The Bishop of Myra was well known for his kindness, generosity and the way he took care of the poor. We honor this man from the third century early in December each year. Who was the Bishop of Myra? You know him as St Nicholas. Myra is a region in what we now call Turkey and in Advent each year, December 6 is remembered as St Nicholas Day. Too often our focus this time of year is buying, wrapping, card sending, decorating, and running crazily all over to parties, concerts and obligations. Pausing at least briefly during Advent helps us refocus on who this season is really about. The world screams What can Santa bring me? while history shows us a caring saint who took extra steps in taking care of the poor. St Nick was a man of God. I told his story in our church’s children’s moment last Sunday and shared one of the legends about him. He is a good lesson for grownups too. Stories about St. Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra Once there was a poor man who had three daughters. … [Read more...]
Teresa of Avila – Perseverance in Prayer
Every life tells a story – a story rich with spiritual lessons. One spiritual practice I follow is learning about other Christians throughout church history and their spiritual journeys. Their lives fill me with hope, guidance and ways to draw closer to God. My faith tradition – Lutheran – has added to the worship and lectionary readings what they call commemorations – recognition of individuals or events that have been noteworthy in the life of the Church. Our Catholic friends have for centuries honored saints on certain festival days. What I am really enjoying is the expansion of the names on the Lutheran list to include people from all denominations. Teresa of Avila Many of you may never have heard of this woman who lived in the 1500s. We celebrate her day on October 15th. Teresa was born in Spain and at the age of fifteen, after her mother's death and the marriage of her oldest sister, Teresa was sent to be educated with Augustinian nuns. She returned home several times … [Read more...]
My Faith Heroine – Aunt Anna
Have you ever felt connected to someone you really didn’t know? When you hear their name or read something about them, an electric link reverberates deep within your soul. You know you know them without really knowing them. They become a heroine to you – solidifying your sense of family, faith and foundation. My great Aunt Anna is that connection for me and she also is my faith heroine. The older I get, the more I see segments of her life, her ongoing DNA circling within me, leaving its mark. Anna was born in 1883 and died in 1967 when I was a flippant couldn’t care less about the older generation/wrapped up in my own world teenager. All I remember of her is an old lady with gray hair who hobbled around her home in Clearwater Florida. And to think I was named after her too! My middle name is Anne. Later I became curious about who she was since I was her namesake. That is when a faint echo in my spirit began to grow louder with each connection. A long linking thread united Aunt … [Read more...]
What Will You Be When You Grow Up?
A few years back a friend causally said to me, “Look back to when you were six or seven or eight, what did you want to be? That is your calling.” I read a new version of this question this weekend – “What did you love doing as a child?” (This question came from a book I am reading that I plan on sharing on this coming Thursday blog. Be sure to come back!) Both questions could be helpful when discerning the next chapter on one’s life. Even if you wanted to be a fireman – maybe you are passionate about helping others. Or what if you wanted to be a rock star – maybe you are gifted at reading the Scriptures at church. These early dreams, passions, interests often appear clearer when we where younger and before we were told what we wanted or the world distracted us. Me? At eight I wanted to be a writer. A journalist. I even published a tiny newspaper for my neighborhood complete with the funnies. At 16 I felt a distinct (and right) calling to nursing and God blessed me with both. I … [Read more...]
Celebrate Hildegard of Bingen
A few months ago I surveyed many of you to help me select a woman of faith to study. The winner was Hildegard of Bingen. I was excited to read about her again and was surprised by a few comments that some have never heard of her. September 17 is Hildegard of Bingen's commemoration day so I think this would be a good time for a short bio about her and some interesting links. Hildegard of Bingen was born in 1098. The tenth child of a noble family, she was dedicated at birth to the church as was the custom of the day. At age eight she was sent to live with Jutta, an anchoress, so she could get her religious education. An anchoress is like a religious recluse who spent most of her days in prayer in her tiny private cell. When Jutta died years later, Hildegard became prioress of the Benedictine convent. Famous for her “illuminating” visions and spiritual wisdom, Hildegard wrote nearly 400 bold and feisty letters to bishops and kings, books about medicine and … [Read more...]
Do you know Julian of Norwich?
I posted a quote by Julian of Norwich a few weeks ago and several readers commented that they didn’t know her or much about her. I have invited her here today so we could get to know her better. One odd thing about Julian is that we really don’t know her name for sure. What we know about her is gleaned from her book, “Sixteen Revelations of Divine Love,” the first book written in English by a woman. She is referred to by the name of Dame Julian by Margery Kempe referring to the church, St. Julian’s in Norwich. She was born in 1342 during the time of the Black Death and lived until 1412. This was a very unpleasant age to live in England. The black death or plague led to very bad social conditions and the oppression of the poor. There was a shortage of labor, high taxes and bad harvests, prices were soaring and unrest. When she was thirty years old, she became gravely ill and most thought she would die. But on the seventh day the medical crisis passed and she saw a series of … [Read more...]
Reading the Small Print – Perpetua and Felicity
Perpetua and Felicity (Photo credit: Nick in exsilio)Don’t forget to read the small print!My church has the Bible reading printed on a separate sheet of paper each week with the bulletin. At the bottom of the final page is a section titled “Preparing for Next Week,”listing the upcoming scripture readings and a commemoration of Christians remembered from our past.I like this section. Besides preparing my heart for the next week’s Word from God, I discover a stories about people from our collective Christian roots.This coming Sunday many churches will commemorate Perpetua and Felicity.Who? That was my reaction. I didn’t know anything about these two women!No saints were more honored in the early Christian era than Perpetua and Felicity. The two women were arrested and imprisoned Carthage in 203 A.D. Perpetua was 22-year-old noblewoman with a son a few months old; Felicity, a pregnant slave. Their crime was defying Emperor’s prohibition of conversions to Christianity.They were taken to … [Read more...]
St. Augustine
Image via WikipediaThe commemoration of St. Augustine will be celebrated in many churches this coming Sunday. How much to you know about this man from the early church?St. Augustine is considered by many scholars to be the most important figure in the ancient Western church. St. Augustine was a very busy 5th century Catholic bishop of a prosperous town in North Africa, called Hippo, in what is today Algeria. He was born in North Africa. His mother was a Christian, but his father remained a pagan until late in life. After a rather unremarkable childhood, Augustine drifted through several philosophical systems before converting to Christianity at the age of thirty-one. During this time, Augustine fathered a child by a mistress. This period of exploration, including its youthful excesses are recorded in Augustine's most widely read work, the Confessions.Returning to his homeland soon after his conversion, he was ordained in 391, taking the position as bishop of Hippo in 396, a position, … [Read more...]