Anne & Joachim

Saint Anne & Joachim

memorial
26 July

Anne:
Also known as:
Anna
Ann

Joachim:
Also known as
Heli

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Devotion to our saint for today goes back to the earliest times of the Church; Saint Anne (or Ann) is traditionally the name of the Mother of Our Lady. Ergo she is the Grandmother of Jesus Christ. Her husband is known as Saint Joachim, who therefore is the elderly father of the Blessed Virgin Mary; logically this makes him Grandfather of Jesus Christ. Anyone who Our Lord and Savior called grandma and grandpa is okay in my book.

The oral history and story, including the names “Anne and Joachim, ” were eventually written down for the European Church in a book called the Protoevangelium of James; an apocryphal “gospel” written in the early Middle Ages. This document is like “The Expanded Universe books” to Star Wars fans. It was written to fill out the gaps in a story loved by everyone but not really canon. In this case the story everyone loved being the Gospels of course. It was really huge in the Middle Ages, and most of our common beliefs on Anne, Joachim and Mary and the infancy of Jesus come from James…. The Protoevangelium of James is like holy “fan fiction” and not exactly heretical like some other apocryphal “gospels” like the Gospel of Thomas, but not at all scripture. With that said, everyone back then would be familiar with these writings, it’s okay, so enjoy.

Anne and Joachim were probably pretty well off for the locality and time in history; they were pious children of Israel but childless, which is considered a curse from God, and shameful to the Hebrew folk. Joacam would give three times the required or requested offerings at the temple for the Jewish people, and one day a member of the priestly caste told him he was not permitted to give anymore as he is childless and a shame on the people of Israel. And so Anna prayed regularly at the Temple for the Lord to give her a child, and promised if he answered her prayer she would have the child serve the lord forever:

“Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood in front of her, saying, "Anna, Anna, the Lord God has heard your prayer. You will conceive and give birth and your child will be spoken of everywhere people live." And Anna said, "As the Lord God lives, whether I give birth to either a male or a female child, I will bring it as an offering to the Lord my God and it will be a servant to him all the days of its life." (Protoevangelium of James 4:1-2)

Because of this promise, It is believed that Anne and Joachim gave Mary to the service of the Temple when the girl was three years old; this formal act of giving Mary to the temple to serve, is celebrated in November; a feast called the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The order of Sisters that taught me in OLS in the Bronx, (no OLS doesn’t mean the Old Lady’s Society even though we all called it that, it means Our Lady of Solace), were from the religious order of the Presentation Sisters (OPVM), including the Sainted Sister Helen and the dreaded Sister Mary Muriel. For a brief time there was a belief that Anne remained a virgin in the conception and birth of Mary, this was condemned by the Vatican in 1677.

Devotion to her has been popular in the East from the very early days of the Church; widespread devotion in the West began in the 16th century, but many shrines have developed since.

Veneration of her was extended to the whole Church in 1584. In art and statuary, Anne looks quite a lot like the Blessed Mother. You can tell the difference because our saint today is usually seen instructing a young girl in scripture. The young girl would be the BVM. The Whip has a special devotion to Saint Anne.

The traditional tomb of Saint Anne and Saint Joachim was rediscovered in Jerusalem in 1889

Patronage

against poverty
against sterility
broom makers
cabinetmakers
carpenters
childless people
equestrians
expectant mothers
grandparents
homemakers
horse men
housewives
lace makers
lace workers
lost articles
miners
mothers
old-clothes dealers
poor people
pregnancy
pregnant women
riders
seamstresses
stablemen
turners
women in labor

 

 

Bridget of Sweden

Saint Bridget of Sweden

Also known as
· Birgit of Sweden
· Birgitta of Sweden
· Birgitta of Vadstena
· Bridgid of Sweden
· Brigida of Sweden

memorial
· 23 July

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Our saint today was the daughter of one of the greatest landowners in Sweden, and descendants of the Swedish royal house.

Bridget’s pious mother died when she was just twelve years old, five years after Bridget began to receive supernatural visions of the Crucifixion. At age thirteen, Bridget was given away in an arranged marriage to a prince. She did her royal duty and became the mother of eight children, including Saint Catherine of Sweden.

After her husband’s death she pursued a religious life, for which others harassed her at the court. She eventually renounced her title of princess and became a Franciscan tertiary and a Cistercian.

Bridgid’s revelations given her in her visions, became hugely popular in the Middle Ages. She founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior (Bridgettines) in 1346, originally for men and women, later only women. It is a contemplative order centered on the passion of Christ; they have real whacky habits…the most distinctive feature being a crown adorned with 5 red jewels for the wounds of Christ on top of the old style “penguin” veil. It is still around today. She became counselor to Popes and, along with Catherine of Siena, encouraged the Pope to return the Holy See to Rome from France.

She is one of the six patron saints of Europe…(Catherine of Sienna, Edith Stein, Benedict, Cyril, and Methodious).

Died
· 23 July 1373 at Rome, Italy of natural causes

Patronage
· Europe
· Sweden
· widows

Representation

· abbess in Brigittine robes with a cross on her forehead, and holding a book and pilgrim’s staff
· book
· head and cross
· nun enthroned, with Christ above her and hell below, while she gives books to the emperor and kings
· nun giving a book to Saint Augustine
· nun in ecstasy before the crucifix with instruments of the Passion nearby
· nun reading, holding a cross, with builders in the background
· nun with a cross on her brow witnessing the Birth of Christ, which she saw in one of her visions
· nun with shells, a sign of pilgrimage, sewn on her habit
· nun writing with a pilgrim’s equipage nearby
· nun writing with an angel hovering over her shoulder, often whispering in her ear
· nun writing while Christ and the Virgin appear before her
· pilgrim’s staff
· small child at the Scourging of Christ, which she saw in one of her visions

Mary Magdalene

 

DONT GRAB ME!!!!

Saint Mary Magdalene

Also known as
· Maria Magdalena

Feast
· 22 July

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We have very little solid information about our Saint today, and both scholars and traditions differ on the interpretation of what we do know.

Some stuff we do know:

• She was a friend and follower of Jesus.
• She was the first disciple to see and interact with the Risen Lord....she was sent to go and tell the Apostles; making her the Apostle to the Apostles.
• St Clement says she is the penitent woman who was filled with sorrow over her sin, she anointed Christ, washed his feet with her hair.
• Jesus exorcised seven demons from her. She was visited by the Risen Christ.
• Popular tradition, as depicted in all the movies you see about Jesus passion, death and resurrection, assumes Mary M. is the adulteress woman who was brought before Jesus and was spared because no one was willing to cast a stone at her as they were all sinners. This is not at all clear, even though I always assumed this was who she was….

There are also arguments about her life after the Crucifixion:

• The Greek Church maintains that she retired to Ephesus with the Blessed Virgin Mary and lived there the rest of her life.
• A French tradition says that Mary, Lazarus, and some companions came to Marseilles, France, evangelized and converted the whole Provence region, and then retired to live 30 years as a penitent hermitess at La Sainte-Baume. In this tradition we assume our saint is the same Mary as Lazarus’ sister as in Martha and Mary. Who knows? Frankly I think I believe the Greeks with this one…the dopey hats? Not so much.

Oh, there are some additional things we do know for certain:

• Mary wasn’t Jesus’ wife or mistress,
• she wasn’t the mother of His child,
• she didn’t found a royal dynasty or separate branch of Christianity, as propounded by the virulent anti Catholic author of the Da Vinci Code.
• The “Gospel of Mary Magdalene” was a text written in the 4th century by a group of Gnostics. The Gnostics were a sect of mystics in existence before and after Jesus life. They tried to dovetail the popular Jesus teachings into their own. Among other things they believe that the God of the Old Testament is NOT the One True God. Neither the church nor anybody suppressed this specific writing and all other writings by the Gnostics. I personally own a copy of these heretical “Gospels” published in 1922, most biblical scholars have always known of them. Let’s remember that these popular bestsellers written and turned into moves are fiction.

The accounts of her death are widely divergent as well. The Eastern Church says she died in Ephesus of natural causes her relics were transferred to Constantinople in 886 where they remain today.

A much more complicated French tradition says as she lay on her death bed, nine angels carried Mary to the oratory of Saint Maximinus in Aix where she received communion and then died of natural causes. She was interred in an oratory constructed by him. In 745 her relics were moved to save them from Saracen invaders. After this, at some point they were moved to a shrine at her hermitage on La Sainte-Baume. In 1814 the church on La Sainte-Baume, which was wrecked during the anti-Christian excesses of the French Revolution, was restored, and still has the head of the saint, where it allegedly is today. Frankly…I think the Eastern tradition is more plausible…..No I will not become a fan of the dopey hats they wear.

Until 2016, Mary Magdalene was celebrated on this day as a Memorial. But on Friday 10 June 2016 the Vatican announced that effective immediately, Pope Francis has raised the liturgical celebration to the dignity of a Feast, the same rank given to the liturgical celebration of the Apostles. Long overdue in my opinion. So the takeaway with this is: if you pray the Divine Office today you need to do the Psalms from week 1 for Morning Prayer with the interminable Canticle of Daniel….bless the Lord.

Patronage
· against sexual temptation
· apothecaries
· contemplative life
· contemplatives
· converts
· glove makers
· hairdressers
· hairstylists
· La Magdeleine, Italy
· penitent sinners
· penitent women
· people ridiculed for their piety
· perfumeries
· perfumers
· pharmacists
· reformed prostitutes
· tanners

My favorite reading concerning our saint today is from the New Testament: Luke 24: 5 “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here…..He is risen!” Isn’t that what it’s all about after all?  

Wastrada

Today is the feast of Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church. We did him last year. It is also:

Saint Wastrada

memorial
21 July

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Our Saint for today was the mother of Saint Gregory of Utrecht. After he moved out in service to Holy Mother Church Wastrada became a nun. Empty nest syndrome probably

Died
c.760 of natural causes

Justus Barsabas

Maybe the guy on Jesus right side is our saint.....

Saint Justus Barsabas

Also known as
Barsabbas
Joseph Basassas
Joseph Justus
Joseph of Barsabas
Joseph the Just
The other guy
Not Matthias
The most unlucky fella in Christiendom

memorial
20 July

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Our Saint for today was a disciple of Jesus, in fact he was a disciple of Jesus from the beginning. When the apostles got together after the resurrection to chose a replacement for Judas as mentioned in Acts, there were two such candidates with the same resume; Matthias and Justus. The lot fell to Saint Matthias who is numbered among the 12 Apostles. Our saint for today fell into obscurity. He must have been a martyr, as most early missionaries of our faith were, but no one recorded how this happened, no one recorded anything else he did, he is basically forgotten. He may have gone on to become Bishop of Eleutheropolis, a small town at the time, legend there says he did.

In the novel, The Robe, Justus is chosen as a guide for Tribune Gallio in his research into what happened after the crucifixion. In the Novel at least, Gallio notices Justus was always looking for someone as if he expected to meet this person at every intersection…that person he waited for expectantly was, of course Christ.

Died
1st century

Representation
child holding stones
child holding loaves of bread
child blowing bubbles

Arsenio

Hi Gang.   Sorry for the long delay, retirement is good for me and I was just taking advantage.   I'm back, but I still request your occasional patience if I don't update the saint with my usual regularity:

Saint Arsenio

Also known as
Arsenius
Arsenius the Great (little fast and loose with the great appellation in my opinion)

memorial
19 July

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Our saint today was a Deacon and a tutor to the sons of Emperor Theodosius the Great.

When the emperor’s sons grew up and had no further need of the tutoring provided by Arsenio he became a disciple of Saint John the Short; the little guy in the brown robes.

He may or may not have later worked with Eddie Murphy and had a talk show but this information may be apocryphal.

Died
c.450 and much earlier in the Nielsen’s