JUNE JEWELS OF WISDOM

What wonders I see before me as I gaze at my garden.

May showers have most certainly brought forth June

flowers.

Each day is a new surprise.

As the peonies slip their petals to the ground, French Iris bursts forth.

Purple, yellow and red of every genre seems to POP from all directions.

OH JOY!

I sit on my back porch and muse over the vast expanse of fields and flowers.  

I linger awhile after spending several hours picking thistle from under lush perennials and take a moment to reflect on scripture or learn about another saintly person who helped to strengthen the foundation of my Christian faith.

I see God’s presence all around me  . . .  in the garden blooms, in scripture that brings new perspective to my Christ centered life and through so many who have given their lives totally to God in Christ.

EnJOY these June Jewels of Wisdom.

1 June 2019 

 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.”  Galatians 5:22-26

6-2  Seventh Sunday after Easter
Although Ascension day was Thursday, churches also acknowledge that day on Sunday if there was no special service May 30.  Amish and many Mennonites take Ascension day off from work and go to church (always on a Thursday) because this is the most important celebration of Jesus Christ besides Resurrection Sunday.
Athanasius (296-373 A.D.) was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to noble Christian parents. He received an excellent education in theology, philosophy, rhetoric, and law, which he directed to the service of God. He made great progress in both wisdom and virtue, and made a spiritual retreat in the Egyptian desert with Anthony the

Great. Athanasius became the Bishop of Alexandria and served in that role for 46 years. 

He tirelessly and courageously devoted most of his life to defeating the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. When the majority of his fellow bishops were Arian heretics, which threatened the integrity of the whole Church, Athansius stood firmly and almost single-handedly against their error using his philosophical knowledge, theological wisdom, rhetorical skill, and strength of spirit. Despite having the support of several popes, he suffered great trials, scandals, and persecutions at the hands of his doctrinal enemies, and spent much of his life in exile. 

He was a participant in the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. and did much of the theological work which supported the condemnation of the Arian heresy and the formulation of the Nicene Creed.  [He wrote the Athanasian Creed which is much longer than the Nicene Creed but is a thorough affirmation of faith.]  Athanasius is known as one of the greatest champions of Christian doctrine to have ever lived, earning the title, "Father of Orthodoxy." Athanasius was later declared a Doctor of the Church.

6-3  "Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; whoever puts faith in it will not waver.”   Isaiah 28:16

6-4  Baptismal water was not the only holy water. Some was permanently retained at the entrance to Christian

churches where a clerk sprinkled the faithful as they came in and, for this reason, was called hydrokometes or "introducer by water", an appellation that appears in the superscription of a letter of Synesius in which allusion is made to "lustral water placed in the vestibule of the temple".   This water was perhaps blessed in proportion as it was needed, and the custom of the Church may have varied on this point. Balsamon tells us that, in the Greek Church, they "made" holy water at the beginning of each lunar month. It is quite possible that, according to canon 65 of the Council of Constantinople held in 691, this rite was established for the purpose of definitively supplanting the pagan feast of the new moon and causing it [the feast] to pass into oblivion.

6-5 "O Lord, you are my God, I extol you, I praise your name; For you have carried out your wonderful plans of old, faithful and true.”  Isaiah 25:1

6-6  Winston Churchill’s famous line, “Never forget; never, never, never forget.”

He is so right.  The reason we commemorate major dates is so we do not forget them, or those who gave their lives so that we can live in a country that is free to remember the brave.  Thus, today we celebrate the 75th anniversary of  D-Day.  In the military, D-Day is the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. During World War II, on June 6, 1944, the day of the Normandy landings in France the Western Allied forces initiated an effort to liberate western Europe from Nazi Germany.  Nearly 100,000 military and civilians’ lives were lost
during that war but the U.S. is still free to worship according to each individual’s belief and freely speak out or peacefully demonstrate.

"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

6-7  St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604 A.D.), also known as St. Austin, was prior of a monastery in Rome before being called by Pope Gregory the Great to be a missionary to the British Isles. The Pope received word that the pagans of Britain would embrace the faith in great numbers if priests were sent to teach them, and previous missionaries had been unsuccessful in the holy endeavor. 

In order to realize the Pope's desire to evangelize

the island, Augustine set out on a new quest at the head of forty monks in 596 A.D. When they arrived in France they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons. Out of fear, Augustine returned to Rome and asked the Pope to release him from the mission. Pope Gregory encouraged Augustine in his task and sent him back. 

  When the monks landed in Kent they were treated kindly. The King of Kent himself accepted baptism and set up a residence for St. Augustine in Canterbury. There, Augustine established a church and monastery as the center of his apostolic mission.   Although his labor among the pagans was slow and difficult, his work bore much fruit and England eventually became a Christian nation. Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury, England, and is known as the "Apostle of England."

6-8  "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 2:3-5

6-9  Pentecost Sunday   “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind,

and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”   Acts 2:1-4

6-10 Anselm (1033–1109) was born into a noble family in the Lombardy region of Italy. The example of his pious mother led him to great faith, and he sought to enter the monastery at age 15.  However, the abbot refused him due to Anselm's stern father. After his mother's death

Anselm left home and settled in Normandy to study under the direction of a famed monk named Lanfranc. Upon the death of his father, Anselm became a Benedictine monk at the age of 27. Due to his brilliance, Anselm became a teacher at the abbey's school and prior of the monastery. He went on to become the most learned theologian, philosopher, and mystic of his generation, the greatest since St. Augustine of Hippo. Anselm's fame led to his appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury in England, succeeding Lanfranc in this office, where he went on to correct abuses against the Church at the hand of the English kings. Twice he was banished from the island while appealing to Rome for assistance, and twice he returned to Canterbury to carry on his duties until his death. His abilities as an extraordinary theologian, negotiator, and statesman greatly supported the cause of the Church.

     As archbishop he continued his monastic lifestyle and intellectual pursuits. He composed several philosophical and theological treatises, as well as a series of beautiful prayers and meditations, which led him to be proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Clement XI in 1720.

6-11   Today we celebrate 31 years of marriage, a loving union that gets stronger each year, and it’s because of our union with Christ Jesus. 

I was born at St. Barnabas hospital and worked for a time at St. Barnabas church.  God led us to be married on this date but at the time I had no idea that the feast of St. Barnabas was celebrated on this same day.

St. Barnabas (1st c.) was a Jew from the island of Cyprus who was given the name Joseph at birth. A convert to the Christian faith in Jerusalem, he sold his property and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles alongside Paul the Apostle and Mark the Evangelist, who was Barnabas’ cousin. 

He was given the surname Barnabas, meaning 'Son of Exhortation' and was highly esteemed among the Christian leaders at Jerusalem and Antioch, almost ranked among the 12 Apostles themselves.  Luke said of him in the book of Acts, "for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of Faith." 

It was Barnabas who vouched for the genuineness of Paul's conversion and had him accepted as a Christian by

the other Apostles. Barnabas famously disputed with Paul over bringing Mark along on their missionary journey. Paul did not want Mark to come because Mark had deserted him on a previous mission.  Barnabas insisted that Paul give Mark another chance, which caused the two famed preachers to part ways and travel separately as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul, Barnabas and Mark were later reconciled. Barnabas was eventually stoned to death around the year 61 A.D. 

6-12   “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”  Colossians 1:15-17

6-13  Justin Martyr (100–165 A.D.) was a pagan philosopher from Samaria. After meeting a Syrian

Christian who convinced him that the biblical prophets were more trustworthy in the pursuit of truth than worldly philosophers, Justin renounced his paganism and studied Sacred Scripture. The bold witness of the early Christian martyrs led to his own conversion to the Christian faith.  He traveled throughout Asia Minor teaching, arguing, and persuading others to accept baptism and follow Christ, before arriving in Rome where he settled and started his own school. Justin was arrested for his faith in Rome and ordered to make sacrifice to false gods, which he refused. He was martyred by beheading along with several of his students. St. Justin Martyr is famous for writing the Church's first "Apology," or defense of the Christian faith, showing that Christianity was superior to the pagan religions, and that Christians were model citizens and should not be mistreated. His writings are a prime source of the history of the primitive Church.

6-14  Flag Day.  On June 14, 1777, the Second Continental

Congress passed a flag resolution stating: “Resolved, that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.”

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39

6-15  St. Bede (672–735 A.D.), also known as the Venerable Bede, was born to a wealthy family in England. At the age of seven he was sent to the Benedictine monastery to be educated by the monks. He discerned a vocation to the monastic life, and devoted himself to prayer and to the study of Sacred Scripture and Church history. After being ordained at the age of thirty, he

went on to become a prolific writer and teacher. He was considered to be a genius and was widely famous for his theological works and knowledge of ecclesiastical history. 

     He was also well-versed in all the natural sciences known in his day, making him an extraordinary scholar whose influence spread throughout Europe for centuries. During his life he was also considered to be a saint, and his writings were so filled with heavenly wisdom that a Church council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches. Bede was given the name Venerable not long after his death, and centuries later was named a Doctor of the Church. 

6-16  First Sunday after Pentecost - Trinity Sunday
Father's Day.
The "community" of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as One.  The Church . . .  called too be One.  The family is a reflection of the same community.  "Husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the Church [us]" . . . be willing to lay down your life for spouse and family.  We, the Church, the people who profess to be followers of our Triune God, are called to give our all . . .  our lives . . . with the same love that has been given to us . . . God's Grace . . . so that we might live resurrected lives.
 John 16:14-15   “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” 
John 16:14-15

 6-17   “Just as you do not know how the life breath enters the human frame in the mother’s womb, So you do not know the work of God, who is working in everything.”  Ecclesiastes 11:5

6-18  St. Boniface (d. 754 A.D.) was born to a noble

Christian family in Devonshire, England. He became a Benedictine monk and devoted his life to the evangelization of the pagan Germanic tribes in what is now Germany. He went there at the request of Pope Gregory II in 719 A.D. and systematically opened up the vast tracks of wilderness to the Gospel, building on the work of the earlier Irish missionaries. St. Boniface organized the Christian Church [Catholic] in Germany, instructed the faithful, and converted the pagans. He became the bishop of Mainz and founded or restored many dioceses. 

Working alongside him as evangelists were his

nephews and niece, St. Willibald, St. Winebald, and St. Walburga, who all came from England to Germany to assist him. Legend has it that at Christmastime he chopped down a large tree which was worshiped as a god and used in child sacrifice, and the local pagans converted to Christianity as a result. Instead of worshiping the tree, St. Boniface gave them a smaller evergreen tree as a symbol of eternal life in Christ, the origin of the Christmas tree tradition. He was martyred for his faith along with 52 others as he read the Scriptures on Pentecost Sunday. St. Boniface profoundly influenced the course of German history in the Middle Ages and helped to make it a Christian nation. For his missionary work he is known as the "Apostle of Germany." 

6-19  "And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their

deeds may not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”  John 3:19-21

6-20  “As St. Paul points out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary. He told us to be not only ‘as harmless as doves’, but also ‘as wise as serpents’. He wants a child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim.”  C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity

6-21 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”  Ephesians 2:8-10

6-22  “The most deadly poison of our time is indifference. And this happens although the praise of God should know no limits.   Let us strive, therefore, to praise him to the greatest extent of our powers.”   Maximilian Kolbe, Army Chaplain who died aiding soldiers in WWII

6-23  2nd Sunday after Pentecost  “Then people came

out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. . . ” Luke 8:35 

Faith is the proof of what cannot be seen. 

What is seen gives knowledge, not faith.   St. Gregory the Great

6-24 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it."  Matthew 7:13-14

6-25  Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a powerful yet pious family. At age 15 he relinquished a life of nobility, wealth, and honor, and chose instead to serve God with the Augustinians.   

 

Years later he witnessed the dead bodies of Franciscan friars martyred by Muslims passing through the town where he was stationed. Filled with renewed zeal to follow Christ even more completely after the example of these martyrs, St. Anthony joined the Franciscan order and traveled to Morocco to preach to the Moors. 

However, his poor health shortened his mission and he was forced to return to Italy. There he lived a largely quiet and secluded life, spending his time in prayer, study, and priestly duties. 

No one had any idea of St. Anthony’s giftedness as a preacher and teacher of theology until one day he was called upon to be a substitute preacher. He amazed everyone in attendance with his depth of knowledge and oratory skill. He then became the foremost preacher of the Franciscans and was sent to preach against the heretics and the vices of the day. His zeal and effectiveness as a preacher earned him the title "Hammer of the Heretics." Anthony of Padua was known for his holiness and miracles, and he was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1946.

6-26   "But now that you have been freed from sin and

enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 6:22-23

6-27  “I think all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at first to be all about morality, all about duties and rules and guilt and virtue, yet it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond. One has a glimpse of a country where they do not talk of those things . . . Every one there is filled full with what we should call goodness as a mirror is filled with light.”     C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

6-28  “He is the head of the body, the church; he is the

beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”   Colossians 1:18-20

6-29  "Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in its Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King. Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre. For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with victory.”  Psalm 149: 1-4

6-30 Third Sunday after Pentecost: We remember Peter and Paul, considered Saints, were martyred in Rome for their Christian faith, traditionally on the same day.  The Vatican Cathedral of St. Peter is built over St. Peter’s grave.  The Church of St. Paul, also in Rome, was built over St. Paul’s grave. 

“Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.  Prayer for this day from the Book of Common Prayer.