Agnes 21 January

Child-Martyr at Rome 304

Her special significance is the very young age – 12 or 13 – at which she chose martyrdom rather than an arranged marriage. Even by the standards of the time it was considered shocking. This site says “she was ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods and lose her virginity by rape. She was taken to a Roman temple to Minerva (Athena), and when led to the altar, she made the Sign of the Cross. She was threatened, then tortured when she refused to turn against God. Several young men presented themselves, offering to marry her, whether from lust or pity is not known. She said that to do so would be an insult to her heavenly Spouse, that she would keep her consecrated virginity intact, accept death, and see Christ.”

She had a foster sister, St Erementiana, also martyred. (What a wonderful name, I’m surprised it has fallen out of use. I might start using it as an internet pseudonym).

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Exciting Holiness says:

“The growing veneration for the state of consecrated virginity at this time, combined with the last, major Roman persecution under the emperor Diocletian, climaxing in the shedding of an innocent virgin-child’s blood willingly for Christ, placed her at the forefront of veneration almost from the moment the persecution ended. She is believed to have died in the year 304 and her feast has ever since been celebrated on this day.”

I find it interesting how Christianity inspires women to act in extremely counter cultural ways. In the early centuries they were often hardly women, but very young girls, and the impetus was often refusing marriage or sexual activity. From our cultural viewpoint we assume this was to escape arranged marriages or forced sexual relations and a laudable act. A refusal to be treated like a chattel. But it seems to have had as much if not more to do with the extreme veneration at the time for virginity and celibacy – a white martyrdom.

the colours of martyrdom

I think I have read that in the early years of Christianity martyrdom was sometimes almost sought after, being seen as a fast track to the best seats in heaven. Or, less cynically, the best way to share the suffering of Christ and follow the example of the Apostles. This tendency to offer oneself up for the red martyrdom was deplored and discouraged by some cooler heads. Especially some of the Roman officials tasked with enforcing the persecutions, who found it all very exasperating. (Do not ask me for my sources for these assertions – I cannot remember where I read it).

When opportunities for red martyrdom became scarce, the idea of white martyrdom developed. As with red martyrdom, the extremes to which this was carried were eventually discouraged.

Agnes managed both.

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It is hard to ignore the suspicion that something to do with teenage rebellion focused on extreme states of religious devotion might be going on.  Perhaps it was this sort of thing that led John of Damascus to speak out so strongly against the cults of virginity and celibacy that assumed these to be theologically and spiritually superior states.

But then, I am a coward and would probably do just about anything to avoid torture and death. Even an off-white or grey, quite dark grey, nearly charcoal, martyrdom being well beyond my reach, so I am likely to take a cynical view.

Maybe this is why we venerate people like St Agnes so much. It is all beyond us, but we are grateful that someone is doing it and hopeful that we won’t have to.

I hope St Agnes will forgive me and pray for me.

more about her

Patron:
affianced couples;
betrothed couples;
bodily purity;
chastity;
Children of Mary;
Colegio Capranica of Rome;
crops;
engaged couples;
gardeners;
Girl Scouts;
girls;
rape victims;
Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York;
virgins.

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Aelred of Hexham 1110-1167
Abbot of Rievaulx

Such a wonderful personality. His charm shines through the centuries. Personally austere in his lifestyle he had the gift of friendship.

“It is no small consolation in this life to have someone you can unite with you in an intimate affection and the embrace of a holy love, someone in whom your spirit can rest, to whom you can pour out your soul, to whose pleasant exchanges, as to soothing songs, you can fly in sorrow, to those in whose friendship, amidst the many troubles of the world, you can safely retire. ..A man who can shed tears with you in your worries, be happy with you when things go well, search out with you the answers to your problems, whom with the ties of charity you can lead into the depths of your heart.” ‘Spiritual Friendship’

Aelred has enjoyed something of a revival recently amongst Christian men looking for role models and guidance for deep, spiritual, male Christian friendship. (Which is not to say that his thoughts are not applicable to women or indeed any friendship).

“Aelred wrote that it is compatible with the highest degree of Christian perfection to take special pleasure in the company of particular friends. He point out that we are told that Jesus loved John, and Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, and that this probably means that he found their company congenial.” From in defence of particular friendships.

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A particular reason why I love him and am captivated by his charm:

“Finally when God created man, in order to commend more highly the good of society, he said ‘It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a helper like unto himself.’ It was from no similar, nor even from the same material that Divine Might formed this helpmate, but as a cleaver, inspiration to charity and friendship he produced the woman from very substance of the man. How beautiful it is that the second human being was taken from the side of the first, so that nature might teach that human beings are equal and, as it were, collateral, and that there is in human affairs neither a superior nor an inferior, a characteristic of true friendship.” ‘Spiritual Friendship’.

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His writings ‘The Mirror of Charity’ and ‘Spiritual Friendship’ are still read today. He wrote one of the first rules of life for anchoresses, for his sister, ‘Rule of Life for a Recluse’. This too contains much wisdom for the conduct of our ordinary lives.

These centuries were an extraordinary time for the Christian faith. A ‘golden age’ of monasticism and spirituality which influences us still today. He started writing at the request of Bernard of Clairvaux, (another great golden oldie) with whom he had a great spiritual affinity. Aelred was called ‘The Bernard of the North’.

A contemporary, Jocelin of Furness, gives the following account of Aelred in his Life of St Waldef:

“He was a man of fine old English stock. He left school early and was brought up from boyhood in the court of King David with Henry, the king’s son, and Waldef. In the course of time he became a monk, afterwards abbot of Rievaulx. His school learning was slight, but as a result of careful discipline in the exercise of his acute natural powers, he was cultured above many who had been thoroughly trained in secular learning. He drilled himself in the study of the Holy Scripture and left a lasting memorial behind him in writings distinguished by their lucid style, and wealth of edifying instruction, for he was wholly inspired by a spirit of wisdom and understanding.

Moreover, he was a man of the highest integrity, of great practical wisdom, witty and eloquent, a pleasant companion, generous and discreet. And, with all these qualities he exceeded all his fellow prelates of the Church in his patience and tenderness. He was full of sympathy for the infirmities, both physical and moral, of others.”  From The Cistercians in Yorkshire.

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His father was a priest, but Aelred was a 12th Century ‘yuppie’ in the court of King David of Scotland.

He describes this part of his life thus:

“a cloud of passion from the depths of my fleshly desires and youthful folly,…the poison of self-indulgence, impure desire, I slid down the precipice of vice and was engulfed in the whirlpool of debauchery. I was…utterly dissolute, I gave myself up to uncleanness.” Aelred, ‘Rule of Life for a Recluse’

After his conversion he joined the Cistercian Order, as a novice at Rievaulx Abbey. He was appointed Abbot of Revesby in 1143 Four years later he returned to Rievaulx as Abbot, where he stayed for the rest of his life.

Aelred’s vision for Rievaulx was “Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity, and a marvelous freedom from the tumult of the world”

“The abbey of Rievaulx was founded as the first Cistercian outpost in the North, and was to be a centre for White Monks to reform and colonise the North of England and Scotland. Its foundation was instigated by Bernard of Clairvaux and planned with military precision. The abbey attracted important influential benefactors such as Henry I and David of Scotland.

Rievaulx was intended to be as a mission centre from which the White Monks successfully spread across the country. By the thirteenth century Rievaulx had founded a family of no less than nineteen abbeys. Rievaulx was renowned for its sheep-farming and export of wool, but the abbey was also an active patron of culture.”  From The Cistercians in Yorkshire.

The ruins of Rievaulx are well worth visiting.  English Heritage

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Strange how the Apostles as people; their lives and characters and families, have almost disappeared from history. We know very little about them and what we do know is often based on conjecture and legend. Most did not leave any written account that can confidently be directly attributed to them. They were uneducated and ordinary men.

They seem to have taken very literally the comment by John the Baptist about his own relationship to Jesus: John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease”.

Perhaps they were also following the example of the Lord, whose only recorded act of writing was in the dust, and the content not known.

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Andrew was the first disciple. He was the brother of Simon who was named Peter by Jesus. Andrew was a follower of John the Baptist. The account is in John 1: 35-42. When John the Baptist told Andrew that Jesus was the Lamb of God, Andrew found Simon and told him “We have found the Messiah’.

Andrew and Simon Peter were from Bethsaida. They had a fishing business. They were business partners with James and John, Zebedee’s sons. Jesus also appointed James and John apostles. It has never struck me before how many of the first twelve were already part of a tight knit family and business community. Philip also came from Bethsaida.

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The story of the calling of Andrew is in all the gospels but written from slightly different perspectives and chronology. I found it interesting to read all the accounts in one sitting. I tended to think that Jesus just turned up out of nowhere, commandeered Andrew and Simon Peter’s boat and then told them to leave everything and follow him. It seems though that Andrew and his brother were already seeking something, the Messiah, as they then understood the idea. Their hearts were already restless. And that there were meetings before the callings. Andrew visited Jesus and spent several hours with him when they first met.

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John 6:8-9 records that it was Andrew who presented the boy with five loaves and two fish to Jesus. The account is in all the gospels. Jesus took them, gave thanks, blessed them, broke them and gave them to the disciples to distribute amongst the crowd of five thousand.

After the resurrection it seems that the twelve took Jesus’ command to ‘go out and make disciples of all nations’ – Matthew 28: 19 & Mark13:10 – literally and travelled as far as they could in order to preach the good news. Andrew is believed to have travelled to Asia Minor, the Black Sea, Hungary, Russia and Poland.

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My researches usually start with Google. Usually what comes up first are the Roman Catholic and Orthodox saint’s sites. I usually link to those. With Andrew it was wiki, lots of places named after him, especially golfing places, the BBC religious site and of course, the Scottish tourist industry sites as he is patron saint of Scotland. Lots of stuff about things associated with Andrew but little about the man himself.

Here is a nice account of St Andrew and things associated with him by Woodlands Junior School in Kent

He is patron saint of Greece and Russia as well as Scotland. He is considered the founder and first bishop of the Church of Byzantium. His emblem is the ‘saltire’ or X shaped cross. Legend has it that both he and Peter were crucified but requested the X shaped cross as they were not worthy to die on the upright cross of the Lord. Andrew was tied with ropes and took three days to die during which time he preached the gospel.

There are many complicated stories as to how his relics ended up in various places and Scotland in particular.

The reason he became patron saint of Scotland is that in either the eighth or ninth century AD the Pictish King Angus mac Fergus was about to do battle with King Athelstane of Northumbria. Saint Andrew appeared to Angus in a dream and promised victory. During the battle, a saltire cross was seen in the sky. Angus declared the cross of Andrew to be the badge of the Picts. Echoes here of the Roman Emperor Constantine and his famous vision of the Chi Ro – X P – before his victory. Resulting in Christianity becoming the state religion of the Roman Empire.

Both the Greek flag and the Scottish flag are white on a blue background. Only the Scottish flag is the saltire cross.

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There is an apocryphal ‘Acts of Andrew’. Recording so many fantastical supernatural events and miracles initiated by Andrew that one commentator said, drily, that they made the miracles of Jesus seem mundane by comparison.

It seems to have been widely viewed as fanciful with little historical credibility from the start. Eusebius of Caesarea (339) dismissed it as heretical and absurd.

Even Gregory of Tours (594), who was a fan of this sort of thing, described it as ‘verbose’ and made a condensed version of the highlights.

Some of them don’t sound much like the sort of thing Jesus would do. But that’s just my opinion. Example – Andrew causes an embryo which was illegitimate to die. I wonder what Mary would have thought of that!

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On the Mount of Olives just before his death, Jesus told Peter, James, John and Andrew that they would face persecution and hatred Mark 13: 9-12. “And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations.”

Christianity is a faith marked by paradox. Jesus is the good news. He bears our burdens and gives us rest for our souls. Matthew 11:28-30. Came that we may have abundant life John 10:10 Gives us his peace. But he does not give as the world gives. John14:27. He promises his closest friends and followers pain and persecution. See what he says to Ananias about Paul.

James and John wanted places of honour in Jesus’ new kingdom.
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
Matthew 20:20-28

And Andrew did.

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Teacher 1582

Exciting Holiness

She is from the Carmelite stable of great mystic saints. This site also has links to her writings in the public domain.

How to do justice to Teresa of Avila? The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams has written a book “Teresa of Avila”.

At the age of seven she decided to run away from home to convert the Moors and achieve martyrdom by being beheaded. Her mother set up a search party. An uncle found her at the gates of her garden and returned her to home.

At seventeen she was “pretty, lively, fond of clothes and jewellery, was involved in a flirtation serious enough to cause mild scandal to the town and much anxiety to her father.” Rowan Williams.

Her father sent her to a convent where she stayed for about eighteen months. Then after a period of illness she convalesced at the home of a devout uncle. (These uncles were very formative it seems!) She decided on her vocation and without her father’s knowledge or consent she “left home secretly and entered the Carmelite convent of the Incarnation in Avila. She took the habit in 1536.” RW.

Are we starting to see a pattern emerging here with these saints, especially the female ones?

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From an early age she suffered from debilitating physical illnesses.

Although famous for her supernatural mystical experiences, and her writings on mystical prayer and the spiritual, she spent nearly twenty years struggling to pray.

She writes:

“Over a period of several years, I was more occupied in wishing my hour of prayer were over, and in listening whenever the clock struck, than in thinking of things that were good. Again and again I would rather have done any severe penance that might have been given me than practice recollection as a preliminary to prayer. Whenever I entered the oratory I used to feel so depressed that I had to summon up all my courage to make myself pray at all.”

She gave up her habit of mental prayer, using as a pretext the poor state of her health.

“This excuse of bodily weakness,” she wrote afterwards, “was not a sufficient reason why I should abandon so good a thing, which required no physical strength, but only love and habit. In the midst of sickness the best prayer may be offered, and it is a mistake to think it can only be offered in solitude.” from a biographical article

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Despite her experiences of extraordinary ecstatic states she never saw these as the objective of the spiritual life. They were by products, not something to be sought after.

“the pain was so sharp that it made me utter several moans; and so excessive was the sweetness caused me by this intense pain that one can never wish to lose it.”

She was greatly troubled by them at first and sought advice from her spiritual directors. Some acknowledged the experiences to be of the Holy Spirit. Others didn’t, and one ordered her to repel them as if from the devil. She obeyed. She was subjected to much ridicule. She was ordered to destroy one of her books and obeyed.

Eventually both she and her superiors accepted the experiences as being of God.

‘She was wont to say that she might be deceived in discerning visions and revelations, but could not be in obeying superiors.’ Said Pope Gregory XV, in his bull of canonization.

She writes: “It seems very easy to say that we will surrender our will to someone, until we try it and realise that it is the hardest thing we can do if we carry it out as we should.”

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She was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church on 27 September 1970 by Pope Paul VI. One of only 3 women Doctors of the Roman Catholic church. This article states

‘ “Doctor of the Church” is a title given to those whose writings deem to be in accord with the doctrine of the church and which the church believes can be used as teachings.

There’s some irony in this title for three women, as the church has used words of Paul as an argument against ordination of women: Paul’s words are usually interpreted to forbid women from teaching in the church.’

She wrote: “About the injunction of the Apostle Paul that women should keep silent in church? Don’t go by one text only…..ask them if they can by any chance tie my hands”

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She was an immensely practical down to earth person. Advising hard physical labour and household chores as a remedy for spiritual blight and spiritual pretentiousness. She had no time for spiritual pretensions.

“God deliver us from anybody who wishes to serve Him and thinks about her own dignity and fears to be disgraced…. No poison in the world so slays perfection as these things do….”

She was deeply aware of her own sin and character defects.

It was not until her fifties that she began to found a reformed order of Carmelite nuns, finding the Order she was in too lax in its disciplines. Despite much controversy and opposition she founded sixteen convents before she died.

She met St John of the Cross and formed a close spiritual bond and personal friendship with him. They worked together on the reform of the Order and the running of the new convents.

Her most famous books are ‘The Way of Perfection’ and ‘The Interior Castle’ her spiritual biographies, and are still studied and written about today.

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About her life

Founding her reformed convents involved much travel in very difficult conditions.  She said, “There is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is good because it is God’s.”

When her coach overturned into a ditch during a thunderstorm she said ‘It is no wonder Lord that you have so few friends when this is how you treat them’

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More quotes

“It is true that we cannot be free from sin, but at least let our sins not be always the same.”

“For my own part, I believe that love is the measure of our ability to bear crosses, whether great or small.”

“Be gentle to all, and stern with yourself.” (This too is a recurring theme amongst the saints).”

“To reach something good it is very useful to have gone astray, and thus acquired experience.”

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She is patron of: bodily ills; headaches; lacemakers; laceworkers; loss of parents; people in need of grace; people in religious orders; people ridiculed for their piety; Pozega, Croatia; sick people; sickness; Spain

There is a lay Catholic Teresian Association. The UK link is here.

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“We are Christians, men and women that commit themselves to witnessing the Gospel values in ordinary life. We are young and old. We are men and women from different nations and cultures, called together to make Jesus present in today’s world.

We live the life of ordinary lay people. We care for friends and family and we make our profession the means of our apostolate –citizens of both this world and another.”

Let nothing disturb thee;
Let nothing dismay thee:
All things pass;
God never changes.
Patience attains
All that it strives for.
He who has God
Finds he lacks nothing:
God alone suffices.

“Poem IX”, in Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila (1963) edited by E. Allison Peers, Vol. 3, p. 288

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Friar, Deacon, Founder of the Friars Minor 1226 Patron: Animals, Merchants, Ecology.

Exciting Holiness

He was born in a well to do merchant family in Assisi in Italy, he had a rebellious youth and a difficult relationship with his father. So take heart all parents of difficult youth, they may be great saints in the making.

Like St Ignatius of Loyola he had a conversion experience as a result of his experience as a soldier in war. He was never ordained as a priest but remained a deacon.

A Franciscan symbol is the San Damiano Cross.  Beneath this Christ asked St Francis to ‘build my church’.

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Franciscan keynotes are poverty and simplicity. He has also been very associated with more modern concerns about the environment and the care and stewardship of the earth and its living creatures. He talked of ‘Brother Sun’, ‘Sister Moon’, ‘Brother Wind’, ‘Sister Water’, ‘Mother Earth’, and, controversially, ‘Sister Death’. Francis’ brotherhood included all of God’s creation.

‘Much has been written about Francis’ love of nature but his relationship was deeper than that. We call someone a lover of nature if they spend their free time in the woods or admire its beauty. But Francis really felt that nature, all God’s creations, were part of his brotherhood. The sparrow was as much his brother as the pope.” There are many stories of his extraordinary relationship with wild creatures.’ From Catholic Online.

He seems to have a great appeal to people who have little formal religious faith or allegiance, but are attracted by nature mysticism and simple living. Also for those who find more legalistic systems stifling. William Short OFM, in ‘Poverty and Joy’, describes the Franciscan Tradition as “chaotic and intuitive, creative and affectionate, radical and obedient” He seems to have been an impulsive character.

His image is very recognisable and he enjoys great popularity as a garden statue, as well as being credited with producing the first recreation of the nativity scene at Christmas.

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His rule of life was extremely ascetic. Initially this was the great attraction for his followers and those who met them, witnessed their lifestyle and heard them preaching. He attracted a great number of followers and prepared a simple rule of life. Francis went to Syria on the Fifth Crusade to convert the Muslims. He got on very well with the sultan but did not succeed in making the desired conversions.

“When he returned to Italy, he came back to a brotherhood that had grown to 5000 in ten years. Pressure came from outside to control this great movement, to make them conform to the standards of others. His dream of radical poverty was too harsh, people said. Francis responded, “Lord, didn’t I tell you they wouldn’t trust you?” He finally gave up authority in his order.” From Catholic Online.

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“But above all it is his dealings with the erring that reveal the truly Christian spirit of his charity. “Saintlier than any of the saint”, writes Celano, “among sinners he was as one of themselves”. Writing to a certain minister in the order, Francis says: “Should there be a brother anywhere in the world who has sinned, no matter how great soever his fault may be, let him not go away after he has once seen thy face without showing pity towards him; and if he seek not mercy, ask him if he does not desire it. And by this I will know if you love God and me.”

“When someone told him of a priest living openly with a woman and asked him if that meant the Mass was polluted, Francis went to the priest, knelt before him, and kissed his hands — because those hands had held God.” There are many similar similar stories,

“to medieval notions of justice the evil-doer was beyond the law and there was no need to keep faith with him. But according to Francis, not only was justice due even to evil-doers, but justice must be preceded by courtesy as by a herald. Courtesy, indeed, in the saint’s quaint concept, was the younger sister of charity and one of the qualities of God Himself, Who ‘of His courtesy’, he declares, ‘gives His sun and His rain to the just and the unjust’.

This habit of courtesy Francis ever sought to enjoin on his disciples. “Whoever may come to us”, he writes, “whether a friend or a foe, a thief or a robber, let him be kindly received”, and the feast which he spread for the starving brigands in the forest at Monte Casale sufficed to show that “as he taught so he wrought”.”  From Catholic Encyclopedia.

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Two years before his death he received the stigmata, the marks of the wounds of Christ, on his body.

Many saints are associated with special prayers. St Francis is famous for his Canticle of the Sun and Make me Channel of Your Peace; a prayer that has become a classic and used in all sorts of situations by all sorts of people is attributed to him. Although according to wiki it cannot be traced back further than 1912 when it was published in French. It is the anthem of the British Legion. It was quoted by Margaret Thatcher on her accession as British Prime Minister in 1979. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Archbishop Desmond Tutu both used it as part of their regular devotions. It is a favourite choice at both weddings and funerals.

There is a detailed guide on how to use the prayer as an aid to meditation in the book 12 Steps and 12 Traditions published by Alcoholics Anonymous. It is a good guide for anyone, not just alcoholics. Go to Step Eleven, page 99.

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The Franciscan Order today is unique in its provision for people in ordinary life to become members, the third or tertiary, Order of Franciscans. They follow a rule of life based on simplicity, prayer and action for social justice. Here is an Anglican third order Franciscan site. The Catholic third orders seemed very complicated when I googled. There seem to be a lot of them, not just one. Mind you, this is probably very Franciscan. I get the impression that consistency of organisation and administration were not St Francis’ strong points – this was part of the problems leading to his deposition as head of his own order. Indeed why should they be?

2 Corinthians 3:6
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

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One of his most famous followers and a personal inspiration to him was Clare of Assisi who founded the Poor Clares and became a saint in her own right. As an aside, I did think when writing up Clare, that nowadays she would probably be taken into care and he might possibly be convicted of all sorts of things, and vilified as a cult leader.  Maybe they would even have ended up with an ASBO apiece…

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13 September
Bishop of Constantinople, Teacher of the Faith, 407

“It was for his sermons that John earned the title “Chrysostom” (golden mouthed). They were always on point, they explained the Scriptures with clarity, and they sometimes went on for hours. Made a reluctant bishop of Constantinople in 398, a move that involved him in imperial politics.

He criticized the rich for not sharing their wealth, fought to reform the clergy, prevented the sale of ecclesiastical offices, called for fidelity in marriage, encouraged practices of justice and charity. Archbishop and Patriarch of Constantinople. Revised the Greek Liturgy. Greek Father of the Church. Proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 451.

John’s sermons caused nobles and bishops to work to remove him from his diocese; twice exiled from his diocese. Banished to Pythius, and died on the way.”

from Orthodox wiki This site gives a lot of interesting information about his theology.

It is interesting how often the saints lives are marked by persecution while they were alive. Not only by the secular powers either. Also, how often they earn their place in the calendar for tackling corruption in the Church!

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“He generally rejected the contemporary trend for emphasis on allegory, instead speaking plainly and applying Bible passages and lessons to everyday life.”

He is alleged to have said “Mules bear fortunes and Christ dies of hunger at your gate”.

Unlike St Peter Chrysologous who was an Early Church Doctor and was afraid of wearying his audience by giving five minutes homilies, John was just the opposite and spoke for hours.

A very useful little book is ‘Drinking From the Hidden Fountain – A Patristic Breviary’ edited by Thomas Spidlik. A selection of excerpts from the patristic literature. There is much wisdom to be found in the writings and lives of the Fathers of the Church. It is well worth reading about them. There are more quotes from John Chrysostom than anyone else. The quotes used here are from this book.

From this selection he comes across as down to earth, practical. Uncompromising in preaching the difficult demands of the gospel to forgive our enemies, to feed the hungry and clothe the naked.

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I particularly like his writings on marriage. In a sermon on Ephesians 5 21-33 where the usual focus is on Paul’s injunction to wives to be subject to their husbands as to the Lord, John addresses his remarks to husbands

“Now listen to what Paul requires of you. Follow the same example ‘Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church’. You see how much obedience is asked of you. Now hear how much love is required.” He goes on to give examples including being prepared to die, and to forgive all marital wrongdoing.

“You want your wife to obey you as the Church obeys Christ? Then you must care for her as much as Christ cares for the church. “ “By resorting to intimidation you might be able to keep a domestic servant attached to you – but not even him, for probably the servant will leave you and escape. The companion of your life, the mother of your children, the basis of all your joy, ought not to be tied to you by threats and fear, rather by love and the warmth of emotion. What sort of union would that be in which the wife is afraid of her husband? And what pleasure could her husband find in staying with her as if she were a servant?”

Strong stuff, especially by the standards of the time. Perhaps we forget how revolutionary the Christian gospel was. And still should be.

He has a lot of beautiful things to say about how the marital relationship is the expression of a sacrament, calling it a ‘beautiful state’.

He had no time for the idea that virginity or celibacy has any special value over and above that of the married state. They are both equally valuable and each person should fulfil their calling to whichever state is their vocation.

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He had a lot of very strong stuff to say about the rich and powerful and the use and misuse of their wealth and power. Some of it we might cavil against today, even those of us who do not consider ourselves rich and powerful. He feels we should take Jesus’ advice to give our riches to the poor rather more literally than we do. For example, he says that even if you suspect a beggar is exaggerating or falsifying his poverty, or will misuse anything given to him, the “beggar’s made up tale is evidence of our inhumanity”:

“It is folly, it is madness, to fill our wardrobes full of clothes and to regard with indifference a human being, …made in the image and likeness of God who is trembling with cold and almost unable to stand. If the poor fellow is putting it on it is because he is trapped between his own wretchedness and your cruelty. Yes, you are cruel and guilty of inhumanity. …But the shame and the blame for his made up tale falls less on him than on you. He has in fact a right to be pitied, finding himself in such an abyss of destitution. You on the other hand deserve a thousand punishments for having brought him to such humiliation.”

One starts to see why the rich and powerful of his day turned on him!

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In a commentary on Isaiah his thoughts might seem familiar to a Buddhist.

“There are good things, bad things and things that are indifferent. Some of the things that are indifferent people consider to be good or bad while in reality they are neither.”

He goes on to contrast poverty and wealth as an example.

“Poverty is in general thought to be an evil. Not so: if someone who is poor practices watchfulness and wisdom, poverty itself can completely overcome evil. On the other hand wealth is generally regarded as a good thing. But that…depends how you use it. If wealth were a good thing in itself and on its own account then everyone who possesses it ought to be good. Yet not all rich people are virtuous, only those who manage their money in a responsible way. Therefore wealth is not a good thing in itself, it is only an instrument for doing good.

So with regard to indifferent things they are either good or bad according to the use that is made of them.”

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Regrettably his arguments against the ‘Judaizers’ of the time have been used to justify christian anti-semitism. From Orthodox Wiki; “Many researchers believe that the purpose of these attacks was to prevent Christians from joining with Jewish customs, and thus prevent the erosion of Chrysostom’s flock. Others characterize Chrysostom and other Church fathers as anti-Semitic.”

It is hard to believe he intended his words against the Jewish people to be used in the way they were. On the other hand if you google his quotes you find the actual words he used and the sentiments expressed very forceful, very shocking. Similarly he had a lot to say about women and their role in the church and their spirituality which I could never agree with. They seem to convey a deeply misogynistic attitude quite at odds with some of his writings on marriage.

He had firm views on the high calling of the priestly vocation which may have contributed to the problems of clericalism and abuse of power within the Churches.

So I feel unexpectedly ambivalent. Even the printed words retain enormous power, and one can only begin to imagine the force of his oratory. Much of it is still challenging and relevant today. On the other hand they have been used for what I consider to be terrible destructive purposes. A mixed legacy.

There has always been a strand of hatred and violent intolerance in Christianity. We see it emerging today in the proposal to burn copies of the Koran in the US. I wonder if this is part of John’s legacy. I wonder how he would feel about it. It is a legacy I do not want to inherit.

I have been thinking about his lengthy diatribes and the letter of James, 1:26 & 3:3-7 .

Maybe words are another example of things that are indifferent in themselves, but become good or bad according the use that is made of them.

Maybe Peter Chrysologous had the more excellent way.

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I have found it incredibly difficult to keep this to any sort of reasonable length. You may think I have failed. It is hard to give a proper flavour of his writing without quoting at some length. He does not lend himself to pithy soundbites.

A prayer of John Chrysostom which was used at the conclusion of Evening Prayer in the Book of Common Prayer, and so was part of the regular worship of the Anglican Church for many centuries:

“Almighty God,
you have given us grace at this time with one accord
to make our common supplication to you;
and have promised that when two or three are gathered together in your name
you will grant their requests.
Fulfil now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of your servants,
as may be most expedient for them,
granting us in this world knowledge of your truth,
and in the world to come, life everlasting.
Amen”

One of the four liturgies of the Greek Orthodox Church is named after him It dates from the 5th century. It is the normal or day to day liturgy and is celebrated every Sunday and every holiday, (except when one of the other liturgies is celebrated!)

I think one of John Chrysostom’s sermons, or part of one is also read every year, possibly at Easter.

All about him, a good read, and about 5th century monastic life.

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Aidan Abbot, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary 651

Aidan is one of my favourites. Lindisfarne, aka Holy Island is situated off the coast of Northumbria, UK. It is still a place of pilgrimage. What is often termed a ‘thin place’.

Exciting Holiness

Along with Cuthbert, Columba and Ninian, Aidan was one of the greats of the Northern Celtic Church.

The story is that Oswald, King of Northumbria, asked St Columba of Iona to send him a missionary. Bede writes that a man of ‘a more austere disposition’ was sent first. This monk had no success and returned complaining of ‘uncivilised, obstinate, barbarous people’. Aidan said ‘Brother it seems to me that you were toosevere on your ignorant hearers. You should have followed the practice of the Apostles, and begun by giving them the milk of simpler teaching, and gradually instructed them in the word of God until they were capable of greater perfection and able to follow the sublime precepts of Christ’.

So Aidan was given the job and sent to be made Bishop ‘since he was particularly endowed with the grace of discretion, the mother of virtues’.

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Paraphrased from ‘Bede A History of the English Church and People’ (Translated by Leo Shirley Price):

Aidan had a lifestyle of strict austerity himself, but did not force this on others. He led by example.

He got on very well with the King, who became his friend and interpreter. He walked everywhere and when the King gave him a fine horse he gave it away to a poor person. The King was not best pleased, asking ‘couldn’t you have given him a less valuable horse?’ Aiden replied ‘Is this foal of a mare more valuable to you than the Son of God?’ The King pondered this and then knelt at Aidan’s feet ‘I will not refer to this matter again, nor will I enquire how much of our money you give away to God’s children.’

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Here is an account of Aidan’s life by Revd Canon Kate Tristram. She is a respected academic with a specialist knowledge of the early Celtic church who lived and worked on Lindisfarne for many years. She may still be there, I think it may be her home.

I attended a study day led by her a few years ago. She told a remarkable story. She is not at all ‘flaky’. She is a well groomed elderly lady of the utmost respectability and professional gravitas. She offered this account as something that happened, that she has no explanation for, nevertheless it was real.

She was walking on Lindisfarne, thinking about Aidan and Cuthbert and she heard a voice:

‘We’re still here you know, we’re alive, you can talk to us.’

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Clare, 1194-1253, founder of the ‘Poor Clares’.

Clare of Assisi was the first woman to write a religious rule for women. She founded the Order of Minoresses or ‘Poor Clares’ as they became known. Although inspired by St Francis of Assisi, she was more than just a follower. She became an interpreter and guardian of his vision and values and a saint of almost equal importance to ‘Il Poverello’ himself. They were lifelong soul friends. She was as important to him as he was to her.

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Exciting Holiness

Clare was another of those counter cultural women, refusing the normal respectable life of a woman of her class. She came from a wealthy family, members of the nobility. The phrase that has been in my mind in thinking about her, and indeed all the saints, is: “Sainthood is not for cissies.” At the start of her saintly career she could hardly have been called a woman. Her behaviour was completely scandalous by the standards of the times.

Even by today’s standards she would probably be thought very disturbed, a disgrace to her family, and St Francis a very suspect character. I doubt many parents would be too keen on their daughter abandoning her family, social status and any chances of a decent marriage in order to take up with a mendicant friar 13 years her senior, prone to giving away the very clothes he was wearing.

Hearing St Francis preach she was inspired by him and his example of the lifestyle of extreme poverty and ascetism, and was determined to follow him and embrace the same life of renunciation and poverty.

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Life of Clare

She was 18 when Francis helped her to escape from her parents house and cut off her hair to signify her vows. He then found her a place in a convent.

She founded her Order soon after although she refused to be Prioress till she had turned twenty-one.

“They devoted themselves to prayer, nursing the sick, and works of mercy for the poor and neglected.  They adopted a rule of life of extreme austerity (more so than of any other order of women up to that time) and of absolute poverty, both individually and collectively. They had no beds. They slept on twigs with patched hemp for blankets. Wind and rain seeped through cracks in the ceilings. They ate very little, with no meat at all. Whatever they ate was food they begged for. Clare made sure she fasted more than anyone else. Despite this way of life, or perhaps because of it, the followers of Clare were the most beautiful young girls from the best families of Assisi.”  justus anglican

The renunciation of all forms of property ownership or provision for their own needs was extremely controversial. It was felt by the church authorities that this was too difficult for women. Clare was determined and persistent.

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What was it about Clare and the life she offered that was so attractive to women of her class and time? Surely not just the opportunity to break out of the conventional roles and lifestyles allotted to women in that age. The life she offered was too hard for that to be the primary motive.

Whatever it was I think we find something like it in all the lives of all the saints. Something without which the message of our Lord ceases to be inspirational and transformational and becomes merely a matter of boring morality and even more boring theology. Is it that through them and the example of their lives we feel we are meeting Jesus? Sharing in their love affair with Jesus? Wanting that love for ourselves?

From a letter written to Blessed Agnes of Prague shortly before Clare’s death:

“I rejoice and exult with you in the joy of the Spirit, O bride of Christ,….Happy indeed is she to whom it is given to share this banquet, to cling with all her heart to him whose beauty all the heavenly hosts admire unceasingly, whose love inflames our love, whose contemplation is our refreshment, whose graciousness is our joy, whose gentleness fills us to overflowing…..” From ‘Celebrating the Saints’ by Robert Atwell

See here for the full text. It is strong stuff! And as with many of the greatest saints, male and female is heavy on the erotic imagery as a means to express the unspeakable delight of the love of Christ.

As far as we know she never left the confines of her convent until her death. Shortly before his death St Francis visited her and lived in a small hut in the convent grounds while convalescing. It is thought that it was here that he composed the ‘Canticle of the Sun’.

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The Order of Poor Clares continues today. They still do not own property. The community house of the Poor Clare I met was owned by the Diocese.

Patronage: embroiderers; eye disease; eyes; gilders; goldsmiths; gold workers; good weather; laundry workers; needle workers; Santa Clara Indian Pueblo; telegraphs; telephones; television; television writers.

Television? The answer is “Toward the end of her life, when she was too ill to attend Mass, an image of the service would display on the wall of her cell; thus her patronage of television.”

Brief Life of Clare

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Founder of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits.

There is so much that could be said about St Ignatius and the Jesuit Order that I am at a loss to know where to start. I found the focus always seemed to shift from Ignatius himself to his teachings on prayer as transmitted to us by his modern brethren and sistren. Perhaps this is also a clue to the man himself. His focus is all about God in Jesus, loving Jesus, introducing Jesus to us, not about himself. So this is a personal take. It leaves out much. Please explore Ignatius and the Jesuits for yourself.

Exciting Holiness doesn’t do him justice at all. Try reading his autobiography. During the introduction to the spiritual exercises course we listened to a tape with a reading from his biography, read in the first person. So powerful. I came away with the strong feeling that I had actually met him. A strange feeling which has faded a little but not entirely. The extraordinary charisma of his personality rolls over the centuries.

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I find Ignatius a paradoxical person. In life he was the ultimate macho 16th Century Spanish nobleman. Even after his conversion to Christianity he was very keen on acts of tremendous spiritual ascetism and derring-do. Very competitive, he wanted to outdo all the saints of history in acts of spiritual valour.

I didn’t expect to like him so much!

I have heard his Jesuit brothers today refer to him affectionately as ‘Ig’ or ‘Iggy’. I haven’t heard a Benedictine refer ‘Ben’ or ‘Benny’, or a Franciscan to ‘Fran’ or ‘Franny’.

Despite being emaciated and going about in rags a lot of the time and renouncing the desires of the flesh, he had a large female fan club and following. The ladies seemed to love him. He refused to allow a women’s society to be established. There still isn’t a female Jesuit order, although there are orders of nuns whose communities are established on Jesuit lines.

Jesuits, like all religious orders have had a troubled history. On my retreat they were at pains to point out that in the past perhaps there was an undue emphasis on certain unhelpful things. They have moved on and learnt a lot from their collective experience of living and teaching the spiritual exercises.

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Ignatian spirituality is gentle, nurturing, peaceful. kind, compassionate. Healing. Balm for the soul. A very feminine feel to things. But also very down to earth and practical. A paradox when you think about the founder.

Yes, it can also be challenging, but never destructive.

It is a very sensual approach to prayer. God is found and experienced in all created things and in the experience of our senses. On retreat you may well find yourself encouraged to draw, paint and make clay sculptures. To delight in the beauty of the natural world. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins was a Jesuit. He trained at St Beuno’s in Wales.

I suppose Ignatius is most associated with a style of prayer involving an imaginative reconstruction of bible passages. Do not be put off if your experience of these type of led meditations has been disappointing. There is so much more to Ignatian spirituality than this.

Here is the St Beuno’s website.

Hover the mouse over the spirituality section for lots of useful information on prayer.

See a walking meditation
given to me by my spiritual director
on retreat at St Beuno’s.

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Ignatius invented the ‘Spiritual Exercises’. These are done under the guidance of a spiritual director and take 30 days. There are also many variations on this theme involving shorter periods of time and retreats in daily life.

The common themes of these prayer exercises are:

• The guidance of a spiritual director, whose role is better described as accompanying.
• Meditation on a bible passage with attention to its relevance for us now into us in our daily lives and spiritual journey. Entering into bible stories in our imagination.

Ignatian spiritual directors often focus on healing our image of God, so often negative. See Gerard Hughes SJ, ‘God of Surprises’ Chapter 3 ‘Inner Chaos and False Images of God’, and books by Dennis and Matthew Linn and Sheila Fabricant-Linn. In particular ‘Good Goats – healing our image of God’. You can read a bit of it here.

The Jesuits also pay a lot of attention to discerning God’s will for our lives, and a regular examination of our lives. They offer many good tools for discernment, which have been enthusiastically adopted in recent times by business management gurus and all sorts of therapies.

For a flavour of a retreat if you can’t get away, and for something you could do at home or with a group of friends, have a look at: soul spark It is an Anglican course on spirituality, but is very influenced by the Ignatian style. See particularly: session 4 linked to above on images of God. All the course talks and exercises are available online and can be downloaded for free.

An individually guided retreat is a profound experience. There are a number of first class Jesuit retreat houses in the UK. Do make a retreat if you can.

The Jesuits have a strong on line ministry, just Google. Sacred Space is a very popular site.

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July 22nd is the commemoration day for St Mary Magdalene. Mary was a follower and close companion of Jesus. One of the inner circle of disciples. She was termed the ‘apostle to the apostles’ by the early Christians, as the Lord first appeared to her and commissioned her to carry the news of his resurrection to the disciples. The Gospels record her friendship with Jesus and this important first resurrection appearance.

There were other women, some mentioned by name in the Gospels, who followed Jesus and supported him financially, but (apart from Mary his mother), she is the only one who managed to overcome the restrictions placed on women’s lives and achieve almost iconic status. There are many legends associated with her. The idea took hold that she was a reformed prostitute or adulteress.

This is not now supported by modern scholarship or the Anglican, Roman Catholic or Orthodox churches.

It is now widely accepted that she had an important leadership role in the early church.

Such a role would have been so challenging in the male dominated society of the first century that it is no wonder there were scandalous rumours and efforts to discredit her.

There has been recent speculation that she is the ‘beloved disciple’ referred to in the Gospel of St John. See the Wiki link below.

Whatever the truth, her controversial personality continues to shine down the centuries.

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There is an apocryphal Gospel of Mary

The disciplines are disheartened and fearful about the Lord’s commands to preach the Gospel to the gentiles. Mary encourages them.

There follows an hilarious account of a row between her, Peter, and Andrew, where Peter asks her to tell them the things the Saviour said to her and then when she does the men get in a strop saying surely Jesus wouldn’t tell these things to a woman.

“Levi answered and said to Peter, ‘Peter you have always been hot tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Saviour made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Saviour knows her very well. That is why He loved her more than us. Rather let us be ashamed and put on the perfect Man, and separate as He commanded us and preach the gospel, not laying down any other rule or other law beyond what the Saviour said.’”

I have no opinion as the truth of this document, but it does make me smile, as I can quite imagine the scene!

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From Wikipedia:

The apocryphal Gospel of Philip records Mary Magdalene among Jesus’ female entourage, adding that she was his companion:

There were three who always walked with the Lord: Mary, his mother, and her sister, and Magdalene, the one who was called his companion. His aunt, his mother and his companion were each a Mary.

Others’ irritation from the love and affection presented by Jesus to Mary Magdalene is made evident (the text is badly fragmented, speculated additions are shown in grey):

And the companion of the saviour was Mary Magdalene. Christ loved Mary more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him “Why do you love her more than all of us?”  The Saviour answered and said to them, “Why do I not love you like her?“

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Mary is patron to a varied collection of people, places and causes:

apothecaries, druggists and pharmacists;  Atrani and Casamicciola, Italy;  contemplative life and contemplatives;  converts;  glove makers;  hairdressers and hairstylists;  penitent sinners and penitent women;  people ridiculed for their piety;  perfumeries and perfumers;  reformed prostitutes;  sexual temptation;  tanners;  and women.

The list makes me smile too. All the glitzy associations and yet she is also patron to comtemplatives, penitents and people ridiculed for their piety.

Somehow I suspect she was no ‘plaster’ saint but a very feisty lady.

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This poem was written by friend, whose special saint is Mary Magdalene.

Oh, Mary, Mary Magdalen
What have they done to you?
They’ve put you in a pigeon-hole
And hidden you from view.

They’ve diminished your extravagance
And cleared your life away,
Turned your passion into prudence
In a good housewifely way.

Of course, you are not married.
So to keep your idle hands
From devil’s work, they’ve busied you
With housekeeping demands.

You mustn’t terrify the men
By being strong and free,
But keep them safe and happy
By your conformity.

For churchmen like their ladies
To be nice and sweet and good,
And doing all the useful things
A proper lady should.

It doesn’t do to love so much
In polite society.
You have to be respectable
To suit the C of E.

But Mary, Mary Magdalen
We envy you your role;
Your liberated womanhood,
Your being, true and whole.

We don’t mind doing dishes
And serving how we can –
Not because we’re women
But because it’s Love’s demand.

For Christ restores us to our self
To be what we should be –
Apostle, lover, woman – all
Without man’s boundary.

HS (posted here with permission)

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