Holy Days in July
(taken
from Common Worship)
Henry,
John, and Henry Venn the younger (1st July)
If
the anglo-catholic movement takes its name from Oxford, the evangelical
revival
ought to be named Cambridge, where almost all its leaders were educated -
including
the Venns. Instead, a geographical quirk has bequeathed us 'the Clapham sect.'
The elder
Henry Venn (1725-1797) was the son of a high church parson, and became an
evangelical
only after his marriage in 1750. He was a curate at Clapham from 1754,
then vicar of
Huddersfield from 1769 till 1771, when he moved to Yelling in
Huntingdon.
His son, John Venn (1759-1813), was rector of Clapham from 1792 until his
death,
and was a central figure in the Clapham sect which gathered round his famous
parishioner
William Wilberforce. He played an active part in the anti-slavery
campaign, and was
one of the founders of the Church Missionary Society in 1797.
Henry Venn junior (1796-1873) continued the family business. After holding
various livings,
including St John's Holloway 1834-46, he resigned in 1846 to work for the CMS,
and was its honorary secretary for 32 years of significant growth and
development.
He encouraged trade in West African goods rather than slaves, and brought
Africans
to Britain to study methods of production.
Thomas
the Apostle (3rd July)
Thomas
More & John Fisher (6th July)
Sir
Thomas More (later canonized St. Thomas More) is famous for his book Utopia
(1515)
and for his martyrdom. As Chancellor to Henry VIII he refused to sanction
Henry's divorce
of Queen Catherine. More was imprisoned, tried and executed.
Bishop
John Fisher studied theology at Cambridge. Priest. Gained a reputation for his
teaching abilities. Chancellor of Cambridge. Bishop of Rochester at age
35. He worked
to raise the standard of preaching in his see.. When in 1527 he was asked to
study the
problem of Henry VIII's marriage, he became the target of Henry's wrath by
defending the
validity of the marriage and rejecting Henry's claim to be head of the Church in
England.
Spent 14 months in prison without trial before execution for treason.
Benedict
(11th July)
Roman
nobility. Twin brother of Saint Scholastica. Studied in Rome, but was dismayed
by
the lack of discipline and the lackadasical attitude of his fellow students.
Fled to the
mountains near Subiaco, living as a hermit in a cave for three years; reported
to have been
fed by a raven. His virtues caused an abbey to request him to lead them.
Founded the
monastery at Monte Cassino, where he wrote the Rule of his order. His discipline
was such
that an attempt was made on his life; some monks tried by poison him, but
he blessed the
cup and rendered it harmless. He returned to his cave, but continued to attract
followers,
and eventually established monasteries. Had the ability to read
consciences, prophesy,
and forestall attacks of the devil. Destroyed pagan statues and altars, drove
demons from
groves sacred to pagans. At one point there were over 40,000 monasteries
guided
by the Benedictine Rule. A summation of the Rule: "Pray and
work."
John
Keble (14th July)
He
was Professor of Poetry at Oxford from 1831 to 1841, and from 1836 until his
death
thirty years later he was priest of a small parish in the village of Hursley
near Winchester.
On 14 July 1833, he preached the Assize Sermon at Oxford. (This sermon marks
the
opening of a term of the civil and criminal courts, and is officially
addressed
to the judges and officers of the court, exhorting them to deal justly.) His
sermon
was called "National Apostasy," and denounced the Nation for
turning away from
God, and for regarding the Church as a mere institution of society, rather
than as the
prophetic voice of God, commissioned by Him to warn and instruct the
people. The
sermon was a nationwide sensation, and is considered to be the beginning of the
religious
revival known as the Tractarian Movement (so called because of a series of
90 Tracts,
or pamphlets addressed to the public, which largely influenced the course of the
movement)
or as the Oxford Movement (not to be confused with the Oxford Group -- led by
Frank
Buchman and also called Moral Re-Armament, or MRA - which came a century
later
and was quite different). Because the Tractarians emphasized the importance of
the
ministry and of the sacraments as God-given ordinances, they were
suspected by their
opponents of Roman Catholic tendencies, and the suspicion was reinforced
when some
of their leaders (John Henry Newman being the most conspicuous) did in fact
become
Roman Catholics. But the movement survived, and has profoundly influenced
the religious
thinking, practice, and worship of large portions of Christendom. Their
insistence, for
example, that it was the normal practice for all Christians to receive the
sacrament of Holy
Communion every Sunday has influenced many Christians who would never call
themselves
Anglicans, let alone Tractarians. Keble translated the works of Irenaeus
of Lyons
(second century). and produced an edition of the works of Richard Hooker, a
distinguished
Anglican theologian who died in 1600. He also wrote more books of poems,
and
numerous hymns.
Swithun
(15th July)
Raised
in an abbey. Priest Chaplain to Egbert, King
of the West Saxons. Tutor to Prince
Ethelwolf. Bishop of Winchester. Miracles associated with his relics. His shrine
was
destroyed during the Reformation. Almost 60 ancient British churches were named
for him.
His patronage of the weather arose when monks tried to translate his body from
an outdoor
grave to a golden shrine in the Cathedral in 871. Swithun apparently did
not approve as it
started raining for 40 days. The weather on the festival of his translation
indicates,
according to an old rhyme, the weather for the next forty days:
Saint Swithun's day, if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain;
Saint Swithun's day, if thou be fair,
For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.
Bonaventure
(15th July)
Healed
from a childhood disease by the prayers of Saint Francis of Assisi. Joined
the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor at 22. Studied theology and
philosophy in Paris.
Friend of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Doctor of Theology. Friend of King Saint
Louis. General
of
the
Franciscan Order at 35. Bishop of Albano. Cardinal. Spoke at the Council of
Lyons, but
died before its close. Writer. Biographer of Saint Francis. Doctor of the
Church.
A man of eminent learning and eloquence, and of outstanding holiness, he was
known for
his kindness, approachableness, gentleness and compassion.
Osmund
(16th July)
Osmund's
background is obscure. He was the son of Count Henry of Seez but also appears to
have been a close relation of the Conqueror, traditionally his mother was
Lady Isabella of
Normandy, one of King William's many half-siblings. Already Lord of Seez,
Osmund,
was supposedly created Earl of Dorset or Somerset after the Conquest. He
became
Castellan of Old Sarum, but subsequently embraced the ecclesiastical life -
possibly in
order to receive the bishopric for which his noble birth and unusual learning
especially
qualified him. He became a Royal Chaplain before being promoted to
Chancellor in
1072. Six years later, he was made Bishop of Salisbury. As Bishop, Osmund
compiled
the Consuetudinarium, or "Ordinal of Offices," for use at Sarum. This
arrangement was
rendered necessary by the variations introduced by the numerous foreign
ecclesiastics
who settled in this country after the Conquest and subsequently became the model
throughout
the south of England. The original ritual is still preserved in the Cathedral at
Salisbury. Bishop
Osmund seems to have been a somewhat severe prelate. "Rigid in the
detection of his own
faults," says William of Malmesbury, "he was unsparing towards those
of others." He was
present at the Council of Rockingham in 1094, in which, influenced perhaps by
his
blood-ties, he took the side of William Ruffus against Anselm of
Canterbury, for which
he afterwards received absolution from the Archbishop. Bishop Osmund died
in 1099 and
was buried in the Cathedral at Old Sarum. His tomb and remains were removed to
the new
cathedral after its completion.
Elizabeth
Ferard (18th
July)
Elizabeth
Catherine Ferard was encouraged by Bishop Tait of London to visit
deaconess
institutions in Germany and, in November 1861, she and a group of women
dedicated
themselves 'to minister to the necessities of the Church' as servants in the
Church. On 18th
of July in 1862, Elizabeth Ferard received the first deaconess licence from
Bishop Tait.
She went on to found a community of deaconesses within a religious
sisterhood,
working first in a poor parish in the King's Cross area of London and then
moving to
Notting Hill in 1873. When her health failed, she passed on the leadership to
others and
died on Easter Day 1883.
Gregory
(19th July)
St.
Gregory the Theologian (also known as St. Gregory Theologos) lived from
329 to 390
CE in what's now known as Turkey. Since he lived before the Great Schism of
1054, both
the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches regard St. Gregory as a Father
of the
Church. In addition the Roman Catholic Church has honoured him with
the title, Doctor of
the Church. Both churches have also accorded him the title, Theologian,
although the
Roman Catholic Church often doesn't employ this title, referring to him as St.
Gregory of
Nazianzus or St.Gregory of Nazianzen instead.
Margaret
(20th July)
Lived
during the 4th Century. Her father was a pagan priest in Pisidian,
Antioc, Asia Minor
(modern Turkey). Her mother died when Margaret was an infant, and the child was
raised
by a Christian woman. Her father disowned her, her nurse adopted her, and
Margaret
converted, consecrated herself and her virginity to God. A Roman prefect saw the
beautiful
young woman tending sheep, and tried to get her into his bed. When she
refused, he
denounced her as a Christian, and she was brought to trial. When she refused to
sacrifice
to the pagan gods, the authorities tried to burn her, then boil her in a large
cauldron; each
time her prayers kept her unharmed. She was finally martyred by beheading.
Bartolome
de las Casas (20th
July)
Las
Casas' father sailed with Columbus in 1492 and Bartolome made the third voyage
in 1498.
He settled in Hispaniola in 1502, ready to seek his fortune in the New World. He
was
deeply moved toward a sympathy toward the Amerindians by a Dominican priest in
1509, and
gave up his slaves. From 1509 until his death in 1566 he was the great champion
of the
Amerindians. Las Casas did not campaign against slavery itself. His
primary battle was to
encourage, and demand, the practice of conversion and control of the Amerindians
by
peaceful means, not violence, war and cruelty. He had uncanny success in
persuading the
Kings of Spain, but their humanizing laws were constantly ignored in the
colonies.
He was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1510, became a member of the
Dominican
order in 1522 and was consecrated the bishop of Chiapas, Cuba in 1543. He wrote
extensively of the horrible conditions of the Amerindians under Spanish
rule, constantly
pleading for peaceful and humane relations with them. Ironically, this
great and sincere
humanitarian, convinced that the fast disappearing Arawak Indians could
not physically
tolerate the hard labour expected by the Spanish, recommended the importation of
African slaves
to do the hard labour. de las Casas believed that the Africans were
constitutionally more fit
for hard labour than were the Amerindians. Thus he was importantly, though
indirectly, responsible
for the growth of one of humanities greatest horrors - black slavery in the New
World.
Mary
Magdalene (22nd July)
Bridget
(23rd July)
Daughter
of Birger Persson, the Governor and provincial Judge of Uppland, and of Ingeborg
Bengtsdotter. Her father was one of the greatest landowners in the
country, her mother
was known widely for her piety, and the family were descendants of the
Swedish royal house.
Related to Saint Ingrid.
Bridget
began receiving visions, most of the Crucifixion, at age seven.
Her mother died c 1315 when the girl was about twelve years old, and she
was raised and
educated by an equally pious aunt. In 1316, at age thirteen, she wed
Prince Ulfo of Nercia
in an arranged marriage. Mother of eight children. Friend and counsellor to many
priests and
theologians of her day. Chief lady-in-waiting to Queen Blanche of Namur in
1335 from
which position she counselled and guided the Queen and King Magnus II.
After Ulfo's
death in 1344following a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, she pursued a
religious life,
for which she was harassed by others at the court. She eventually renounced her
title of
Princess. Franciscan tertiary. Cistercian. Mystic, visionary, and mystical
writer. She recorded
the revelations given her in her visions, and these became hugely popular in the
Middle Ages. Founded
the Order of the Most Holy Saviour (Bridgettines) at Vadstena in
1346. It received
confirmation by Pole Urban V in 1370 and survives today, though few houses
remain. Pilgrim
to Rome, Italian holy sites, and the Holy Lands. Chastened and counselled
kings and Popes
Clement VI, Urban VI, and Gregory XI, urging them to return to Rome
from Avignon.
Encouraged all who would listen to meditate on the Passion, and of Jesus
Crucified.
James
the Apostle (25th July)
Anne
and Joachim (26th July)
Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Brooke
Foss Westcott
(27th July)
18251901,
English prelate and scholar. From 1870 to 1890 he was regius professor of
divinity at Cambridge. With F. J. A. Hort, he published The New Testament in
the Original
Greek (2 vol., 1881). From 1890 until his death he was bishop of
Durham.
He was known for his many scriptural commentaries.
Mary,
Martha and Lazarus (29th July)
Companions of Our Lord
William
Wilberforce (30th July)
Wilberforce's
early years in Yorkshire held few hints of the man he was to become.
Sickly
and a poor student, his one skill seemed to be oratory. In his teens,
Wilberforce, by now
independently wealthy, pursued his pleasures. His years at St John's College,
Cambridge, later
filled him with "unfeigned remorse" that he had not studied more and
harder. Yet it was at
Cambridge that Wilberforce began a lasting and important friendship with the
former prime
minister, William Pitt the Younger. In 1780 Wilberforce was elected to the House
of
Commons from Hull and from Hull and Yorkshire in 1784. It was also in 1784
that
Wilberforce became an Evangelical Christian, a step that changed his life and
behaviour
completely. A meeting in 1787 with dedicated abolitionist Thomas Clarkson
was to alter the
social fabric of the British Empire and, in time, the western world. For 18
years, from 1788
onwards, Wilberforce - with Pitt's support - annually introduced
anti-slavery motions in
Parliament. But Wilberforce and his supporters had only limited success against
the
planters in the colonies who relied on slaves for cheap labour. It was not until
1807
that Parliament abolished slavery and it was not until August 1833 - a month
after
Wilberforce's death - that the slave trade was abolished throughout the
Empire. (Thirty
years were to pass before President Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation
freeing the slaves in the United States.) Wilberforce's other efforts to 'renew
society'
included the organisation of the Society for the Suppression of Vice in 1802. He
also worked
with the reformer, Hannah More, in the Association for the Better Observance of
Sunday; its
goal was to provide all children with regular education in reading, personal
hygiene
and religion. It is appropriate that Wilberforce is buried near his
friend, Pitt the
Younger, in Westminster Abbey.
Ignatius
Loyola (31 July)
St.
Ignatius was born in the family castle in Guipúzcoa, Spain, the youngest of 13
children,
and was called Iņigo. When he was old enough, he became a page, and then
a soldier of
Spain to fight against the French. A cannon ball and a series of bad
operations ended his
military career in 1521. While St. Ignatius recovered, he read the lives
of the saints, and
decided to dedicate himself to becoming a soldier of the Catholic Faith. Soon
after he
experienced visions, but a year later suffered a trial of fears and scruples,
driving him almost
to despair. Out of this experience he wrote his famous "Spiritual
Exercises". After travelling
and studying in different schools, he finished in Paris, where he received
his degree at the
age of 43. Many first hated St. Ignatius because of his humble lifestyle.
Despite this, he
attracted several followers at the university, including St. Francis Xavier, and
soon started
his order called The Society of Jesus, or Jesuits. There are 38 members of the
Society of
Jesus who have been declared Blessed, and 38 who have been canonized as
saints.
He died at the age of 65.
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