Archive for the ‘Saints of 1910-1919’ Category
Above: St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New York, New York
Image Source = Google Earth
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THOMAS TERTIUS NOBLE (MAY 5, 1867-MAY 4, 1953)
Anglican then Episcopal Organist and Composer
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I am a great believer in tunes which are wholesome and masculine.
–T. Tertius Noble, to the committee for the The Hymnal (1941) of the old Evangelical and Reformed Church, July 18, 1938
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T. Tertius Noble comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The Hymnal (1941) of the Evangelical and Reformed Church, The Hymnal 1940 (1943) of The Episcopal Church, and their companion volumes.
Thomas Tertius Noble, born in Bath, England, on May 5, 1867, was a son and the youngest of nine children of Sarah Jefferson Noble and silversmith Thomas Noble. Given that our saint was the third Thomas in his family, he received the middle name Tertius.
Our saint, known as “Tommy” during his youth, manifested musical talent, which he valued. He, shipped off to a boarding school when ten years old, complained that the curriculum provided no opportunities to develop this talent. Noble longed to return home. Eventually, he did return to his home. Noble found opportunities to develop his talent, starting in 1881. In 1881, he, an adolescent, by the standards of 2023, moved in with Charles Everitt, the retired Canon of Gloucester and the new Rector of All Saints’ Church, Colchester. Everitt needed a parish organist. On May 22, 1943, at a Hymn Society of America dinner held in his honor at The General Theological Seminary, New York, New York, Noble recalled:
I could not play the organ very well. It was an awful, old organ; it had four stops, and the mechanism rattled so loudly that you could not hear the music…. Learning on this organ was difficult, but it was good for me….
–Quoted in Amin Haeussler, The Story of Our Hymns: The Handbook to the Hymnal of the Evangelical and Reformed Church (1952), 827
Above: The Parish Church of All Saints, Colchester, England
Image Source = Google Earth
Noble had a more satisfactory musical experience from 1886 to 1889, when he studied at the Royal College of Music. He had won a scholarship in 1886. Charles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924) was one of our saint’s mentors and teachers there. Noble, after graduating in 1889, served as Stanford’s assistant organist at Trinity College, Cambridge (1890-1892).
Other jobs as an organist followed. Noble served at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Ely (1892-1898). While there, he began to compose his first anthems, including Souls of the Righteous. Noble also married Meriel Maude Stubbs 1897. She was a daughter of Charles Stubbs (1845-1912), the Dean of Ely (1893-1905) then the Bishop of Truro (1906-1912).
Above: The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Ely, England
Image Source = Google Earth
Then Noble worked at the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter (the York Minister), York (1898-1913). He and Meriel welcomed their son, Philip Raymond (1903-1979). Our saint also founded a symphony orchestra; conducted the York Pageant in 1909; and revived the York Musical Festival, dormant for three quarters of a century, in 1912.
Above: The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter, York, England
Image Source = Google Earth
Noble, speaking on May 22, 1943, recalled:
The strain on a cathedral organist is enormous. I had been responsible for fourteen services a week for twenty years, and looked forward, in England, to many more. This was the time to change, though the various canons at York could not see why I should exchange the Minister for just a parish church!
So, in 1913, Noble moved to New York, New York, to assume the duties of organist and choir director at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Our saint brought the Anglican cathedral choir tradition to his new parish. Noble founded the choir school there in 1919 and served faithfully until he retired in 1943. Along the way, our saint received honorary degrees from Columbia University (1918); Trinity College (1926); and Cosmo Lang, the Archbishop of Canterbury (1932). St. Thomas Church unveiled a window in honor of Noble’s half-century as a church musician in 1932.
Noble composed sacred and secular music and edited editions of compositions by other composers. He edited the G. Schirmer edition of George Frederick Handel‘s The Messiah. Incidental music flowed from his pen. So did the following, among other masterpieces:
Noble’s hymn tunes included the following:
Noble also made his imprint in writing. He wrote The Training of the Boy Chorister (1943).
On the denominational level, Noble’s service extended to the committees for The Hymnal 1916 (1919) and The Hymnal 1940 (1943).
Above: St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Rockport, Massachusetts
Image Source = Google Earth
Noble retired to Rockport, Massachusetts, in 1943. He, one day shy of his eighty-sixth birthday, died there on May 4, 1953.
Noble’s legacy persists. The choir school at St. Thomas Church, New York, New York, still exists. And every time someone sings one of his hymn tunes, our saint’s legacy lives in that way, also.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 19, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH OF NAZARETH, HUSBAND OF SAINT MARY OF NAZARETH, MOTHER OF GOD
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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,
thank you for those (especially T. Tertius Noble)
who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.
May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Chronicles 25:1-8
Psalm 145
Revelation 15:1-4
John 4:19-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
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Above: Old Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Baltimore, Maryland
Image Source = Google Earth
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JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH HODGES (1830-MAY 1, 1915)
Episcopal Priest, Liturgist, Organist, and Composer
Also known as J. S. B. Hodges, John Sebastian Bach Hodges, and J. Sebastian B. Hodges
Johann Sebastian Bach Hodges comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The Hymnal 1940 (1943), The Methodist Hymnal/The Book of Hymns (1966), and their companion volumes.
Edward Hodges (1796-1867) and Margaret Robinson Hodges (d. 1863) presided over a musical family. Edward was an organist and a composer in The Church of England. Margaret, raised in the classical music tradition of the Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum), was a talented vocalist. Edward married Margaret on her nineteenth birthday. The couple raised eight children–George Frederick Handel, Faustina Hasse, Miriam, Jubal, Johann Sebastian Bach, Deborah, Cecilia, and Asaph–four of whom lived past twenty years and became organists. Faustina Hasse Hodges (1822-1895), also a composer, wrote her father’s biography yet died prior to its publication. Johann Sebastian Bach Hodges edited the book for publication (1896). The other two children who survived past twenty years and became organists were Deborah (still alive in 1896) and Jubal (who died at the age of forty-two years).
Edward spent much of this life in North America. In 1838, he moved to Toronto to become the organist at the Anglican Cathedral of St. James. By the end of the next year, he had become the organist at Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York, New York. Edward served in that capacity until illness forced his retirement in 1859. At Trinity Church, Wall Street, Edward introduced the Anglican cathedral music tradition to The Episcopal Church. He also sent for his children, one by one. Johann arrived in New York City in 1845.
Johann remained in the United States even after his father, a new widower, returned to the mother country in 1863. Our saint studied at Columbia University (B.A., 1850; M.A., 1853) then at The General Theological Seminary (S.T.D., 1854). Hodges, ordained to the diaconate in 1854 then to the priesthood the following year: served on the staff of Trinity Church (now Cathedral), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1854-1856. Then our saint spent a few years in the Midwest; he served on the faculty of Nashotah House, Nashotah, Wisconsin. During this time, Hodges also served at the Church of the Holy Communion, Chicago, Illinois. In 1860, our saint returned to the East; he became the Rector of Grace Church, Newark, New Jersey, and served in that capacity through 1870. Next, Hodges served as the Rector of (Old) St. Paul’s Church, Baltimore, Maryland (1870-1906).
Hodges started making his greatest contributions to ecclesiastical life prior to arriving in Baltimore in 1870. He compiled The Book of Common Praise: Music for The Book of Common Prayer; For Use in Congregations and Sunday Schools (1868). Our saint continued his musical-liturgical contributions in Baltimore. In 1873, Hodges replaced the parish’s paid male-female quartet with a choir of men and boys. He also founded the first choir school in the United States. The choir, trained at this choir school, earned its reputation for excellence. Our saint’s work of facilitating The Episcopal Church’s transition from metrical psalms to hymns, begun in Newark, continued in Baltimore. He served on the committee to revise The Hymnal (1874) into The Hymnal (1892). Our saint, the composer of about a hundred anthems and hymn tunes (including EUCHARISTIC HYMN), completed Hymn Tunes, Being Further Contributions to the Hymnody of the Church (1903).
Hodges entered retirement in 1906. During this period, he published Christmas Carols and Hymns for Children Set to Music by the Rev. J. S. B. Hodges, S.T.D. (1908).
Our saint, aged about 85 years, died in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 1, 1915.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 16, 2023 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTIETH DAY OF LENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADALBALD OF OSTEVANT, SAINT RICTRUDIS OF MARCHIENNES, AND THEIR RELATIONS
THE FEAST OF SAINT ABRAHAM KIDUNAIA, ROMAN CATHOLIC HERMIT; AND SAINT MARY OF EDESSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN CACCIAFRONTE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, BISHOP, AND MARTYR, 1183
THE FEAST OF SAINT MEGINGAUD OF WURZBURG, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF THOMAS WYATT TURNER, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC SCIENTIST, EDUCATOR, AND CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST; FOUNDER OF FEDERATED COLORED CATHOLICS
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM HENRY MONK, ANGLICAN ORGANIST, HYMN TUNE COMPOSER, AND MUSIC EDUCATOR
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Holy God, whose majesty surpasses all human definitions and capacity to grasp,
thank you for those (especially Johann Sebastian Bach Hodges)
who have nurtured and encouraged the reverent worship of you.
May their work inspire us to worship you in knowledge, truth, and beauty.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 Chronicles 25:1-8
Psalm 145
Revelation 15:1-4
John 4:19-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
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Above: Blessed Ndoc Suma
Image in the Public Domain
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BLESSED NDOC SUMA (JULY 31, 1887-APRIL 22, 1958)
Albanian Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr, 1958
Blessed Ndoc Suma comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.
Suma, born in Nënphat, Lezhë, Albania, on July 31, 1887, was a subject of the Ottoman Empire until Albanian independence (1912). he studied theology at Skrodrë, Albania, then at the Jesuit Collegium Canisianum, Innsbruck, Austria, Austria-Hungary. Our saint returned to Albania, whwere he joined the ranks of priests in the Archdiocese of Skrodrë-Pult on September 21, 1911.
During the subsequent political changes and stages of his homeland, Suma served as a parish priest in seven towns. After the fascist occupation ended in 1944, the communist government came to power. That government cracked down on religion. Albanian authorities arrested Suma while he was saying Mass in Laçu on December 8, 1946. The charge was being a spy.
The verdict was guilty, of course. Our saint, sentenced to thirty years in prison, as well as hard labor, was near death when freed on November 25, 1957. He, aged seventy years, died in the village of Pistull on April 22, 1958.
Holy Mother Church has formally recognized Suma. Pope Francis declared him a Venerable in 2016 then a beatus later that year.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT HONORIUS, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF MARY RAMABAI, PROPHETIC WITNESS AND EVANGELIST IN INDIA
THE FEAST OF RICHARD CHALLONER, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOLAR, RELIGIOUS WRITER, TRANSLATOR, CONTROVERSIALIST, PRIEST, AND TITULAR BISHOP OF DOBERUS
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Almighty God, who gave to your servant Blessed Ndoc Suma boldness
to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world,
and courage to die for this faith:
Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us,
and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2 Esdras 2:42-48
Psalm 126 or 121
1 Peter 3:14-18, 22
Matthew 10:16-22
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 713
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Above: Blessed Lucien Botovasoa
Image in the Public Domain
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BLESSED LUCIEN BOTOVASOA (1908-APRIL 14, 1947)
Malagasy Roman Catholic Martyr, 1947
Blessed Lucien Botovasoa comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.
Blessed Lucien, born in 1908 at Vohipeno, Madagascar, was one of nine children. He was a subject of the French colonial regime. Despite many dispersions regarding the French military from a plethora of critics in the twenty-first century, the French colonial regimes in places such as Madagascar and Algeria tolerated no hint of rebellion. Tactics were harsh.
Blessed Lucien pursued a religious vocation. He, baptized in 1918, made his First Communion four years later. He studied at the Jesuit Saint Joseph College (1922-1928) then taught there. Lives of the saints were part of our saint’s lessons for his pupils. Blessed Lucien married Suzanna Soazana on October 10, 1930. The married man and father, who joined the Crusaders of the Heart of Jesus on August 18, 1935, became a Secular Franciscan tertiary in 1940. He made his final vows on December 18, 1944. Blessed Lucien also took an interest in married saints and direct his parish choir.
Blessed Lucien was apolitical. He, encouraged to seek public office in early 1947, refused. Yet politics overtook him. The Malagasy Uprising (1947-1949) started in March. Predictably, French imperial repression triggered a violent rebellion. Predictably, rebels targeted institutions of foreign influence. The Roman Catholic Church became one of these targets.
On April 14, 1947, Blessed Lucien was eating lunch with his four children and pregnant wife. In this context, our saint learned that he, as a Catholic teacher, would immediately become a target of rebels. Instead of fleeing, Blessed Lucien remained with his family. Our saint, arrested, tried, and convicted by the local chief that night, died between 10:00 p.m. and Midnight. The guards, as well as the executioner, who beheaded Blessed Lucien, were some of his former students. They threw the corpse into the Mattanana River.
Holy Mother Church has formally recognized our saint. Pope Francis declared him a Venerable in 2017. The following year, Lucien became Blessed Lucien.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JEHU JONES, JR., AFRICAN-AMERICAN LUTHERAN MINISTER
THE FEAST OF FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE, ANGLICAN POET, ART CRITIC, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH HOSKINS, ENGLISH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT LORENZO RUIZ AND HIS COMPANIONS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES AND MARTYRS IN JAPAN, 1637
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Almighty God, by whose grace and power
your holy martyr Blessed Lucien Botovasoa
triumphed over suffering and was faithful even to death:
Grant to us, who now remember him in thanksgiving,
to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world,
that we may receive with him the crown of life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 51:1-12
Psalm 116 or 116:1-8
Revelation 7:13-17
Luke 12:2-12
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 714
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Above: Blessed Symforian Ducki
Image in the Public Domain
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BLESSED SYMFORIAN DUCKI (MAY 10, 1888-APRIL 11, 1942)
Polish Roman Catholic Friar and Martyr, 1942
Also known as Felix Ducki and Antonio Ducki
Alternative feast day (as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II) = June 12
Blessed Symforian Ducki comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.
Felix Ducki was originally a subject of the Russian Empire. He, born in Warsaw on May 10, 1888, was a son of Julian Ducki (a locksmith) and Marianna (Lenardt) Ducki. Our saint joined the Franciscan Capuchins at Warsaw on January 3, 1918, during revolutionary times in Russia, as well as prior to the reestablishment of independent Poland. His first monastic name was Antonio. That name became Symforian on May 19, 1921.
Ducki lived and served mostly in Warsaw through 1941. He, as a friar, collected funds for the poor. Our saint served his brother friars as a cook. Ducki, who made his final vows on May 22, 1925, led this holy life until the Third Reich intervened.
Agents of the Gestapo arrested the Franciscan Capuchin friars of Warsaw on June 27, 1941, and initially incarcerated them at Pawiak. Ducki, sent to Auschwitz on September 23, 1941, spent the rest of his life performing hard labor. He, aged 53 years, died on April 11, 1942.
Holy Mother Church has formally recognized our saint. Pope John Paul II declared Ducki a Venerable in 1999 then a beatus later that year.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 26, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL VI, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN BRIGHT, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN BYROM, ANGLICAN THEN QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOSEPH A. SITTLER, U.S. LUTHERAN MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND ECUMENIST
THE FEAST OF LANCELOT ANDREWES, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF CHICHESTER THEN OF ELY THEN OF WINCHESTER
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Almighty and everlasting God, who kindled the flame of your love
in the heart of your holy martyr Blessed Symforian Ducki:
Grant to us, your humble servants, a like faith and power of love,
that we who rejoice in his triumph may profit by his example;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jeremiah 15:15-21
Psalm 124 or 31:1-5
1 Peter 4:12-19
Mark 8:34-38
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 715
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Above: St. Gaetano Catanoso
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT GAETANO CATANOSO (FEBRUARY 14, 1879-APRIL 14, 1953)
Founder of the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Veronica (the Missionaries of the Holy Face)
Alternative feast day = September 20
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The Holy Face is my life. He is my strength.
–St. Gaetano Catanoso
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St. Gaetano Catanoso comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.
Catanoso came from a large, devout, and wealthy family of Chioro di San Lorenzo, Reggio Calabra, Italy. He, born on February 14, 1879, was one of eight children of Antonio and Antonia Catanoso. Our saint, who started his theological studies in October 1889, joined the ranks of priests on September 20, 1902, when he was twenty-three years old.
Catanoso spent most of his priestly career in parishes, with ministries in communities. After spending 1902-1904 as a prefect of seminarians, our saint became a parish priest. He encouraged priestly vocations, improved catechesis, revived Marian and Eucharistic devotions, encouraged the observance of liturgical feasts, and worked with other local priests to arrange for priests to hear confessions in each other’s parishes. Catanoso also served as a spiritual director at a seminary (1922-1949) and hospitals (1922-1933). Furthermore, he founded an orphanage for war orphans in 1943. In 1935, our saint founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Saint Veronica (the Missionaries of the Holy Face) to work with the poor and to offer perpetual prayers. The congregation received diocesan approval in 1958.
When Catanoso died, aged seventy-four years, on April 4, 1953, he was ill and blind. He was also justifiably beloved.
Holy Mother Church has formally recognized Catanoso. Pope John Paul II declared him a Venerable in 1990 then a beatus in 1997. Pope Benedict XVI canonized our saint in 2005.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 24, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ANNA ELLISON BUTLER ALEXANDER, AFRICAN-AMERICAN EPISCOPAL DEACONESS IN GEORGIA, AND EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF HENRY HART MILMAN, ANGLICAN DEAN, TRANSLATOR, HISTORIAN, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT JUVENAL OF ALASKA, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MARTYR IN ALASKA, AND FIRST ORTHODOX MARTYR IN THE AMERICAS, 1796
THE FEAST OF SAINT PETER THE ALEUT, RUSSIAN ORTHODOX MARTYR IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1815
THE FEAST OF SAINT SILOUAN OF MOUNT ATHOS, EASTERN ORTHODOX MONK AND POET
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Lord 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 your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hosea 2:18-23
Psalm 94:1-14
Romans 12:9-21
Luke 6:20-36
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 37
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Above: Blessed Maria Antonia Bandres y Elosegui
Image in the Public Domain
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BLESSED MARIA ANTONIA BANDRÉS Y ELÓSEGUI (MARCH 6, 1898-APRIL 27, 1919)
Spanish Roman Catholic Nun
Blessed Maria Antonia Bandrés y Elósegui comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.
Blessed Maria, born in Toloso, Guipúzoca, Spain, on March 6, 1898, came from a large and devout Roman Catholic family. She was the second of fifteen children of Teresa Elósegui and attorney Ramon Bandrés. Antonita, as the family called our saint informally, was an attentive big sister. She, educated by the Daughters of Jesus, demonstrated Christ’s love for poor people in her hometown as a child. Blessed Maria tended to poor people on the outskirts of town.
Blessed Maria joined the daughters of Jesus at Salamanca on December 8, 1915, when seventeen years old. She made her profession on May 31, 1918, when twenty years old. Our saint, strong in faith and weak in health, remained a model nun until she died, aged twenty-one years, while singing a Marian hymn, on April 27, 1919.
Holy Mother Church has formally recognized Blessed Maria. Pope John Paul II declared her a Venerable in 1995 then added her to the beati the following year.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PHILANDER CHASE, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF OHIO, AND OF ILLINOIS; AND PRESIDING BISHOP
THE FEAST OF C. H. DODD, WELSH CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT, JULIA ANNE ELLIOTT, AND EMILY ELLIOTT, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITERS
THE FEAST OF JUSTUS FALCKNER, LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF STEPHEN G. CARY, U.S. QUAKER HUMANITARIAN AND ANTIWAR ACTIVIST
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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 Blessed Maria Antonia Bandrés y Elósegui,
may serve you with singleness of heart,
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 Luke 9:57-62
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 722
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Above: Calvary Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, California
Image Source = Google Earth
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FRANK VON CHRISTIERSON (DECEMBER 25, 1900-APRIL 24, 1996)
Finnish-American Presbyterian Minister and Hymn Writer
Born Friedrich von Christierson
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In gratitude and humble trust,
We bring our best today,
To serve your cause and share your love
With all along life’s way.
O God, who gave yourself to us
In Christ, your only Son,
Teach us to give ourselves each day
Until life’s work is done.
–Frank von Christierson, from As Men of Old Their Firstfruits Brought (1960, 1972); quoted in The Worshipbook: Services and Hymns (1972)
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Frank von Christierson comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via various denominational hymnals, mainly The Methodist Hymnal/The Book of Hymns (1966). (The United Methodist Hymnal of 1989 lacks any texts by our saint.)
Friedrich von Christierson was originally a subject of the Russian Empire. He, born at Lovisa, near Helsinki, Finland, on December 25, 1900, left for the United States with his parents and five brothers in 1905.
Christierson (B.A., psychology, Stanford University, 1923), went into church work. He spent a few years as the youth director at First Presbyterian Church, San Luis Obispo, California. During this time, Christierson married Frances May Lockhart in 1925. The couple had two children. Our saint matriculated at San Francisco Theological Seminary (B.D., 1929; M.A., 1930). Christierson, ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in 1929, continued his clergy status in the PCUSA’s successors, The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He served in the following congregations from 1929 to 1966:
- Calvary Presbyterian Church, Berkeley, California (1929-1944);
- Trinity Community Presbyterian Church, North Hollywood, California, a church plant (1944-1961); and
- Celtic Cross United Presbyterian Church (now Celtic Cross Presbyterian Church), Citrus Heights, California, a church plant (1961-1966).
Christierson was also active beyond the congregational level. He served as the Moderator of the San Francisco Presbytery and the Los Angeles Presbytery. For three years in the early 1960s, he served as the chairman of the radio and television ministries of the Sacramento Area Council of Churches. In this capacity, our saint created a television program, Capital and Clergy, in 1962.
Christierson remained active in retirement. He filled various pulpits, as an interim pastor, in California and Nevada through 1970. Then, from 1970 to 1982, our saint was a part-time associate minister at First Presbyterian Church (now Centerpoint Community Church), Roseville, California. He focused on the elderly and the ill.
Our saint, a fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada since 1983, published Make a Joyful Noise (1987), a volume of his hymns.
Christierson, aged 95 years, died in Roseville, California, on April 24, 1996.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MATTHEW THE EVANGELIST, APOSTLE AND MARTYR
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Dear God of beauty,
you have granted literary ability and spiritual sensitivity to
Frank von Christierson and others, who have composed hymn texts.
May we, as you guide us,
find worthy hymn texts to be icons,
through which we see you.
In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 44:1-3a, 5-15
Psalm 147
Revelation 5:11-14
Luke 2:8-20
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 20, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS AMATOR OF AUXERRE AND GERMANUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS; SAINT MAMERTINUS OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT; AND SAINT MARCIAN OF AUXERRE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK
THE FEAST OF JOHANNES BUGENHAGEN, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARCELLINUS OF EMBRUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF OLAVUS AND LAURENTIUS PETRI, RENEWERS OF THE CHURCH
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Above: St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT TERESA OF JESUS OF THE ANDES (JULY 13, 1900-APRIL 12, 1920)
Chilean Roman Catholic Nun
Also known as Saint Teresa of Jesus and Saint Teresa of the Andes
Alternative feast day = July 13
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I am the happiest creature in the world. God is infinite joy.
–St. Teresa of Jesus of the Andes
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The Roman Catholic calendar of saints encompasses many patterns. One of these patterns is young saints who died before they could fulfill their dreamt-of-vocations. One may read their biographies and wonder what else they may have done for God had they lived longer. One may even regret that these young saints did not live long enough to become old saints.
Juana Enriqueta Josephina de Los Sagrados Corazones Fernández Solar, born in Santiago, Chile, on July 13, 1900, came from a wealthy and devout family with six children. Our saint’s father was Miguel Fernández Jara. Her mother was Lucia Solar de Fernández. Juana was a vain, stubborn, and frustrating child. She was also pious. Our saint became more pious after reading a biography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux (1873-1897), the “Little Flower of Jesus.” Juana, her character transformed, dedicated her life to the service of God.
Juana, not yet nineteen years old, became a Discaled Carmelite novice at Los Andes, Chile, on May 7, 1919. Her monastic name was Teresa of Jesus. Soon, however, our saint’s life ended; typhus ravaged her. St. Teresa, dying, made her final vows as a nun on April 7, 1920, five days before she died at the convent. She was nineteen years old.
A sister, Lucia (d. December 31, 1942), also became a nun at the same convent. Her monastic name was Teresa of the Divine Heart.
Holy Mother Church has formally recognized our saint. Pope John Paul II declared her a Venerable (March 22, 1986), a beatus (April 3, 1987), then a full saint (March 21, 1993). A brother, Luis, attended the beatification ceremony. St. Teresa was the first beatified Chilean and Teresian Chilean.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF GERARD MOULTRIE, ANGLICAN PRIEST, HYMN WRITER, AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF SAINT CLARENCE ALPHONSUS WALWORTH, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, POET, HUMN TRANSLATOR, AND HYMN WRITER; CO-FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARY SOCIETY OF SAINT PAUL THE APOSTLE (THE PAULIST FATHERS)
THE FEAST OF SAINT EMILY DE RODAT, FOUNDER OF THE CONGREGATION OF THE HOLY FAMILY OF VILLEFRANCHE
THE FEAST OF WALTER CHALMERS SMITH, SCOTTISH PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM DALRYMPLE MACLAGAN, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, 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 of Jesus of the Andes,
may serve you with singleness of heart,
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 Luke 9:57-62
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 722
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Above: Blessed Hanna Helena Chrzanowska
Image in the Public Domain
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BLESSED HANNA HELENA CHRZANOWSKA (OCTOBER 7, 1902-APRIL 29, 1973)
Polish Roman Catholic Nurse
Blessed Hanna Helena Chrzanowska comes to this, A Great Cloud of Witnesses: An Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via the Roman Catholic Church.
Our saint was originally a subject of the Russian Empire. She, born in Warsaw on October 7, 1902, came from a family of mixed religious heritage. One side of the family was Roman Catholic; the other side was Protestant. Her parents were Wanda Szlenkier (from a landowning family) and industrialist Ignacy Chrzanowski (1866-1940). The family earned its reputation for committing charitable deeds.
Young Hanna, suffering from immune and respiratory system deficiencies, spent much time in hospitals and sanitariums. She started her life’s work of humanitarianism while a child, in a hospital. A boy, another patient, had arrived in extremely ragged clothing. The staff had had to dispose of these clothes. Therefore, our saint arranged for new clothes for the boy to wear home.
Our saint’s family moved to Kraków in 1910. Blessed Hanna graduated with honors from an Ursuline high school. After tending to soldiers’ injuries during Russia’s revolutionary period, she commenced formal nursing studies in Warsaw in 1920. Blessed Hanna worked for a time under another nurse, Sister Magdalena Maria Epstein (1875-1947), designated a Servant of God as of the writing of this post. Our saint’s formal education in nursing continued in France (1925f). She also worked as a Red Cross nurse and observed nursing in Belgium.
Blessed Hanna rose in esteem and prominence in her profession. She taught at Kraków (1926-1929), edited Nurse Poland (1929-1939), and helped to form the Catholic Association of Polish Nurses (1937). She, fusing faith and profession, became a Benedictine oblate.
World War II presented our saint with many challenges. Her father died in a concentration camp. A brother, Bogdon, perished in a Stalinist massacre. Blessed Hanna, stuck between Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler, organized nurses to provide home health care (when possible) and worked to resettle and feed refugees. She also administered a nursing home and mentored nursing students.
Other challenges awaited Blessed Hanna after the war. She worked as the Director of the School of Psychiatric Nursing, Kobierzyn, until the communist government closed it. Next, she tended to the poor and neglected in her parish. Our saint, diagnosed with cancer in 1966, underwent operations. Yet the cancer spread. She died in Kraków on April 29, 1973. Blessed Hanna was seventy years old. Cardinal Karol Wojtyla–later Pope John Paul II–presided at the funeral Mass.
Holy Mother Church has formally recognized Blessed Hanna. Pope Francis declared her a Venerable in 2015 then one of the beati in 2018.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 16, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE, BISHOP AND MARTYR, 258; AND SAINTS CORNELIUS I, LUCIUS I, AND STEPHEN I, BISHOPS OF ROME
THE FEAST OF JAMES FRANCIS CARNEY, U.S.-HONDURAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY, REVOLUTIONARY, AND MARTYR, 1983
THE FEAST OF MARTIN BEHM, GERMAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN WRITER
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Lord 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 joy.
Through us give hope to the hopeless,
love to the unloved,
peace to the troubled,
and rest to the weary;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hosea 2:18-23
Psalm 94:1-14
Romans 12:9-21
Luke 6:20-36
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 37
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SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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