE FEAST OF THE INAUGURATION OF THE CHURCH OF NORTH INDIA, 1970

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Almighty God,

you raised up faithful bishops of your church,

including your servants Saints Mirocles of Milan and Epiphanius of Pavia.

May the memory of his life be a source of joy for us and a bulwark of our faith,

so that we may serve and confess your name before the world,

through 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 20, 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. Barnabas Episcopal-Lutheran Worshiping Community, Jefferson City, Tennessee

(Their website is here:  http://stbarnabas.etdiocese.net/)

Let Us Emphasize Our Common Ground and Build On It

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From Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), the hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

Isaiah 2:2-4

Psalm 122

Ephesians 4:1-6

John 17:15-23

God our Father, your Son Jesus Christ prayed that his followers might be one.  Make all Christians one with him as he is one with you, so that in peace and concord we may carry to the world the message of your love, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

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Now, for my thoughts….

We Christians have divided ourselves into competing theological and liturgical tribes since the earliest decades of the Jesus movement.  For confirmation of this, read the New Testament epistles.  Sometimes these divisions are silly or based on ego gratification.  Other times, however, the matters are weightier.  Yet the tragedy of schism remains, even after stated issues which people used to justify the schism have become moot points or ceased to points of contention.  Inertia preserves a high degree of divisiveness within Christianity.

Sometimes schisms remain insurmountable.  Yet this fact should not prevent Christians of good will from reaching across boundaries to identify and build upon common ground, to do something positive and for the glory of God together.  I do not expect the Anabaptists and Roman Catholics to reconcile, but they can cooperate.  Last Sunday afternoon I listened to a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) radio interview with a Mennonite pastor who maintains a close faith-based relationship with nearby Catholic monks, often praying with them.

And I believe that when two or more denominations cease to have good reasons to remain separate they should open negotiations to unite organically.  But when issues, such as baptismal theology, prevent a merger, the groups can still cooperate on other matters.  We Christians have more in common with each other than not.  May we build on that.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 11, 2010

THE FEAST OF ST. BARNABAS THE APOSTLE

THE FEAST OF THE REVEREND VERNON JOHNS, U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER