St George (280 - 303)

George was probably born in Nicomedia, during the late third century.Both his parents were Christians from noble families of Anici. Thus George was raised with Christian beliefs. At the age of 14, George's father Geronzio a tribune in Emperor Diocleations Army passed away. A few years later, George's mother, Policronia, died.

George presented himself to the Emperor desiring a career in the military. Diocletian welcomed him with open arms, as his father had been one of his finest soldiers.

By his late 20s, George was promoted to the rank of Tribunus and stationed as an imperial guard of the Emperor at Nicomedeia.

In the year AD 302, Diocletian issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. George renounced the Emperor's edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and Tribunes he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted to convert George, even offering gifts of land, money and slaves if he made a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. The Emperor made many offers, but George refused.

Recognizing George would not renounce his faith Diocletian condemned him to death. Before his execution George gave his wealth to the poor. George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia's city wall, on April 23, 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians, they joined George in martyrdom. His body was returned to Lydda for burial, where he was soon honored as a Christian martyr.

He became the patron of England in the late Middle Ages. In old plays and in art St. George is the slayer of the dragon; The Golden Legend did much for the extension of the tale. The Red Cross Knight of Edmund Spenser's Faërie Queene is St. George and stands for the Church of England. St. George's Cross appears in the Union Jack.

living water reprint from 2009

Roque Gonzales (1576 -1628)

Father Roque González de Santa Cruz was born in  Paraguay to a family of Spanish nobles.He spoke Guarani fluently from an early age. 

At the age of 22 he was ordained a priest. In 1609, he became a Jesuit, beginning his work as a missionary among the indigenous people of the region. He became the first European  to enter the region known today as the Brazilian State of Rio du Sol

His arrival in the area only happened after his developing delicate relationships of trust with local indigenous leaders, some of whom feared that the priests were preparing the way for the arrival of masses of Europeans in their land.

While Spanish conquistadors brutalized the natives of Paraguay and raped their culture Gonzales responded by leading Jesuits to create politically independent Indian villages of several thousand persons.  More than thirty such communal farming communities were formed, some which became the sights of present day cities in Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.

He and two helpers were killed by natives when they attempted to establish a community in southern Brazil.

Josaphat & Charles Simeon

Ironical today marks the feast days of two  men who suffered greatly while working toward understanding  and tolerance in the family of Christ.

Josaphat (1580-1623)

An orthodox monk who believed the schism between the eastern and western church should be bridged. After his ordination he became eloquent on the issue. Once elected archbishop he focused on clerical and lay reform. Fear of Rome lead a group of bishops to oppose him, stirring up controversy. As an act of conciliation he visited the churches that opposed him. It was while preaching at one of these that an angry mob grabbed him, smashed his skull and threw his body in o the river. he was canonized in1876 as a martyr for Christian unity

 Charles Simeon (1759-1836)

His professional adult life was spent  serving as a chaplain at Cambridge University. Through out he remained deeply rooted in both the Anglican church and in the evangelical experience he had as an undergraduate.

He suffered greatly even physically at the hands of both the high church and the evangelicals. Ironically he garnered the love of those who were seekers.

Litany of the Celtic Saints (1)

                  

                                                             God of the Incarnate Word

   have mercy upon us
God of the Abiding Spirit
   have mercy upon us
St. Aidan of Lindisfarne
   St. Aidan pray for us
St. Bede the Venerable
   St. Bede pray for us
St. Brendan the Navigator
   St. Brendan pray for us
St. Brigid of Kildare
   St. Brigid pray for us
St. Kieran of Clonmacnoise
   St. Kieran pray for us
St. Columba of Iona
   St. Columba pray for us
St. Finian of Clonard
   St. Finian pray for us
St. Francis of Assisi
   St. Francis pray for us
St. Hilda of Whitby
   St. Hilda pray for us
St. Ita, Foster Mother of the Saints
   St. Ita pray for us
St. Killian the Missionary
   St. Killian pray for us
St. Martin of Tours
   St. Martin pray for us
St. Patrick the Enlightener
   St. Patrick pray for us 
All Saints of the Green Martyrdom
Green Matyrs, pray for us
All Celtic Saints Beloved of Christ
Beloved Celtic Saints, pray for us
Lord Have Mercy
Christ Have Mercy

                                                                    Lord Have Mercy    

Martinn Luther King Jr. (1929 -1968)

 Prayer and Martin Luther King Jr.

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

Martin Luther King Jr

I remember one very difficult day when he came home bone-weary from the stress that came with his leadership of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In the middle of that night, he was awakened by a threatening and abusive phone call, one of many we received throughout the movement. On this particular occasion, however, Martin had had enough.

After the call, he got up from bed and made himself some coffee. He began to worry about his family, and all of the burdens that came with our movement weighed heavily on his soul. With his head in his hands, Martin bowed over the kitchen table and prayed aloud to God: "Lord, I am taking a stand for what I believe is right. The people are looking to me for leadership, and if I stand before them without strength and courage, they will falter. I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I have nothing left. I have come to the point where I can't face it alone.

Later he told me, "At that moment, I experienced the presence of the Divine as I had never experienced Him before. It seemed as though I could hear a voice saying: 'Stand up for righteousness; stand up for truth; and God will be at our side forever.'" When Martin stood up from the table, he was imbued with a new sense of confidence, and he was ready to face anything.

--Coretta Scott King from "Standing in the Need of Prayer" as published by The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster.

pacafism and nonviolence (3)

Martin Luther King on the power of Love and non violence

The nonviolent approach does not immediately change the heart of the oppressor. It first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they didn't know they had. Finally, it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a reality.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that.

We must meet hate with creative love.

Love is the most durable power in the world. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.

Saint George (ca. 275/281 – 303)

George was probably born in Nicomedia, during the late third century.Both his parents were Christians from noble families of Anici. Thus George was raised with Christian beliefs. At the age of 14, George's father Geronzio a tribune in Emperor Diocleations Army passed away. A few years later, George's mother, Policronia, died.

George presented himself to the Emperor desirind a career in the military. Diocletian welcomed him with open arms, as his father had been one of his finest soldiers.

By his late 20s, George was promoted to the rank of Tribunus and stationed as an imperial guard of the Emperor at Nicomedeia.

In the year AD 302, Diocletian issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. George renounced the Emperor's edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and Tribunes he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted to convert George, even offering gifts of land, money and slaves if he made a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. The Emperor made many offers, but George refused.

Recognizing George would not renounce his faith Diocletian condemned him to death. Before his execution George gave his wealth to the poor. George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia's city wall, on April 23, 303. A witness of his suffering convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians, they joined George in martyrdom. His body was returned to Lydda for burial, where he was soon honored as a Christian martyr.

He became the patron of England in the late Middle Ages. In old plays and in art St. George is the slayer of the dragon; The Golden Legend did much for the extension of the tale. The Red Cross Knight of Edmund Spenser's Faërie Queene is St. George and stands for the Church of England. St. George's Cross appears in the Union Jack.

The following hymn was composed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer while detained in a consentration camp , shortly before his execution.


By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered,
And confidently waiting come what may,
we know that God is with us night and morning,
and never fails to greet us each new day.

Yet is this heart by its old foe tormented,
Still evil days bring burdens hard to bear;
Oh, give our frightened souls the sure salvation for which,
O Lord, You taught us to prepare.

And when this cup You give is filled to brimming
With bitter suffering, hard to understand,
we take it thankfully and without trembling,
out of so good and so beloved a hand.

Yet when again in this same world You give us
The joy we had, the brightness of Your Sun,
we shall remember all the days we lived through,
and our whole life shall then be Yours alone.


This hymn appears in the 1982 Episcopal Hymnal (695). The translator is F. Pratt Green (1903- ) listed in hymnal indexes sometimes under Green and sometimes under Pratt Green. The translation copyright is Hope Publishing Company 1974.