To you and your Institute Jesus Christ has given the precious gift of his heart, for from no one else can you learn holiness, he being the inexhaustible source of true holiness.

Above:  St. Teresa Eustochio Verzeri

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT TERESA EUSTOCHIO VERZERI (JULY 31, 1801-MARCH 3, 1852)

Foundress of the Institute of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Born Ignazia Verzeri

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–Saint Teresa Eustochio Verzeri, 1831

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Piety at home nurtured St. Teresa Eustochio Verzeri (born Ignazia Verzeri in Bergamo, Lombardy, on July 31, 1801).  Our saint’s mother, Countess Elena Pedrocca-Grumelli, had considered entering the religious life.  Elena heeded the advice of her sister, a Poor Clare nun, though; she decided to become a mother of holy children.  Our saint’s father was Antonio Verzeri.  The couple had seven children; Ignazia was the eldest one.  A young brother, Girolamo de Conti Verzeri, served as the Bishop of Brescia from 1850 to 1853.

Young Ignazia, educated at home and mentored spiritually by Giuseppe Benaglio, the Vicar General of the Diocese of Bergamo, became a Benedictine nun at Bergamo.  She, focused on the education of young girls at first, expanded her work after founding the Institute of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on February 8, 1831.  She, the author of the orders Constitutions and Book of Duties, presided over the education of young girls, of course.  She also presided over care for orphans, the elderly, the sick, and the infirm, and supervised retreat centers.

St. Teresa died in Brescia on March 3, 1852.  She was 50 years old.

Holy Mother Church recognized our saint formally.  She became a Venerable (in 1922, by Pope Pius XI), a Blessed (1946, by Pope Pius XII), and a full saint (2001, by Pope John Paul II).

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 13, 2020 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT HILARY OF POITIERS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF POITIERS, “ATHANASIUS OF THE WEST,” AND HYMN WRITER; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP OF TOURS

THE FEAST OF CHRISTIAN KEIMANN, GERMAN LUTHERAN HYMN WRITER

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FOX, FOUNDER OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

THE FEAST OF MARY SLESSOR, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARY IN WEST AFRICA

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL PREISWERK, SWISS REFORMED MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER

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O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich:

Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we,

inspired by the devotion of your servant Saint Teresa Eustochio Verzeri,

may serve you with singleness of heat, and attain to the riches of the age to come,

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.

Song of Songs 8:6-7

Psalm 34

Philippians 3:7-15

Luke 12:33-37 or 9:57-62

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), 722

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Above:  Flag of Ethiopia, 1700s

Image in the Public Domain

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BLESSED ANTONIO FRANCESCO MARZORATI (SEPTEMBER 10, 1670-MARCH 3, 1716)

BLESSED JOHANNES LAURENTIUS WEISS (JANUARY 4, 1675-MARCH 3, 1716)

BLESSED MICHELE PRO FASOLI (MAY 3, 1676-MARCH 3, 1716)

Franciscan Missionary Priests and Martyrs in Ethiopia

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Religious persecution comes in two varieties:  that of adherents of a faith by people outside of it and that of adherents of a faith by other adherents of it.  This post concerns the latter variety.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church stands apart from much of the rest of Christianity in certain regards, perhaps most notably with regard to its canon of scripture, which includes the books of Enoch and Jubilees, the Prayer of Manasseh, Psalm 151, 1 and 2 Esdras (as 3 and 4 Ezra), and 3 Maccabees.  The Ethiopian Orthodox canon also divides Proverbs into two books, with Proverbs 25-31 being Tasgas.  The Ethiopian Church also stands with certain other ancient denominations in its Monophysitism, the idea that Christ had only a divine nature. Although Vatican II changed the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to the rest of Christianity, Holy Mother Church retains her definition of herself as the repository of the “fullness of faith” and the rest of us in Christianity have become “separated brethren.”  Although this is better than declaring that we are hellbound heretics, it is patronizing.  I, as an Episcopalian, do not lack the fullness of Christian faith.  Neither did I lack the fullness of Christian faith when I was a United Methodist, the context for the formation of my faith.

Monophysitism is a heresy, however.  Nevertheless, I have no reluctance in recognizing my Ethiopian Orthodox brethren as Christians.

In 1712 three Franciscan missionary priests–the Italian Antonio Francesco Marzorati and Michele Pro Fasoli, as well as the Bavarian Johannes Laurentius Weiss–arrived in Ethiopia.  Emperor Yostos (reigned 1711-1716) allowed them to teach, travel, and operate a small hospital, but not to preach.  The newly installed Emperor Dawit III (reigned 1716-1721) was openly hostile to the missionaries in his realm.  An ecclesiastical court declared our saints to be heretics and sentenced them to die by stoning at Gondar.  Marzorati, Fasoli, and Weiss could have saved their lives by renouncing their faith, but they chose not to do so.  They became martyrs, with a boy (whose name I have not found), who accompanied them, on March 3, 1716.

Pope John Paul II declared these three priests to be Venerables then Blesseds in 1988.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

JANUARY 2, 2017 COMMON ERA

THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

THE FEAST OF JOHANN KONRAD WILHELM LOEHE, BAVARIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND COORDINATOR OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONS

THE FEAST OF SAINTS NARCISSUS, ARGEUS, AND MARCELLINUS OF TOMI, ROMAN MARTYRS

THE FEAST OF SAINT ODILO OF CLUNY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT

THE FEAST OF SABINE BARING-GOULD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER

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Almighty God, who gave to your servants

Blessed Antonio Francesco Marzorati,

Blessed Johannes Laurentius Weiss,

and Blessed Michele Pro Fasoli,

boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ

before the rulers of this world,

and courage to die for this faith:

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

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

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

2 Esdras 2:42-48

Psalm 126 or 121

1 Peter 3:14-18, 22

Matthew 10:16-22

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 713

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Above:  Henry Elias Fries, 1917

Image Source = The Winston-Salem Journal, October 9, 1917, page 5

Accessed via newspapers.com

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HENRY ELIAS FRIES (SEPTEMBER 22, 1857-MARCH 3, 1949)

U.S. Moravian Industrialist and Hymn Writer

and his wife

ROSA ELVIRA MICKEY FRIES (MAY 24, 1860-AUGUST 7, 1938)

U.S. Moravian Musician

I do not know what or how much I will find when I begin to take notes on someone when considering him or her for addition to the Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days.  For example, will I find enough information for more than a blurb?  In the case of the Frieses the answer is yes.

Chart and Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor

The Fries family has been in the United States of America since 1809, when Johann Christian Wilhelm Fries (1775-1866), a German native, arrived in North Carolina.  In 1811 he married Johanna Elisabeth Nissen (1787-1864).  The first of their children was Francis Lewin Fries (1812-1863), husband of Lisette Maria Vogler (1820-1903).  The sixth of their seven children was Henry Elias Fries (1857-1949), part of the third generation of Frieses in the United States.

Henry, who lost his father at age six, grew up to become a civil leader and a devout Moravian.  Our saint, a native of Salem, North Carolina, attended Salem Boys School then Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina.  Fries never graduated, for bad eyesight forced him to drop out of school after three years.  While he was still enrolled at Davidson College our saint took interest in a new Moravian Sunday School in East Salem.  The East Salem Sunday School had begun in 1876.  Fries, returned from Davidson, became the superintendent of that Sunday school in October 1877.  Four decades later he was still the Sunday School Superintendent at what that effort became–the Fries Memorial Moravian Church.

Upon withdrawing from Davidson College Fries embarked on his career in industry.  His first job was as manager of a family owned business, the Wachovia Mills, which produced flour.  Fries served as the secretary of the State Industrial Exposition at Raleigh in 1884.  The following year he organized the Southside Cotton Mill, Winston.  For years our saint served as president of that mill.  In 1897 he founded the Fries Manufacturing and Power Company, thereby pioneering electrical development in the environs of Winston and Salem.  By 1913 Fries was operating a streetcar system and providing electricity to homes.  In 1909 our saint and his brother, Francis Henry Fries (1855-1931), founded the Winston-Salem Southbound Railway, of which Henry served as president for the rest of his life.  Our saint, who also operated the Forsyth Manufacturing Company and the Arista Mills, was a major figure in building up the industrial center of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Fries was also active in public life, with a strong emphasis on education.  In 1887 he served a term in the state legislature.  Other offices included positions on the Democratic National Committee, the Forsyth County Board of Education, the city council of Salem, the state Board of Agriculture, and the State Geological Board.  The three-term mayor of Salem was also a trustee of the Slater Industrial and Normal School (later Winston-Salem State University) and a founder of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (later the North Carolina State University), Raleigh, for which he was a trustee for a decade.  Our saint, a leading advocate of the merger of the Cities of Winston and Salem in 1913, helped to organize the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce and the local chapter of the Red Cross.

Above:  Fries Memorial Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1917

Source = The Winston-Salem Journal, October 9, 1917, page 5

Our saint also wrote hymns.  I know of the existence of at least four such texts, but have located only two of them, both in the Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (1969) and one in its predecessor, the Hymnal and Liturgies of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum) (1923).  Fries composed the text of “Come, Join the Throng on This Glad Day” for the dedication of the brick edifice of Fries Memorial Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, in 1915.  (The former building had ceased to be sufficient for the congregation.)

The Winston-Salem Journal, March 9, 1915, page 6

Accessed via newspapers.com

Do shades of uniqueness exist?

“Come Now, O Lord” originated on the afternoon of June 8, 1930, which was Pentecost Sunday that year, after an inspiring sermon by the Reverend Herbert B. Johnson at Fries Memorial Church.  Our saint shared the new text with Johnson early that evening.  The minister requested that Fries sing it for the congregation at the late service that day.  Our saint did do, performing it to the tune MORECAMBE, as his wife, Rosa, accompanied him.  A week later she composed a tune, PENTECOSTAL HYMN, for it.  That has been the tune paired with that text in Moravian hymnals since at least the Moravian Youth Hymnal (1942).

Rosa Elvira Mickey, born in Salem, North Carolina, on May 24, 1860, came from European Moravian Church stock.  She met Henry at the East Salem Sunday School, where she taught and he served as superintendent.  For half a century Rosa not only taught Sunday School but played the piano and sang soprano.  She and Henry, married in 1881, had one child, Anna Marguerite Fries (1892-1916), who died of scarlet fever.  Rose followed her daughter into death on August 7, 1938, at Cherry Lane, North Carolina, after a stroke.  She was 78 years old.

Henry lived to the ripe old age of 91 years.  On March 3, 1949, we went to his office.  Those who saw him recalled later that he seemed to be in good health.  There, at his desk, our saint died of a heart attack.  His work was done; Winston-Salem was considerably better off because of his professional contributions over decades.

To write about the holy lives of people without the either of prefixes “St.” or “Bl.” attached to their names is appropriate.  In the case of the Frieses germane factors include their marriage, which lasted for more than half a century, and their high level of activity in their congregation.  Such details require few words and little space to summarize, but the positive influences, both direct and indirect, of those details are great and span generations.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 6, 2015 COMMON ERA

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT, YEAR C

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICETIUS OF TRIER, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND BISHOP; AND SAINT AREDIUS OF LIMOGES, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK

THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM OF KRATIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, BISHOP, AND HERMIT

THE FEAST OF SAINT NICHOLAS OF MYRA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

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POSTSCRIPT:

When I saw Rosa’s maiden name, Mickey, I wondered if she were related to Bishop Edward Timothy Mickey, Jr. (1908-1986), whom I have added to the Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days already.  Yes, she was a first cousin of his father.

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

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

Henry Elias Fries and Rosa Elvira Mickey Fries,

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

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

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

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Micah 6:6-8

Psalm 15

Hebrews 12:1-2

Matthew 25:31-40

–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men:  Celebrating the Saints (2010), page 726

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Above:  Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor

Image Source = Library of Congress

Transfigurations

MARCH 3, 2019

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Exodus 34:29-35 (Richard Elliott Friedman, 2001):

And it was when Moses was coming down from Mount Sinai, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’s hand when he was coming down from the mountain.  And Moses had not known that the skin of his face was transformed when He was speaking with him.  And Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses; and, here, the skin of his face was transformed, and they were afraid of going over to him.  And Moses called to them.  And Aaron and all the chiefs in the congregation came back to him, and he spoke to them.  And after that all the children of Israel went over.  And he commanded them everything that YHWH had spoken with him in Mount Sinai.  And Moses finished speaking with them, and he put a veil on his face.  And when Moses would come in front of YHWH to speak with Him, he would turn away the veil until he would go out; and he would go out and speak to the children of Israel what had been commanded.  And the children of Israel would see Moses’ face, that the skin of Moses’ face was transformed, and Moses would put back the veil on his face until he would come to speak with Him.

Psalm 99 (New Revised Standard Version):

The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!

He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

The LORD is great in Zion;

he is exalted over all the peoples.

Let them praise your great and awesome name.

Holy is he!

Mighty King, lover of justice,

you have established equity;

you have executed justice

and righteousness in Jacob.

Extol the LORD our God;

worship at his footstool.

Holy is he!

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

Samuel also was among those who called on his name.

They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.

He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;

they kept his decrees,

and the statutes that he gave them.

O LORD our God, you answered them;

you were a forgiving God to them,

but an avenger of their wrongdoings.

Extol the LORD our God,

and worship at his holy mountain;

for the LORD our God is holy.

2 Corinthians 3:12-4:6 (An American Translation):

So since I have such a hope, I speak with great frankness, not like Moses, who used to wear a veil over his face, to keep the Israelites from gazing at the fading of the splendor from it.  Their minds were dulled.  For to this day, the same veil remains unlifted, when the read the old agreement, for only through union with Christ is it removed.  Why, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil hangs over their minds, but

whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

Now the Lord here means the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And all of us, reflecting the splendor of the Lord in our unveiled faces, aer being changed into likeness of him, from one degree of splendor to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

So since by the mercy of God I am engaged in this service, I never lose heart.  I disown disgraceful, underhanded ways.  I refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s message.  It is by the open statement of truth that I would commend myself to every human conscience in the sight of God.  If the meaning of my preaching of the good news is veiled at all, it is so only in the case of those who are on the way to destruction.  In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them.  For it is not myself but Christ Jesus that I am proclaiming as Lord; I am only a slave of yours for Jesus’ sake.  For the God who said,

Let light shine out of darkness,

has shone in my heart, to give me the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, that is on the face of Christ.

Luke 9:28-42a (New Revised Standard Version):

About eight days after Peter had acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God, Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus,

Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah

–not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said,

This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!

When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted,

Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.

Jesus answered,

You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.

While he was coming, the demon dashed him to the ground in convulsions. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. And all were astounded at the greatness of God.

The Collect:

O God, who before the passion of your only ­begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain: Grant to us that we, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear our cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Some Related Posts:

Prayer of Praise and Adoration:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-last-sunday-after-epiphany/

Prayer of Confession:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/prayer-of-confession-for-the-last-sunday-after-epiphany/

Prayer of Dedication:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-last-sunday-after-epiphany/

O Wondrous Type! O Vision Fair:

http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/05/o-wondrous-type-o-vision-fair/

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I like this Sunday, for its readings match up nicely.  Exodus and 2 Corinthians refer to Moses wearing a veil after communing with God, a counterpart to the never veiled Jesus during the Transfiguration.  This is a prime example of why lectionaries are useful.

The presentation of Yahweh in the Torah is awe-inspiring.  One ought not look too closely, for to do so would be dangerous.  And Moses had an incredibly shiny face from communing with God.  (All Charlton Heston got was streaked hair!)  But, for most people, there was a certain distance, and Moses found a veil necessary in public.

The Transfiguration revealed our Lord’s true nature.  But notice that there was no veil in the area.  Part of the meaning of the Incarnation is God’s approachability, indeed God’s approaching.  There is always a mystery there, but it is one which seeks us out.

I suspect that there is much poetry–perhaps more than literal truth–in the Exodus and Luke accounts.  This does not trouble me, for poetry and metaphor are frequently better at conveying deep truth than are any straight-forward reports.  As we moderns read the Bible, may we not abandon religious imagination, often the most memorable and profound aspect of certain texts.  In religious imagination we encounter God in beauty, something mere facts cannot convey.  How will our encounters with God in such beauty change us and be obvious to others?

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

APRIL 14, 2012 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF SAINT FULBERT OF CHARTRES, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP

THE FEAST OF EDWARD THOMAS DEMBY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHOP OF ARKANSAS, AND HENRY BEARD DELANY, EPISCOPAL SUFFRAGAN BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA

THE FEAST OF GEORGE FREDERICK HANDEL, COMPOSER

THE FEAST OF SAINT WANDREGISILUS OF NORMANDY, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT, AND SAINT LAMBERT OF LYONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND BISHOP

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Above:  France in 1154 C.E.

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT GERVINUS (DIED 1075)

Roman Catholic Abbot and Scholar

Born at Rheims, St. Gervinus studied at the cathedral school there.  Also ordained priest there, the saint became canon at Rheims.  Later he became a monk at St. Vanne Abbey, Verdun; there the saint earned a reputation for being scholarly and well-informed.  In 1045 King Henry I (reigned 1031-1060) appointed the saint Abbot at St. Riquier.  St. Gervinus, as abbot, traveled widely to preach.  Along the way he also heard many confessions and collected Greek and Latin manuscripts for his library.  (A man is entitled to an excellent library.)  Unfortunately, the saint suffered from leprosy for the last four years of his life.

One of the more unfortunate characteristics of some strains of Christianity is anti-intellectualism, combined with an excessive focus on emotionalism.  Yet Christianity–Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and Anglicanism–has a commendable legacy of encouraging intellectualism.  I can think of adherents (some of them still living) of all four strains of Christianity who exemplify honoring God fully, including with one’s intellect.  May we, like St. Gervinus, honor and seek God with our brain cells.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

DECEMBER 12, 2011 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE VISITATION

THE FEAST OF SAMUEL JOHNSON, WRITER

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Almighty God,

your Holy Spirit gives to one the word of knowledge,

and to another the insight of wisdom,

and to another the steadfastness of faith.

We praise you for the gifts of grace imparted to your servant St. Gervinus,

and we pray that by his teaching

we may be led to a fuller knowledge of the truth we have seen

in your Son Jesus, our Savior and Lord,

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

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 61

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Revised on December 23, 2016

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Below:  The Scholar and His Books, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout

Daffodil

Image Source = Bertil Videt

1 (Anna of Oxenhall and Her Faithful Descendants, Wenna the Queen, Non, Samson of Dol, Cybi, and David of Wales)

• Edward Dearle, Anglican Organist and Composer
• Edwin Hodder, English Biographer, Devotional Writer, and Hymn Writer
• George Wishart, Scottish Calvinist Reformer and Martyr, 1546; and Walter Milne, Scottish Protestant Martyr, 1558
• Richard Redhead, Anglican Composer, Organist, and Liturgist
• Roger Lefort, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bourges

2 (Shabbaz Bhatti and Other Christian Martyrs of the Islamic World)

• Aidan of Lindisfarne, Celtic Missionary Bishop; Caelin, Celtic Priest; Cedd of Lastingham, Celtic and Roman Catholic Priest, Bishop of Essex, and Abbot of Lastingham; Cynibil of Lastingham, Celtic and Roman Catholic Priest and Monk; Chad of Mercia, Celtic and Roman Catholic Priest, Abbot of Lastingham, Bishop of York/the Northumbrians and of Lichfield/the Mercians and the Lindsey People; Vitalian, Bishop of Rome; Adrian of Canterbury, Roman Catholic Abbot of Saints Peter and Paul, Canterbury; Theodore of Tarsus, Roman Catholic Monk and Archbishop of Canterbury; and Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, Celtic and Roman Catholic Monk, Hermit, Priest, and Bishop of Lindisfarne
• Daniel March, Sr., U.S. Congregationalist and Presbyterian Minister, Poet, Hymn Writer, and Liturgist
• Engelmar Unzeitig, German Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1945
• John Stuart Blackie, Scottish Presbyterian Scholar, Linguist, Poet, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• Ludmilla of Bohemia, Duchess of Bohemia, and Martyr, 921; her grandson, Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, and Martyr, 929; Agnes of Prague, Bohemian Princess and Nun; her pen pal, Clare of Assisi, Founder of the Poor Clares; her sister, Agnes of Assisi, Abbess at Monticelli; and her mother, Hortulana of Assisi, Poor Clare Nun

3 (Katharine Drexel, Founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament)

• Antonio Francesco Marzorati, Johannes Laurentius Weiss, and Michele Pro Fasoli, Franscican Missionary Priests and Martyrs in Ethiopia, 1716
• Gervinus, Roman Catholic Abbot and Scholar
• Henry Elias Fries, U.S. Moravian Industrialist; and his wife, Rosa Elvira Fries, U.S. Moravian Musician
• Teresa Eustochio Verzeri, Founder of the Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

4 (Charles Simeon, Anglican Priest and Promoter of Missions; Henry Martyn, Anglican Priest, Linguist, Translator, and Missionary; and Abdul Masih, Indian Convert and Missionary)

• Christoph E. F. Weyse, Danish Lutheran Organist and Composer
• Henry Suso, German Roman Catholic Mystic, Preacher, and Spiritual Writer
• John Edgar Park, U.S. Presbyterian then Congregationalist Minister and Hymn Writer
• Marie-Louise-Élisabeth de Lamoignon de Molé de Champlâtreux, Founder of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Louis
• Thomas Hornblower Gill, English Unitarian then Anglican Hymn Writer

5 (Karl Rahner, Jesuit Priest and Theologian)

• Ambrose Phillipps de Lisle, English Roman Catholic Convert, Spiritual Writer, and Translator of Spiritual Writings; Founder of Mount Saint Bernard Abbey
• Christopher Macassoli of Vigevano, Franciscan Priest
• Eusebius of Cremona, Roman Catholic Abbot and Humanitarian
• Ion Costist, Franciscan Lay Brother
• John S. Stamm, Bishop of The Evangelical Church then the Evangelical United Brethren Church

6 (Martin Niemoller, German Lutheran Minister and Peace Activist)

• Chrodegang of Metz, Roman Catholic Bishop
• Fred B. Craddock, U.S. Disciples of Christ Minister, Biblical Scholar, and Renowned Preacher
• Jean-Pierre de Caussade, French Roman Catholic Priest and Spiritual Director
• Jordan of Pisa, Dominican Evangelist
• William Bright, Anglican Canon, Scholar, and Hymn Writer

7 (James Hewitt McGown, U.S. Presbyterian Humanitarian)

• Drausinus and Ansericus, Roman Catholic Bishops of Soissons; Vindician, Roman Catholic Bishop of Cambrai; and Leodegarius, Roman Catholic Bishop of Autun
• Edward Osler, English Doctor, Editor, and Poet
• Maria Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, Founder of the Daughters of the Divine Savior
• Paul Cuffee, U.S. Presbyterian Missionary to the Shinnecock Nation

• Perpetua, Felicity, and Their Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203

8 (Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln)

• Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John Hampden Gurney, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• John of God, Founder of the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God
• William Henry Sheppard, Lucy Gantt Sheppard, and Samuel N. Lapsley, Southern Presbyterian Missionaries in the Congo

9 (Harriet Tubman, U.S. Abolitionist)

• Emanuel Cronenwett, U.S. Lutheran Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator
• Frances of Rome, Founder of the Collatines
• Johann Pachelbel, German Lutheran Organist and Composer
• Pacian of Barcelona, Roman Catholic Bishop of Barcelona
• Sophronius of Jerusalem, Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem

10 (Marie-Joseph Lagrange, Roman Catholic Priest and Biblical Scholar)

• Agripinnus of Autun, Roman Catholic Bishop; Germanus of Paris, Roman Catholic Bishop; and Droctoveus of Autun, Roman Catholic Abbot
• Alexander Clark, U.S. Methodist Protestant Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor
• Folliot Sandford Pierpoint, Anglican Educator, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• John Oglivie, Scottish Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1615
• Macarius of Jerusalem, Roman Catholic Bishop

11 (John Swertner, Dutch-German Moravian Minister, Hymn Writer, Hymn Translator, and Hymnal Editor; and his collaborator, John Mueller, German-English Moravian Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymnal Editor)

• Aengus the Culdee, Hermit and Monk; and Maelruan, Abbot
• Eulogius of Spain, Roman Catholic Bishop of Toledo, Cordoba; and Leocrita; Roman Catholic Martyrs, 859
• Francis Wayland, U.S. Baptist Minister, Educator, and Social Reformer
• Mary Ann Thomson, Episcopal Hymn Writer
• Pal Prennushi, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1948

12 (Trasilla and Emiliana; their sister-in-law, Sylvia of Rome; and her son, Gregory I “the Great,” Bishop of Rome)

• Henry Walford Davies, Anglican Organist and Composer
• John H. Caldwell, U.S. Methodist Minister and Social Reformer
• Maximillian of Treveste, Roman Conscientious Objector and Martyr, 295
• Rutilio Grande, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1977
• Theophanes the Chroncler, Defender of Icons

13 (Yves Congar, Roman Catholic Priest and Theologian)

• Heldrad, Roman Catholic Abbot
• James Theodore Holly, Episcopal Bishop of Haiti, and the Dominican Republic; First African-American Bishop in The Episcopal Church
• Plato of Symboleon and Theodore Studites, Eastern Orthodox Abbots; and Nicephorus of Constantinople, Patriarch
• Roderic of Cabra and Solomon of Cordoba, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 857

14 (Fannie Lou Hamer, Prophet of Freedom)

• Albert Lister Peace, Organist in England and Scotland
• Harriet King Osgood Munger, U.S. Congregationalist Hymn Writer
• Nehemiah Goreh, Indian Anglican Priest and Theologian
• Vincenzina Cusmano, Superior of the Sisters Servants of the Poor; and her brother, Giacomo Cusmano, Founder of the Sisters Servants of the Poor and the Missionary Servants of the Poor
• William Leddra, British Quaker Martyr in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1661

15 (Zachary of Rome, Bishop of Rome)

• Jan Adalbert Balicki and Ladislaus Findysz, Roman Catholic Priests in Poland
• Jean Baptiste Calkin, Anglican Organist and Composer
• Ozora Stearns Davis, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• Vethappan Solomon, Apostle to the Nicobar Islands

16 (Adalbald of Ostevant, Rictrudis of Marchiennes, and Their Relations)

• Abraham Kidunaia, Roman Catholic Hermit; and Mary of Edessa, Roman Catholic Anchoress
• John Cacciafronte, Roman Catholic Monk, Abbot, Bishop, and Martyr, 1183
• Megingaud of Wurzburg, Roman Catholic Monk and Bishop
• Thomas Wyatt Turner, U.S. Roman Catholic Scientist, Educator, and Civil Rights Activist; Founder of Federated Colored Catholics
• William Henry Monk, Anglican Organist, Hymn Tune Composer, and Music Educator

17 (Patrick, Apostle of Ireland)

• Ebenezer Elliott, “The Corn Law Rhymer”
• Henry Scott Holland, Anglican Hymn Writer and Priest
• Jan Sarkander, Silesian Roman Catholic Priest and “Martyr of the Confessional,” 1620
• Josef Rheinberger, Germanic Roman Catholic Composer
• Maria Barbara Maix, Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

18 (Leonides of Alexandria, Roman Catholic Martyr, 202; Origen, Roman Catholic Theologian; Demetrius of Alexandria, Roman Catholic Bishop; and Alexander of Jerusalem, Roman Catholic Bishop)

• Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Theologian, and Liturgist
• Eliza Sibbald Alderson, Poet and Hymn Writer; and John Bacchus Dykes, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer
• Paul of Cyprus, Eastern Orthodox Martyr, 760
• Robert Walmsley, English Congregationalist Hymn Writer

19 (JOSEPH OF NAZARETH, HUSBAND OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD)

20 (Sebastian Castellio, Prophet of Religious Liberty)

• Christopher Wordsworth, Hymn Writer and Anglican Bishop of Lincoln
• Ellen Gates Starr, U.S. Episcopalian then Roman Catholic Social Activist and Reformer
• Maria Josefa Sancho de Guerra, Founder of the Congregation of the Servants of Jesus
• Samuel Rodigast, German Lutheran Academic and Hymn Writer
• Simon William Gabriel Bruté de Rémur, Roman Catholic Bishop of Vincennes

21 (Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and Johann Christian Bach, Composers)

• Lucia of Verona, Italian Roman Catholic Tertiary and Martyr, 1574
• Mark Gjani, Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1947
• Nicholas of Flüe and his grandson, Conrad Scheuber, Swiss Hermits
• Serapion of Thmuis, Roman Catholic Bishop

22 (Deogratias, Roman Catholic Bishop of Carthage)

• Emmanuel Mournier, French Personalist Philosopher
• James De Koven, Episcopal Priest
• Thomas Hughes, British Social Reformer and Member of Parliament
• William Edward Hickson, English Music Educator and Social Reformer

23 (Gregory the Illuminator and Isaac the Great, Patriarchs of Armenia)

• Meister Eckhart, Roman Catholic Theologian and Mystic
• Metodej Dominik Trčka, Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1959
• Umphrey Lee, U.S. Methodist Minister and President of Southern Methodist University
• Victorian of Hadrumetum, Martyr at Carthage, 484
• Walter of Pontoise, French Roman Catholic Abbot and Ecclesiastical Reformer

24 (Oscar Romero, Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador; and the Martyrs of El Salvador, 1980-1992)

• Didacus Joseph of Cadiz, Capuchin Friar
• George Rawson, English Congregationalist Hymn Writer
• George Rundle Prynne, Anglican Priest, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Paul Couturier, Apostle of Christian Unity
• Thomas Attwood, “Father of Modern Church Music”

25 (ANNUNCIATION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST)

• Dismas, Penitent Bandit

26 (Margaret Clitherow, English Roman Catholic Martyr, 1586)

• Austin C. Lovelace, United Methodist Organist, Composer, Hymn Writer, and Liturgist
• Flannery O’Connor, U.S. Roman Catholic Writer
• James Rendel Harris, Anglo-American Congregationalist then Quaker Biblical Scholar and Orientalist; Robert Lubbock Bensly, English Biblical Translator and Orientalist; Agnes Smith Lewis and Margaret Dunlop Smith Gibson, English Biblical Scholars and Linguists; Samuel Savage Lewis, Anglican Priest and Librarian of Corpus Christi College; and James Young Gibson, Scottish United Presbyterian Minister and Literary Translator
• Ludger, Roman Catholic Bishop of Munster
• Rudolph A. John, German-American Evangelical Minister, Hymn Writer, and Hymn Translator

27 (Charles Henry Brent, Episcopal Missionary Bishop of the Philippines, Bishop of Western New York, and Ecumenist)

• Nicholas Owen, Thomas Garnet, Mark Barkworth, Edward Oldcorne, and Ralph Ashley, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 1601-1608
• Peter Lutkin, Episcopal Composer, Liturgist, and Music Educator
• Robert Hall Baynes, Anglican Bishop of Madagascar
• Rupert of Salzburg, Apostle of Bavaria and Austria
• Stanley Rother, U.S. Roman Catholic Priest, Missionary, and Martyr in Guatemala, 1981

28 (James Solomon Russell, Episcopal Priest, Educator, and Advocate for Racial Equality)

• Elizabeth Rundle Charles, Anglican Writer, Hymn Translator, and Hymn Writer
• Guntram of Burgundy, King
• Katharine Lee Bates, U.S. Educator, Poet, and Hymn Writer
• Richard Chevenix Trench, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin
• Tutilo, Roman Catholic Monk and Composer

29 (Charles Villiers Stanford, Composer, Organist, and Conductor)

• Dora Greenwell, Poet and Devotional Writer
• John Keble, Anglican Priest and Poet
• Jonas and Barachisius, Roman Catholic Martyrs, 327
• Julius Ewald Kockritz, German-American Evangelical Minister, Hymn Writer, and Christian Educator

30 (Innocent of Alaska, Equal to the Apostles and Enlightener of North America)

• Cordelia Cox, U.S. Lutheran Social Worker, Educator, and Resettler of Refugees
• John Wright Buckham, U.S. Congregationalist Minister, Theologian, and Hymn Writer
• Julio Alvarez Mendoza, Mexican Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1927
• Maria Restituta Kafka, Austrian Roman Catholic Nun and Martyr, 1943

31 (Maria Skobtsova, Russian Orthodox Martyr, 1945)

• Ernest Trice Thompson, U.S. Presbyterian Minister and Renewer of the Church
• Franz Joseph Haydn and his brother, Michael Haydn, Composers
• Joan of Toulouse, Carmelite Nun; and Simon Stock, Carmelite Friar
• John Donne, Anglican Priest and Poet
• John Marriott, Anglican Priest and Hymn Writer

 

Floating

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

 

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

An 1898 Photograph of St. Benedict the Moor School (for which St. Katharine Drexel paid), St. Augustine, Florida

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINT KATHARINE DREXEL (NOVEMBER 26, 1858-MARCH 3, 1955)

Roman Catholic Nun

Philanthropist

Founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament

The call to follow God is the vocation to live for others.  The details of this kind of life vary according to who one is, where one is, which gifts and talents one has, and what God wants one to do.  For St. Katharine Drexel the vocation to life for others entailed entering monastic life, giving up her large financial inheritance, and founding a religious order.

The saint came from a wealthy Philadelphia banking family devoted to philanthropy.  Katharine gave money to help African Americans and Native Americans was laudable, but decided to do more.  She had discerned a call to monastic life by 1878, but did much good work before entering phase of her life.  Father James O’Connor, a family friend who had become Bishop of Omaha, enlisted the saint’s aid in resolving disputes between white settlers and Native Americans in the Dakotas in 1885.  Afterward, Katharine and her sisters founded the Drexel Chair of Moral Theology at Washington University, Washington, D.C.

Pope Leo XIII encouraged the saint to become a missionary in 1887.  Encouraged by the Holy Father, Katharine joined the Sisters of Mary.  She devoted the rest of her life to serving God and helping African Americans and Native Americans.  As part of this effort, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1891, the same year her uncle, Anthony Drexel, founded Drexel University, at Philadelphia.   The saint founded many schools for ethnic and racial minorities.  Among her legacies in Xavier University (founded in 1915), a HBCU at New Orleans, Orleans.  St. Katherine was quite generous, giving approximately $20 million (her money, not adjusted for inflation) to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

The saint worked actively with her order until 1935, when a heart attack forced her to assume a lower profile.  She spent the remaining two decades of her life in an advisory capacity, dying on March 3, 1955, aged 97 years.  Pope John Paul II canonized her in 2000.

KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR

NOVEMBER 1, 2010 COMMON ERA

THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS

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Now, collect I have composed and readings I have selected:

Blessed Lord, we thank you for the holy life of your servant, St. Katharine Drexel, who sought to do the most she could to help members of despised minority groups.  May we, inspired by her example, love all your children and work for the common good, according to how you direct us.  In the name of God:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Deuteronomy 26:1-15 (“My father was a wandering Aramean.”)

Psalm 146 (“The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down.”)

James 2:1-26 (“…faith was brought to completion by the works.”)

Mark 9:33-37 (“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me….”)

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Revised on December 23, 2016

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