Collect: O God, the King of glory, who hast exalted thine only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph into thy kingdom in heaven; We beseech thee, leave us not comfortless; but send to us thy Holy Ghost to comfort us, and exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Saints of the Week

Monday, June 3: The Martyrs of Lyons (transferred from the 2nd)

In 177, though much of the Church had relative peace, isolated pockets of intense persecution occurred, such as in Lyons. In Lyons, rumors began to circulate that Christians practiced cannibalism and incest (derived from misunderstanding of the Eucharist and the Kiss of Peace). The persecution started with social ostracizing, but grew into popular violence, and eventually, imprisonment and torture. Eventually, all the major members of both congregations in the city were imprisoned. Among these were Sanctus, a deacon, Maturus, a new Christian, Attalus, and Blandina, a slave. Sanctus had burning iron plates applied to all parts of his body, until he eventually passed out. Three days later, the torture was resumed. Maturus and Sanctus were forced to run a gauntlet of lead-tipped whips, were given to wild beasts, and then, along with Attalus, were chained to an iron chair and roasted, eventually dying when their throats were cut. Finally, after every one else had been killed, Blandina and Ponticus, a boy of 15, were whipped, given to the wild animals, and put in the iron chair. Ponticus died, but when Blandina still lived, she was wrapped in a net and gored by a bull. When she still lived after that, she was burned. We know of these martyrs through a letter reported to have been written by Saint Irenaeus which spread throughout the Christian world at that time.

Wednesday, June 5: St. Boniface

Born around 680 in Devon, Wynfrith took the name of Boniface when he joined the Benedictine Monastery in Exeter around age 7. He became a Latin scholar, writing the first Latin grammar in England and was ordained as priest at age 30. But rather than stay in England, he desired to be a missionary and was sent in 716 to Frisia (now Holland and Belgium).  Boniface used the Benedictine model as his missionary method, setting up monasteries, convents and schools to become bases and starting points from which to minister. Eventually in 732, Boniface became archbishop of all of northern Europe. He also worked to reform the Church in France and crowned Pepin as King of the Franks in 751. In 754, while he and 52 companions were preparing for the confirmation of a thousand converts in an open field, a band of pagans came and slaughtered Boniface and all his companions on this day.

Homely Links

• In preparation for Pentecost, we are on day 3 of the Ascensiontide Novena and here are some simple Pentecost Traditions for the Home as we wait for next Sunday.
• Did you see the latest in our Meaningful Home Series?  Thanks to Libby Ibanez for giving us a window into her home and showing how her family incorporated sacred space even while downsizing and were also able to bring in their Jewish heritage.
• Here is a post from me (Amanda) that I wrote for Tamara Hill Murphy, reflecting on Wendell Berry’s poem “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.” I was thankful for Tamara’s invitation because it helped me to see Eastertide through the lens of Berry’s phrase “practice resurrection.”