Collect: “O God, whose never-failing providence ordereth all things both in heaven and earth; We humbly beseech thee to put away from us all hurtful things, and to give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Saints and Blesseds Monday, August 12: St. Clare of Assisi: Born in 1194 to a noble family, very little is known of St. Clare’s early life. We know that in 1212, when she was 18, St. Francis preached the Lenten sermons at her church. St. Clare was so compelled by St. Francis that on Palm Sunday, after the blessing of the palms, she ran out of the church to him and donned rough clothes instead of her her elegant gown. Francis cut her hair and gave her a veil and Clare became the first woman to follow him. He would call her “the first flower in my garden” and in many ways, she was the most faithful of his followers. Clare founded her own contemplative community, which came to be known as the …

Collect: “Lord of all power and might, who art the author and giver of all good things; Graft in our hearts the love of thy Name, increase in us true religion, nourish us with all goodness, and of thy great mercy keep us in the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Saints: Monday, August 5: Saint Dominic St. Dominic was born between 1173 and 1175 in the Castilian village of Caleruega. While pregnant, his mother had several dreams which foretold that Dominic would be a light to the world. After being educated in theology and ordained, Dominic lived as a canon in the Rule of St. Augustine for around six years. While on official business traveling from Spain to Castile, Dominic and his companion encountered some Cistercian monks who shared their difficulties preaching against the popular Albigensian heresy in Southern France. The Albigensians believed that all matter was evil, thus denying the incarnation and the sacraments. In their extreme asceticism, they demanded celibacy, rigorous fasting and even esteemed suicide, but the laudible purity of their …

Collect: O God, who hast prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Saints and Blesseds: Monday, July 29: St. Mary and Martha of Bethany St. Mary and St. Martha, along with their brother Lazarus, welcomed Jesus into their home at Bethany outside of Jerusalem. And Scripture says that Jesus loved all three of them. In Luke 10:38-42, we have the famous story where Mary sits at Jesus’s feet, while Martha is serving. Interestingly, rather than this necessarily pitting the contemplative life against the active, this account shows how Jesus lifts up women. A woman sitting at the feet of a Rabbi was forbidden and Martha’s protest was not a matter of jealousy or annoyance, but of upholding cultural standards for a Rabbi. Jesus’s response is breathtaking: “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,  but few things …

Collect: Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by thy governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve thee in all godly quietness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Saints and Blesseds Monday, July 22: St. Mary Magdalene St. Mary Magdalene was probably from Magdala by the sea of Galilee. In Luke 8:2-3, Mary, “from whom seven demons had come out,” is grouped with the “women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases… who supported [Jesus] out of their own means” and who traveled with Jesus and the Twelve. In the Western tradition, she was also identified with Mary of Bethany, the unnamed penitent woman who anoints Jesus, and the woman taken in adultery. While that is likely over-simplification, we know that she had a prominent place among Jesus’s followers. She stayed beside the cross during Jesus’s crucifixion, she discovered the empty tomb, and she is the first person to whom Jesus appeared who took the good news of the Resurrection to the disciples. Bishop Hippolytus …

(There weren’t any saints listed on the Ordo Calendar for this week, so it’s nice to take a little break. )

Collect: O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to hear us; and grant that we, to whom thou hast given an hearty desire to pray, may, by thy mighty aid, be defended and comforted in all dangers and adversities; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Saints Days Thursday, July 11 – St. Benedict of Nursia All we know about St. Benedict of Nursia is what St. Gregory the Great wrote about him in the second book of his dialogues. St. Benedict and his twin sister St. Scholastica were born around 480 in the city of Nursia in central Italy. The Roman Empire had collapsed in 476. When Benedict was sent to Rome to study when he was 14, he was so appalled by the immorality of his fellow students and the city itself that he secretly fled and joined a small community of scholars 30 miles away. He then became a hermit in Subiaco, where he began to attract followers. Eventually, after a few poisoning attempts from monks who had wanted him to be their abbot and …

Collect: “O Lord, who never failest to help and govern those whom thou dost bring up in thy steadfast fear and love; Keep us, we beseech thee, under the protection of thy good providence, and make us to have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.” Feast Day: Tuesday, July 2: The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary On this day, we remember the event recorded in Luke 1:39-56, when the Virgin Mary hurries to see her cousin Elizabeth after the Annunciation. It’s also celebrated on May 31st. But, from 1263 (when St. Bonaventure proposed the new feast day for the Franciscans) to 1969, it was celebrated on July 2. As soon as Elizabeth sees Mary, she greets her with what became the basis for the Angelus : “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb!” John the Baptist leaps in his mother’s womb at Mary’s approach. And Mary responds with her song, the Magnificat, which we sing, remembering the Incarnation, at Evening Prayer. …

Collect: O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in thee; Mercifully accept our prayers; and because, through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen Saints and Blesseds Monday, June 24: The Nativity of John the Baptist We only celebrate the births of three people in the church year: Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist. John the Baptist’s nativity was celebrated very early, to the point that it was an old feast day for Augustine in the 4th century.  We read about John’s birth in Luke 1. The angel Gabriel announces to Zechariah, a priest, that his barren wife Elizabeth will bear a son. When Zechariah questions the angel, he is struck speechless until Elizabeth gives birth and he declares his son’s name to be John. Scripture tells us nothing of John’s life between his birth and public ministry …