Saints For Our Times - Week OneMary (344-421) and Anthony (251- 356) of Egypt

Development of idea of Saint- "Hagion"/"Sanctus"/Holy- who is a saint?

Are you surprised?....Development of Prayers of the Hours, in the desert, etc., and

celebration of feasts, of Saints, Lives of Jesus and Mary (Liturgical Calendar)- e.g. Mary of Egypt Sunday on 5th Sunday of Lent on

Orthodox Calendar (April 2 this year- cf. oca.org & goarch.org)- "Church" (ekklesia-

assembly, council, community / koinonia- fellowship, intimate collection) can,

and does, happen, every day, every hour, not just on Sunday

morning! leitourgia- the people's work,

worship

Different types of monasticism- ermetic (Mary and Anthony), anchorite (Julian or Norwich (14th cent. England)), skete (Mt. Athos), cenobitic (Benedict and Scholastica (6th cent. Italy)),

ascetic / mendicant (John the Baptist, Jesus, Francis & Clare (12-13th cent. Italy))

Questions: Is your way of living monastic at all? -What is your vocation- what is God calling you to do and to be? -Do you know anyone like Mary and Anthony, et. al., that give up everything- wealth, possessions, family- to live their vocation? -What times of the day/week do you make to pray/live prayer?

Closing Prayer- Liturgy of the Hours - universalis.com or http://commonprayer.net

INTRODUCTIONO God, come to our aid.

O Lord, make haste to help us.Glory be to the Mother and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Canticle - Benedictus(cf. Zechariah's Prayer, Luke 1:67-79)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.

She has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of her servant David,

as she promised through the mouth of the holy ones, her prophets through the ages:

to rescue us from our enemies, and all who hate us,to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant

and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us,

that we could serve her without fear

– freed from the hands of our enemies –in uprightness and holiness before her,

for all of our days.And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:

for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven.

Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us

to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death;

to lead our feet in the path of peace.

Saints For Our Times - Week Two

Peter Waldo/Waldensians (12th cent., France & Italy), and Beguines & Beghards (12th-

16th cent., Germany and BeNeLux), such as Mechthild of

Magdeburg (13th cent. Germany)

The constant drive to re-form- didn't start with Luther! cf. Francis & Clare (12th-13th cent. Italy), John Wycliffe (14th cent. England)

& Jan Hus (14th-15th cent. Bohemia (Czech Republic)), et. al.

The constant drive for intimacy, with

God (theosis), within

community (koinonia)- cf.

Mechthild, and Julian of

Norwich (14th cent. England) & her "Showings"

Questions: Are there things you're critical of in the Christian Church- specific beliefs, practices, ways of living- that you disagree with, think could be done better?

Who/What are some other reformers and reform movements that impress and inspire you?

What ways do you try to live your faith intimately, with God and within community?

Closing Prayer- Shared Litany

All Saints and Apostles....pray for us.Holy Mary Mother of God....

Adam and Eve....Sarah and Hagar and Abraham....

Moses and Zipporah....Bathsheba and David....

John the Baptist....

Mary Magdalen....Mary and Anthony of Egypt....Benedict and Scholastica....

Clare and Francis....All Beguines and Beghards....

Mechthild and Julian....John Wycliffe and Jan Hus....All holy women and men....

All Disciples before us....All Glory be to God....Amen.

Saints For Our Times -

Week Three

Dorothy Day (1897-

1980) and Peter

Maurin (1877-1949)

Catholic Worker movement- anything similar in Lutheran context? Not all CW communities are Catholic- e.g. Open Door in Atlanta- &

most people involved in CW communities today aren't Roman Catholic

Living the Works of Mercy- cf. Matthew 25:31-46 Corporeal:

To feed the hungry.To give water to the thirsty.To clothe the naked.To shelter the homeless.To visit the sick.To visit the imprisoned, or ransom the

captive.To bury the dead.

(cf. also Isaiah 58 & Tobit 1)

Spiritual:To instruct the ignorant.To counsel the doubtful.To admonish sinners.To bear patiently those who wrong us.To forgive offenses.To console the afflicted.To pray for the living and the dead.

(cf. also Deuteronomy 15, 2 Maccabees 12, & Ezekiel 33)

Christian Pacifism- the Pax Christi- cf. Matthew 26:52, Jesus'

embrace/transformation of violence on the cross, Romans 12:9-21

Scene from "Entertaining Angels"- Dorothy meeting Peter

"Statue of a Homeless Jesus startles a wealthy community" - http://www.npr.org/2014/04/13/302019921/statue-of-a-homeless-

jesus-startles-a-wealthy-community (cf. also https://www.sculpturebytps.com/large-bronze-statues-

and-sculptures/homeless-jesus/)

Questions: What are ways you try to live the Works of Mercy?

Are any of the Works of Mercy difficult for you to live out?

Do you think Pacifism- the Pax Christi- is the way to live the Christian faith?

Closing Prayer- Hymn: Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace

Make me a channel of your peace,Where there is hatred let me bring your love,

Where there is injury, your pardon Lord,And where there is doubt true faith in You.

Make me a channel of your peace,Where there is despair in life let me bring hope,

Where there is darkness, only light,And where there's sadness ever joy.

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek,So much to be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace,It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,It is in giving to each other we receive,

And in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Week Four

Oscar Romero (1917-1980) and the women Missionaries of El Salvador- Maura Clarke, Jean

Donovan, Ita Ford, and Dorothy Kazel (+1980)

Being a Witness (martur)- we're livin' in the age of martyrs! connect to Great Commission/Great Commandment/Love

Commandment(cf. Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 12:28-31, and John 13:34)

Standing against/resisting injustice- Micah 6:8

Scene from "Romero"- Homily at Grande, et. al., funeral Mass, & subsequent scenes

Questions: How do you work to live justly in the world today? Who else do you know that lives God's justice well in the world? Christian and beyond?

Closing Prayer- Hesychia, and Jesus Prayer

(a tribute to the yurodivy (1 Corinthians 1:18-25)), cf. Psalm 46:10 and Luke 18:13

....Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

(10,000 times a day if necessary!)