Ephrem of Nisibis, Deacon and Poet, 373
The Collect:
Pour out upon us, O Lord, that same Spirit by which your deacon Ephrem declared the mysteries of faith in sacred song; that, with gladdened hearts, we too might proclaim the riches of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Ephrem was a teacher, poet, orator, and defender of the Faith.*
*The Lectionary, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Ephrem_Edessa.htm
Columba of Iona, Monastic, 597
The Collect:
O God, who by the preaching of your servant Columba caused the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland: Grant, we pray, that, remembering his life and labors, we may show our thankfulness to you by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
In the troubled and violent Dark Ages in Northern Europe, monasteries served as inns, orphanages, centers of learning, and even as fortresses. The light of civilization flickered dimly and might have gone out altogether if it had not been for these convent-shelters. Columba, a stern and strong monk from Ireland, founded three such establishments. He founded the monasteries of Derry and Durrow in his native Ireland, and the island monastery of Iona on the coast of Scotland. Iona was the center of operations for the conversion of the Scots and Picts, and became the most famous religious house in Scotland. There Columba baptized Brude, King of the Picts, and later a King of the Scots came to this Abbot of the "Holy Isle" for baptism. The historian Bede tells us that Columba led many to Christianity by his "preaching and example."*
Today, the Church remembers Melania the Elder.
Join us today, Wednesday, June 8, to learn more at St. Alban's for Holy Eucharist today at 12:10 p.m. or join all our Monroe Episcopal churches tonight for
Zoom Evening Prayer & Study - 5:30 p.m. with Father Whit+
Most High and Merciful God, who called your servant Melania to forsake earthly comforts in order to devote herself to studying the scriptures and to welcoming the poor: Instruct us in the ways of poverty and the grace of hospitality, that we might comfort those who have no place to rest and teach the way of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Melania the Elder, (born in Spain, ca. 350–died in Jerusalem before 410 or in c. 417) was a Desert Mother who was an influential figure in the Christian ascetic movement (the Desert Fathers and Mothers) that sprang up in the generation after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity a legal religion of the Roman Empire. She was a contemporary of, and well known to, Abba Macarius and other Desert Fathers in Egypt, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Saint Paulinus of Nola (her cousin or cousin-in-law), and Evagrius of Pontus. She promoted the asceticism which she, as a follower of Origen, considered indispensable for salvation.
Melania, one of the wealthiest citizens of the empire, was married at fourteen, and moved from Spain with her husband to the suburbs of Rome. Her husband and two out of three sons had died by the time she was twenty-two. She became a Christian in Rome and, leaving her son with a guardian, set off to Alexandria, accompanied by her servants, to join other Christian ascetics to visit the monks at Nitria. When persecution broke out after the death of Bishop Athanasius in 373 and many of the monks were exiled to Diocaesaraea in Palestine, Melania followed and supported them financially. She built a convent in Jerusalem, and a monastery on the Mount of Olives for the monk and theologian Rufinus of Aquileia.
Around the year 400 she left for Rome to see her son. Due to her influence, her granddaughter, known as Melania the Younger would later take up the religious life. When the Visigoths marched on Rome in 410, Melania, her daughter-in law, Albina, and granddaughter Melania and her husband fled to Sicily. They then went to Jerusalem, where Malania died around 417. *
* The Lectionary, via Wikipedia, http://satucket.com/lectionary/Melania_elder.html
Wear red and join us for “at church” or “virtually” for worship this Sunday, June 5, 2022, The Day of Pentecost: Whitsunday at St. Alban’s, St. Thomas’, St. Patrick’s, and Iglesia Episcopal La Esperanza de Familias Unidas.
Holy Eucharist, Rite Two
St. Alban’s - 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.*
St. Thomas' on the Bayou - 10:00 a.m.*
St. Patrick’s – 11:00 a.m.*
* These liturgies will be Live-Streamed on Facebook for those who choose to remain at home. Download a pdf of the leaflet to print or to use on your phone or tablet with this link - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yzzEUbnt3yfv8yKk3CSRAPNwY73U9GsF/view?usp=sharing
We hope to “see” you all on Sunday as you are most comfortable!
Rita+, Rob+ and Whit+
Art from Clip Art, Steve Erspamer, Liturgy Training Publications – ltp.org
John XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli), Bishop, 1963
God of all truth and peace, who raised up your bishop John to be servant of the servants of God and bestowed on him wisdom to call for the work of renewing your church: Grant that, following his example, we may reach out to other Christians in the love of your Son, and labor throughout the nations of the world to kindle a desire for justice and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (25 November 1881 – 3 June 1963), was elected as the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City on 28 October 1958.
He called the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) but did not live to see it to completion, dying on 3 June 1963, two months after the completion of his final encyclical, Pacem in Terris.
Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli, then Archbishop of Venice, was elected Pope, to his great surprise. After the long pontificate of Pope Pius XII, the cardinals chose a man who, it was presumed because of his advanced age, would be a short-term or "stop-gap" pope. Upon his election, Cardinal Roncalli chose John as his regnal name. This was the first time in over 500 years that this name had been chosen. John XXIII's personal warmth, good humor and kindness captured the world's affections in a way his predecessor, for all his learning, had failed to do.
Far from being a mere "stop gap" Pope, to great excitement John called an ecumenical council fewer than ninety years after the Vatican Council. From the Second Vatican Council came changes that reshaped the face of Catholicism: a comprehensively revised liturgy, a stronger emphasis on ecumenism, and a new approach to the world. *
* The Lectionary, via Wikipedia, http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/john_xxiii.htm
