Lent Madness

If your name happens to be Catherine (or Katherine or Cate or Katy or even Katharine — like  a certain Presiding Bishop of a certain mainline denomination) this is your day. No matter which Catherine emerges victorious — of Alexandria or of Siena — you win! Of course after 24 hours one Catherine will be discarded onto the Lent Madness heap of irrelevance. But that’s okay because this is your special day!

In yesterday’s action, Lydia defeated Moses the Black 60% to 40% and will advance to face the winner of Nicholas Ridley vs. John of the Cross.

And if for some (inexcusable) reason, you missed yesterday’s edition of Monday Madness with Tim and Scott, you can watch it here. Basically we DVR it for you so you can watch in peace without pesky commercial interruptions for saintly products like St. John’s Wort or Yves Saint Laurent.

Catherine of Alexandria

Many legends surround the life and death of Catherine of Alexandria. Tradition tells us Catherine was born at the end of the third century to Roman rulers in Alexandria, Egypt. An incredibly beautiful and intelligent woman, with every privilege at her disposal, Catherine excelled in her studies and developed renown for her ability in the arts and sciences, especially philosophy. As a young woman, she converted to Christianity after a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary giving her in mystical marriage to Christ.

Some years later, during the persecution under the Roman Emperor Maxentius, Catherine scolded the vicious ruler for killing Christians and for his own idolatry. In response Maxentius gathered together fifty philosophers to engage her in debate. Impressed by her erudition and the force of her arguments, the philosophers converted to Christianity and were summarily burned alive by the humiliated despot. Maxentius jailed Catherine for her insolence. While she was in jail, Maxentius offered to release Catherine if she would marry him. She refused, claiming that she was married to Christ. Later, Catherine converted many in his household, including his wife. The furious hegemon executed his wife and 200 servants and condemned Catherine to death.

The executioners put her to the spiked wheel, but at her touch the wheel shattered and instead killed many of her assailants. Maxentius commanded his soldiers to behead Catherine. When the blade sliced through her neck, milk, not blood, flowed. Legend has it that her body was taken by angels to the Sacred and Imperial Monastery of the God-Trodden Mount of Sinai, which today is commonly referred to as Saint Catherine’s Monastery. Perhaps not coincidentally, this is the same monastery that until the late nineteenth century housed one of the oldest, complete manuscripts of the Bible, the Codex Sinaiticus.

Saint Catherine of the Wheel, as she is sometimes called, was for centuries an important saint in popular piety. She appeared to Joan of Arc, who believed Catherine had been appointed as her advisor. Today she is seen as a patroness to philosophers, girls, librarians, and ironically, people who work with wheels (such as potters, spinners, and mechanics).

Collect for Catherine of Alexandria
O God, by your Holy Spirit you give to some the word of wisdom, to others the word of knowledge, and to others the word of faith: We praise your Name for the gifts of grace manifested in your servant Catherine, and we pray that your Church may never be destitute of such gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

— David Creech

Catherine of Siena

Catherine of Siena is one of the foremost mystics, reformers, and politicians of all saintly history. Born Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa on March 25, 1347, she was five or six years old when she had her first vision and seven when she vowed to give her life to Christ.

But before she could take any vows, her older sister, Bonaventura, died in childbirth, and her parents wanted her to marry the widower. Catherine said no. She stopped eating and chopped off her hair (in order to thwart her mother’s wishes that she look attractive in order to catch a husband). Successfully staving off marriage, Catherine basically formed a one-woman Dominican order, living an active, prayerful life devoted to quiet service to the poor, while still living with her family.

This irritated her parents, but Catherine was immovable, especially after receiving an encouraging vision from Saint Dominic. Eventually, she prevailed on her parents to let her join a tertiary order of the Dominicans; she remained in quiet contemplation and service to the local community until she was about 21.

Then, there was a turning point. Catherine had a vision of a “mystical marriage” to Christ, and an overpowering sense of God’s love and closeness to all creation. This vision compelled her to join public life and leave her life of solitude.

No longer content to live quietly at home, Catherine became more involved in aiding people, not just through charity but through politics and advocacy. She gained a reputation for wisdom, fairness, and mercy, and her opinion was widely sought. She travelled around northern Italy, advocating for clerical reform and renewal of the church in every place, asking that people themselves, as well as the institution, renew the Body of Christ through the “total love of God.” She organized against the anti-pope—an illegitimately elected rival pope. Catherine urged Pope Gregory XI not to give in to schism but to move the papacy back to Rome from Avignon. She badgered Gregory with letters until he eventually gave in. We might say the squeaky wheel gets the grease, if this didn’t appear to be an endorsement of Catherine of Alexandria.

Pope Gregory XI came to rely on Catherine so much that he sent her as a peace emissary to the warring states of Florence and Rome. Gregory unexpectedly died soon after Catherine arrived in Rome, and riots broke out. In the ensuing chaos, Catherine was nearly assassinated. But she was undeterred and achieved a peace deal a few months later.

The new Roman pope was a fan as well, and Urban VI soon brought her to the papal court in Rome to be his personal adviser. She helped calm the waters during the Western Schism—a split within the Roman church with rival popes claiming to be the true leader. She argued for the legitimacy of Urban in Rome until her death at age thirty-three of a stroke.

Collect for Catherine of Siena
Everlasting God, you so kindled the flame of holy love in the heart of blessed Catherine of Siena, as she meditated on the passion of your Son our Savior, that she devoted her life to the poor and the sick, and to the peace and unity of the Church: Grant that we also may share in the mystery of Christ’s death, and rejoice in the revelation of his glory; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

— Megan Castellan

Vote!

 Loading ...

We trust everyone survived their weekend-long bout with LMW (Lent Madness Withdrawal). We realize it’s tough to make it through an entire two days devoid of saintly voting. Yet congratulations are in order as you have all made it through this agonizing “wilderness” experience. The good news is that another full week of intense Lent Madness action begins right now!

Be sure to check out Maple Anglican’s latest video as Archbishops John and Thomas preview the week ahead and answer some viewer mail. And if that’s not enough to get your Lent Madness jets going, we invite you to watch and re-watch the FOX News story about Lent Madness that aired all over the country this weekend.

Today we encounter a Biblical saint baptized by Paul and a fourth-century Ethiopian who embodies the whole idea of “once was lost and now am found.” Lydia was a strong woman in faith and determination; Moses the Black was a strong man both spiritually and physically.

Lydia

Lydia is considered the first documented convert to Christianity in Europe. Yet for someone who had such a large impact on Christian history, what we know of Lydia’s story is slight. She appears only in Acts 14, praying by the river near Philippi, as Paul and Silas come by on their mission to Macedonia of preaching the gospel. Lydia listens attentively, volunteers for baptism along with her household, and insists that Paul and Silas stay at her house while they are in the neighborhood. We know Lydia was a God-fearer, a Gentile who worshipped the Jewish God but hadn’t officially converted. She lived in a town that didn’t have enough Jewish faithful to sustain a synagogue of its own, so they met outside by a river. Lydia was determined.

We know she was head of her household: Scholars differ on this, but the author of Luke and Acts never mentions a husband, and it is likely that if she had a husband, she would not have been running the business and making hospitality decisions as she did. Lydia was in charge.

We know she was prosperous. The purple dyes that she made were highly prized, [perhaps because one day it would become the official color of Lent Madness]. Used to color the textiles of royalty, the purple dye came from carnivorous sea snail mucous, and as one might imagine, the retrieval process was arduous and slow-going. (And I imagine it really irritated the snails.) So the resulting dye was incredibly expensive. The colloquialism for children of royalty was “born into purple.” Plus, given the root of her name, it is likely that she and her household moved at some point from Thyatira (located in modern Turkey) to Macedonia (in Greece), where she encountered Paul. That took money.

We know Lydia was hospitable: she welcomed Paul and Silas into her home after she heard them preach, and she provided for them out of her resources. It was out of this small beginning that the church of Philippi was born—and we later get the Letter to the Philippians. From her conversion, hospitality, providence, and generosity, on an entire continent sprung into the gospel.

Today, there is a church dedicated to Saint Lydia on the site where she was baptized, as well as several in Macedonia. She is a canonized saint in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, with the Orthodox even titling her as “Equal to the Apostles.”

Lydia’s life of determined faithfulness resonates still through the ages, and bears fruit, even to today.

Collect for Lydia (and Dorcas and Phoebe)
Filled with your Holy Spirit, gracious God, your earliest disciples served you with the gifts each had been given: Lydia in business and stewardship, Dorcas in a life of charity and Phoebe as a deacon who served many. Inspire us today to build up your Church with our gifts in hospitality, charity and bold witness to the Gospel of Christ; who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

— Megan Castellan

Moses the Black

Also known as Moses of Ethiopia, Moses the Black was born around 330. As a young man, he left Ethiopia for adventures in Egypt. He found himself a servant to a wealthy Egyptian landowner. Moses would surreptitiously steal from his boss, lining his pockets with the profits. When the man discovered Moses’ perfidy, he expelled him from his house.

Moses, a large and formidable man, gathered around him other bandits. Together they robbed and harassed people living in the Egyptian countryside. As he was fleeing the authorities, he took refuge among monks in Sketes, a desert community outside of Alexandria. In time, inspired by their contented piety, Moses converted to Christianity and renounced his former ways of violence and carousing. Legend has it that four robbers once assaulted his monastery. Moses stood his ground, and with his bare hands, he unarmed and tied up the would-be thieves. He brought them to the other monks and asked their advice. Moses suggested that it would not be very Christian to repay violence with violence. The bandits were so moved by the compassion of the monks that they too joined the monastery.

On another occasion, Moses was summoned to a council to pass judgment on a brother who had committed a fault. Moses refused. Urged by the priests to join the council, Moses grabbed a leaking jug of water (some say it was sand) and carried it into the meeting. Perplexed by this, the brothers asked him what he was doing. He replied that like the trail of water, his sins follow behind him but he did not see them, and yet he was being asked to judge another man. The brothers were moved by this gesture and forgave the man straightaway.

Moses ultimately became abbot of a community in the desert and was later ordained a priest. In 405, he was warned of marauding Berbers from North Africa who intended to attack his monastery. Moses sent away all but six or seven of the monks and insisted to those who stayed that they not respond to any attack with violence. “Those who live by the sword die by the sword,” he reminded his brothers. He and the monks welcomed the bandits. All of the monks, including Moses, were killed.

Early church historian Samilinius Sozomen wrote of Moses the Black that “no one else ever made such a change from evil to excellence.” Moses is a shining example of the transformative power of the gospel. He is the patron saint of nonviolence.

Collect for Moses the Black
God of transforming power and transfiguring mercy: Listen to the prayers of all who, like Abba Moses, cry to you: “O God whom we do not know, let us know you!” Draw them and all of us from unbelief to faith and from violence into your peace, through the cross of Jesus our Savior; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

— David Creech

Vote!

 Loading ...