Telling The Stories That Matter

February 15 - Ben Salmon, God's Slacker, Pacifist, Prisoner

2012-02-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Ben Salmon's early life suggested nothing that might be considered saintly or even out of the ordinary. He was an active member of his own Roman Catholic parish and the Knights of Columbus. Further, he was active in labor unions and social justice causes but only to the extent to begin to gather attention. He married his high school sweetheart and it seemed that all was going to be typical for Ben. But, Woodrow Wilson and the United States government joined the then-current "war to end all war" and in 1917, Ben received notification that he had been drafted to serve in his country's military. This presented a particular problem for Ben who insisted that he was a pacifist and would not serve in any war regardless of who said it was a "just war" or a "good war." Ben remained convinced that Jesus did not leave open the option of war to his followers no matter how "just" it was. He applied not only for the status of conscientious objector but also to be totally removed from the military system--he was unwilling to even be a noncombatant within the military. This status was conferred upon the churches known as "peace churches" like the Quakers and the Mennonites. But the Roman Catholics were convinced that this was a "just war" and so Ben's application was dismissed as cowardice.

When asked why he refused to serve he cited his faith and insisted that he didn't have the right to wage war on those that Christ called him to love. For this, he was the object of a military court martial and sentenced to death. This sentence was later reduced to twenty-five years in prison but it cannot be forgotten or avoided that the State was willing to impose death upon somebody because of their refusal to support State-sponsored death. He was routinely moved from prison to prison because he refused to do any work that might be related to the military system or might support a war he saw as a compromise of the his Christian calling. Even after the war was ended--shortly after he was incarcerated--he was held by the State as a prisoner. For long periods of time he was held in solitary confinement, sustained on only bread and water, and forced to live in hot, small, dark cell over the the sewers. He would write why all this happened in a letter: "Far more than two years I have been illegally imprisoned because I refused to kill or help to kill."

Eventually, Ben engaged in a hunger strike with the intention of either being freed or being starved to death. He was no longer even willing to cooperate in the State's abuses that kept him alive. He wrote to a military group: "My hunger strike is not a negative program, but a positive appeal to humanity that they substitute Love for Force. If I succumb in this attempt to hold myself aloof from Militarism — organized murder — I hope that you gentlemen, who are mainly responsible for my predicament, will, with your co-murderers, make some provision for the needs of my widowed-mother, wife and child. whom you have thus far robbed of their breadwinner, and whom, in the event of my demise, will be prevented from obtaining the support that I could otherwise provide." They forced milk down his throat and did their best to keep his hunger strike secret from the public. Yet, when his hometown paper found out about it they referred to him as a "slacker" and "the man with a yellow streak down his spine as broad as a country highway." He found few friends in his quest to proclaim life and peace. He was denied the sacraments by priests, he was labeled a heretic for not supporting the State's war and suggesting that Christ called us to peace, and he was vilified and abused with regularity. Finally, though, they released him because of his hunger strike. He was free from his bonds but not from the reputation he had developed. He died shortly after his release because of his deteriorating health. He died a man who remained convinced of his early suggestions: “The justice of man cannot dethrone the justice of God” and “There is no such animal as a ‘just war.'”

February 14 - Valentine, Martyr, Enemy of the State, Priest

2012-02-14T07:00:00.000-05:00

Claudius Gothicus was emperor for only two years before dying of smallpox. But in those two years he unleashed wrath upon Christians and those would dare to defy the emperor and his empire by aiding and comforting Christians.His particularly favorite punishment was death for those who opposed him or for those who felt an inclination to lessen his wrath. He also had the opportunity to kill one of the world's best known martyrs: Valentine. Valentine was twice condemned by Claudius' decree: he was a Christian and he gave aid and succor to Christians. Furthermore, he was a prized victim for the empire because he was a Christian priest. As a priest, it was his duty and privilege to administer the sacrament of marriage. Those Christians who wanted to undergo this sacrament would come to him and he would hear their vows and call them to become one flesh and not simply two people cohabitating for mutual benefit. This was a special and unique ceremony and for these ceremonies, he was arrested, beaten, and imprisoned. For hoping to cultivate love among those who were murdered and oppressed, he was required to die.

Luckily--or perhaps unluckily--Claudius took a liking to Valentine. Perhaps it was because of Valentine's association with marriages or perhaps it was because Claudius felt that Valentine was associated with love. Surely, Claudius felt he understood love--he was the emperor, a divine being according to the senate--but he did not truly understand what Valentine had been doing and preaching. Instead, he knew a love that took, demanded, coerced, and manipulated. Yet, he conversed regularly with his prisoner and found it enjoyable. At least, he found it enjoyable until Valentine tried to preach to him. He was outraged that anybody would try to preach to the emperor as if the emperor didn't already know everything. He ordered Valentine to be beheaded for this offense.

As Valentine was bound in chains and retrived from his cell, the jailer seemed to want to ask something. Finally, the jailer could withhold himself no longer and told Valentine about his deaf and blind daughter. Though the jailer was the emperor's man he recognized true power and true love in Valentine and felt that he might be his daughter's last chance. With a smile that denied he was headed for death, he pronounced a prayer of healing for the jailer's daughter. When he would return home later, he would find her cured of her blindness and deafness. In that moment, he would feel the beginnings of his own conversion away from the empire and toward the God who had called Valentine. Before he would find out, though, he would take Valentine to the place where the emperor demanded. There, Valentine was beheaded for swearing allegiance first to a God who is love after he refused to deny his God in favor of the emperor.

February 13 - Prisca and Aquila, Martyrs, Husband and Wife, Theologians

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Claudius had delivered an edict to be obeyed under penalty of death: all Jews must leave Rome. This meant that those of Jewish blood were forced to leave not the Roman Empire but the portion of the Empire known as "Rome." Prisca and Aquila--a Jewish couple--had conflicting emotions about it. In one sense, they had been expecting something like this for a while. It was clear that the Romans were becoming increasingly annoyed and frustrated by the Jews who didn't seem to want the pax romana they offered. The most opposed of the Jews plunged daggers into the backs of Roman soldiers and officials and the most cooperative were still less than happy to have them there. So, it wasn't surprising that the Romans would do something so rash yet it must have been surprising suddenly to be evicted not only from your home but from your city, region, and nation. They gathered up what they could carry and took enough to restart their business--making tents--and traveled to Corinth in Greece. There, they tried to start over.

We're not sure if it was before or after Paul's arrival in Corinth that Prisca and Aquila were converted but it is certain that they were involved in his ministry in Corinth regardless of when they vowed to follow after their crucified Lord. The three of them shared a profession and worked together so that they might find stability again.The preaching of Paul was infectious and soon they found themselves encourage and invigorated in their faith. Paul even lived with them for nearly eighteen months. Paul had decided to move on to Syria--to continue to preach the Gospel and found churches--and Prisca and Aquila went with him. Along the way, they stopped in Ephesus and when Paul moved on from there, they remained behind as pillars of the Church community. Often, the services would take place in their own home. They were leaders and foundational members of the Church in Ephesus. In fact, when Apollos was preaching an incomplete Gospel--he only knew about John's baptism--they took him aside and tutored him in Christian theology. In this way, they were committed to the health of the Body of Christ and were willing to spend their time and attention building up fellow believers in a world that was increasingly less accommodating for Christians--even Christians who were successful business people.

Prisca and Aquila moved back to Rome through Corinth once the ban was lifted and were known as encouragers along the way. At some point, they saved Paul's life by risking their own. This couple was united behind one cause: a Gospel that proclaimed life even at great risk and cost. After they had been returned to Rome they were victimized by the Empire. Their possessions were seized, they were beaten severely and humiliated, and finally they were beheaded. Though they had hoped to return to their home from far away, they had changed much in their travels.Their faith was a vibrant and surprising thing that led them to work alongside Paul to do great things in a rapidly expanding world. They were instrumental in the founding of the Church at both Corinth and Ephesus and although those congregations had challenges, the communities were also pillars of the Body of Christ for many years.

February 12 - Scholastica, Nun, Twin, Abbess

2012-02-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Scholastica had a brother that everybody had heard about. In fact, he was her twin brother and his name was Benedict. Benedict was the founder of the Rule of St. Benedict and the source of a monastic group known as Benedictines. Yet, Scholastica was reported to be every bit as devoted and pious as her brother if not more so. Yet, as a woman in the sixth century her options were severely limited. She became a nun because of her incredible devotion and faith and eventually became abbess of a community of women who followed after the rule and way of life that Benedict had discerned and pioneered. Her leadership was capable and inspired and she was known for the passion that she brought to a life of prayer and work. This passion was an inspiration to the women she led.

It was her practice to meet once a year with her brother to discuss the spiritual life and to read scripture together. The communities that they led were only five miles apart but they met on some neutral ground partly to emphasize that there was some special connection between brother and sister that was worth honoring with a change in location. The last time they met they weren't certain that it would be a final meeting but Scholastica was aware of her own failing health. They met for longer than they ever had and even longer than they had intended to meet. They discussed scripture. They prayed together. They broke bread and communed with one another. They encouraged and challenged each other as only a brother and sister in the Faith can. Then, as night was falling Benedict got up to go and return to his monastery where he might rest in his cell. Scholastica asked him to stay even longer so that they might continue in their fellowship--perhaps she even intuited that this would be their last chance. He insisted that he must return home as it was his calling to be there. She simply nodded, folded her hands, and began to pray.

As Benedict watched his sister pray, he felt the sudden cold gust of wind that preceded a thunderstorm. His eyes widened in surprise and confusion. At the first peal of thunder, he went to the window and looked outside to see the first large rain drops strike the dirt outside of the building. Turning to Scholastica, he said, "May God forgive you, sister," and asked, "What have you done?”

She responded simply: "I asked you and you would not listen; so I asked my God and he did listen. So now go off, if you can, leave me and return to your monastery." With these words, she began packing up her things knowing very well that he would now stay but she wanted to indicate to him his freedom to choose. Benedict stayed with his sister and they talked later into the night. Shortly thereafter, Scholastica diedand Benedict mourned the loss of his sister but thanked God that he had had a little more time with her.

February 11 - A.J. Muste, Pacifist, Minister, Nonviolent

2012-02-11T07:00:00.000-05:00

A.J. Muste was an immigrant to the United States of America, as the 19th century slowly became the 20th, but he didn't have much say in the matter as he was only six years old when his parents moved from Holland. He received a fine education and was a proud resident and citizen of the nation of his parents' choosing. He graduated with honors first with a bachelor's degree and eventually with a master's and doctoral degree. As he matured, he became increasingly involved in social causes even as he tried to figure out the question of his own spiritual calling. He was especially involved in the labor movementand helped organize disenfranchised workers together so that they might negotiate with their employers for a safer and better job. As was expected, he received much resistance from the circles he had been raised in and in which his parents circulated. Yet, he was convinced that he must do something for those in need of help and for the cause of justice and fairness. So, he was willing to sacrifice a good reputation for his convictions.

Eventually, he became a minister in a congregational church but he was committed to non-violence after his experience of World War I and the people whom he met with and with whom he conversed. This was an odd stance for a man such as A.J. but it became a hated stance as he persisted in it through the years approaching and including World War II. But, he was convinced that God had called him to a way of peace and nonviolence that revoked any right he felt toward self-defense or preemptive violence. By A.J.'s reasoning, there was no just war and so not even World War II could be rationalized or accepted. When a son of a member of the congregation where was pastor died in the war, he did not veer from his intended topic for the Sunday sermon: "The Futility of War." It was another opportunity for him to raise his famous question: "The problem after a war is the victor. He thinks he has just proved that war and violence will pay. Who will now teach him a lesson?" By A.J.'s thinking there was no time when war or violence would pay or would be acceptable. When he had said this, he must have known he would suffer for it. That afternoon the congregation called a meeting and voted to terminate him as their pastor.He, his wife, and his children were forcibly moved out of the parsonage that night and had to find somewhere else to live.

He remained a minister, associated finally with theQuakers, and committed to nonviolence even if it had cost him his job. He was at one time an advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr. and considered an authority on nonviolent resistance. He and his colleagues and associates were arrested repeatedly for hopping fences at military facilities, paddling their boats into nuclear test sites, and sympathizing with those whom the State insisted they hate and fear. For these things, A.J. received and still receives derision but he could not more veer from these convictions than he could stop being who he was. He had become an advocate for peace and nonviolence at all costs and had proven repeatedly that he was willing to lay down anything for a chance at peace. If it is true that the peacemakers are blessed--and I do believe it so--then surely A.J. Muste has a share of blessedness for his refusal to abandon the way of peace even in the face of adversity.

February 10 - Paul, Martyr, Apostle, Preacher

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Paul knew sailing would be rough and so he told his captors--Roman soldiers transferring him as a prisoner to Rome for trial--that it would be a costly trip because of a storm. But the pilot said differently and the centurion was convinced that the pilot was right. The harbor wasn't a good place to be in the winter and so the crew felt pressure to get out on the water and arrive in a different port--maybe Phoenix?--to weather the winter. So, they disembarked and began their journey when a decent wind blew from the south and they became confident that they could make it to the next stop. Yet, they stayed close to the shore.

Soon after, the wind picked up and changed direction. The crew fought with the wind but were unable to gain control and were forced to go where the wind willed.The storm beat upon the poor boat for days and drove it a great distance. They began throwing cargo overboard like Paul had predicted but it wasn't enough. Each hour their hope for escape weakened until eventually the crew had given up any hope for safety. At this time, Paul came to the crew and said, "I told you that we shouldn't have sailed but it's okay. Don't worry--we'll lose the boat but nobody will lose their life because of this storm." The crew was convinced that they were facing the end and so they laughed at him and asked why he was so confidence since he was in the same place as them. Paul replied, "Last night an angel of God--whom I belong to and whom I worship--appeared and said, 'Don't be afraid, Paul, you'll make it safe to Rome where you will be tried. God is protecting the people on the ship.' So, don't worry friends--I have faith that God will do this thing that God has promised. We'll end up shipwrecked but we'll be alive."

After two weeks of persisting in the storm, Paul noticed that some members of the crew were anxious about how close they were getting to the land. They began testing the depth of the water compulsively and eventually determined that it wasn't safe to continue in their boat. They tried to deceive the rest of the crew and the prisoners by releasing anchors and saying they would wait for morning to determine what to do. Under the cover of night and storm, they also released a raft and were preparing to get into it when the centurion stopped them because Paul had said any who did not stay with the boat would die. They cut the raft loose and remained on the boat. Before morning broke, Paul was found eating while the crew continued to be anxious about what they would do. Paul encouraged them to eat and stop worrying because soon they would wreck and the food on their stomachs would be more valuable than the work they did to save a boat destined for wrecking. So, all 276 people ate while Paul broke bread and gave thanks to God for God's blessings in the midst of the storm.

In the morning, they saw land and rejoiced. Though they did not know precisely where they were the crew was prepared to land at all costs. So, the sailed the boat toward the shore. As they drew closer, they struck a reef and the ship was immobilized upon it.The waves beat against it and they were forced to abandon their boat and swim for land. The soldiers knew their duty and so they drew their swords with the intention of killing the prisoners so that none might escape. The centurion stepped in and stopped them, though, and ordered all people to swim for the shore if they were able. Those who weren't able picked up pieces of the boat to float upon and made their own way to land at a slower pace.All 276 of them made it safely to land just as Paul had insisted they would.

Upon the shore, the crew and passengers were cold and wet but greeted warmly by the native people of the island they learned was called "Malta." The Maltans built a fire and gathered the shipwrecked passengers and crew around it. Paul wanted to do his part in helping to sustain this generous act and so he gathered a bundle of wood. The warmth of the fire had roused a viper and when Paul released the wood, the serpent struck out and bit his hand. It held on and released its poisonous venom with speed. The Maltans began to speak under their breath about Paul that he must be some terrible murderer if justice would pursue him so far as to strike at him with poison after he survived a shipwreck. All eyes were on Paul as he shook off the serpent and went about his business with no anxiety of fear. All those gathered on the beach waited for Paul to succumb to the terrible venom and became increasingly surprised as Paul remained healthy and fine. They insisted he was a god. He insisted he was God's. He didn't see the big deal--God had promised he would be safe and he had no reason to doubt the one who had called him on that road to Damascus. He preached the faith that gripped him and many were converted from among the Maltans and the boat's passengers and crew.

February 9 - Apollonia, Martyr, Virgin, Woman of Prayer

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Apollonia was a virgin not because she had no desires for or hated men but because she had chosen to remain celibate so that she might more fully devote herself to her Lord Jesus. Those who married took upon themselves vows before God to care for and honor another person--they took uponthemselves another obligation. These vows held sway and often kept married Christians from living in the same sacrificing and devoted way that their celibate brothers and sisters were able to. Apollonia's devotion was highly respected in the Church in Alexandria but was beginning to be a cause for disfavor among the non-Christians in the city. Decius had barely taken power but the people knew he was no friend of the Christians and so they had no fear that he would outlaw their abuse and murder. Further, the thousand year anniversary of the beginning of the Roman empire was taking place. Further still, one of the non-Christian poets had predicted a great calamity within the walls of Alexandria because of the presence of Christians within. With all of these circumstances swirling together in one perfect storm, it came as no surprise when many of the non-Christians joined together as one mob to exact their own brand of justice upon the Christians.

The people of Alexandria got an early start to the Decian persecutions. They seized two well-known Christians and tortured them to the thrill of the gathered crowd. When they grew tired of the couple, they killed them. They burned down the homes of suspected Christians and brutally mugged and stripped any reported Christians they met in the streets. The mob went so far as to kick down the door of the home of a prominent and wealthy Christian so that they might loot and pillage the home.Apollonia was not only celibate but was also a deaconess--all of this conspired to make her a perfect target. They took her to an open place and held her down. They began by pounding her face and mouth with clubs and fists with the special purpose of breaking or knocking out her teeth. When this savagery proved too humane, they retrieved a pair of tongs and began slowly and painfully removing her teeth one by one.

The pain was incredible but she endured it without returning evil for their evil. Even though they were torturing her to the best of their abilities, she noticed that they had built up a pile of kindling and logs upon which they planned to burn her alive. They had already started the fire and it was roaring by the time they dragged her before it. Their plan was to throw the faithful woman upon the flames and then rejoice in her agonizing death. As they approached, they gave her an ultimatum: deny her faith or burn to death. She asked one request from a bleeding mouth: "Please give me just a moment to pray about it." Perhaps they thought it would be another great occasion to mock her or perhaps they felt she was beginning to cave to their abuse and would renounce her faith after prayer. They released their hold on her for a moment and she leaped into the flames without a scream. She died an eager martyr who could not even consider denying the faith that had gripped her all those years.

February 8 - Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

2012-02-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

Paul had been called to preach a Gospel that the world found foolish yet was truer than any story ever told. Paul had been charged to tell the grand story of how God had created humans in God's own image but humanity had turned its back upon God. In the stunning climax, God became human to redeem those whom God loved even as they continued to reject God. For being a preacher and a storyteller, he was regarded as an oddity in Japan at first. Eventually, though, this surprise turned to hatred as those who came to power had no room in their world for a man like Paul who had turned his back upon his nation in their estimation. By swearing their allegiance to God, Paul and his fellow Christians threatened the power that the ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi--known as Taikosama--held.

Ironically, the rulers an leaders of Japan had initially been the ones who welcomed Christian missionaries to Japanese shores. They had welcomed them gladly because they knew that Western powers endorsed the Christian churches and they suspected that this would increase trade possibilities. Further, the rulers had grown somewhat uncomfortable with the Buddhist monks who would not do as they told them to do and felt that an influx of Christianity could limit the power of the monks. Yet, as Christianity grew in both Japan and the Philippines, they became aware that it demanded more and more allegiance from its members than they were comfortable with their citizens giving away. Further, it seemed that the politically savvy among the western powers knew better how to manipulate the Christian churches to gain power in foreign locations.Soon, Christianity was banned in Japan and those who swore allegiance to Jesus were executed for it. Ministers and vocal Christians were martyred and persecuted. Paul and his companions were twenty-six of the victims.

They were arrested and charged with being Christians. They refused to deny their faith and so they were gathered in chains and sentenced to march to Nagasaki while singing a hymn--for all six hundred miles. It took nearly thirty days for the soon-to-be-martyrs to arrive in Nagasaki and they greeted the day that they arrived with renewed singing and rejoicing. They were brought before twenty-six crosses and they met them with joy. One of the twenty-six, a man named Gonsalo, rushed forward unaware of how tragic this experience was supposed to be and pointed at a nearby cross, "Is this one mine?" he asked hopefully. Taken aback, nobody responded to him at first but eventually one of the soldiers indicated which cross was his. He knelt down and embraced it with tears in his eyes. Slowly, they were affixed to their crosses while they sang hymns and joked with each other. Paul was so short that when bound to the cross his feet could not reach the support and so they were forced to bind him to the cross by tying him under his arms and across his chest. One soldier stepped on Paul's chest as he tightened the knot and a minister among them complained at the brutality but Paul insisted that it was okay because the man wasjust doing his job.

Once the crosses were raised Paul began preaching to the awestruck crowd. They had come to see the power of the Japanese rulers and had found willing martyrs proclaiming life even as they slipped into death. The soldiers were amazed and some were converted. The crowds listened to Paul as he preached and proclaimed his own forgiveness of the people and the powers who persecuted and executed the Body of Christ. All twenty-six of them died as the powers of Japan tried to prove their dominance. All they had proven was that despite their own political machinations, the Kingdom of God had arrived in Japan and could not be turned back.

February 7 - Helder Camara, Priest, Bishop, Friend of the Poor

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Helder was the eleventh of thirteen children born in Northeastern Brazil to a middle class family with roots in the Roman Catholic church. Much to the pain of Helder and his family, five of his brothers and sisters died from the flu epidemic that swept through Brazil claiming souls in 1905 (four years before Helder was born). Even as a child, he showed an interest in the priesthood. His priests and family would often remark to him that they felt something special about him and would ask him if he knew what it meant to be a priest. One of his priests even went so far as to tell him that to be a priest was forever and it meant he would never be his own and would always be pouring himself out for others. This didn't deter young Helder and he continued holding mock masses in his home on an alter he built out of boxes and playthings.

As he grew, he followed God's willing and ended up studying to become a priest. It wasn't especially uncommon for young Brazilian boys in Northeastern Brazil to become priests since it was a region that placed a high value upon the priesthood. But it was surprising that Helder was ordained at the age of twenty-two. He had to receive special dispensation to be ordained prior to the age of twenty-four but it was given and he took his vows. This new avowed state was a good fit for Helder and he spent his time as a minister of a church but, also, as an advocate for the poor.Like many Brazilian priests of the time he was heavily invested in liberation theology and social justice ministries. Eventually, he became bishop and then archbishop and this allowed him to set the tone and pace for ministry within Brazil. Even when he had taken on the political roles of an archbishop he still did not fail to advocate for the poor.

Helder is perhaps best remembered for a quote that summed up his professional life: "When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist." For his work as a friend of the poor he was nominated for a Nobel peace prize and received the Pacem in Terris award. Though he was not poor, he became associated with the slums. Though he was not oppressed, he became associated with the weak and disenfranchised. Being a priest was a forever commitment and Helder lived into it. When he was vilified and slandered he reminded himself that he had been called not to a profession but to a way of life and part of that way of life was a devotion to pouring himself out for the least of his brothers and sisters. Helder died in 1999.

February 6 - Dorothea of Caesarea, Martyr, Virgin, Wife of Christ

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Dorothea's parents had been martyrs. This filled her with a painful mixture of joy and sorrow since she rejoiced at their courage and reward but mourned the world's loss. Diocletian had ordered them dead as part of his widespread persecutions and those who were hoping to gain the emperor's favor were only all too willing to spill blood to earn it. Dorothea was also a Christian but there were other plans for her. The governor--Sapricius--had her brought before him and he demanded that she take a husband. He did this because he knew she had committed herself to celibacy and devotion to Jesus and he felt that if he could shake her from this devotion, then he would be able to bring about her conversion to the Empire and away from Christianity. She refused immediately, insisting that she was already married to Jesus, and was forced upon the rack and stretched. The tension was set high enough to bring agony but not death and she was offered a choice:take a husband, renounce her faith, and live or refuse and die. She refused.

Sapricius was not ready to kill the woman, yet, and had another idea for how he might effect her conversion. After all, Christians seemed to be producing conversions constantly--surely the emperor could convert people just as easily. He sent her to prison and had two women--Christina and Callista--visit her daily. Christina and Callista had once been Christians and had renounced their faith under threat of torture and death. When faced with the terror of the Empire, they folded and bowed themselves before the emperor as lord. After their bitter renunciations, they fell headlong into lives of sin and darkness. Their every day was marked by regret and sorrow but they didn't admit to erring by renouncing their faith--sometimes, we hold onto a bad decision because it's the only thing we feel we have left to hold onto. They sought out lives of empty pleasure and sin to fill the hole that had been left in them but found no respite in evil. Their task was to convert Dorothea away from her faith as they had been converted but it was Christina and Callista that were converted back by, Dorothea, to the faith they had abandoned. They found joy again and paid for it with their lives--being tied together and boiled to death--but this they did willingly and Sapricius brought Dorothea before him again.

When Dorothea arrived she thanked Sapricius for the opportunity to bring life to her sisters walking in death and made sure he knew she wouldn't have had the opportunity if not for his imprisonment and scheming. He offered her one last chance--perhaps hoping that the brutality of the deaths of Christina and Callista might have changed her mind--but wasn't surprised when she refused. He ordered her to be decapitated in public. As she was being taken away from Sapricius, one of his advisers called to her in a mocking voice, "You're married to Jesus, right? Please send some of your husband's apples or roses from his garden to me when you see him."

He laughed but Dorothea responded, "I shall do it." As they dragged her to the place of her execution she was met by a young girl bearing a gift of three roses and three apples on a tray. Dorothea recognized that this "young girl" was an angel sent by God and asked the girl to take the roses and the apples to the advisor who had mocked her. She was then bound and decapitated. She became a martyr. The advisor, however, was shocked to receive a gift from a young girl--three roses and three apples. He was shocked--apples and roses didn't grow in Caesarea that time of year--and shaken. Soon after, he converted to Christianity and followed after Dorothea's husband whom he had mocked. Shortly before being martyred himself, he changed his name to Theophilus--lover of God.

February 5 - Agatha of Sicily, Martyr, Virgin, Victim of Persecution

2012-02-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

Agatha had done at least two unthinkable things in polite Roman society. The first had been becoming a Christian. At the time in which Agatha devoted herself to her crucified Lord, Christianity was a persecuted and detested religion considered to be comprised of atheist (they denied the existence of the Roman gods), incestuous (husband and wife called each other brother and sister) cannibals (they met at night in secret and were said to eat the flesh and drink the blood of their Lord). For a beautiful and wealthy woman like Agatha this was unthinkable. The Romans could understand why the poor became Christians but it was incredible to them that a woman with so much to lose would risk everything by faith. They didn't understand her or her Lord.The other great unthinkable thing had been when she refused the advances of the prefect Quinctianus.

Under the persecutions of Decius, Quinctianus realized he had a unique opportunity. He lusted after young Agatha and made his carnal desires known to her. She rejected his proposals and continued on in her faith as a woman committed to maintaining her virginity before her Lord. Since she was committed to celibacy she was not going to take any husband let alone a prefect of the Roman Empire that wanted to kill her and all her brothers and sisters in the Faith. He engineered a plan to blackmail her into having sex within him whenever he wanted it. He threatened to turn her over to the authorities and have her executed as a Christian. He insisted that he would protect her if she would become his mistress. She insisted that she was a virgin and intended to remain celibate so he had her taken to a brothel so that she might be raped and stripped of the virginity that perplexed Quinctianus. She was able to withstand the advances of the men at the brothel and eventually was turned out of the brothel because she was causing too great a spectacle and distraction.

Quinctianus brought her before him again and threatened with torture and death if she would not give into this lust. She continued to refuse and so he had men come in and secure her. First her breasts were crushed and then they were savagely cut from her body. Quinctianus watched while this evil was perpetrated and Agatha had a few words for him: “Cruel man, have you forgotten your mother and the breast that nourished you, that you dare to mutilate me this way?” But Quinctianus was not deterred and ordered Agatha to be burnt to death--naked and in public.Bleeding, she was paraded before the people and brought to the place of her intended execution. Yet, as they prepared to finalize this atrocity, an earthquake shook the city. She was taken back to a prison cell and died there from her wounds. She died a martyr who did the unthinkable and refused to be deterred from her life of devotion and faith.

February 4 - Alfred Delp, Martyr, Falsely Accused, Opponent of the Nazis

2012-02-04T07:00:00.000-05:00

Alfred Delp's was born in Mannheim, Germany, shortly after the turn of twentieth century. His mother was Roman Catholic and his father was a protestant. He was baptized in the congregation of his mother but was sent to a Lutheran school for his education. At the age of fourteen he was even confirmed in a Lutheran church and it would seem that he had a relatively spiritually involved life up that point. However, he had a falling out with the minister of the congregation and soon thereafter began attending the congregation of his mother. Some time later he was confirmed in the Roman Catholic church and his faith continued to remain stable though within a different tradition. It is suggested that Alfred's ecumenism is a product of his split denominational upbringing but there is no doubt that Alfred was a man with hope for the power of ecumenical theology and fellowship. He was convinced that there was much more to ecumenism than simply pretending to get along and avoiding the points of disagreement. Instead, he advocated that we should learn to "carry the historical burden of our separated churches, as baggage and inheritance." He felt that there was little room for continued infighting between Christians when there was so much room for ministry in the world. On this piece in particular, Alfred was very right.

Alfred eventually joined the Society of Jesus and began pursuing the path of priestly ordination. He was an intelligent man and a capable student and so he asked to be allowed to study for his PhD in Munich. Painfully, he was rejected not because of lack of talent orintellect but because he was affiliated with the Jesuits and they were becoming increasingly unpopular in Germany. As the Nazis gained power, they chafed against the Jesuits and retaliated for perceived slights and injustices. At first, Alfred's resistance was literary and editorial but soon he was hiding Jews in nearby towns and helping them escape to Switzerland. In perpetrating these acts of mercy and grace, he was burning any bridges that might lead him back to the safety of silence before the Nazi oppressors--he had made an indelible statement in his resistance and in his associations and friendships. Eventually, it cost him his life.

Alfred's mentor and guide was retaliated against as an individual Jesuit and this led the man to become increasingly involved in underground resistance to the Nazis. He introduced Alfred to the Kreisau circle and he continued to form friendships with people who recognized what great evil was being committed in the name of nationalism. Alfred's involvement was as a religious adviser and teacher who dreamed of a day when the Third Reich would fall and prepared for the aftermath of its collapse. He worked with his mentor and two Lutheran pastors, as well. But the Nazis brooked no resistance and soon had arrested the members of the Kreisau circle and imprisoned them. While Alfred was imprisoned, he continued to offer pastoral care and say mass for the interested. He continued ministry even though he knew his own death was fast approaching. One day a Jesuit priest was sent by Alfred's mentor to finalize Alfred's involvement with the Jesuits.Behind bars and facing certain death, Alfred took his final vows without the guards having any idea what had happened. He was tried in a mockery of justice and sentenced to die. The guards agreed to set him free if he would deny his faith and the Jesuits but he refused. They murdered him on February 2, 1945. His body was cremated and his ashes were scattered across sewage fields near Berlin.

February 3 - Blaise, Martyr, Physician, Healer

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

To be honest, the crowd was a little shocked to see the woman at the parade with her child. Didn't she know there would soon be blood and screaming? They were further shocked when she pushed her way to the front of the crowd. What kind of mother was so keen to see the gory death of a man at the hands of the Roman Empire? The greatest shock, however, was to watch her step across the unspoken boundary that separated audience from spectacle and willingly interpose herself upon the death story being written for Blaise. She carried the child before him and knelt down at his feet.What a sight! A free woman kneeling at the feet of a condemned criminal! She even raised up her young son before the man and implored him to help the child who was choking on something. Blaise halted as best he could and considered the situation briefly. To the surprise of the crowd, he simultaneously prayed for the child while manipulating the child's throat. Soon, the child was fine thanks to Blaise and Blaise was kicked forward by the guards to continue upon the previously schedule death march. Blaise was more than willing to insert a little life into the story because that's what he had been doing for years.

Blaise was a physician in Caesarea who practiced his profession differently than so many others. Instead of promising great cures and healing, Blaise did not make a spectacle of himself and his talents. Yet people came from miles around to be healed and cured by his gifted hands and under his gifted prayers. He was known to be a Christian when Christianity was a crime but his goodness and benevolence were able to win over many from their uninformed biases against the Body of Christ. Whereas other physicians offered help at a very dear cost, Blaise offered very dear help at little to no cost for those who needed it most. This kind of radical and ridiculous benevolence and love rankled those who stood to gain by doing the opposite. Then, one day, the bishop of the area died and Blaise was appointed the next bishop to great acclaim from the Christian population.

Blaise was not the bishop of the area for long, though, as he was turned in by those who opposed him and his charity. He was well known for healing and curing the people whom Rome would rather forget and so he was an easy target for the powerful. They marched him to the appointed place of his execution and then raked over his body with iron combs. Each vicious stroke raised fresh blood to his skin that would never be healed by human hands. He died a martyr--having saved a child on his way to his own death--because he refused to deny the faith that caused him to give his life away in small gifts of health and prayer. Blaise died proclaiming life in the face of death and even taking a small break in the midst of a spectacle of execution to bring life to one more person.

February 2 - Cornelius, Centurion, Recipient of Visions, First Gentile Convert

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

In Caesarea was a man name Cornelius. Cornelius had a life that people desired--he was a centurion among notable soldiers--but something felt out of place in his life. He prayed as best he knew how and he gave alms because he suspected it was right. He was eager to live the best life he possibly could. Then, one afternoon, he had a vision: a messenger from God came into his home and called out to him. Cornelius was petrified in fear of the angel but was able to muster up enough courage to ask, "What is it, Lord?"

The angel said, in a voice both soothing and discomforting, "All your prayers and gifts offered in ignorance have made their way to God. So, send some people to Joppa to find a man named Peter--they'll find him in the home of Simon the Tanner--near the sea. After God's messenger faded into the crowds surrounding Cornelius' home, he called two of his servants with a shaky voice and one soldier who was like him in prayer and the giving of alms. He told them what had happened with a mix of fear and hopeful anticipation and then sent them to Joppa to do their part in the unfolding story.

Meanwhile, Peter was in Joppa, by the sea, at the house of Simon the Tanner and he went to the top of the house to pray at about noon. As he was praying, hunger gnawed at him and demanded to be sated but as his thoughts turned to food for his body, his thoughts were turned to a vision from God. He saw the clouds parted and a great swath of fabric being lowered down like a heavenly picnic. On the sheet were many different animals--fat and ready for slaughter. He heard a voice that sounded like it could be his own or it could be the voice of Jesus saying, "Get up, Peter. It's time for you to kill and eat."

Perhaps thinking this was a test, Peter said, "You know I won't do that, Lord. I don't eat what you have labeled unclean.

The voice insisted, "If God has made it clean, then don't call it unclean." In Peter's vision this exchange happened three times and then the sheet and all its food were gone in a flash. Peter puzzled over the vision all throughout his lunch and then all throughout the rest of the day. As he replayed the vision in his mind, he suspected that God was trying to tell him something. He was still puzzling the vision when Cornelius' men arrived at the gate of Simon's house looking for him. He heard a voice again say to him, "Peter, there are three men outside who are waiting for you. They've come because I sent them to you."

Peter was eager to find some resolution to all of this and so he hurried down to the gate and said, "I'm Peter. Why has God sent you?"

They responded, "Cornelius has sent us to find you. He is a good man who fears God and is highly respected among the Jews. He received a vision and one of God's messengers told him to seek you out and hear what you have to say." Peter took the men into the home and made them his guests and when the sun rose again, he and some of his fellow Christians went with the men back to the home of Cornelius.

Eventually, they reached Caesarea and found that Cornelius had prepared quite the event and audience to hear Peter's words. As Cornelius' messengers went out seeking Peter, he had become anxious and eager to hear what words might come. So eager was Cornelius to know how and who he should worship, he fell at the feet of Peter and offered worship on the spot to Peter. Peter tapped him on the back and said, "Not me Cornelius. I'm human just like you."Cornelius led Peter in to meet the audience and when Peter saw all the ones gathered to hear him, he remarked, "You all know well how Jews do not associate with other nations and have strict laws concerning purity. Well, God has shown me that no person is unclean.So, when Cornelius sent for me I came quickly without knowing why. I was responding to God's guidance, what were you doing?" Hearing this, Cornelius told the story of the vision and the message and asked Peter if he would be so kind as to share what God had laid upon his heart.

So, Peter cleared his throat and said: "I know well that God is not partial to nations but instead looks at the hearts of individuals. But as for the word he sent to Israel--the good news that Jesus is Lord of all--you already know what happened in Judea and how it began with John baptizing Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus was anointed and went about doing good things and casting out evil and the enemy wherever he went. You saw it and so did I. They put him to death by crucifixion thinking it would be an end of him but he was raised again on the third day. After this resurrection, he appeared to many and he was close to us again. He told us what it is that we should do: preach to the people and bear witness that he is the one called to judge the living and the dead. After all, it was Jesus that all the prophets talked about when they said that all those who trust in him receive forgiveness from sin through his name."

But there was more to it than words. While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit fell on Peter and upon the audience and redemption and salvation came very near to the audience who found themselves transformed by the gospel message of forgiveness and life in the face of sin and death. The fellow Jewish Christians that came with Peter were surprised to see Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit. But they couldn't deny that the gentiles were speaking in tongues and offering praise to God who had made Jesus Lord of all. Peter turned to his fellow Christians and said, "Surely none of you can hold the baptismal waters hostage from ones such as these men and women who have heard the good news and been filled with the Holy Spirit." So, they were baptized in the name of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and Peter remained with them for a while.

February 1 - Brigid of Kildare, Convert, Nun, Abbess

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

At first, Dubhthach attributed the missing flour and pantry supplies to a variety of sources including simply poor estimations of how much they had left. Yet, he hadn't been pestered by a beggar in some time for food and this made him start to wonder. Then, one day he caught his daughter Brigid hastily giving away flour and oil to a beggar at the front door who thanked her profusely. He was furious that she would give away the family's things to beggars and those in particular need. When he confronted her for what she was doing, she reminded him that she felt a calling to do ministry and that she would do it wherever she was with whatever she had access to. He seethed privately over her confident brand of charity and wondered if the faith she shared with her mother really was enough to change lives, values, and outlooks. He had married her mother knowing she had been convert to the Christian religion who had been baptized by Patrick of Ireland. What he hadn't known was the change that had infected her heart the day she gladly accepted the baptismal waters. Their daughter Brigid had clearly been likewise converted upon hearing the Christian story and the specific story of St. Patrick.

He had left her alone because he didn't quite know how to stop her. He didn't want her to leave and become a nun like she desired because he still hoped to persuade to leave her faith. Yet, he couldn't stand the idea of her using his family's wealth to take care of people he had no desire to help. It seems the decision was made for him when she took the jewel-encrusted sword in their home and gave it to a beggar to sell to feed his family and buy medicines. His fury overran his hesitation and he insisted that she pack her things and leave. She had gone one step too far and it was apparent that she would not be happy until she had given away all that she could to help and love the poor. Even in his rage, he didn't want to see her become destitute, though, and so he sent her to a convent. When she arrived, she took her vows and became a nun under the guidance of St. Moel the Briton.

As a nun, Brigid was known for her piety, devotion, and holiness. She did not take vows to make sure she had a life provided to her but because she wanted a chance to pour herself out for others. Soon, her vibrant prayers and eager charity attracted attention of leaders of the Celtic Church. Her faith was not especially mystical or esoteric and was, in fact, focused on finding ways to live and practice her faith in the every day. Mountain top experiences were alright but they weren't the fuel that maintained Brigid's steady and passionate faith. Eventually, she was appointed abbess of a double-monastery in Kildare. As a double-monastery, it meant that she was a spiritual director and guide both to nuns and monks. As abbess of Kildare, she had the authority and influence of a bishop. Even now, Brigid is considered one of the great saints of Ireland and is remembered alongside Patrick whom she hoped to emulate in her life and faith. When she died in 524, she was buried in the abbey near the altar. Her presence among the faithful continued to inspire them toward a practice faith that called all to pour themselves out whatever the cost.

January 31 - Menno Simons, Reformer, Anabaptist, Champion of Peace

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

His pulse quickened and sweat began to bead upon his forehead ever so slightly. He didn't think anybody noticed his momentary pause and moment of anxiety but he couldn't be sure.Menno Simons swallowed hard and picked up where he left off in the mass. As they approached the moment when the bread and wine would become the body and blood of Christ, Menno became increasingly anxious about what he was doing. "This is silly," he thought to himself, "I've done this simple thing so many times...it's no different than last time." But his inward chiding would not deter the feeling that something special was happening in the moment--it was different than the last time he had done it because he was paying particular attention to the moment and tickling, small voice of the the Holy Spirit as it spoke to his heart. As he continued in the mass, his mind was brought back to only a few days prior when he and some of his fellow priests had been taking everything so lightly in the pub. As they drank and played cards, they seemed to have a life devoid of worry or anxiety--theyhad a job to do and they were good at doing it.Plus, it paid very well for the son of a poor, peasant family who had lived in a town oppressed by imperial aims and ambitions. He cleared his head by convincing himself that he was being deceived by the devil and that what he was doing was the same thing he had always been doing.

For years, he was tormented by doubts and fears that not everything was right about what was going on in the services. Menno felt as if God was genuinely calling him to live a Christian life and not simply the relaxed life of a priest. At times, he seemed to have felt a call to follow God even if it meant not following the Church. This was a horrifying prospect for a man as loyal as Menno was. Ultimately, he decided to seek out solace and solution in the scripture. Ironically, this was a novel approach for Menno. Most of his friends and colleagues were relatively unfamiliar with the scripture because they had been provided with everything they needed to do their job. When Menno began to voraciously consume the scripture his pain only intensified. He knew that the path he was following was one that others had followed and it had led them to a position known as "the reformation" and he feared it. He didn't want to end up like Luther or Zwingli but he couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. He earnestly desired the unity of the One Church but could not escape the suspicion that reformation was needed if the One Church was to remain Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Having become familiar with the scripture, he eventually found himself siding with the Anabaptists even if it meant being defrocked and being labeled a schismatic. This wounded loyal Menno like no other blow but he was willing to suffer it because he felt called to the vitiating faith he felt his brothers and sisters were losing. Shortly after the death of his brother Pieter as an Anabaptist martyr at Munster, he finally made the break and became a member of the Church in protest to a Church where baptism and civil citizenship were synonymous and where the sword was wielded with easiness and lightness.

Menno always rejected the sword and insisted that the Christian way was the way of peace even if it cost the individual everything. He once wrote, "True Christians do not know vengeance. They are the children of peace. Their hearts overflow with peace. Their mouths speak peace, and they walk in the way of peace." He spent the remainder of his life serving among other Anabaptists as a preacher of peaceful reformation. It wasn't that he wanted the Roman Catholics to fail but, rather, to succeed wildly and profess a life-giving faith he feared was increasingly absent. Along these lines, he insisted that his brothers and sisters take up peaceful ways of resistance and reformation although some Anabaptists did not. Eventually, as Anabaptists were persecuted and began reacting violently, Menno was asked to be an official leader and shepherd of the group. He still insisted that they renounce the sword and take up the cross. For this, he was criticized by some and lauded by others. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that later Anabaptists began referring to themselves as "Mennonites," even though Menno himself would have strongly resisted the name. He died on January 25, 1561, as a leader and reformer having failed to see the reunion of the Church but in hope that there was room for unity through peaceful reformation.

January 30 - Basil of Caesarea, Champion of Community, Theologian, Cappadocian

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Sainthood seems to have been a hobby for the family of Basil. One of his grandmothers was Macrina the Elder. One of his grandfathers was a martyr. His father was Basil the Elder. His mother was Emelia. One of his sisters was Macrina the Younger. Among his brothers were Peter of Sebaste, Naucratius, and Gregory of Nyssa. Beyond that, he was a close friend of Gregory of Nazianzus.Looking back over the surface of the waters of time, it is difficult not to be amazed at the inspiring family life of Basil but it's likely that he thought it normal for much of his life. His family was wealthy and generous but never lacking in goods or money. Because of their great wealth, Basil had the opportunity to receive the best education that money could buy--literally--after being educated at the knee of Basil the Elder and Macrina the Elder. He excelled in his studies while in Caesarea and had a particular talent for rhetoric and persuasive speaking. Through all of this and in spite of his holy family, Basil had no real connection to the Faith that moved and motivated so many of his kin. So, he returned to be with his family and practiced law. His life was looking like it would be successful by some standards but atypical from that of his family's history and future.

When he was thirty, a variety of circumstances assailed him. He had been educating his younger brothers but had also been hearing from his sister Macrina that he should not become puffed up with his own education. From Macrina, he heard a different set of values than he had been instructed in by his teachers and mentors--how could she say that knowledge wasn't a good in and of itself? Yet, he met a man named Eustathius and things changed. This bishop and ascetic rocked Basil's world and turned it upside down by pointing to an entirely different set of values as supreme; a set of values that prioritized love and service above knowledge and the world's standards for success. Basil described the whole event like waking up from a thirty year dream. He felt that he could now see through the illusions of life and he too picked up asceticism as a way of taming the body and mind and bringing it in line with Jesus' calling upon his disciples. Basil was changing slowly but surely and nowhis future looked very different.

After being baptized he began traveling from monastery to monastery to learn more about the monastic and ascetic way. What troubled him about the experience was the intense isolation that the men and women underwent to seek after God. To Basil, this seemed like a broken idea because he understood the Christian community to be a transformed and transforming body that should not be abandoned by any means. He began calling fellow Christians and monastics together to live in community with each other as a foretaste of the Kingdom of God. These little groups of people became powerful witnesses to a Gospel that promised not only salvation but also the redemption and healing of the world. He called to his friend Gregory of Nazianzus and the two of them worked together in transforming monasticism into a communal project before Basil found out that Gregory was avoiding his family because of a desire to be a monk. Basil encouraged his friend to return home and serve in the community that he was already connected with. It was hard to send Gregory away but Basil knew it was best for the Church and for his friend.

Eventually, Basil became a bishop and official leader within the Church. He was a skilled theologian and speaker and was given many opportunities to shape the growth of the fledgling Body of Christ. In one famine, he opened up his church's doors to provide food for any and all that would come and receive it. He spent time regularly with thieves and prostitutes so that he might not forget that Christ was among these and not a commodity that the Church could trade in. He was keenly interested in serving the God who had called him out of slumber and he did so with a passion that surprised many who had met him while a student and become reacquainted with him after his conversion. Theologically, he recanted the semi-Arianism of his youth and became a staunch supporter of the Nicene creed. His theological work was not aimed at vilifying or victimizing the Arians but, rather, at bringing them back within the warm embrace of orthodoxy. When his mentor Eustathius was found to be on the other side of a point of argument, he maintained a loving relationship with the man while all the while arguing against him and insisting he was in error. Basil died in 379 as a servant of the Church that had called and formed him. He had been raised from slumber to pursue those whom God loved furiously. Perhaps the most fitting compliment for the man: he fit in well with his family.

January 29 - Jacques Bunel, Martyr, Priest, Opponent of the Nazis,

2012-01-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

We know that Jacques Bunel was born Lucien Bunel but we know remarkably little else about his childhood. We know that he became a Roman Catholic priest and member of the Carmelite order and took the name Jacques de Jesus.Jacques served as a minister of the Faith he confessed and loved by becoming headmaster of a school in Avon, France. This school was known as Petit Collège Sainte-Thérèse de l' Enfant-Jésus. From this refuge he would engage in the activities that make him laudable but also cost him his life. As the Nazi scourge swept through Europe, Jacques found a way to resist the Nazi empire nonviolently and in a way that would save lives. Jacques began his revolutionary life saving by offering three spots at his school to three Jewish boys whom he helped assume false identities and names. These three boys were named Hans-Helmut Michel, Jacques-France Halpern, and Maurice Schlosser and would be part of the reason that the Nazis would eventually murder Jacques. Had Jacques known that protecting these three boys would cost him his life it seems that he would have done it anyway. Unlike many other clerics and Christians, Jacques was not blind to the atrocities being perpetrated and was willing to risk everything to be on the side of the righteous and loving. Looking at the faces of the children he protected, Jacques knew he was offering refuge to his savior.

Jacques' sacred work did not end with the three students--like any holy work Jacques' life saving gathered momentum and soon pushed him onward toward more of the same. He found a way to shelter a boy named Maurice Bas by providing him with a job at the school and a new identity.Maurice Schlosser's father was running out of places to hide and so Jacques found a home in the village that would serve as a nearby but disconnected refuge for the man. Finally, he dared another sacred moment when he brought Lucien Weil--a famous Jewish botanist--onto the faculty of his school. Having brought at least six people within his protective power, he knew that it was only a time until the Nazis cracked down upon him. That day came on January 15, 1944 when the Gestapo arrested Jacques and the first three boys he protected. Within the next month they had arrested the others that Jacques had worked to hard to protect. All were shipped away to work and death camps. When told he was being arrested for disobeying the law, Jacque responded: "I know only one law: that of the Gospel and Charity."

The boys and Lucien Weil died in Auschwitz. Jacques was transferred from camp to camp before ending up in Mauthausen in May of 1945. Wherever he went he was known as optimistic and hopeful for liberation. Further, he encouraged his fellow prisoners to share their food and encourage each other. Often, he would go without food so that others might eat. This was near the end of the war and liberation was steadily coming to the camps as the Allied forces beat back the Nazi empire. When Mauthausen was liberated Jacques did a curious thing. He was suffering from tuberculosis and weighed less than 80 pounds when the liberating forces came but he insisted that the others be liberated first. He waited until he knew that all others had gone before him before he consented to be liberated from the hell that the Nazis had engineered for him and other innocents. He died from his illness before he ever made it back to France. His body was shipped back to the school he loved and buried on the grounds of the refuge God had gifted him so that he might try to protect others. Those whom Jacques protected were still murdered by those whom Jacques resisted but he offered love and protection as a testament to the right place of the Church in opposition to great evil. Jacques died a martyr whose death confessed greater allegiance to the Kingdom than to himself.

January 28 - Thomas Aquinas, Doctor, Theologian, Monastic

2012-01-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Thomas' parents had especially high expectations for how his life should proceed. As members of the southern Italian nobility, their several sons all had very precise blueprints for how their lives and ambitions should flow. Thomas was one of the youngest of his brothers and they all shared an uncle who was an abbot in a Benedictine monastery. Without every considering questions of calling and how Thomas felt about it, his family simply assumed that young Thomas would become a Benedictine abbot and monk. They provided him with an exemplary education in a great institution but a war broke out and it became necessary to send Thomas to a school in Naples where he was introduced to the works of Aristotle, Averroes, and Maimonides. Further--and to the eventual dismay of his mother and father--he was introduced to a Dominican preacher by the name of John. As Thomas heard the stories of the Faith again from the lips of John, he felt a buzzing within him that seemed to call him inexorably toward service to God. This much had been expected but to serve in a Dominican monastery would have been considered unacceptable. Their plan had been made and there was no room for God's calling within it.

The Dominicans were pleased to have an able mind like Thomas and knew well that his family would resist his desire to become a Dominican monk. Consequently, they arranged for him to be taken to Rome and sent to Paris from Rome. The plan was mapped out and executed but Thomas' mother had a plan of her own. A few of Thomas' brothers were waiting for him in Rome and they seized him and dragged him back to the home of their mother and father so that he might be dissuaded from following after God's leading. It's easy to look back and wonder why Thomas insisted on the Dominicans over the Benedictines if both are monastic groups that devote themselves to God. It's easy for our minds to think that it would have been better for Thomas to give in and become a Benedictine because it would be "close enough." But, this falls into the same trap that Thomas' family fell into: a feeling that if we can our own will "close enough" to God's will, then that will be good enough without actually having to turn over our lives and wills to God. They imprisoned their own son and brother and did everything within their power to bend his will to theirs and away from God's.

At one point, his brothers decided that it would be better to ruin Thomas then see him become a Dominican. Their dehumanization of their brother had reached its completion and they now saw him as a commodity to be traded for family honor and influence. They paid a prostitute to seduce Thomas and led her into his room where Thomas could not escape. He refused to be seduced and ran the woman out of his room with a burning stick from the fireplace. All the while, he was a tutor and teacher to his family--specifically his sisters. Eventually, Thomas' mother arranged for him to escape and leave the home because she wanted to be rid of him but did not want to go through the indignity of disowning and abandoning her own son. Thomas escaped and eventually became a Dominican monk and theologian. He served the Church as a writer and thinker. His answers to theological questions--memorialized in his master work: Summa Theologica--informed and educated not only audiences of his day but also Christians of all subsequent generations. The one who had been imprisoned and persecuted for his call became a teacher and wise man whose words and works would carry God's message into the hearts of many discerning the first inklings of God's call upon their lives.

January 27 - Marcella, Martyr, Widow, Monastic

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

Marcella was born to wealthy parents of considerable influence in Roman society. Further, she married a man of affluence and influence, as well. She was primed for a life of pleasure, recreation, and relaxation. Yet she had only been married for seven to nine months before her husband died and she became a widow. Of course, she was a widow who lived very comfortably thanks to the wealth she had inherited but she was a widow nonetheless. This event became the catalyst that pushed her onward to consider what was truly valuable in life and what of the Roman culture and life was nothing more than illusion and delusion. She devoted herself to a brand of ascetic joy that involved renouncing herself and her own ambitions in favor of taking care of the poor and hungry. She soon found herself with plenty of work to do and many demands on her time and she couldn't have been happier.

At one point, a wealthy man became enamored with Marcella. By this time, Marcella had become a leader in the Roman Church and had become an inspiration to other women to live lives of daring faith. He decided he would woo her and make the widow his wife and he assumed it would be an easy thing since she had been widowed and widows were often of little influence and power in Roman society because of their sex. He went to her and he proposed marriage saying that she could inherit all of his fortune when he died if she would only marry him. He was a wealthy political leader and his fortune was considerable but Marcella responded: “If I wished to marry, I should look for a husband, not an inheritance.” He went away without a wife and with a new understanding of Marcella's devotion to the ministry to which she had been called.

She started a school for women to study scripture and pray. It was rather successful and soon she wasspiritual mother to many younger women who sought to follow after the same Christ who had captivated Marcella. Then the Goths came to Rome. The Goths looted and plundered the riches of Rome under the direction of Alaric and soon found their way to Marcella's school. Likely, they had heard that the old widow was a wealthy woman and that her school was highly respected. To the Goths, this meant she was an ideal target for their terror inducing savagery. They forced their way into the school and demanded all of the valuables that Marcella had. She insisted that she had nothing to offer them as she had spent her life giving herself and her things away to the poor. Her wealth, she declared, was in the stomachs of the poor people in the city. The Goths tortured her to get her to reveal her hidden stores of valuables but were not successful since she had nothing but her clothes and a few meager possessions to offer them. The soldiers seized one of her students--Principia--and informed Marcella that they would rape and kill the woman if Marcella did not give them what they wanted. Marcella dropped to her hands and knees and begged mercy from Alaric insisting that she had nothing to give and begging them to leave the woman alone. Seeing the once wealthy and powerful old woman on her knees in tears with blood streaming down her back begging for the welfare of another, their hearts were turned at last to mercy. They took Marcella and her students to a nearby sanctuary--even carrying the weakened Marcella--so that they might not be victimized any further. Marcella died from her wounds shortly thereafter with her head resting on the lap of Principia whom she had saved.

January 26 - John Bradford, Martyr, Roving Chaplain, Reformer

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

While John Bradford was confined to the royal prison--the Tower of London to be precise--he was far away from his books and academic world but that is where all of this had started. Born to a wealthy family,he was given the gift of a good and comprehensive education. From there, John went on to study more and pursue an intellectual career emphasizing his greatest strength: accounting and mathematics. He served as an officer in King Henry VIII's army and was in the position of accounting for payroll for the soldiers who fought Henry's wars. After this, he pursued a career in law as a legal professional but while studying he had the mixed fortune of befriending a man who supported the English reformation. As he studied and talked with his new friend he found himself slowly but steadily being won over to the Anglican church in particular and the teachings of the Church in general. The earnest eagerness of his friend convinced John to take his faith ever more seriously. He could stand it no longer and so hestopped studying law and started studying theology so he might become a minister of the faith he had been infected with.

When he had received his education he began his clerical career first as a teaching fellow and secondly as an ordained priest who was given a region to rove and preach in. With Anglican leaders in control of Britain, he was not under immediate threat but tensions were high with other Christians--Roman Catholic Christians in particular. He preached and taught and served the Faith as best he knew how until Mary Tudor took control of the throne and fortunes were reversed. Soon thereafter he was arrested on charges of attempting to incite mob activity. These trumped up charges took away his freedom and imprisoned him in the Tower of London. It was from his window in the tower that he looked down upon some anonymous criminal going off to die for his crimes and remarked, "There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford." John had not lost his connection with God's grace and his need for God's forgiveness even as he had gained honor and received suffering. He knew well that it was only the grace of God that separated him from a life of unrepentant corruption. One thing he would share with that criminal, though, was a state-sponsored death.

Some time after his famous remark, he was charged and tried before a court disposed toward execution. Predictably, he was found guilty and condemned to death at the hands of an Empire that would not accept his brand of resistance. He was tied to a stake with another man and wood was piled around his feet and body. As they brought the torch, he asked for forgiveness for any that he might have wronged and publicly offered forgiveness to those who had wronged him.Enveloped in forgiveness on all sides, he was set ablaze by murderous hands. He died a martyr of the reformation of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. There with the grace of God went John Bradford.

January 25 - Gregory of Nazianzus, Doctor, Theologian, Archbishop

2012-01-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Had Gregory ever heard the sentiment that "you can't go home again" he would have likely agreed wholeheartedly. After going away to school and studying intensely with his new friend Basil, he returned to the home of his parents full of vigor and hope for the future. Gregory's father--Gregory, Sr.--had become bishop of his home region of the Church after Gregory's mother--Nonna--had convinced him to consider conversion. Years after his conversion, Gregory's father was serving the Church in a shepherding and guidance role and expected Gregory to return from school and join him in leadership within the Church that had served as both comfort and affliction. But, Gregory came home speaking about a life of disconnection from the world and a life of ascetic joy and pursuit. His father insisted that he should serve in a role similar to his own role within the Church and was troubled by his son's change of heart--especially given the struggles between orthodoxy and Arianism that had only intensified over the last few years.Gregory was upset that his hopes were not met with excitement and left his home to go and be with his friend Basil.

Basil didn't offer the conspiring advice that Gregory hoped for. Though Basil and Gregory had hoped to become ascetics together, Basil's advice turned from encouraging to discouraging when he found out what Gregory's father had said. He advised his dear friend to follow his father's advice and teaching and become a Church leader and shepherd. Likely Gregory resisted this at first but soon found himself seeing his friend's wisdom even when he couldn't see his father's identical wisdom. So, he returned to the home of his father and became a leader within the Church--eventually becoming Archbishop. He would even help walk his father back into the embrace of orthodoxy when his aged father became persuaded by a heretic and wandered from the Church's teaching. The father who had insisted on the Church's need for Gregory found himself in need and Gregory willing to serve.

His incredible rhetorical skills made him a noted and highly esteemed leader and theologian, yet perhaps the most amazing aspect of Gregory's leadership and writing was his willingness to lay down anything and everything to reconcile others to the Faith that gripped and held him. When he was invited to councils and synods he was always eager to take a little extra time and effort to bring people back into the fold instead of simply breaking communion with them. At the Second Ecumenical council his presence there was disputed by some of those who opposed him theologically. When he was asked to moderate and mediate the meeting, he did so and reached out to his opposition but they were unpersuaded. Finding that he could not bring peace to the meeting he resigned his position and said, "Let me be as the Prophet Jonah! I was responsible for the storm, but I would sacrifice myself for the salvation of the ship." With these words, he left his position and his willingness to resign power for the sake of unity brought about momentary peace and agreement between the parties. He finished his life serving in the Church that had called and formed him even as he had fought and resisted the drive to power and drive to do solely what he wanted. He was willing to lay himself and his will down for the good of the Church he loved and that loved him.

January 24 - Babylas of Antioch, Martyr, Prisoner, Buried in his Chains

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000-05:00

Babylas had been a leader of the Church in Antioch. In fact, he was presiding over the Easter vigil and services in the year that the emperor Philip tried to coerce the Church into siding with him. Philip had feigned faith for years and continued to worship the civil religion when he thought he could get away with it. The Church was willing to have him show up but was not willing to make him an object of worship or adoration--when he walked through the Church doors he was nothing more than another sinner seeking grace. In Philip's case, it's dubious that he was ever seeking grace and much more likely that he was interested in covering over his political machinations with the clothing of the Church.Babylas was unwilling to allow it.

When Philip came to the vigil, Babylas met him at the door and tried to save him some shame. Philip asked to be let in and Babylas shook his head sadly and said, "You can only enter if you'll come as a penitent." Philip was uninterested in taking the position of one seeking forgiveness for and healing from sin. It would lower him to be with the people whom he ruled and would not give him the honor he was so confident he deserved. When Philip insisted that he be let in as an honored guest, Babylas was undeterred from his refusal. The tension in the moment only got worse as Philip waited for Babylas to crack and relent. When Philip indicated his armed guards and attempted to coerce Babylas with worldly power and threat it came as a surprise to Philip--but no surprise to those who knew Babylas--when Babylas closed the doors and barred them to the unrepentant emperor. If Philip would not repent from his sins and come seeking grace then the door was to be barred to him as the Church could not honor or esteem one who was not aware of his own sickness--after all, Jesus came for the sick and not for the well.

Babylas paid a price for this and Philip had him arrested, chained, and thrown in prison. He was left to rot in jail alone and constantly chained. He continued his life of devotion and prayer under chains and persecution because he had been called to it regardless of the cost. Occasionally, he was allowed visitors from the Church and they would secret the Eucharist to him so that he might remain part of the communion he had given himself for but he was never allowed out of his chains. His chains were supposed to serve as an ever present reminder of the Empire's ability to punish those who resisted it but for Babylas they were a reminder of the weight of sin upon the soul and the need of healing within the Empire. When Decius took power and the Decian persecutions began, Babylas was martyred as he was already within the iron grip of the Empire that wanted to eliminate Christians. He was one of the first and was buried in his chains as he had requested of his Christian brothers and sisters.

January 23 - Charles Spurgeon, Preacher, Author, Pastor

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

It was January in England and Charles was only fifteen when he set out into a storm for some now forgotten appointment. The journey was difficult but manageable for a young man like Charles. Yet, as he drew nearer and nearer to his destination the storm grew more and more insurmountable and inescapable. It was as if the storm was offended by his continued journey and determined to turn him aside. Eventually, Charles did turn aside into a little Methodist church where he might find shelter from the wind and snow. As he waited for the storm to pass, he picked up a Bible and considered it. He had heard some of the stories contained therein but they had not had any significant effect upon his life as of yet. He opened to Isaiah--perhaps a favorite book of his at the time--and was hit by a verse: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else." At these astounding words, Charles bucked. There is none else? Surely that couldn't be right. Yet, he was caught upon the hook of God's grace and could not escape either the snowstorm or God's furious love. It was alone in that little church that Charles would say "God opened [his] heart to the salvation message." Charles Haddon Spurgeon was converted to a faith worth talking about.

He was later baptized in the Baptist church his family attended. His passion and intensity were plain to see by the leaders and laypeople alike in the small church. He was asked to preach the following winter and he did so gladly to much acclaim and appreciation. It seemed he had a gift. Few expected the boy preacher to have much of a gift--if any at all--and were amazed to hear the way Charles spoke to them as one having authority. His style was not the cultured and educated style of many clergy but, rather, was characterized by an earnest and sincere directness that gripped the heart of the reader and begged it to reconsider what Jesus had to say. Whereas many preachers were waxing theological and earning accolades with sweet words, Charles had one powerfulstrategy: beg the listener to take Jesus seriously and at his word. It was very effective and he soon found himself a pastor (less than five years after being converted) and preacher at the largest Baptist church in all of London.

In spite of his failure among homiletical critics, soon he was regularly preaching to crowds of more than 10,000 listeners. All of this happened within ten years of finding Jesus in a little Methodist church where he was forced to take shelter from the storm. He was finding that there was "none else" but God that brought salvation and hope for many. He was soon invited to preach at the Crystal Palace and he did so gladly having just founded a preacher's academy that he had been publicizing. He entered the area to test its acoustics and determine where the platform should be placed. He picked a phrase that spoke to him and which he routinely used in sermons: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" As he shouted it repeatedly, it fell upon the ears of a man who had been doing some renovations and repairs in the building. As the repetitions hammered upon his brain, he was struck by the incredible desperate sincerity in the voice of the preacher and he left his job to go home and think upon the sentence he had heard several times. That night the man was converted to follow after the one and only Lamb of God.

Charles' sermons became one of the most widely read publications in the history of printing and his sermons became collector's items for those desperate to hear a word from God. Though he never extended an altar call at any point in his career he did invite all who were moved to meet with him in the church building on Monday morning. Routinely, these meetings were full of people moved to tears and conversion by the sincere and hopeful words of a man who had been turned aside by a snowstorm. He died, as the end of the 19th century approached, a noted and lauded preacher not by critics but by the ones whose lives had been changed by his preaching.

January 22 - Timothy, Martyr, Shepherd, Companion of Paul

2012-01-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

Timothy had heard about the one they were talking about--Jesus. Perhaps he had even met himbut apparently he had not been persuaded to become a follower of his if he had indeed run across him in his travels. Of course, Timothy was only a late teenager when Jesus had been put to death and it was Paul who had really brought the Gospel to him later in Lystra. In fact, it was nearly two decades after Jesus' death that Timothy finally found him in the words of the traveling missionary who seemed to be calling Timothy to a higher calling than a typical life in Lystra. It had all happened when Paul and Barnabas had showed up one day to preach their message in Timothy's town and region. With much prayer and passion, they brought about a miraculous healing of a crippled child and the people were shocked. In the face of compassionate power that the Empire could not match--for it could cripple but never heal--many of the witnesses were converted to the faith of Paul and Barnabas. Timothy, his mother Eunice, and his grandmother Loida were all part of these initial converts in Lystra. Timothy became the companion of Paul and went with them on their missionary journeys.

It was at the feet of Paul that Timothy received his education in the faith that now gripped his heart and soul. As they traveled, Paul taught and Timothy learned. In this way, Timothy was immersed not only in the waters of baptism but in the ebb and flow of Christian teaching. Thus, it was no surprise when this loved one of Paul became a leader in the Church at Ephesus. Paul appointed Timothy to be a shepherd of a flock in need of guidance and leadership. Though Timothy did not look forward to leaving his cherished place of guidance by Paul's side, he knew that God had called him and prepared him for an important ministry within the Church. Paul went on with his journeys and Timothy became a leader in the Church. Indeed, Timothy received letters from his mentor advising him how to live into his calling but most of Timothy's decisions were made by focusing on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.One day, though, Timothy received a letter inviting him to a prison where Paul had been incarcerated for preaching the message he shared with Timothy. Timothy traveled and said his farewells to his mentor and Paul reminded Timothy to have confidence in his calling even if it felt overwhelming at times. Paul died and Timothy returned to his flock with the knowledge that the message that he and Paul carried could very well cost him his life. Eventually, it did.

There was a festival going on in Ephesus that involved parading idols before the people so that they might worship and appeal to the gods they were supposed to represent. Timothy could see the faces of the people who put their hopes in dead stone. They sought healing and help and they received nothing but disappointment.Recalling the day he had seen God heal a crippled boy, his heart burned at the thought of misplaced faith and so he took to the street and stood in front of the parade to preach words of true hope and effective faith. They screamed for him to stop and he continued anyway because he had been trained and taught by Paul that the Gospel was worth suffering for. So, he was beaten savagely and dragged by his clothes and arms through the street before those who had such desperate hope stoned him to death and made him a martyr.