Will was a person with uncanny insight, constant respect for people, and a focus on the gospel. He conveyed the partnership, accompaniment, of a large North American church with churches in other lands in a manner that transcended economic, cultural, and political boundaries.

Above:  Logo of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Fair Use

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WILLIAM LAWRENCE HERZFELD (JUNE 9, 1937-MAY 9, 2002)

U.S. Lutheran Ecumenist, Presiding Bishop of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and Civil Rights Activist

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–Bonnie L. Jansen, Executive Director, Division for Global Mission, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; quoted in G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year with American Saints (2006), 408

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Bishop Will Herzfeld was a leader of U.S. Lutheranism.  He departed from one denomination, helped to form two denominations, and played a vital role in increasing the degree of unity of Lutheranism in the United States.  Activism in support of civil rights was a component of his faith.

Herzfeld grew up in the Jim Crow South.  He, born in Mobile, Alabama, on June 9, 1937, was a son of Julius Herzfeld, Sr., and Clarice Heinningburg Herzfeld.  Our saint grew up in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS)–in Faith Lutheran Church, Mobile, to be precise.  He attended parochial schools then other Lutheran institutions of education for African Americans.  Herzfeld graduated from the subpar Alabama Lutheran Academy and College (now Concordia College), Selma.  He carried negative memories of this institution for the rest of his life.  Our saint also graduated from Immanuel Lutheran College, Greensboro, North Carolina (1957).  Herzfeld went on to graduate from Immanuel Lutheran Seminary, Greensboro (M.Div., 1961), and to continue his studies at Concordia Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri.  Meanwhile, he married Thressa M. Alston at Kannapolis, North Carolina, on June 11, 1961.  The couple had four children–two daughters and two sons–three of whom lived to adulthood.  Their first child, a daughter, lived only one day.

Herzfeld was an ordained minister in the LCMS from 1961 to 1976.  His first pastorate was Christ Lutheran Church, Tuscaloosa, Alabama (1961-1965).  Our saint became a leader in the Civil Rights Movement while in Tuscaloosa.  He helped to organize the Tuscaloosa chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1963.  Herzfeld, the first president of that chapter, worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr. (1939-1968).  OUr saint also served as the president of the Alabama branch of the SCLC (1964-1965).  On the denominational level, he was active in the Southern District of the LCMS.  Our saint sat on the Stewardship Committee and the Family Life Committee.  Furthermore, he was the Vice President of the Lutheran Human Relations Association of America (1964-1966).

Herzfeld ministered in the California-Nevada-Hawaii District of the LCMS, starting .  He, based in Oakland, California, was an urban minister for the district (1966-1969).  Our saint also served as the regional mission executive of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A. (1969-1973).  This service overlapped with his time on the LCMS Board of Missions (1969-1973), the Council for Christian Medical Work (1973-1975), and the Board of Directors of the Wheat Ridge Foundation (now the We Raise Foundation) from 1069 to 1972.  The latter organization addresses social inequality.

Herzfeld ministered in the California-Nevada-Hawaii District of the LCMS, starting in 1966.  He, based in Oakland, California, was an urban minister for the district (1966-1969).  Our saint also served as the regional mission executive of the Lutheran Council in the U.S.A. (1969-1973).  This service overlapped with his time on the LCMS Board of Missions (1969-1973), the Council for Christian Medical Work (1973-1975), and the Board of Directors of the Wheat Ridge Foundation (now the We Raise Foundation) from 1969 to 1972.  (The We Raise Foundation addresses social inequality.)

Above:  Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Oakland, California

Image Source = Google Earth

Herzfeld was the pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Oakland, California, from 1973 to 1992.  These were eventful years for U.S. Lutheranism.  Our saint, who had represented LCMS President Jacob Preus at the seventy-fifth anniversary of the LCMS mission in India in 1969, broke with Preus during the doctrinal turmoil (1969-1976) in the denomination.  Herzfeld became the vice president of the moderate Evangelical Lutherans in Mission (ELIM) in 1973.  Three years later, he became the Vice President of the moderate, breakaway Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches (AELC), to which ELIM gave birth.  The AELC eventually changed its title to Presiding Bishop.  Herzfeld became the Presiding Bishop in 1984.  By then he had been active for years in efforts to merge the AELC, the Lutheran Church in America (1962-1987), and The American Lutheran Church (1960-1987) into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Herzfeld was socially and politically active.  He taught urban ministry at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, California, starting in 1976.  He devoted much to ecumenical Black Theology-related projects and organizations for decades.  Our saint always seemed to find time for work in civil rights.  He worked for nuclear disarmament.  Herzfeld, active in urban renewal in Oakland, served in a variety of capacities toward that end.  He also found time to be the chaplain of the Golden State Warriors, a professional basketball team, from 1984 to 1991.

Herzfeld made history.  He made history in 1984, when he became the first African-American head of a U.S. Lutheran denomination.  He made history in the 1980s by being prominent in the movement to bring global pressure on the Apartheid-era governments of South Africa.  Our saint made history by helping to seal the deal to form the ELCA.

Meanwhile, Herzfeld continued his education.  He earned two doctorates–one from the Center for Urban Black Studies, the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, California; and the other one from Seminex.

Herzfeld resigned from Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Oakland, at the end of 1992 to accept promotion to the denominational level.  He moved to Chicago, Illinois, to become the Director for Global Community and Overseas Operations of the Division of Global Mission of the ELCA.  He, already a presence in global Lutheranism, expanded his worldwide profile.  He served as the Vice Presidency of Lutheran World Relief.  Our saint, a vice president of the National Council of Churches during his final years, was also active in the World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation.  Herzfeld represented the ELCA globally in a variety of capacities and at a number of events.

In 2002, Herzfeld visited the Central African Republic.  He went there to attend the ordination of the first female Lutheran minister in that country.  Unfortunately, he also contracted cerebral malaria.  A month later, on May 9, our saint died at Resurrection Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois.  Had Herzfeld lived one month longer, he would have celebrated his sixty-fifth birthday.

Survivors included Herzfeld’s former wife, Thressa; his three adult children–Martin, Katherine, and Stephen; and five grandchildren.  Our saint’s second wife, the Reverend Michele L. Robinson, had died in May 2001.

Herzfeld’s death prompted many remembrances and kind words.  Perhaps the most poignant statement came from a colleague, Herbert Chilstrom, the first Presiding Bishop of the ELCA. Chilstrom said,

I’ve lost a friend.

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God of justice, we praise you as we thank you for the

life, work, and legacy of your servant, Will Herzfeld.

May we, deriving inspiration from his example,

confront and resist systems of oppression and artificial inequality

as we strive to live according to the Golden Rule

and to leave society better than we found it.

May we also work to break down unnecessary barriers

to greater ecclesiastical unity and cooperation, for your glory.

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

Amos 5:21-24

Psalm 95

Galatians 5:13-15

Matthew 25:31-46

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 28, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JAROSLAV VAJDA, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINT JOZEF CEBULA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941

THE FEAST OF SAINT PAMPHILIUS OF SULMONA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND ALMSGIVER

THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER CHANEL, PROTOMARTYR OF OCEANIA, 1841

THE FEAST OF WILLIAM STRINGFELLOW, EPISCOPAL ATTORNEY, THEOLOGIAN, AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST

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In the midst of all his toils, he appeared loving unto all, serene and holy, rejoicing in the joy of the Holy Spirit in his inmost heart.

Above:  Icon of St. Columba of Iona

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT COLUMBA OF IONA (CIRCA 521-597)

Celtic Missionary and Abbot

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–St. Adamnan, on St. Columba of Iona

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St. Columba of Iona is one of the more popular Celtic saints.  He is a figure on the calendars of the Roman Catholic Church and various provinces of the Anglican Communion.  Furthermore, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) merge his feast with those of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne (circa 590-651) and St. Bede of Jarrow (672/673-735).  Those Lutheran denominations lists Sts. Columba, Aiden, and Bede as renewers of the church.  St. Columba is absent from the calendar of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), however.  That calendar does list St. Bede, however.  Furthermore, one should not confuse St. Columba with his contemporary, St. Columban/Columbanus (543-615), the Abbot of Bobbio.  x

Many hagiographies of St. Columba contain legendary and historically unreliable material.  I choose to ignore that content.

St. Columba was an Irish prince.  He, born in County Donegal circa 521, was a son of Feidlimid.  Our saint, benefiting from royal status, studied under St. Finnian of Moville and St. Finnian of Clonard.  Our saint, ordained to the priesthood of the Celtic Church circa 551, founded churches and monasteries in Ireland.  (Celtic monasteries were centers of missionary activity.)

Above:  Iona, the Holy Isle

Image Source = Google Earth

Circa 563, St. Columba and twelve monks relocated to Iona, apparently to get away from interference from certain Irish authorities, who were harassing some of his monks.  Our saint founded a church and a monastery.  He went on to found more monasteries in Scotland.  Monks from St. Columba’s monasteries evangelized Picts.  Many monks founded other monasteries, from which other monks went out and evangelized.

St. Columba, revered as a living saint during his final years, died in his sleep during the night of June 8-9, 597.  He had been copying a portion of the Psalter by hand immediately prior to resting.  His corpse wore a smile.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 27, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE WASHINGTON DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF NEW JERSEY; AND HIS SON, WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF ALBANY; HYMN WRITERS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS ANTONY AND THEODOSIUS OF KIEV, FOUNDERS OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MONASTICISM; SAINT BARLAAM OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT; AND SAINT STEPHEN OF KIEV, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ABBOT AND BISHOP

THE FEAST OF CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, POET AND RELIGIOUS WRITER

THE FEAST OF SAINTS REMACLUS OF MAASTRICHT, THEODORE OF MAASTRICHT, LAMBERT OF MAASTRICHT, HUBERT OF MAASTRICT AND LIEGE, AND FLORIBERT OF LIEGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT LANDRADA OF MUNSTERBILSEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS; AND SAINTS OTGER OF UTRECHT, PLECHELM OF GUELDERLAND, AND WIRO, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES

THE FEAST OF SAINT ZITA OF TUSCANY, WORKER OF CHARITY

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Almighty God, who filled the heart of Columba

with the joy of the Holy Spirit and with deep love for those in his care:

may your pilgrim people follow him,

strong in faith, sustained by hope, and one in the love that binds us to you;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

—Common Worship:  Daily Prayer (2005), 475

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O God, by the preaching of your blessed servant Columba

you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland:

Grant, we pray, that, having his life and labors in remembrance,

we may show our thankfulness to you by

following the example of his zeal and patience;

through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with

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

Isaiah 61:1-3

Psalm 97:1-2, 7-12

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Luke 10:17-20

—Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 417

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Gracious God, by his preaching your servant Columba

brought the light of the gospel to Scotland;

give us grace to follow his example of zeal and patience and

to expand our energy on winning others to faith in your Son,

our Saviour Jesus Christ.  Amen.

or

Glory to you, Spirit of God, for the preaching of Columba,

aptly named the dove, and for his companions at Iona;

though we may never banish monsters from the river Ness,

help us, like him, to be loving to everyone,

happy-faced, in the joy of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Isaiah 66:18-19

Psalm 18:31-37 or Psalm 47

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8

Mark 4:35-41

–The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and Polynesia

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O God, you girded your servant Columba with the cincture of holiness

and made him a pilgrim for Christ in the midst of the Irish and Scottish peoples.

Grant that, having his life and labours in remembrance,

we may rest upon your love and be cheerful in all adversities,

as we await the redemption of all things in

your well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ;

who is alive and reigns, with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.  Amen.

1 Corinthians 3:11-23

Psalm 89:20-26

Luke 10:17-20

–The Anglican Church of Canada

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You must come with a bag-full of virtues.

Above:  St. José de Anchieta

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT JOSÉ DE ANCHIETA Y DIAZ DE CHAVIGO (MARCH 19, 1534-JUNE 9, 1597)

Apostle of Brazil and Father of Brazilian National Literature

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–St. José de Anchieta’s advice to missionary priests

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I like the Great Man (and Woman) School of History, for people who did not do anything noteworthy do not interest me.  Those who made a mark, however, deserve attention.

St. José de Anchieta was such a man.  He, born in San Cristobal de la Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands, on March 19, 1534, came from a prominent and wealthy family.  He, educated in Portugal, joined the Society of Jesus at the age of 17 years, in 1551.  The order dispatched our saint to Brazil; he arrived on July 13, 1553.  In that Portuguese colony our saint made many marks.

St. José’s legacy in Brazil has survived.  He cofounded the city of São Paulo as a mission on the Feast of St. Paul the Apostle in 1554.  Eleven years later he helped to found Rio de Janeiro, in full, São Sebastiãno de Rio de Janeiro, named in honor of St. Sebastian.  The Apostle of Brazil, a man in constant pain for 44 years due to a dislocated Spain, mastered the language of the Tupi people, who lived near São Paulo, and spent 20 years writing a grammar and a dictionary of that tongue.  He became the Father of Brazilian National Literature due to his plays, which he wrote in Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, and Tupi; these were the first Brazilian plays.

Our saint had a fine memory.  For five months he was a hostage of the Tamoyo people.  He, with plenty of time on his hands yet lacking writing tools, wrote a Latin poem in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the sand and memorized all 4,172 lines of the text.  After his captivity ended Anchieta wrote the poem on paper.

Anchieta, from 1577 the Jesuit provincial, was a man of zeal, intellect, and many virtues.  He applied all of these in Brazil from 1553 to 1597, when he died, aged 63 years, in Reritgba, now renamed Anchieta.

The Roman Catholic Church has recognized our saint.  Pope Pius VI declared Anchieta a Venerable in 1786.  Pope John Paul II made him a Blessed in 1980.  Finally, in 2014, Pope Francis canonized our saint.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 18, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER THE APOSTLE

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Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Saint José de Anchieta,

whom you called to preach the Gospel to the people of Brazil.

Raise up in this and every land evangelists and heralds of your kingdom,

that your church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ;

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

Isaiah 52:7-10

Psalm 96 or 96:1-7

Acts 1:1-9

Luke 10:1-9

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 716

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His charism as an educator and founder was to reveal the merciful love of Jesus, priest and king, to his brothers, especially in the education of the clergy…and in the spiritual direction of many that approached him in the confessional.

Above:  Turin, 1890

Image Source = Library of Congress

Reproduction Number = LC-DIG-ppmsc-06635

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BLESSED GIOVANNI MARIA BOCCARDO (NOVEMBER 20, 1848-DECEMBER 30, 1913)

Founder of the Poor Daughters of Saint Cajetan/Gaetano

His feast transferred from December 30

brother of

BLESSED LUIGI BOCCARDO (AUGUST 9, 1861-JUNE 9, 1936)

Apostle of Merciful Love

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–Mother Teresa Ponsi, Superior General of the Poor Sisters of Saint Cajetan/Gaetano

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The Boccardo Brothers did much to help their fellow human beings.

Gasparo Boccardo and Giuseppina Malerba Boccardo, parents of ten children, raised a pious family.  Their eldest child was Giovanni Maria Boccardo, born in Moncalieri, Turin, on November 20, 1848.  A younger brother was Luigi Boccardo, Giovanni Maria’s godson, born on August 9, 1861.  The Barnabites educated both brothers; Giovanni Maria graduated from their high school in 1864.  Next he attended seminary.  In 1871, in Turin, Giovanni Maria became a priest.  Luigi followed suit, also in Turin, thirteen years later.

The Boccardo brothers eventually came to work together.  Giovanni Maria initially taught in seminary.  Next he served as the spiritual director of seminarians in Turin.  He, having earned his doctorate in theology in 1877, became honorary canon at the Church of Sancta Maria della Scala, Chieri, Turin.  Starting in 1882 Giovanni Maria was a parish priest in Pancalieri, Turin.  There he cared for the sick and the poor, helped at other congregations, became involved in the religious education of children and in prison ministry, ministered to victims of a cholera outbreak in 1884, and founded a hospice for the poor sick later that year.  Giovanni Maria also founded the Poor Daughters of Saint Cajetan/Gaetano, to care for the poor sick, the elderly, the neglected, ill priests, and the longterm sick.  Luigi served as his brother’s assistant priest at Pancalieri, Turin.  Luigi also served as the Vice-Rector and spiritual director at Consolata College, Turin.  He taught and provided spiritual direction to seminarians, visited prisoners, and heard many confessions.

Giovanni Maria, afflicted with paralysis in 1911, had to surrender his ministries during the next two years.  He, aged 65 years, died in Moncalieri, Turin, on December 30, 1913.  He left behind 44 volumes of writings about spiritual matters.  Pope John Paul II declared Giovanni Maria a Venerable then a Blessed in 1998.

Luigi continued in good works after his brother died.  The younger brother took over as a Superior of the Poor Sisters of Saint Cajetan/Gaetano in 1913.  Six years later he became the director of a school for the blind.  In 1932 Luigi founded the Sisters of Jesus the King, a contemplative branch of the Poor Daughters of Saint Cajetan/Gaetano.

Luigi, aged 76 years, died in Turin on June 9, 1936.  Pope John Paul II declared him a Venerable in 2003.  Pope Benedict XVI raised him to the status of Blessed in 2007.

The Boccardo brothers understood that how they cared for others–especially the vulnerable–was of the highest moral imperative.  That which they did for the least, they did for Jesus.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 18, 2018 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF THE CONFESSION OF SAINT PETER THE APOSTLE

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O God, your Son came among us to serve and not to be served, and to give his life for the life of the world.

Lead us by his love to serve all those to whom the world offers no comfort and little help.

Through us give hope to the hopeless,

love to the unloved,

peace to the troubled,

and rest to the weary,

through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns

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

Hosea 2:18-23

Psalm 94:1-15

Romans 12:9-21

Luke 6:20-36

—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 60

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Above:  The Vatican Flag

Image in the Public Domain

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THOMAS JOSEPH POTTER (JUNE 9, 1827-AUGUST 31, 1873)

Roman Catholic Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer

Thomas Joseph Potter, author of many poetic verses, is perhaps most famous for one hymn, which numerous Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian hymnals have mutilated, er rewritten to make theologically palatable.

Potter, born in Scarborough, England, in 1827, converted to Roman Catholicism in 1847 and became a priest a decade later.  For many years he served as Chair of Pulpit Eloquence and English Literature at the Foreign Missionary College of All Hallows, Dublin Ireland.  His written eloquence came in two varieties:  prose and poetry, as the following list attests:

1. The Rector’s Daughter; or, Love and Duty:  A Catholic Tale (1861);
2. Legends, Lyrics, and Hymns (1862);
3. Light and Shade; or, The Manor House of Hardinge (1864);
4. Sacred Eloquence; or, The Theory and Practice of Teaching (1866); and
5. The Pastor and His People; or, The Word of God and the Flock of Christ (1869).

Our saint’s most famous hymn, in its original form, appeared in the Holy Family Hymnal (1860):

Brightly beams our banner, pointing to the sky,

Waving on Christ’s soldiers to their home on high.

Marching through the desert, gladly thus we pray,

Still with hearts united singing on our way.

Refrain:

Brightly beams our banner, pointing to the sky,

Waving on Christ’s soldiers to their home on high.

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Pattern of our childhood, once Thyself a child,

Make our childhood holy, pure and meek and mild.

In the hour of danger whither can we flee,

Save to Thee, dear Saviour, only unto Thee?

Refrain

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Jesus, Lord and Master, at Thy sacred feet,

Here, with hearts rejoicing, see Thy children meet.

Often we have left Thee, often gone astray;

Keep us, mighty Saviour, in the narrow way.

Refrain

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All our days direct us in the way we go;

Lead us on victorious over every foe:

Bid Thine angels shield us when the storm clouds lower,

Pardon, Lord, and save us in the last dread hour.

Refrain

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Then with saints and angels may we join above,

Offering prayers and praises at Thy throne of love.

When the toil is over, then comes rest and peace,

Jesus in His beauty! Songs that never cease!

Refrain

The hymn does give new meaning to the term Church Militant, does it not?  But that was not the issue for Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian hymnal editors of the late 1800s and early 1900s.  No, their quarrel was with the Roman Catholicism of the last two verses.  The fact that the imagery is also thoroughly Biblical seems not to have mattered to them.  But that was a different age–the time between Vatican I and Vatican II, when open hostility to Roman Catholicism was respectable in much of Anglicanism and more of Protestantism than is acceptable today.

Potter died at Dublin in 1873.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 8, 2014 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT THORFINN OF HAMAR, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF GALILEO GALILEI, SCIENTIST

THE FEAST OF HARRIET BEDELL, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS

THE FEAST OF NATE SAINT AND THE OTHER MARTYRS OF THE ECUADOR MISSION, PROTESTANT MISSIONARIES

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Dear God of beauty,

you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to

Thomas Joseph Potter 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

Above:  Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, Cumming, Georgia, Pentecost Sunday, June 12 2011

Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

The Inclusive Gospel of Jesus

MAY 15, 2016

JUNE 9, 2019

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The Assigned Readings for This Sunday:

Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9

Psalm 104:25-35, 37

Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21

John 7:37-39a

The Collect:

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

A Prayer for Those With Only the Holy Spirit to Intercede for Them:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/a-prayer-for-those-with-only-the-holy-spirit-to-intercede-for-them/

Come Down, O Love Divine:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/come-down-o-love-divine/

Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/come-holy-spirit-heavenly-dove/

Invocation to the Holy Spirit:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/invocation-to-the-holy-spirit/

Holy Spirit, Font of Light:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/holy-spirit-font-of-light/

Prayer of Praise and Adoration for the Day of Pentecost:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-day-of-pentecost/

Prayer of Confession for the Day of Pentecost:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/prayer-of-confession-for-the-day-of-pentecost/

Prayer of Dedication for the Day of Pentecost:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-day-of-pentecost/

Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/like-the-murmur-of-the-doves-song/

Spirit of God, Unleashed on Earth:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/spirit-of-god-unleashed-on-earth/

Pentecost Prayer of Adoration:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pentecost-prayer-of-adoration/

Pentecost Prayers for Openness to God:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pentecost-prayers-for-openness-to-god/

Pentecost Prayers of Confession:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pentecost-prayers-of-confession/

Come, Holy Spirit, Come!:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/come-holy-spirit-come/

Come, Blessed Spirit! Source of Light!:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/come-blessed-spirit-source-of-light/

Come to Our Poor Nature’s Night:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/come-to-our-poor-natures-night/

Holy Ghost, With Light Divine:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/holy-ghost-with-light-divine/

Divine Spirit, Attend Our Prayers:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/spirit-divine-attend-our-prayers/

Come, Thou Holy Spirit Bright:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/come-thou-holy-spirit-bright/

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The LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS blog terminates each church year at the Day of Pentecost.  This practice makes sense because Pentecost Sunday is the last day of the Easter season.  There is another reason, however.  Liturgical renewal and restructuring for most of Western Christianity, beginning with the Roman Catholic Church in Advent 1969, has led to the labeling of the subsequent Sundays in Ordinary Time (beginning two weeks after Pentecost Sunday) as “after Pentecost” in lieu of the prior dominant practice, “after Trinity.”  (Disclaimer:  U.S. Methodists used to divide the post-Pentecost and pre-Advent time into two seasons:  Whitsuntude and Kingdomtide, with the latter beginning on the last Sunday in August.  And the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal (1958) lists Ordinary Time Sundays as both “after Pentecost” and “after Trinity.”)  Trinity Sunday, of course, is the Sunday immediately following the Day of Pentecost.  Anyhow, those who continue to observe Sundays after Trinity are liturgical outliers.  My own denomination, since its 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the process which led up to it, operates on the Sundays after Pentecost pattern.  It is what I have known.  The 1928 Book of Common Prayer is an artifact from which I have never worshiped.  Sundays after Trinity seem quaint to me.

So here we are, on the cusp of changing seasons and Sunday numbering (the Propers through 29 are almost upon us), pondering two opposite and assigned stories.  The Tower of Babel myth tells of linguistic differences causing confusion and thwarting human ambitions.  (We know from anthropology, history, and science that linguistic diversity is much older than the timeframe of the Tower of Babel story.)  The sin in the myth is pride, which God confounds.  Yet linguistic variety cannot confound God’s purposes in Acts 2 because God will not permit it to do so.  The proverbial living water of Jesus, whose glorification in the Gospel of John was his crucifixion–something humiliating and shameful by human standards–would be available regardless of one’s language.

Thus the Church was born.  It is always changing and reforming, adapting to changing circumstances and seeking to look past human prejudices and false preconceptions.  I prefer to include as many people as possible while maintaining liturgical reverence and orthodox (Chalcedonian, etc.) Christology.  I do, in other words have boundaries, but they are too large according to those on my right and too small according to those on my left.  That makes me something of a moderate, I suppose.  ”Left of center” might be more accurate.  Regardless of who is correct, may the church and its constituent parts follow the crucified and resurrected Lord and Savior, who transmuted shame and humiliation into glory, who ate with notorious sinners, whose grace scandalized respectable and respected religious authorities.  Or are we become modern counterparts of the scribes and Pharisees with whom Jesus locked horns?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JUNE 23, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICETAS OF REMESIANA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF WIREMU TAMIHANA, MAORI PROPHET AND KINGMAKER

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Above:  Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (1549)

Effective on the Day of Pentecost, June 9, 1549, During the Reign of King Edward VI

The Episcopal Church specifies that one observes this feast properly on a weekday after the Day of Pentecost.

The 1549 Book of Common Prayer, which, along with many of its successors, is available at http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/, was mainly the product of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury and poet extraordinaire.  He translated texts from various sources, ranging from Greek liturgies to German Lutheran rites to the Roman Catholic missal and the Liturgy of the Hours.  Along the way Cranmer quoted the Bible extensively.  Thus it is a common Anglican and Episcopal joke to say that the Bible quotes the Prayer Book.

My first encounter with the Book of Common Prayer was indirect, so indirect in fact that I was not aware of it.  I grew up United Methodist in the era of the 1966 Methodist Hymnal, which is far superior to the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal.  The ritual in the 1966 Hymnal was that of its 1935 and 1905 predecessors, that is, based on the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.   So, when I saw the 1979 Prayer Book and read Holy Eucharist Rite I, I recognized it immediately, down to the Prayer of Humble Access.

Now I an Episcopalian.  As someone told me early this year, I left the church that John Wesley made and joined the church that made John Wesley.  The rhythms of the 1979 Prayer Book have sunk into my synapses and my soul.  I also use A New Zealand Prayer Book (1989), of  The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, which breaks out from parts of tradition creatively and beautifully while standing within the Prayer Book tradition.

I have become a person of the Prayer Book, thankfully.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

AUGUST 24, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT BARTHOLOMEW, APOSTLE AND MARTYR

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Almighty and everliving God, whose servant Thomas Cranmer, with others, restored the language of the people in the prayers of your Church:  Make us always thankful for this heritage; and help us to pray in the Spirit and with the understanding, that we may worthily magnify your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

1 Kings 8:54-61

Psalm 33:1-5, 20-21

Acts 2:38-42

John 4:21-24

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

Honeysuckles

Image in the Public Domain

1 (Justin Martyr, Christian Apologist and Martyr, 166/167)

• David Abeel, U.S. Dutch Reformed Minister and Missionary to Asia
• Pamphilus of Caesarea, Bible Scholar and Translator; and His Companions, Martyrs, 309
• Samuel Stennett, English Seventh-Day Baptist Minister and Hymn Writer; and John Howard, English Humanitarian
• Simeon of Syracuse, Roman Catholic Monk
• William Robinson, Marmaduke Stephenson, and Mary Dyer, British Quaker Martyrs in Boston, Massachusetts, 1659 and 1660

2 (Blandina and Her Companions, the Martyrs of Lyons, 177)

• Anders Christensen Arrebo, “The Father of Danish Poetry”
• Christoph Homburg, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• John Lancaster Spalding, Roman Catholic Bishop of Peoria then Titular Bishop of Seythopolis
• Margaret Elizabeth Sangster, Hymn Writer, Novelist, and Devotional Writer
• Stephen of Sweden, Roman Catholic Missionary, Bishop, and Martyr, Circa 1075

3 (John XXIII, Bishop of Rome)

• Christian Gottfried Geisler and Johann Christian Geisler, Silesian Moravian Organists and Composers; and Johannes Herbst, German-American Organist, Composer, and Bishop
• Frances Ridley Havergal, English Hymn Writer and Composer
• Ole T. (Sanden) Arneson, U.S. Norwegian Lutheran Hymn Translator
• Will Campbell, Agent of Reconciliation

4 (Stanislaw Kostka Starowieyski, Roman Catholic Martyr, 1941)

• Francis Caracciolo, Co-Founder of the Minor Clerks Regular
• Maurice Blondel, French Roman Catholic Philosopher and Forerunner of the Second Vatican Council
• Petroc, Welsh Prince, Abbot, and Missionary
• Thomas Raymond Kelly, U.S. Quaker Mystic and Professor of Philosophy

5 (Dorotheus of Tyre, Bishop of Tyre, and Martyr, Circa 362)

• Elias Benjamin Sanford, U.S. Methodist then Congregationalist Minister and Ecumenist
• Orlando Gibbons, Anglican Organist and Composer; the “English Palestrina”

6 (Franklin Clark Fry, President of The United Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church in America)

• Claude of Besançon, Roman Catholic Priest, Monk, Abbot, and Bishop

• Henry James Buckoll, Author and Translator of Hymns
• Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood
• Johann Friedrich Hertzog, German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• William Kethe, Presbyterian Hymn Writer

7 (Matthew Talbot, Recovering Alcoholic in Dublin, Ireland)

• Anthony Mary Gianelli, Founder of the Missionaries of Saint Alphonsus Liguori and the Sisters of Mary dell’Orto
• Frederick Lucian Hosmer, U.S. Unitarian Hymn Writer
• Hubert Lafayette Sone and his wife, Katie Helen Jackson Sone, U.S. Methodist Missionaries and Humanitarians in China, Singapore, and Malaysia
• Seattle, First Nations Chief, War Leader, and Diplomat

8 (Clara Luper, Witness for Civil Rights)

• Bliss Wiant, U.S. Methodist Minister, Missionary, Musician, Music Educator, and Hymn Translator, Arranger, and Harmonizer; and his wife, Mildred Artz Wiant, U.S. Methodist Missionary, Musician, Music Educator, and Hymn Translator
• Charles Augustus Briggs, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Episcopal Priest, Biblical Scholar, and Alleged Heretic; and his daughter, Emilie Grace Briggs, Biblical Scholar and “Heretic’s Daughter”
• Gerard Manley Hopkins, English Roman Catholic Poet and Jesuit Priest
• Henry Downton, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Roland Allen, Anglican Priest, Missionary, and Mission Strategist

9 (Columba of Iona, Celtic Missionary and Abbot)

• Giovanni Maria Boccardo, Founder of the Poor Sisters of Saint Cajetan/Gaetano; and his brother, Luigi Boccardo, Apostle of Merciful Love
• José de Anchieta, Apostle of Brazil and Father of Brazilian National Literature
• Thomas Joseph Potter, Roman Catholic Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Will Herzfeld, U.S. Lutheran Ecumenist, Presiding Bishop of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, and Civil Rights Activist

10 (James of Nisibis, Bishop; and Ephrem of Edessa, “The Harp of the Holy Spirit”)

• Frank Laubach, U.S. Congregationalist Minister and Missionary
• Frederick C. Grant, Episcopal Priest and New Testament Scholar; and his son, Robert M. Grant, Episcopal Priest and Patristics Scholar
• Getulius, Amantius, Caeraelis, and Primitivus, Martyrs at Tivoli, 120; and Symphorosa of Tivoli, Martyr, 120
• Landericus of Paris, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Thor Martin Johnson, U.S. Moravian Conductor and Music Director

11 (BARNABAS THE APOSTLE, CO-WORKER OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE)

12 (Edwin Paxton Hood, English Congregationalist Minister, Philanthropist, and Hymn Writer)

• Christian David Jaeschke, German Moravian Organist and Composer; and his grandson, Henri Marc Hermann Voldemar Voullaire, Moravian Composer and Minister
• Enmegahbowh, Episcopal Priest and Missionary to the Ojibwa Nation
• Joseph Dacre Carlyle, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Milton Smith Littlefield, Jr., U.S. Presbyterian and Congregationalist Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• William Cullen Bryant, U.S. Poet, Journalist, and Hymn Writer

13 (Spyridon of Cyprus, Bishop of Tremithus, Cyprus; and his convert, Tryphillius of Leucosia, Bishop of Leucosia, Cyprus; Opponents of Arianism)

• Brevard S. Childs, U.S. Presbyterian Biblical Scholar
• Sigismund von Birken, German Lutheran Hymn Writer

14 (Methodius I of Constantinople, Defender of Icons and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constaninople; and Joseph the Hymnographer, Defender of Icons and the “Sweet-Voiced Nightingale of the Church”)

• David Low Dodge, U.S. Presbyterian Businessman and Pacifist

15 (John Ellerton, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer and Translator)

• Carl Heinrich von Bogatsky, Hungarian-German Lutheran Hymn Writer
• Dorothy Frances Blomfield Gurney, English Poet and Hymn Writer
• Evelyn Underhill, Anglican Mystic and Theologian
• Landelinus of Vaux, Roman Catholic Abbot; Aubert of Cambrai, Roman Catholic Bishop; Ursmar of Lobbes, Roman Catholic Abbot and Missionary Bishop; and Domitian, Hadelin, and Dodo of Lobbes, Roman Catholic Monks

16 (George Berkeley, Irish Anglican Bishop and Philosopher; and Joseph Butler, Anglican Bishop and Theologian)

• Francis J. Uplegger, German-American Lutheran Minister and Missionary; “Old Man Missionary”
• John Francis Regis, Roman Catholic Priest
• Norman Macleod, Scottish Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer; and his cousin, John Macleod, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Rufus Jones, U.S. Quaker Theologian and Co-Founder of the American Friends Service Committee
• William Hiram Foulkes, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer

17 (Samuel Barnett, Anglican Canon of Westminster, and Social Reformer; and his wife, Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformer)

• Edith Boyle MacAlister, English Novelist and Hymn Writer
• Emily de Vialar, Founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Apparition
• Jane Cross Bell Simpson, Scottish Presbyterian Poet and Hymn Writer
• Mark Hopkins, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Theologian, Educator, and Physician
• Teresa and Mafalda of Portugal, Princesses, Queens, and Nuns; and Sanchia of Portugal, Princess and Nun

18 (William Bingham Tappan, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Poet, and Hymn Writer)

• Adolphus Nelson, Swedish-American Lutheran Minister and Hymn Writer
• Bernard Mizeki, Anglican Catechist and Convert in Southern Rhodesia, 1896
• Johann Franck, Heinrich Held, and Simon Dach, German Lutheran Hymn Writers
• Richard Massie, Hymn Translator
• Vernard Eller, U.S. Church of the Brethren Minister and Theologian

19 (John Dalberg Acton, English Roman Catholic Historian, Philosopher, and Social Critic)

• Adelaide Teague Case, Episcopal Professor of Christian Education, and Advocate for Peace
• Michel-Richard Delalande, French Roman Catholic Composer
• William Pierson Merrill, U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Social Reformer, and Hymn Writer

20 (Joseph Augustus Seiss, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Liturgist, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator)

• Alfred Ramsey, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• Bernard Adam Grube, German-American Minister, Missionary, Composer, and Musician
• Charles Coffin, Roman Catholic Priest and Hymn Writer
• Hans Adolf Brorson, Danish Lutheran Bishop, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• William John Sparrow-Simpson, Anglican Priest, Hymn Writer, and Patristics Scholar

21 (Aloysius Gonzaga, Jesuit)

• Carl Bernhard Garve, German Moravian Minister, Liturgist, and Hymn Writer
• Charitie Lees Smith Bancroft de Chenez, Hymn Writer
• John Jones and John Rigby, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1598 and 1600

22 (Alban, First British Martyr, Circa 209 or 305)

• Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch Roman Catholic Priest, Biblical and Classical Scholar, and Controversialist; John Fisher, English Roman Catholic Classical Scholar, Bishop of Rochester, Cardinal, and Martyr, 1535; and Thomas More, English Roman Catholic Classical Scholar, Jurist, Theologian, Controversialist, and Martyr, 1535
• Gerhard Gieschen, U.S. Lutheran Minister and Hymn Translator
• James Arthur MacKinnon, Canadian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr in the Dominican Republic, 1965
• Nicetas of Remesiana, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Paulinus of Nola, Roman Catholic Bishop of Nola

23 (John Gerard, English Jesuit Priest; and Mary Ward, Founder of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

• Heinrich Gottlob Gutter, German-American Instrument Maker, Repairman, and Merchant
• John Johns, English Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
• Vincent Lebbe, Belgian-Chinese Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary; Founder of the Little Brothers of Saint John the Baptist
• Wilhelm Heinrich Wauer, German Moravian Composer and Musician

24 (NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST)

25 (William Henry Heard, African Methodist Episcopal Missionary and Bishop)

• Domingo Henares de Zafira Cubero, Roman Catholic Bishop of Phunhay, Vietnam, and Martyr, 1838; Phanxicô Đo Van Chieu, Vietnamese Roman Catholic Catechist and Martyr, 1838; and Clemente Ignacio Delgado Cebrián, Roman Catholic Bishop and Martyr in Vietnam, 1838
• William of Vercelli, Roman Catholic Hermit; and John of Matera, Roman Catholic Abbot

26 (Isabel Florence Hapgood, U.S. Journalist, Translator, and Ecumenist)

• Andrea Giacinto Longhin, Roman Catholic Bishop of Treviso
• Pearl S. Buck, U.S. Presbyterian Missionary, Novelist, and Social Activist
• Philip Doddridge, English Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Theodore H. Robinson, British Baptist Orientalist and Biblical Scholar
• Virgil Michel, U.S. Roman Catholic Monk, Academic, and Pioneer of Liturgical Renewal

27 (Cornelius Hill, Oneida Chief and Episcopal Priest)

• Arialdus of Milan, Italian Roman Catholic Deacon and Martyr, 1066
• Hugh Thomson Kerr, Sr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Liturgist; and his son, Hugh Thomson Kerr, Jr., U.S. Presbyterian Minister, Scholar, and Theologian
• James Moffatt, Scottish Presbyterian Minister, Scholar, and Bible Translator
• John the Georgian, Abbot; and Euthymius of Athos and George of the Black Mountain, Abbots and Translators

28 (Teresa Maria Mastena, Founder of the Institute of the Sisters of the Holy Face)

• Clara Louise Maass, U.S. Lutheran Nurse and Martyr, 1901
• Plutarch, Marcella, Potanominaena, and Basilides of Alexandria, Martyrs, 202
• William Mundy and John Mundy, English Composers and Musicians

29 (PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES AND MARTYRS)

30 (Johann Olaf Wallin, Archbishop of Uppsala, and Hymn Writer)

• Gennaro Maria Sarnelli, Italian Roman Catholic Priest and Missionary to the Vulnerable and Exploited People of Naples
• Heinrich Lonas, German Moravian Organist, Composer, and Liturgist
• Paul Hanly Furfey, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Sociologist, and Social Radical
• Philip Powel, English Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1646

Floating

• First Book of Common Prayer, 1549

 

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