I am an old-school Trekkie. I remember a time when available Star Trek consisted of the 1966-1969 episodes in reruns on local stations, a handful of movies in VHS format, and, when the gods smiles, reruns of the 1973-1975 animated series on cable television. I recall possessing a large library of VHS cassettes full of episodes I recorded. My earliest memory of Star Trek is the classic episode Metamorphosis, which originally aired in 1967. I can recite Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) word-for-word and, when I listen to the soundtrack, know exactly what is happening. I know that Prime timeline stories ended with the lamentable Star Trek: Nemesis (2002), and that, regardless of what anyone says, the events of the equally lamentable Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005) exist in a parallel universe created in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and do not precede the original series in universe.
I also know that Star Trek‘s Prime Timeline is a sequence of period pieces. Each incarnation of the Enterprise is a given size and looks a certain way. The level of technology is what it is. The uniforms are what they are. The bridge design is what it is. Continuity matters. Maintaining it is a matter of respect for the franchise.
I have no use for the open contempt for human dignity that many critics of Star Trek: Discovery and other series (notably Series 11 of Doctor Who) spew. The misogyny, sexism, and homophobia of these individuals is wrong. These critics also seem not to grasp that socially progressive politics have been part of Doctor Who since 1963 and Star Trek since 1964. Do these critics forget A Private Little War, classic Star Trek‘s critique of the Vietnam War? The Daleks, who debuted in one the earliest First Doctor serials, are an unveiled allegory of fascism in general and of Nazism in particular. I also remember Patterns of Force, a classic Star Trek episode that used reproductions of Nazi uniforms. In a related matter, I remember that, when news of the recasting of Starbuck (renamed Kara Thrace) in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica broke in 2003, many people complained about political correctness. I also recall that Katee Sackhoff played that role brilliantly.
My main critique of Star Trek: Discovery is that it openly shows disregard for continuity in both visual style and story content. If one is going to film a prequel series to the original series, one should reproduce the look of the technology and uniforms, and mind the chronology meticulously.
My comment to all those is responsible for this abomination of a series is,
I hope your series fails miserably and ends as soon as possible. Stop insulting those of us who care about our franchises. Don’t let the door hit you where the dog should have bit you. If you want to take such liberties with details, create your own fictional universe in which to set your stories.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 12, 2019 COMMON ERA
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Above: Christ Church, Savannah, Georgia
Image Scanned from Henry T. Malone, The Episcopal Church in Georgia (1960)
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FRANCIS BLAND TUCKER (NOVEMBER 6, 1895-JANUARY 1, 1984)
Episcopal Priest and Hymnodist
“The Dean of American Hymn Writers”
Feast Day in the Diocese of Georgia = November 19
Father F. Bland Tucker comes to this, my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via two Episcopal hymnals and the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.
Tucker came from a family tree full of Episcopal priests, bishops, and missionaries. He was the youngest of thirteen children of Anna Maria Washington (1851-1927) and Father Beverley Dandridge Tucker (Sr.) (1846-1930), a priest in Norfolk, Virginia, where our saint entered the world on January 6, 1895. Tucker, Sr., went on to become the Bishop Coadjutor of Southern Virginia (1906-1911) then the Bishop of Southern Virginia (1918-1930). One of our saint’s elder brothers was Beverley Dandridge Tucker (Jr.) (1882-1969), the Bishop of Ohio (1938-1969). Another elder brother was Henry St. George Tucker (1874-1959), the Bishop Coadjutor of Virginia (1926-1927), the Bishop of Virginia (1927-1943), and the Presiding Bishop of the denomination (1938-1946), preceding the great Henry Knox Sherrill (1890-1980).
Our saint, descended from old Virginia families and raised in The Episcopal Church, became a courageous and reconciling figure in church and society. He, raised on The Book of Common Prayer (1892), his favorite version of the Prayer Book, graduated from the University of Virginia (1914) then Virginia Theological Seminary (1920). Military service during World War I interrupted his theological education. Tucker, ordained to the diaconate in 1918 and the priesthood two years later, married Mary (Polly) Goldsborough Laird (1890-1972). The couple had no children.
Tucker served as the rector of three parishes during forty-seven years of active ministry:
- St. Andrew’s Church, Lawrenceville, Virginia (1920-1925);
- St. John’s Church, Georgetown, District of Columbia (1925-1945); and
- Christ Church, Savannah, Georgia (1945-1967).
During this time our saint helped to prepare The Hymnal 1940 (1943). His contributions to it were two original hymns and four translations. Tucker also received a Doctor of Divinity degree from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1944. When The Episcopal Church replaced the The Book of Common Prayer (1892) with The Book of Common Prayer (1928), our saint and his father accepted the change while not renouncing their fondness for the older Prayer Book.
Tucker spent 1945-1984 in Savannah, Georgia. He, from 1945 to 1967 the Rector of historic Christ Church, Savannah, declined an opportunity to become the Bishop of Western North Carolina just a few months after arriving in Savannah. He led the effort to integrate the Diocese of Georgia in 1947. Tucker was also active in child welfare efforts in Savannah. Furthermore, our saint openly supported civil rights in the staunchly segregated city. In the 1960s, when many other congregations turned away those seeking to “pray in,” Tucker welcomed all who wanted to pray at Christ Church. Also, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1939-1968), when in Savannah, spoke at Christ Church.
Tucker remained active during his retirement. He helped to create The Book of Common Prayer (1979) and The Hymnal 1982 (1985). When our saint heard complaints from supporters of The Book of Common Prayer (1928), he told them that he still preferred The Book of Common Prayer (1892). He also contributed 17 hymns or parts thereof (original and translated) to the new hymnal. (The listings for Tucker in the hymnal are 25, 26, 121, 135, 139, 164, 220, 221, 268, 269, 302, 303, 322, 356, 366, 421, 428, 443, 477, 478, 489, 530, 547, 587, 663, and 668.)
Tucker, aged 88 years, died in Savannah on January 1, 1984. Three days later, the Savannah Morning News eulogized the great man:
…he was ahead of his time as a humanitarian. Long before desegregation, he was on record in favor of it and a leader in accomplishing it.
Tucker was also a skilled poet who shared his literary gifts for the glory of God.
May the church never be bereft of people with such talents and moral courage.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 11, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF CHARLES STEDMAN NEWHALL, U.S. NATURALIST, HYMN WRITER, AND CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER
THE FEAST OF HEINRICH THEOBALD SCHENCK, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HENRY HALLAM TWEEDY, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER
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Almighty God, we praise you for your servant F. Bland Tucker,
through whom you have called the church to its tasks and renewed its life.
Raise up in our own day teachers and prophets inspired by your Spirit,
whose voices will give strength to your church and proclaim the reality of your reign,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 46
1 Corinthians 3:11-23
Mark 10:35-45
–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 60
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Above: St. Hilda of Whitby
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT HILDA OF WHITBY (614-680)
Roman Catholic Abbess
Roman Catholic and New Zealand Anglican feast day = November 17
Episcopal feast day = November 18
Church of England feast day = November 19
St. Hilda of Whitby, born in Northumbria, England, in 614, crossed paths with a number of other canonized saints. Her sister, St. Hereswitha (d. 690), was a princess. Our saint’s grand-uncle was St. Edwin (reigned 616-633), the first Christian King of Northumbria. Her grand aunt was St. Ethelburga, Queen of Northumbria. Bishop St. Paulinus of York (584-644) baptized St. Hilda at age 13, in 627. Our saint, a single lay woman until the age of 33 years, became a Benedictine nun at Challes, France. Later, she became the abbess of Hartepool. Then, in 657, she became the founding abbess of Whitby. St. Caedmon (d. circa 670), a foundational English poet, was one of her monks and a recipient of her mentoring. St. Hilda was also the abbess to future bishops St. Wilfrid of York (d. circa 744) and St. John of Beverley (d. 721).
St. Hilda was a reconciling figure. She had made sure that her monastic houses followed the Celtic liturgy. The Synod of Whitby (664), at which the Roman Catholic Church took over the Celtic Church, met at her abbey at Whitby. After that synod, St. Hilda followed the Latin Rite instead.
St. Hilda died in 680.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 10, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, SCIENTIST, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF HENRY VAN DYKE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF HOWARD THURMAN, PROTESTANT THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL AGRICOLA, FINNISH LUTHERAN LITURGIST, BISHOP OF TURKU, AND “FATHER OF FINNISH LITERARY LANGUAGE”
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O God of peace, by whose grace the abbess Hilda was endowed with gifts of justice, prudence, and strength
to rule as a wise mother over the nuns and monks of her household,
and to become a trusted and reconciling friend to leaders of the Church:
Give us the grace to recognize and accept the varied gifts you bestow on men and women,
that our common life may be enriched and your gracious will be done;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Proverbs 6:20-23
Psalm 113
Ephesians 4:1-6
Matthew 19:27-29
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 687
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Above: Kiowa County, Oklahoma, 1951
Image Scanned from Hammond’s Complete World Atlas
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ISABEL ALICE HARTLEY CRAWFORD (MAY 26, 1865-NOVEMBER 18, 1961)
Baptist Missionary to the Kiowa Nation
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I Dwell Among Mine Own People.
–Epitaph of Isabel Alice Hartley Crawford
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Isabel Alice Hartley Crawford comes to this, my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via G. Scott Cady and Christopher L. Webber, A Year With American Saints (2006).
Crawford took the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma. She, like many missionaries in various places and at a range of times, tended to the tangible and intangible needs of those among whom she ministered, and defended their rights.
Crawford, born in Cheltenham, Ontario, on May 26, 1865, seemed like an unlikely missionary to the Kiowa nation. Her mother was Sarah Louise Hackett (Crawford). Our saint’s father was the Reverend John Crawford, a minster and a professor of theology who served in North Dakota and Canada. She wanted to become a missionary overseas. After Crawford graduated from the Baptist Missionary Training School, Chicago, Illinois, in 1893, went to work for the Board of Women’s American Baptist Home Mission Society (WABHMS). The Mission Society sent our saint to Oklahoma, to be a missionary to those she initially regarded as “dirty Indians.”
Crawford ministered among the Kiowa people from 1893 to 1906. After spending three years at the Elk Creek Mission, she transferred thirty miles away to Saddle Mountain, near Mountain View, Oklahoma. Our saint had to overcome great challenges. She, nearly deaf, had to read lips and communicate via sign language and interpreters. Conditions were primitive. Furthermore, Crawford had to contend with widespread apathy. She taught subjects ranging from sewing to baking to the Bible, cared for the ill, and sang hymns. She also defended the interests of the Kiowa people, besieged by white settlers using the Natives’ natural resources and hunting their game. Finally, on Easter Sunday 1903, the Saddle Mountain Baptist Church held its first worship service. She resigned under pressure in 1906, during a controversy related to her practice of permitting lay presidency (by Lucius Aitsan) at the Lord’s Supper.
Crawford continued to work for the Mission Society until she retired in 1929. That organization never permitted her to return to Oklahoma, but our saint labored faithfully, as her employers allowed.
Crawford, who retired to Grimsby, Ontario, Canada, in 1929, died there, aged 96 years, on November 18, 1961. The resting place of her physical remains, consistent with her request, was the cemetery of Saddle Mountain Baptist Church.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 10, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF PIERRE TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, SCIENTIST, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF HENRY VAN DYKE, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND LITURGIST
THE FEAST OF HOWARD THURMAN, PROTESTANT THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF MIKAEL AGRICOLA, FINNISH LUTHERAN LITURGIST, BISHOP OF TURKU, AND “FATHER OF FINNISH LITERARY LANGUAGE”
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God of grace and glory, we praise you for your servant Isabel Alice Hartley Crawford,
who made the good news known to the Kiowa nation.
Raise up, we pray, in every country, heralds of the gospel,
so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of your love,
and be drawn to worship you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Isaiah 62:1-7
Psalm 48
Romans 10:11-17
Luke 24:44-53
–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), 59
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Above: Venerable Henriette DeLille
Image in the Public Domain
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VENERABLE HENRIETTE DELILLE (1813-NOVEMBER 17, 1862)
Foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family
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I believe in God. I hope in God. I want to live and die for God.
–Venerable Henriette DeLille
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Venerable Henriette DeLille fought racism and, in a time of race-based slavery in the United States, faithfully served God in poor and sick people.
Our saint seemed to have the path of her life established for her. She, a descendant of Nanette, a slave from West Africa, could have become the mistress of a wealthy white man. That was the life our saint’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, all free people, had made. Henriette was daughter of Jean-Baptiste Lille Sarpy and Marie-Josephe Diaz. Our saint, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1813, received a fine education, complete with dancing, musical performance, nursing, herbal medicine, and French literature. It was an education fit for the mistress of an aristocrat.
Henriette chose a life of service, however. She set out on this path at an early age. Our saint, when 14 years old, was catechizing slaves on plantations. Furthermore, she and some friends were visiting sick and hungry people, as well as feeding hungry people, during the week. In the early nineteenth century African Americans could not join white Roman Catholic orders. When our saint first attempted to found a religious order for African Americans, her bishop stood in her way. In 1836, after her mother died, Henriette used her inheritance to found the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, devoted to visiting and caring for the sick, hungry, and poor African Americans.
The order, which received Papal approval in 1837 then became the Sisters of the Holy Family five years later, struggled yet accomplished much. Funding was scarce and the few sisters’ poverty was stark, but they did much. They founded a girls’ school in 1850. A decade later, the order opened what became the oldest nursing home in the United States. When our saint died in New Orleans on November 17, 1862, there were only twelve Sisters of the Holy Family.
The legacy of Venerable Henriette DeLille has survived. Her order has added more sisters and opened more charitable institutions. The cause for her canonization has borne fruit; Pope Benedict XVI declared her a Venerable in 2010.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 9, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, GERMAN LUTHERAN MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT CASILDA OF TOLEDO, ROMAN CATHOLIC ANCHORESS
THE FEAST OF JOHN SAMUEL BEWELY MONSELL, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET; AND RICHARD MANT, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF DOWN, CONNOR, AND DROMORE
THE FEAST OF LYDIA EMILIE GRUCHY, FIRST FEMALE MINISTER IN THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA
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O God, by whose grace your servant Venerable Henriette DeLille,
kindled with the flame of your love, became a burning and a shining light in your Church:
Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline,
and walk before you as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Acts 2:42-47a
Psalm 133 or 34:1-8 or 119:161-168
2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Matthew 6:24-33
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 723
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Above: St. Hugh of Lincoln
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT HUGH OF LINCOLN (1135-NOVEMBER 16, 1200)
Roman Catholic Bishop and Abbot
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If all bishops were like my Lord of Lincoln, not a prince among us could lift up his head against them.
–King Richard I
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St. Hugh of Lincoln, a reluctant abbot then a reluctant bishop, served God, confronted his king, and left a fine legacy.
St. Hugh was noble in two senses of that word. His father was William, Lord of Avalon. Our saint, born in Avalon Castle, Burgundy, France, in 1135, was eight years old when his mother, Anna, died. St. Hugh, educated at a monastery in Villard-Benoit, France, became a monk at the age of 15 years and a deacon four years later. Our saint, a Carthusian since 1160, became a priest five years later, having already been the Prior of Saint-Maxim since 1159.
St. Hugh reluctantly became the abbot of the new monastery (the first Carthusian abbey in England) at Witham, Somerset, in 1175. King Henry II (reigned 1154-1189), penitent over the murder of St. Thomas Becket (December 29, 1170), had ordered the construction of that monastery. St. Hugh, renowned for his piety, actively cared for the poor and attracted many recruits to the Carthusian order.
St. Hugh was an even more reluctant Bishop of Lincoln (1186-1200). He was no less faithful, though. After an earthquake destroyed the cathedral, St. Hugh presided over the reconstruction of the structure. He also helped to transform the cathedral school into one of the greatest institutions of learning in England. St. Hugh fearlessly confronted King Richard I (reigned 1189-1199), criticizing him for mistreating subjects. Our saint also refused to raise funds for foreign wars. Furthermore, St. Hugh criticized the monarch for leaving certain sees vacant, for the sake of collecting income. Our saint also risked his life to resist the persecution of Jews (1190-1191); he confronted mobs and forced the release of captives.
St. Hugh died in London on November 16, 1200. His health had been failing since the previous year, after a diplomatic mission for King John (reigned 1199-1216) to France.
The Church recognized St. Hugh in 1220, when Pope Honorius III made him the first canonized Carthusian.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 31, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIA SKOBTSOVA, ORTHODOX MARTYR
THE FEAST OF ERNEST TRICE THOMPSON, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND RENEWER OF THE CHURCH
THE FEAST OF JOHN DONNE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET
THE FEAST OF JOHN MARRIOTT, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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Holy God, our greatest treasure, you blessed Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln,
with wise and cheerful boldness for the proclamation of your Word to rich and poor alike;
Grant that all who minister in your Name may serve with diligence, discipline, and humility,
fearing nothing but the loss of you and drawing all to you through Jesus Christ our Savior;
who lives and reigns with you in the communion of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Micah 4:1-4
Psalm 61
Titus 2:7-8, 11-14
Luke 12:35-44
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 685
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Above: St. Margaret of Scotland
Image in the Public Domain
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SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND (CIRCA 1045-NOVEMBER 16, 1093)
Roman Catholic Queen, Humanitarian, and Ecclesiastical Reformer
Also known as Saint Margaret of Wessex
Alternative feast day = June 16
Former feast day = June 10
St. Margaret of Scotland, who began live as a political exile, became a prominent and historically important figure–a humanitarian, a queen, an ecclesiastical reformer, and the mother of several Kings of Alba/the Scots, as well as a great-grandmother of King Henry II of the Plantaganet Dynasty.
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
St. Margaret was a member of the royal house of Wessex–Anglo-Saxon rulers. Her grandfather was King Ethelred the Unready (reigned 978-1016), who was actually poorly advised, not unready. Ethelred’s successor was Edmund II Ironside (reigned April 23-November 30, 1016), who preceded the reign (1016-1035) of King Canute of Denmark in England. St. Margaret’s father was Edward the Exile (1016-1057). Her mother was Agatha (before 1030-1057). Our saint, born in Hungary circa 1045, was a great-niece of King St. Stephen I of Hungary I (reigned 1000-1038). She spent her earliest years in the court of King Andrew I of Hungary (reigned 1046-1060). The family returned to England in 1057, during the reign (1042-1066) of Edward the Confessor. After the Norman Conquest (1066), the family found refuge in the Kingdom of Alba (now Scotland) in 1068.
St. Margaret was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093. King Malcolm III Canmore (reigned 1058-1093) was a widower with children. He was also illiterate, impious, and uncouth. St. Margaret was devout and persuasive, however. She and Malcolm had eight children, including several kings (one of them St. David I), St. Edith/Matilda (the mother of Holy Roman Empress then English Queen Matilda, the mother of King Henry II of England and France), and Blessed Edmund of Scotland (circa 1071-1100, a monk from 1097). St. Margaret convinced her husband to found schools, orphanages, and hospitals. She used her influence to have Iona Abbey rebuilt and to cause the founding of Dumferline Abbey. Our saint urged her husband to improve the quality of life for the people of Alba. She was less successful in her efforts to reduce interclan warfare, though.
St. Margaret encouraged greater piety at home and in the realm. She was the spiritual director of her household and the royal court. Our saint, dismayed with the custom of beginning Lent on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, insisted on starting the season on Ash Wednesday. Furthermore, Eucharistic rites were to follow the Latin Rite, she said. Sunday was to be a true sabbath, St. Margaret insisted. She also encouraged frequent communion.
St. Margaret died at Edinburgh Castle on November 16, 1093, a few days after Malcolm and their son Edward died during civil conflict.
Pope Innocent IV canonized St. Margaret in 1251.
St. Margaret understood that temporal power is a great responsibility, never properly a tool for enriching oneself and feeding one’s ego. She left Alba/Scotland better than she found it.
Wherever you are, O reader, may you leave it better than you found it. And, to the extent you have any power or influence, may you use if for good, not selfish, purposes.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 29, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD, COMPOSER, ORGANIST, AND CONDUCTOR
THE FEAST OF DORA GREENWELL, POET AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN KEBLE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JONAS AND BARACHISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS
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O God, you called your servant Margaret to an earthly throne that she might advance your heavenly kingdom,
and gave her zeal for your Church and love for your people:
Mercifully grant that we who commemorate her this day may be fruitful in good works,
and attain to the glorious crown of your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11
Psalm 112:1-9
2 John 1-9
Luke 4:16-22a
—Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 683
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Above: A Stamp Depicting Johannes Kepler
Image in the Public Domain
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JOHANNES KEPLER (DECEMBER 27, 1571-NOVEMBER 15, 1630)
German Lutheran Astronomer and Mathematician
My greatest desire is that I may perceive the God whom I find everywhere in the external world, in like manner also within and inside myself.
–Johannes Kepler
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Geometry is one and eternal shining in the mind of God.
–Kepler
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Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe.
–Galileo Gailiei
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Johannes Kepler comes to this, my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via The Episcopal Church. His Episcopal feast day (since 2009), shared with Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), is May 23. On my Ecumenical Calendar, however, Copernicus shares a feast day with Gailieo Galilei (1564-1642).
The following two assertions are true:
- Our societies shape us. We are products of our times.
- We shape our societies. We help to make our times.
Kepler was both a product of his times and a shaper of the future. He was, in many ways, ahead of his time, especially as he matured.
Kepler became a founder of modern astronomy. He, a subject of the Holy Roman Empire, began his journey into revolutionizing science began at Weil der Stadt, where, on December 27, 1571, Catherine (Guldenmann) Kepler, from a formerly noble family, gave birth to our saint. The Kepler family’s fortunes had been declining for some time; the father worked as a soldier. When Johannes was four years old, he nearly went blind due to smallpox. The condition damaged his eyesight permanently.
Kepler, who once aspired to the Lutheran ministry, became a mathematician and a scientist instead. After graduating from Maulbronn with his Bachelor’s degree in 1588, he matriculated at Tübingen, from which he graduated with a Master’s degree in 1591. At Tübingen Kepler studied the Copernican theory (heliocentrism), then a controversial idea, especially in ecclesiastical circles. Kepler accepted heliocentrism and helped to shape modern astronomy.
Doing this entailed contradicting contemporary Christian orthodoxy, according to which the other planets, as well as the Moon and Sun, revolved around the Earth. To accept the heliocentric model was allegedly to minimize sin, given the assumption that, the closer one moved toward the center (supposedly the Earth), the farther one moved away from God and the angels. To place the Earth in orbit of the Sun was allegedly to place sinful humans amid God and the angels.
Kepler, professor of mathematics at Graz, starting in 1594, made his contribution. Aside from mathematics, he also taught rhetoric and Virgil. Our saint, who lived when the distinction between astronomy and astrology did not exist, prepared astrological almanacs. Kepler, in the realm of faith and hard science, sought order in the relationships of planetary orbits to each other. He initially had difficulty divorcing himself from all the assumptions of the old, accepted Ptolemaic model, with its spheres, et cetera. Our saint married Barbara von Mühlbeck (d. 1611), of Graz, in April 1597. A purge of Protestant theologians from that city in September of that year forced the Keplers to move. Barbara’s wealth and influence enabled the couple to return after just one month, though. They did have to leave in 1600, however.
The Keplers moved to Prague, for our saint’s new position, in 1600. Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) helped to facilitate this transition. Kepler became the court mathematician to Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II (reigned 1576-1612). Our saint, as an astrologer, created horoscopes for the Emperor and courtiers. Kepler also studied and wrote about light reflection, supernovae, planetary orbits, and other topics in the realm of hard science. Our saint, as the recipient of Tycho Brahe’s decades’ worth of astronomical observational notes, analyzed that data and in 1609, published his conclusion that planetary orbits were elliptical. Kepler contradicted the Ptolemaic model, according to which heavenly bodies moved in circular orbits.
Kepler, who remarried (to Susanna Reutlinger) in 1613, served loyally under Emperor Matthias (reigned 1612-1619), who appointed him the mathematician to the states of upper Austria in 1612. The following year, Kepler and Matthias argued unsuccessfully for the adoption of the Gregorian Calendar, in lieu of the old Julian Calendar. Science did not yet yield to Protestant anti-Roman Catholicism.
Kepler, who taught mathematics in Silesia from 1628 until his death at Regensberg on November 15, 1630, got much right and other theories wrong. He practiced astrology, a pseudo-science. Our saint also thought that comets did not return. For that matter, Gaileo Gailiei, Kepler’s contemporary, did not accept the gravitational pull of the Moon on tides on the Earth. Great men were not always correct.
We see farther than they did because we stand on their shoulders.
Kepler was not only a giant of science; he was also a devout Christian. He was, in both regards, in the same league as Copernicus, Galilei, and Michael Faraday (1791-1867).
The conflict between religion and faith on one side and science on the other is unnecessary. Truth is truth. Bad theology is bad theology. Good theology is good theology. We can arrive at much truth via observation, experimentation, data analysis, documentation, et cetera–in other words, the Scientific Method and Enlightenment Modernism. Other truth, however, resides in a different purview. One can have access to truth via more than one channel.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 29, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD, COMPOSER, ORGANIST, AND CONDUCTOR
THE FEAST OF DORA GREENWELL, POET AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN KEBLE, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND POET
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JONAS AND BARACHISIUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS
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As the heavens declare your glory, O God, and the firmament shows your handiwork,
we bless your Name for the gifts of knowledge and insight you bestowed upon Johannes Kepler,
and we pray that you would continue to advance our understanding of your cosmos,
for our good and for your glory; through Jesus Christ, the firstborn of all creation,
who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Genesis 1:14-19
Psalm 8
1 Corinthians 2:6-12
Matthew 2:1-11a
–Adapted from Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), 383
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Above: The Flag of El Salvador
Image in the Public Domain
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FATHER IGNACIO ELLACURÍA (NOVEMBER 9, 1930-NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
FATHER IGANCIO MARTÍN-BARÓ (NOVEMBER 7, 1942-NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
FATHER JUAN RAMON MORENO PARDO (AUGUST 29, 1933-NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
FATHER AMANDO LÓPEZ QUINTANA (1936-NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
FATHER SEGUNDO MONTES MOZO (MAY 13, 1933-NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
FATHER JOAQUIN LÓPEZ Y LÓPEZ (AUGUST 16, 1918-NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
JULIA ELBA RAMOS (DIED NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
CELINA MARICET RAMOS (1973-NOVEMBER 16, 1989)
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ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYRS IN SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR, NOVEMBER 16, 1989
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This is my country and these are my people….The people need to have the church stay with them in these terrible times–the rich as well as the poor. The rich need to hear from us, just as do the poor. God’s grace does not leave, so neither can we.
–Father Segundo Montes Mozo, quoted in Robert Ellsberg, All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1997), 500
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These saints come to this, my Ecumenical Calendar of Saints’ Days and Holy Days, via Robert Ellsberg, All Saints (1989). Perhaps Holy Mother Church will formally recognize these martyrs eventually, but I do so today.
In this post I choose to focus on making a few comments and to leave the biographies to a source that provides ample information. Follow this link for that invaluable information, O reader.
During the El Salvadoran Civil War (1980-1992), the U.S.-supported government of El Salvador, as a policy, murdered 75,000 civilians. The list of martyrs of El Salvador is, of course, lengthy, including Father Rutilio Grande Garcia (1928-1977) and Archbishop Óscar Romero (1917-1980), who died before the civil war, and these eight martyrs, from late in that conflict. The U.S. government supported that violent government in the context of the Cold War, for the El Salvadoran regime was fighting communist rebels. However, far-right wing elements within the El Salvadoran military defined “communist” to mean anyone to their left who criticized them.
Six Jesuit priests, living on the campus of the (Jesuit) José Simeon Cañas Central American University, San Salvador, El Salvador, had made themselves thorns in the side of the government, with its policy of murdering civilians. The priests’ faith required that they speak out against such violence. In the early hours of November 16, 1989, military personnel murdered the six priests, their housekeeper (Elba Ramos), and her 16-year-old daughter (Celina Ramos). Ironically, the Ramoses had sought safety from bombings and from violence in the streets; they had hoped to find security with the priests.
These murders backfired on the El Salvadoran government, which initially blamed communist rebels. International disgust and pressure, including from the U.S. government, led to the negotiated end of the civil war in 1992.
These priests lived their faith. They lived the incarnation during a civil war. Their faith led them to martyrdom. They could have said (and probably did) with Archbishop Helder Camara (1909-1999),
When I feed the poor, they call me saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.
These Jesuit priests and the Ramoses stood in line with Hebrew prophets, Jesus, two millennia of martyrs, Father Grande, Archbishop Romero, Archbishop Camara, and radical Australian Baptist minister Athol Hill (1937-1992). All of the above stood with God on the side of justice.
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Loving God, why do the just and innocent suffer?
We read and hear ancient theological answers to that question.
Regardless of the truth of any of those answers, they fail to satisfy.
Hasten the age of your justice, we pray, so that
the meek will inherit the earth,
we will beat our swords into plowshares and learn war no more,
artificial scarcity will cease, and
nobody else will have to suffer or die for the love of one’s neighbors.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
Joel 3:9-16
Psalm 70
Revelation 7:13-17
Luke 6:20-26
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 15, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT ZACHARY OF ROME, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF SAINTS JAN ADALBERT BALICKI AND LADISLAUS FINDYSZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIESTS IN POLAND
THE FEAST OF OZORA STEARNS DAVIS, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, THEOLOGIAN, AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF VETHAPPAN SOLOMON, APOSTLE TO THE NICOBAR ISLANDS
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This is post #1700 of SUNDRY THOUGHTS.
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https://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2019/03/15/proper-for-christian-martyrs/
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/03/15/proper-for-christian-martyrs/
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Above: The Temptations of Jesus
Image in the Public Domain
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For St. Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia
Lent 2019
Texts: Mark 1:12-13; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13
Reading the Bible for spiritual formation is an ancient Benedictine practice. My primary purpose in writing this short piece is to ask, how do the accounts (mainly the Lukan and Matthean ones) of the temptations of Jesus challenge us, both as individuals and a parish, to follow Jesus better than we do.
The Temptation to Turn Stones into Bread
Bread was especially precious in ancient Palestine, with relatively little arable land.
We are blessed to be able to purchase our bread inexpensively at stores. Bread is abundant in our context, so we probably take it for granted more often than not. We can, however, think of some tangible needs related to scarcity.
One challenge is not to permit tangible needs to overtake intangible necessities. We all depend entirely on God and dwell within a web of mutual responsibility and dependence. According to the late Henri Nouwen, this temptation is the temptation to be relevant. Relevance is not necessarily bad; in fact, it is frequently positive. However, maintaining the proper balance of tangible and intangible needs is essential. Furthermore, Christ’s refusal to cave into the temptation to use his power to make bread—to cease to depend on God—ought to remind us never to imagine that we do not depend entirely on God.
Questions
- Do we permit tangible needs to distract us from intangible necessities? If so, how?
- Do we manifest the vain idea that we do not depend entirely on God? If so, how?
The Temptation to Jump from the Pinnacle of the Temple
Many scholars of the New Testament have proposed what the pinnacle of the Temple was.
That matter aside, this temptation is, according to Nouwen, the temptation to be spectacular. It is also the temptation to attempt to manipulate God by trying to force God to intervene in a miraculous way. That effort, like turning stones into bread, would indicate a lack of faith.
We humans frequently like the spectacular, do we not? We tell ourselves and others that, if only God would do something spectacular, we will believe. We are like those who, in the Gospels, only wanted Jesus to do something for them, and not to learn from him.
Questions
- Does our attraction to the spectacular distract us from the still, small voice of God? If so, how?
- Does our attraction to the spectacular reveal our lack of faith? If so, how?
- Does our attraction to the spectacular unmask our selfishness? If so, how?
The Temptation to Worship Satan in Exchange for Earthly Authority
Many Palestinian Jews at the time of Christ thought of Satan as the power behind the Roman Empire and of the Roman pantheon as a collection of demons. Jesus affirmed God the Father as the only source of his identity.
This temptation is about idolatry, power, and morally untenable compromises.
Many well-intentioned people—ministers, politicians, and appointed office holders, for example—have, in the name of doing good, become corrupt and sacrificed their suitability to do good. They have sacrificed their moral integrity on the altar of amoral realism.
Some compromises are necessary, of course. As Reinhold Niebuhr reminded us, we cannot help but commit some evil while trying to do good, for human depravity has corrupted social systems and institutions.
Questions
- Have we established our identity apart from God? If so, how?
- How have we, with good intentions, committed or condoned evil?
- Have we made morally untenable compromises? If so, how?
The Good News
The good news is both collective and individual.
I discover the principle, then: that when I want to do right, only wrong is within my reach. In my inmost self I delight in the law of God, but I perceive in my outward actions a different law, fighting against the law that my mind approves, and making me a prisoner under the law of sin which controls my conduct. Wretched creature that I am, who is there to rescue me from this state of death? Who but God? Thanks be to him through Jesus Christ our Lord! To sum up then: left to myself I serve God’s law with my mind, but with my unspiritual nature I serve the law of sin.
–Romans 7:21-25, The Revised English Bible (1989)
Jesus has modeled the way to resist temptation—to trust God and to understand scripture.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 10, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF MARIE-JOSEPH LAGRANGE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF SAINT AGRIPINNUS OF AUTUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; SAINT GERMANUS OF PARIS, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP; AND SAINT DROCTOVEUS OF AUTUN, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OGLIVIE, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MACARIUS OF JERUSALEM, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
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Adapted from this post:
https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/03/10/thoughts-and-questions-about-the-temptations-of-jesus/
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SUNDRY THOUGHTS 
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