Reformed Evangelical Synod of America

Posts Tagged ‘saints’

Born in Syria, Ignatius converted to Christianity and eventually became the bishop of Antioch. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. Ignatius would not deny Christ and thus was condemned to be put to death in Rome. During his journey to Rome, he wrote several letters to the various Christian Churches, exhorting them to faithfulness in Christ and teaching them the truths of the faith. Ignatius was martyred by lions in the Circus Maximus.

COLLECT
Almighty God, we praise your name for your bishop and martyr, Ignatius of Antioch, who offered himself as grain to be ground by the teeth of wild beasts that he might present to you the pure bread of sacrifice. Accept, we pray, the willing tribute of our lives and give us a share in the pure and spotless offering of your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Jerome (born Eusebius Hieronymus Sophronius) studied in Rome and was baptized there. He traveled for a time, eventually settling down to live as an ascetic among fellow believers in Aquileia. In 374, he moved to Palestine where he learned Hebrew while living in the Syrian Desert. He was ordained as a presbyter and, working in a rock-hewn cell, he translated the Bible into Latin. While not without its faults, Jerome’s translation, commonly known as the Vulgate, was the standard scholarly translation for well over fifteen centuries. Jerome died on this date in the year 420, and was buried in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

COLLECT
Lord God of truth, your Word is a lantern to our feet and a light upon our path. We give you thanks for your servant Jerome, and those who, following in his steps, have labored to render the Holy Scriptures in the language of the people; and we pray that your Holy Spirit will overshadow us as we read the written Word, and that the living Word will transform us according to your righteous will. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Matthew, a former tax collector (also known as Levi) was called from his civil duties to become an apostle of our Lord. Despised as tax collectors were, his selection was accompanied by no small amount of controversy – at least on the part of some who questioned Jesus’ approach to ministry.

His apostolic activity after Pentecost was at first restricted to the communities of Palestine. Nothing definite is known about his later life. There is a tradition that points to Ethiopia as his field of labor; other traditions mention of Parthia and Persia. It is uncertain whether he died a natural death or received the crown of martyrdom.

Matthew’s Gospel is written from a strongly Jewish viewpoint, and may well have originally been written in Aramaic, the common Semitic dialect of Palestine during Jesus’ lifetime.

COLLECT
We thank you, heavenly Father, for the witness of your apostle and evangelist Matthew to the Gospel of your Son our Savior; and we pray that, following his example, we may with ready wills and hearts obey the calling of to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

READINGS
Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:11
Psalm 119a
Ephesians 2: 4-10
Matthew 9: 9-13

Januarius, the bishop of Naples, died in 305 during the Diocletian persecution. He was imprisoned while visiting incarcerated deacons at the sulphur mines of Puteoli. After many tortures, including being thrown to lions in the town’s Amphitheater, he was beheaded at Solfatara, along with his companions, including the deacon Festus, the lector Sossus, and his friends Proculus, Acuitus, and Euticius.

COLLECT
Almighty and everlasting God, you planted in the hearts of Januarius and his companions a burden for those imprisoned on account of your Son’s holy name. Grant us a deep awareness of the suffering of our brothers and sisters who are in chains on account of their faith, and, if it be your blessed will, lead us to engage in works which may encourage them in their suffering – even when such works may require us to sacrifice our freedom or our lives. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Ninian was a Celt, born in southern Scotland in about 360, and is regarded as the first major preacher of the Gospel to the people living in Britain north of the Wall–that is, living outside the territory that had been under Roman rule. He is said to have studied in Rome, but was chiefly influenced by his friendship with Martin of Tours, with whom he spent some considerable time when he was returning from Italy to Britain.

Throughout southern Scotland there are many and widespread churches that bear his name, and have traditionally been assumed to be congregations originally founded by him.

COLLECT
God of power and might, by the preaching of your blessed servant and bishop Ninian you caused the light of the Gospel to shine in the heart of the British Isles. Grant, we pray, that having his life and labors in remembrance we may show our thankfulness by following the example of his zeal and patience. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Four of the many believers who were martyred throughout New Guinea during the Second World War.

Almost immediately there were arrests. Eight clergymen and two laymen were executed by the Japanese Army “as an example” on September 2, 1942. In the next few years 333 church workers of various denominations were killed, while many native Papuan Christians (of all Churches) risked their own lives to care for the wounded.

COLLECT
Almighty God, we remember before you this day the blessed martyrs of New Guinea, who, following the example of their Savior, laid down their lives for their friends; and we pray that we who honor their memory may imitate their loyalty and faith. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

The drunken oath of a king with a shallow sense of honor, a seductive dance and the hateful heart of a queen combined to bring about the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The greatest of prophets suffered the fate of so many Old Testament prophets before him: rejection and martyrdom.

This great religious reformer was sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah. His vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power that he claimed was the Spirit of Yahweh. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”. Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honor of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus. John’s life and death were a giving over of self for God and others. His simple style of life was one of complete detachment from earthly possessions. His heart was centered on God and his voice speaking to his heart. Confident of God’s grace, he had the courage to speak words of condemnation, repentance, and salvation.

COLLECT
Almighty God, you called your servant John the Baptist to be the forerunner of your Son in birth and death. Strengthen us with your grace that, as he suffered for the truth, so we may boldly resist corruption and vice
and receive with him the unfading crown of glory. We ask this through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

READINGS
Revelation 6: 9-11
Psalm 11 or 71
Romans 6: 1-5
Matthew 14: 1-12 or Mark 6: 14-29

Augustine is one of the most celebrated theologians and leaders of the Western Church. Born in North Africa in 364, his mother tried unsuccessfully to raise her son in the faith. As a young adult, Augustine moved to Carthage where he lived with a woman and fathered a son. In 384, he travelled to Milan in Italy, having accepted an appointment as a teacher of philosophy. There, the prayers of his mother were answered, and after dialoging with the city’s bishop, Ambrose, he was baptized in the year 387. In the year 391, while visiting the city of Hippo, he was asked to serve as the pastor of the local Christian community. He remained there for the rest of his life, living in community with the clergy under a strict rule. His monastic rule has been adopted by numerous religious orders over the years.

COLLECT
Lord God, you are the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the hearts that serve you. Help us, following the example of your servant Augustine of Hippo, so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

We know about Monnica almost entirely from the autobiography of her son Augustine. Monnica was born in North Africa, near Carthage, in what is now Tunisia, perhaps around 331, of Christian parents, and was a Christian throughout her life. As a girl, she was fond of wine, but on one occasion was taunted by a slave girl for drunkenness, and resolved not to drink thereafter. She was married to a pagan husband, Patricius, a man of hot temper, who was often unfaithful to her, but never insulted or struck her. It was her happiness to see both him and his mother ultimately receive the Gospel.

Monnica’s son was another matter. He was an intelligent young man, and a natural leader. She had high ambitions for Augustine, but over time her ambition for his secular advancement became a deep passion for his conversion to the faith as her spiritual life became more and more deeply rooted in prayer. No matter how much he rebuffed her attempts to share the faith with him, she continued in prayer for him constantly. Eventually, Monnica’s prayers were answered, and Augustine was baptized by Ambrose in Milan at the Great Vigil of Pascha in the year 387.

After his baptism, Augustine planned to return to Africa with Monnica (and his younger brother), but in Monnica fell ill before leaving Italy. She told her son, “You will bury your mother here. All I ask of you is that, wherever you may be, you should remember me at the altar of the Lord. Do not fret because I am buried far from our home in Africa. Nothing is far from God, and I have no fear that he will not know where to find me, when he comes to raise me to life at the end of the world.”

COLLECT
O Lord, through spiritual discipline you strengthened your servant Monnica to persevere in offering her love, prayers, and tears for the conversion of her husband and of Augustine their son. Deepen our devotion, we pray, and use us in accordance with your will to bring others, even our own kindred, to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Savior and Lord; he who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.