The readings for the Feast of St. Stephen remind us of the grim reality that suffering for the sake of righteousness is frequently a risk. We read of one of the many difficulties of the faithful prophet Jeremiah, a man who spoke truth to power when that power was dependent upon hostile foreigners. The historical record tells us that the Pharaoh of Egypt chose both the King of Judah and his regnal name, Jehoiakim. Matthew 23, set in the Passion Narrative, reminds us of some of the prophets and teachers, whom God had sent and authorities at Jerusalem had martyred. Contrary to the wishes of the author of Psalm 31, God does not always deliver the faithful from enemy hands.
St. Stephen, one of the original seven deacons, was probably a Hellenized Jew. As a deacon, his job in the Church was, in the words of Acts 6:2,
to wait on tables.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
The deacons were to provide social services while the Apostles preached and taught. St. Stephen also debated and preached, however. His speech to the Sanhedrin (Acts 7:1-53) led to his execution (without a trial) by stoning. St. Stephen, like Jesus before him, prayed for God to forgive his executioners (Acts 7:60), who, in their minds, were correct to execute him for blasphemy, a capital offense in the Law of Moses. Saul of Tarsus, the future St. Paul the Apostle, was prominent in the killing of St. Stephen. The Apostle recalled the death of St. Stephen and his role in it in Acts 22:20.
Religion, by itself, is generally morally neutral; one can be a moral atheist just as easily as one can be a moral or immoral adherent. Good religion and bad religion certainly exist. The test, in moral terms, yet not theological ones, is what kind of adherents they create and nurture. Regardless of the name of a religion or the content of its tenets, does the reality of living it make one a loving, merciful human being or a judgmental person who might be quick to execute dissenters or consent to that? This question is always a relevant one.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 17, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT PATRICK, APOSTLE OF IRELAND
THE FEAST OF EBENEZER ELLIOTT, “THE CORN LAW RHYMER”
THE FEAST OF ELIZA SIBBALD ALDERSON, POET AND HYMN WRITER; AND JOHN BACCHUS DYKES, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HENRY SCOTT HOLLAND, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER AND PRIEST
–William Allen Knight (1863-1957), “Come, My Heart, Canst Thou Not Hear It” (1915), quoted in The Pilgrim Hymnal (1931/1935), Hymn #77
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Part of the mystery of the Incarnation is its counterintuitive nature: a vulnerable baby was God incarnate. This truth demonstrates the reality that God operates differently than we frequently define as feasible and effective. Then again, Jesus was, by dominant human expectations, a failure. I would never claim that Jesus was a failure, of course.
If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;
and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;
for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,
and the LORD will reward you.
–Proverbs 25:22, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Speaking of counterintuitive ways of God, shall we ponder the advice of St. Paul the Apostle in Romans 12:14-21?
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, if your enemies are hungry, feed them, if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
—The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
That old sweet song of angels will not attune to heaven our life if we ignore this sage advice–if we fail to overcome evil with good. How we treat others indicates more about what kind of people we are than about what kind of people they are. If we react against intolerance with intolerance, we are intolerant. We also add fuel to the proverbial fire. Is not a fire extinguisher better?
As the Master said,
You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
–Matthew 5:43-48, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Perfection, in this case, indicates suitability for one’s purpose, which is, in the language of the Westminster Shorter Catechism,
to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
–Quoted in The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, The Book of Confessions (1967)
As the annual celebration of the birth of Christ approaches again, may we who follow him with our words also follow him with our deeds: may we strive for shalom on a day-to-day basis. Only God can save the world, but we can leave it better than we found it.
Above: The Murder of Zechariah, by William Brassey Hole
Image in the Public Domain
Two Stonings
DECEMBER 26, 2021
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The Collect:
Almighty God, you gave us your only Son
to take on our human nature and to illumine the world with your light.
By your grace adopt us as your children and enlighten us with your Spirit,
through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 20
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The Assigned Readings:
2 Chronicles 4:17-24
Psalm 148
Acts 6:1-7; 7:51-60
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Psalm 148 is a song of praise to God, especially in nature. The text begins with references to the created order then moves along to people in social and political contexts. Finally we read:
[The LORD] has exalted his people in the pride of power
and crowned with praise his loyal servants,
Israel, a people close to him.
Praise the LORD.
–Verse 15, The Revised English Bible (1989)
In the context of this day’s pericopes Psalm 148 functions as a counterpoint to the other readings. In them holy men of God died for the sake of righteousness. Zechariah, a priest and the son of Jehoida, also a priest, died because of his condemnation of idolatry. Zechariah said:
Thus God said: Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD when you cannot succeed? Since you have forsaken the LORD, He has forsaken you.
–2 Chronicles 24:20b, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
His punishment was execution by stoning at the Temple in Jerusalem.
Similar in tone and content is the story of St. Stephen, one of the first seven Christian deacons and the first Christian martyr. The diaconate came to exist because it was necessary. Apostles perceived the need to divide labor:
It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables.
–Acts 6:2b, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
So the deacons fed the hungry widows. St. Stephen died by stoning not because of his participation in an ancient Means on Wheels program but because of his preaching. He, like Zechariah son of Jehoida, accused his audience of having abandoned God.
These two stories end differently, though. The dying words of Zechariah son of Jehoida were:
May the LORD see this and exact the penalty.
–2 Chronicles 24:22b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
The interpretation of subsequent events in that book is that God avenged the priest (24:24). King Jehoash/Joash of Israel (reigned 836-798 B.C.E.) died after becoming wounded in a devastating Aramean invasion. His servants murdered him on his bed.
In contrast, St. Stephen prayed for his killers:
Lord, do not hold this sin against them.
–Acts 7:60b, The New Revised Standard Version (1989)
The text does not indicate what effects, if any, that had on any of his executioners. We do know, however, that Saul of Tarsus, who approved of the execution, went on to become St. Paul the Apostle. One need not stray from the proverbial path of reasonableness to say that St. Paul, pondering his past and God’s grace, to say that he regretted having ever approved of St. Stephen’s death.
The use of violence to rid oneself of an inconvenient person is sinful. To commit violence for this purpose in the name of God, presumably to affirm one’s righteousness in the process, is ironic, for that violence belies the claim of righteousness. Furthermore, there are only victims in violent acts. The person who commits violence harms himself or herself, at least spiritually, if in no other way. Violence might be necessary or preferable to any alternative sometimes, but nobody should ever celebrate it or turn to it as a first resort.
Whatever we do to others, we do to ourselves. May we pursue peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation, not revenge.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
AUGUST 22, 2015 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF JOHN DRYDEN, ENGLISH PURITAN THEN ANGLICAN THEN ROMAN CATHOLIC POET, PLAYWRIGHT, AND TRANSLATOR
All-powerful and unseen God, the coming of your light
into our world has brightened weary hearts with peace.
Call us out of darkness, and empower us to proclaim the birth of your Son,
Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 20
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 26:1-9, 12-15
Psalm 148
Acts 6:8-15; 7:51-60
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Let kings and all commoners,
princes and rulers over all the whole earth,
youths and girls,
old and young together,
let them praise the name of the LORD,
for his name is high above all others,
and his majesty above earth and heaven.
He has exalted his people in the pride of power
and crowned with praise his loyal servants,
Israel, a people close to him.
Praise the LORD.
–Psalm 148:11-14, Revised English Bible (1989)
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The Psalm for today stands in dissonance with the other two readings. Jeremiah preached the word of God–a word just in case people might repent–and they did not repent. In fact, some tried to have him executed. Centuries later, others succeeded in putting St. Stephen, who had also said much which certain people did not want to hear, to death.
The context of Jeremiah’s troubles (as 2 Kings 23:31-37) explains it, was the reign of King Jehoiakim, son of the great King Josiah. Josiah had died in 609 B.C.E., losing his life to Neco, Pharaoh of Egypt, in battle. Neco had appointed the next monarch, Jehoahaz, elder son of Josiah. Jehoahaz had reigned for a mere three months before Neco imprisoned him. Then the Egyptian ruler chose Eliakim as his Judean vassal and renamed him “Jehoiakim.” The new vassal did his lord’s bidding, collecting the required tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. (A talent was seventy-five pounds.) Jeremiah’s message from God had a political tint for people living in a vassal state without the separation of religion and government. King Jehoiakim tried to have the prophet killed, but one Ahikam son of Shaphan (Jeremiah 26:24) protected the holy man.
St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, had no such protector. He was one of the original seven deacons, whose job descriptions entailed providing social services primarily. Yet St. Stephen’s preaching, not his delivering of meals to widows, led to his death. The crucifixion of Jesus was a recent event, so anyone who spoke as boldly as St. Stephen regarding Christ did took great risks. For speaking the truth he suffered the Law of Moses-dictated death of a blasphemer. His execution had a veneer of righteousness. Some of his accusers believed him to have committed blasphemy, but sincerity did not excuse error.
Often we humans resort to violence to rid ourselves of inconvenient people who have merely spoken the truth. We wish to defend our concepts of our own righteousness, but animosity and violence reveal the truth of our lack of righteousness.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 6, 2014 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM TEMPLE, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
THE FEAST OF TE WHITI O RONGOMAI, MAORI PROPHET
THE FEAST OF THEOPHANE VENARD, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MISSIONARY, AND MARTYR IN VIETNAM
One of my fellow parishioners observed that a local radio station ceased to play Christmas music early in the afternoon one Christmas Day a few years ago. David remarked sarcastically that Christmas must have ended at that time. I know that he was sarcastic because he observes all twelve days of Christmas–through January 5.
The twelve days of Christmas, when one observes them with the assigned biblical readings for the holy days, take one on a tour through joy and abject grief, through love and hatred, through tenderness and violence. The Feasts of St. Stephen (December 26) and the Holy Innocents (December 28) function as counterparts to the joy of December 25. The whole picture tells us that God became incarnate in the form of a helpless infant born into a violent world in which people threatened his life. Young Jesus survived, of course, but others died because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness is menacing indeed. Yet, as we read in John 1:5 (The New Jerusalem Bible),
…and the light shines in darkness,
and darkness could not overpower it.
That is an excellent reason to celebrate. Merry Christmas!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 9, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARTIN CHEMNITZ, GERMAN LUTHERAN THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF BARTON STONE, COFOUNDER OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH (DISCIPLES OF CHRIST)
I collect hymnals and service books. Exploring them and finding treasures is a wonderful hobby, one which brings joy to me. And sharing those gems sheds that joy abroad. That is the rationale for my GATHERED PRAYERS weblog, which links into this one. Some hymns, however, are not prayers, so I seek and fine other venues for sharing them.
William Allen Knight (1863-1957) was a U.S. Congregationalist minister and author. Yesterday, for example, I found some books he wrote available at archive.org:
Knight also wrote the following Christmas hymn in 1915:
Come, my heart, canst thou not hear it,
Mid the tumult of thy days?
Catch the old sweet song of angels,
Join thy voice to swell their praise!
Hast thou never shared the blessing,
Never known kind Heaven’s gift?
Bethlehem thy Saviour cradled!
Heart of mine, a song uplift.
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First to hear were watching shepherds,
Sore afraid that winter’s night;
Soon their Bethlehem’s low manger
Changed the song to wondrous sight!
Ever since, all they who hear it
Find a Saviour where they dwell;
Sing it, heart! Who knows what toilers
Thou the Christward way shalt tell!
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Long ago the angels vanished–
But their song is sounding still!
Millions now with hope are singing,
“Peace on earth, to men good will.”
Sing, my heart! Tho’ peace may tarry,
Sing good will mid human strife!
Till that old sweet song of angels
Shall attune to heav’n our life.
I keep hearing about a war on Christmas. Yet I note that many, if not most, of those who speak and write at length on that subject seem oblivious to the liturgical calendar and many well-documented facts. “Xmas” is not a way to remove “Christ” from Christmas. No, “X” is an abbreviation derived from the Greek alphabet. I have, for example, squeezed “Xian” into a tiny gap when taking notes and meaning “Christian.” And I do not hear many of these self-appointed defenders of Christmas against the great secular hordes speak of Advent or twelve days of Christmas often. Thus many self-appointed defenders of tradition violate the tradition they claim to affirm. I love the irony.
Talk is cheap and frequently annoying. But keeping holy seasons quietly and sincerely is where, as an old saying goes, the rubber meets the road. We can start by dropping out of the rat race or never entering it. And we can live daily in the awareness that time is sacred–something of which the older, more formalistic Christian denominations tend to engender better than the iconoclastic schools of Protestantism.
The angels’ song is sounding still. Thanks be to God! But do we hear it over the din of pointless arguments and of hustle and bustle?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 23, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE TWENTY-THIRD DAY OF ADVENT, YEAR A
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN OF KANTY, ROMAN CATHOLIC THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF SAINT CHARBEL, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MONK
THE FEAST OF GERALD R. FORD, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
One of the great virtues of High Churchmanship is having a well-developed sense of sacred time. So, for example, the church calendars, with their cycles, tell us of salvation history. We focus on one part of the narrative at a time. Much of Protestantism, formed in rebellion against Medieval Roman Catholic excesses and errors, has thrown the proverbial baby out with the equally proverbial bath water, rejecting or minimizing improperly the sacred power of rituals and holy days.
Consider, O reader, the case of Christmas–not in the present tense, but through the late 1800s. Puritans outlawed the celebration of Christmas when they governed England in the 1650s. Their jure divino theology told them that since there was no biblical sanction for keeping Christmas, they ought not to do it–nor should anyone else. On the other hand, the jure divino theology of other Calvinists allowed for keeping Christmas. Jure divino was–and is–a matter of interpretation. Lutherans, Anglicans, and Moravians kept Christmas. Many Methodists on the U.S. frontier tried yet found that drunken revelry disrupted services. Despite this Methodist pro-Christmas opinion, many members of the Free Methodist denomination persisted in anti-Christmas sentiment. The holiday was too Roman Catholic, they said and existed without
the authority of God’s word.
Thus, as the December 19, 1888 issue of Free Methodist concluded,
We attach no holy significance to the day.
–Quoted in Leigh Eric Schmidt, Consumer Rites: The Buying and Selling of American Holidays (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), page 180. (The previous quote also comes from that magazine, quoted in the same book.)
Many Baptists also rejected the religious celebration of Christmas. An 1875 issue of Baptist Teacher, a publication for Sunday School educators, contained the following editorial:
We believe in Christmas–not as a holy day but as a holiday and so we join with our juveniles with utmost heartiness of festal celebration….Stripped as it ought to be, of all pretensions of religious sanctity and simply regarded as a social and domestic institution–an occasion of housewarming, and heart-warming and innocent festivity–we welcome its coming with a hearty “All Hail.”
–Quoted in Schmidt, Consumer Rites, pages 179 and 180
Presbyterians, with their Puritan heritage, resisted celebrating Christmas for a long time. In fact, some very strict Presbyterians still refuse to keep Christmas, citing their interpretation of jure divino theology. (I have found some of their writings online.) That attitude was more commonplace in the 1800s. The Presbyterian Church in the United States, the old Southern Presbyterian Church, passed the following resolution at its 1899 General Assembly:
There is no warrant for the observance of Christmas and Easter as holy days, but rather contrary (see Galatians iv.9-11; Colossians ii.16-21), and such observance is contrary to the principles of the Reformed faith, conducive to will-worship, and not in harmony with the simplicity of the gospel in Jesus Christ.
–Page 430 of the Journal of the General Assembly, 1899 (I copied the text of the resolution verbatim from an original copy of the Journal.)
I agree with Leigh Eric Schmidt:
It is not hard to see in this radical Protestant perspective a religious source for the very secularization of the holiday that would eventually be so widely decried. With the often jostling secularism of the Christmas bazaar, Protestant rigorists simply got what they had long wished for–Christmas as one more market day, a profane time or work and trade.
–Consumer Rites, page 180
I affirm the power of rituals and church calendars. And I have no fear of keeping a Roman Catholic holy day and season. Thus I keep Advent (December 1-24) and Christmas (December 25-January 5). I hold off on wishing people
Merry Christmas
often until close to Christmas Eve, for I value the time of preparation. And I have no hostility or mere opposition to wishing anyone
Happy Holidays,
due to the concentrated holiday season in December. This is about succinctness and respect in my mind; I am not a culture warrior.
Yet I cannot help but notice with dismay the increasingly early start of the end-of-year shopping season. More retailers will open earlier on Thanksgiving Day this year. Many stores display Christmas decorations before Halloween. These are examples of worshiping at the high altar of the Almighty Dollar.
I refuse to participate in this. In fact, I have completed my Christmas shopping–such as it was–mostly at thrift stores. One problem with materialism is that it ignores a basic fact: If I acquire an item, I must put it somewhere. But what if I enjoy open space?
I encourage a different approach to the end of the year: drop out quietly (or never opt in) and keep nearly four weeks of Advent and all twelve days of Christmas. I invite you, O reader, to observe these holy seasons and to discover riches and treasures better than anything on sale on Black Friday.
Pax vobiscum!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 25, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SQUANTO, COMPASSIONATE HUMAN BEING
THE FEAST OF JAMES OTIS SARGENT HUNTINGTON, FOUNDER OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY CROSS
–Martin Luther; translated by William James Kirkpatrick
Yesterday I sang in my parish choir’s performance of the Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah. We dropped “His yoke is easy and his burden is light,” culminating instead in the Hallelujah Chorus. The concert was glorious and spiritually edifying for many people.
There are still a few days of Advent left. So I encourage you, O reader, to observe them. Then, beginning sometime during the second half of December 24, begin to say
Merry Christmas!
and continue that practice through January 5, the twelfth and last day of Christmas. And I encourage you to remember that our Lord and Savior was born into a violent world, one in which men–some mentally disturbed, others just mean, and still others both mean and mentally disturbed–threatened and took the lives of innocents. Names, circumstances, empires, nation-states, and technology have changed, but the essential reality has remained constant, unfortunately.
The Hallelujah Chorus, quoting the Apocalypse of John, includes these words:
The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.
That is not true yet, obviously. But that fact does not relieve any of us of our responsibilities to respect the Image of God in others and to treat them accordingly. We must not try to evade the duty to be the face and appendages of Christ to those to whom God sends us and those whom God sends to us. We cannot save the world, but we can improve it. May we do so for the glory of God and the benefit of others.
May the peace of Christ, born as a vulnerable baby and executed as a criminal by a brutal imperial government, be with you now and always. In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
DECEMBER 17, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF MARIA STEWART, EDUCATOR
THE FEAST OF EGLANTYNE JEBB, FOUNDER OF SAVE THE CHILDREN
THE FEAST OF FRANK MASON NORTH, U.S. METHODIST MINISTER
–Psalm 148:11-12, The Book of Common Prayer (2004)
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Why do the righteous experience persecution? That question gets to the point of human priorities of the negative sort. Sometimes we humans know that doing x is wrong and do it anyway, so those who point this fact out to us prove terribly inconvenient and annoying. And, on other occasions, we mistake evil for good, so we think that we are working righteousness when the opposite is true. Self-delusions and corrupt cultural influences can explain much of that. And there is the deeper question of violence, especially that committed for allegedly righteous purposes. The stoning of St. Stephen, whose feast this is, was consistent with the penalty for leading people astray, according to the Law of Moses. But he was not leading people astray.
The Wisdom of Solomon lection wrestles with the reality of righteous people dying prematurely. God delivered them from wickedness, the text says. The fact of such persecution does not mean that God does not watch over the holy ones, it tells us. In other words, God is still all-powerful and will win in the end. And, in Acts 7:59-8:8, God worked mightily through the church despite human attempts to disrupt the nascent movement. God won.
It is difficult to hear that what one has assumed to be true, good, and righteous–from the Temple System to slavery to racial segregation to a host of other offenses–is actually neither. Such an epiphany, should it dawn upon one, would disorientate one spiritually. Courageous people correct their courses. Merely tolerant ones reject the message yet refrain from committing or supporting reprisals against critics. And small-minded, frightened people resort to violence to confirm their delusional notions of righteousness or approve of such violence on the part of others.
But God will win. Thanks be to God!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JULY 18, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, ANGLICAN DEAN OF WESTMINSTER AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF BARTOLOME DE LAS CASAS, WITNESS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
I maintain a holy family shrine in my abode. This shrine has increased in size lately, mainly due to the addition of objects–bookmarks, Christmas cards, and various three-dimensional images of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, or two or more of them. Some of these additions are items new to me, but mostly the growth of the shrine has been a matter of rearranging and repurposing items I have had for some time. One of my favorite images in the shrine is of Joseph and his young son. Such iconography is less common than images of Mary and Jesus. I have plenty of the those but only one of Joseph alone with Jesus.
Joseph was in a delicate situation. Yet he risked shame to spare Mary’s life. And whispers followed Mary, Joseph, and Jesus for years, as the Gospels reflect. But Joseph made the correct decision, and the triumph of God has endured to this point in time.
From the time of birth each of us has a set of purposes to complete in this life. We can summarize them accurately and broadly as glorifying and enjoying God, living compassionately, and leaving our area of the planet better than we found it. The particulars will vary according to our circumstances, or course. May we focus on fulfilling our purposes from God and on encouraging each other, in doing the same, not on spreading rumors and questioning each other’s legitimacy. There are no illegitimate people, whatever we may know or think we know about their parents’ timing. We all have the same divine Mother and Father, who is God, beyond all human metaphors.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
FEBRUARY 16, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT NORBERT OF XANTEN, FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS, SAINT HUGH OF FOSSES, SECOND FOUNDER OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIANS, AND SAINT EVERMOD, BISHOP OF RATZEBURG
THE FEAST OF CHARLES TODD QUINTARD, EPISCOPAL BISHOP OF TENNESSEE
THE FEAST OF JANANI LUWUM, ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP OF UGANDA
ADVENT, CHRISTMAS, AND EPIPHANY DEVOTIONS 
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