| High Days and Holy Days in August 1st William of Roskilde d 1070 Here is a saint for anyone who thinks Christian leaders should stand up for justice - even at the risk of angering secular powers. It all began when William was an English priest serving as chaplain to Canute, king of England, (1016-35), who decided to visit Scandinavia. William went along, and was so shocked by the ignorance, idolatry and superstition that he stayed on to help preach the Gospel. Eventually he became bishop of Roskilde (Zeeland), working tirelessly among the people as a beloved pastor. But William's main challenge came in his determination to improve the conduct of the king, Sweyn Estridsen. The king had had some criminals killed without trial and in a church, violating sanctuary. William then forbade him to enter the church next day until he was absolved from the guilt of shedding blood unjustly. Courtiers drew their swords, and William showed himself ready to die. Instead, Sweyn confessed his crime and donated land to Roskilde church as a peace-offering. Thenceforward until the king's death Sweyn and William worked together to foster Christianity in Scandinavia. 3rd Gregory the Great c 540 - 604 Pope Gregory never called himself 'the Great', but instead 'the Servant of the Servants of God'. Nevertheless, Gregory was one of the most important popes and influential writers of the Middle Ages. The son of a very rich Roman senator, he left the service of the State upon his conversion as a young man. Gregory then sold off his tremendous estates to found six monasteries in Sicily and a seventh in Rome, and gave generously to the poor. He became a monk and adopted an austere lifestyle. But he was destined to be a frustrated monk, because successive popes kept appointing him to jobs with major public responsibilities. Christians in England owe him a great deal. When Gregory came across some English slaves for sale in Rome, he asked who they were, and was told, 'They are Angles.' Moved with compassion for these humiliated and despised men, he replied, 'They are not Angles, but angels!" He wanted to lead a band of missionaries to England to evangelise the Angles, but then plague broke out in Italy, and during this time he was elected Pope. Reluctantly he accepted, and then sent to work to deal with the crises facing Christendom: plague, floods, famine, and a Lombard invasion. But busy though Gregory was, he did not forget the Angles. He sent Augustine to England, and so became the apostle of the English 6th Donation c 484 martyr Some Christians today have the curious idea that being a Christian guarantees a prosperous life in this world. St Paul was more realistic - throughout his epistles he urges Christians to pray for patience and endurance in this world. Donation is a timely reminder that we are called to be witnesses, and that that may not be easy. When Hunneric, the King of the Vandals, closed all the churches in North Africa in the late fifth century, Donation and his friends were tortured, driven into the desert, and left to die of exposure. Many Christians in Muslim Africa today face similar dangers for Christ. Pray for them, that they find the courage and endurance they need. 8th The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary In both eastern and western churches, Mary has always been held as pre-eminent among all the saints. The unique, extraordinary privilege of being the mother of the One who was both God and Man, makes her worthy of special honour. Thomas Aquinas believed she was due hyperdulia, or a veneration that exceeds that of other saints, but is at the same time infinitely below the adoration, or latria, due to God alone. The gospels of Matthew and Luke give Mary most mention. Luke even tells the story of Jesus' infancy from Mary's point of view. Her Song, or Magnificat appears in Luke 1:46-55. The virginal conception of Christ is clearly stated in the gospels, but after Jesus' birth, Mary fades quietly into the background. During Jesus' public life, she is mentioned only occasionally, as at the wedding at Cana. She reappears at the foot of the Cross (John's Gospel), and is given into John's care. In the early chapters of Acts, Mary is with the Apostles, and received the Holy Spirit along with them on Whitsunday. But her role was not the active one of teaching and preaching. Mary's significance grew with the centuries. By the fifth century she was called Theotokos, The Mother of God, and from the seventh century onwards, she was given four festivals: the Presentation in the Temple (2 February), the Annunciation (25 March) , the Assumption (15 August) and her Nativity (8 September). Marian devotion has played an enormous role in the church down the years. Mary has been the object of countless prayers, accredited with performing many miracles, and the subject of thousands of artistic endeavours. She has had hundreds of chapels or parish churches named after her. During the Reformation many images of Mary were destroyed. The Second Vatican Council 1962 made an extended statement on her, stressing her complete dependence on her Son, and regarding her as a model of the Church. Principal Marian shrines of today include Lourdes (France), Fatima (Portugal), Walsingham (England), Loreto (Italy), Czesochowa (Poland) and Guadalupe (Mexico). 9th Peter Claver (1581 - 1654) teacher and missionary Here is a saint for anyone with a social conscience. Claver was born near Barcelona at Verdu, and at 20 became a Jesuit. He went as a missionary to New Granada and worked to alleviate the terrible suffering of the slaves who arrived from West Africa, caged like animals. (It was said that you could smell the stench of a slave ship while it was still seven miles from shore.) Claver helped the poor wretches who survived long enough to reach dry land. He gave them food and medicine as well as spiritual comfort. He is said to have cared for and baptised 300,000 slaves. What a difference one life can make to thousands of people! 11th Protus and Hyacinth (early church) On this, the anniversary of the Twin Towers, here are two more innocent people who met their death in the flames of mindless violence. These were Roman martyrs mentioned in the 4th century list of martyrs. Hyacinth's tomb was discovered in the cemetery of Basilla, with his name and the date of his burial (11 September). Inside were charred bones, indicating death by fire. An inscription by Damasus says Protus Hyacinth were brothers, and another ancient source called them 'teachers of the Christian law'. 11th Deiniol (d. c.584) The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is not the first mighty bishop to come out of Wales. Deiniol was a monk of Wales who came to be the 'first bishop of Bangor'. And a mighty bishop he was, too: Deiniol founded the two monasteries of Bangor Fawr (on the Menai Straits) and Bangor Iscoed (Clwyd), which, according to Bede, became the most famous monastery of British Christianity and came to number over 2,000 monks. Sadly, they were defeated at the battle of Chester by the pagan Aethelfrith, king of Northumbria. Deiniol is also remembered for his skill in getting disagreeing bishops to come and talk things over at a Synod... surely a skill which his 21st century successor will also need! 20th Martyrs of Korea Korea is known for its thriving Christian church. But it was not always so - in fact no Korean was baptised until as late as 1784. Christianity arrived in Korea through Christian books sent from China, and the Koreans responded warmly as soon as they heard the Good News. A Chinese priest who visited in 1794 found 4,000 Christians. This despite hard times: the Chinese priest was killed in 1801, and the Koreans were left without a priest for 30 years. Pius VII sent a bishop, Laurence Imbert, who arrived in disguise in 1837, who worked with two other priests of the same Paris Missionary Society. Christianity was strictly forbidden by this time, and so the missionaries worked in complete secrecy, rising at 2.30 am and ministering at unusual times in conditions of extreme poverty. And the Korean Church grew! Soon there were 9,000 Christians, who could not remain secret for ever. Violent persecution broke out, and the three French priests allowed themselves to be taken, in order to avert massacre and apostasy. There were beheaded at Seoul on 21 September 1839. 78 Korean Christians died in the same persecution, among them Agatha Kim and John Ri. The first Korean priest to be martyred was Andrew Kim, in 1846. These shining Christians of the Korean Church were beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1984. 21st St Matthew Matthew was one of 12 apostles. But he began as a publican i.e. a tax-collector of Jewish race who worked for the Romans, before he left all at the call of Christ. From earliest times, he was regarded as the author of the first of the four Gospels. The Gospel of Matthew is in correct, concise style, very suitable for public reading. His usual emblem as an evangelist is a man, because his genealogy emphasised the family ties of Christ. In art, he has been represented as either an evangelist or as an apostle. As an evangelist, he has been depicted sitting at a desk, writing his gospel with an angel holding the inkwell. In the Middle Ages he was even given a pair of spectacles. Matthew was martyred by a sword or a spear, some think in Ethiopia. 29th St Michael and All Angels Michael is an archangel, whose name means 'who is like unto God?' He makes various appearances throughout the Bible, from the book of Daniel to the Book of Revelation. In Daniel, he is 'one of the princes' of the heavenly host, and the special guardian of Israel. In Revelation, he is the principal fighter of the heavenly battle against the devil. From early times, Michael's cult was strong in the British Isles. Churches at Malmesbury (Wilts.) , Clive (Glos.) and Stanmer (East Sussex) were dedicated to him. Bede mentions him. St Michael's Mount in Cornwall was believed to commemorate a vision there in the 8th century. By the end of the Middle Ages, Michael had 686 English churches dedicated to him. In art Michael is often depicted as slaying the dragon, as in the 14th century East Anglican Psalters, or in Epstein's famous sculpture at Coventry cathedral. Or he is found (in medieval art) as weighing souls, as at Chaldon (Surrey), Swalcliffe (Oxon.), Eaton Bishop (Hereford and Worcester), and Martham in Suffolk. Michael's most famous shrine in western Europe is Mont-Saint-Michel, where a Benedictine abbey was founded in the 10th century. The 'All Angels' bit of this feast-day was added in 1969 when Gabriel and Raphael were included in with Michael. |