December 5 John Almond b. 1577 d. 1612 John Wonder-Worker d. 750 Sabas d. 439

John and Thommy

Good morning
I love you

Continuing saga of hooky….
Two John saints [Almond and Wonder Worker] on December 5, 2007, today. Plus, the Saint Sabas, namesake of the monastery to which John of Damascus retired….


St. John Almond
December 5 b. 1577 d. 1612

The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. Well, we have many more canonized martyrs of England! And many many more who have not received canonization – men, women, and children persecuted and killed for one reason only; they were Catholic. [you know that feeling; these martyrs, especially the anonymous ones offer you courage, just open the door to your confirmation forces.] There’s an amber alert commercial on the radio these days that is a litany of names of kidnap victims with a voice over of ‘it’s not about statistics, it’s about responding to the horrific experience of the abductees and doing something about it.’ Well, In 1970, Forty representative martyrs were selected for canonization – and canonized for our wellbeing and edification not for theirs. A gift from the church to us.

Henry VIIIth (crowned 1509) [try the song by Herman’s Hermits] married (1509), with special dispensation by the Church, his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, who gave us Mary (1516) …. Henry later married Jane Seymour (1536) [without benefit of annulment from Catherine], who gave him a son, Edward. So, when Henry VIII died, the church state schism was personified by the two claimants to the throne. Edward ruled from 1547-1553 (age 10-16) as a Protestant. Mary’s forces brought her to the throne until 1558. She tried to eradicate the persecution of Catholics and reinstitute Catholic supremacy in the secular realm – in ways that lost her the support of the people and the royalty. That brought Elizabeth I to the throne until 1601, who re-protestantized the country; trying to minimize the persecution of Catholics. Until, the Pope declared her an illegitimate monarch [declaring that her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, a Catholic, was the rightful heir] – he also proclaimed that Catholics in England had an obligation to replace Elizabeth with Mary. Religious freedom, religious tolerance, were lost in the continuous struggles for royal supremacy in England - - torturously complicated by the political alliances and agendas promulgated by the Pope.

Here is the list of the forty representing the untold thousands of martyrs inflicted on the Church for over a hundred years (1535 – 1679) in England: Those marked with an asterisk (*) are Welsh, the others English.

Religious Orders (monks, friars, etc.):
Carthusians: John Houghton, Augustine Webster, Robert Lawrence, 1535;
Brigittine: Richard Reynolds; 1535.
Augustinian friar: John Stone; 1539.
Jesuits:
Edmund Campion, 1581;
Robert Southwell, Henry Walpole, 1595;
Nicholas Owen, Jesuit laybrother, 1606;
Thomas Garnet, 1608;
Edmund Arrowsmith, 1628;
Henry Morse, 1645;
Philip Evans*, David Lewis*, 1679.
Benedictines:
John Roberts*, 1610;
Ambrose Barlow, 1641;
Alban Roe, 1642.
Friar Obervant, John Jones*, 1598;
Franciscan, John Wall, 1679.
Secular Clergy:
Cuthbert Mayne, 1577;
Ralph Sherwin, Alexander Briant, 1581;
John Pain, Luke Kirby, 1582;
Edmund Gennings, Eustace White, Polydore Plasden, 1591;
John Boste, 1594;
John Almond, 1612;
John Southworth, 1654;
John Lloyd*, John Plessington, John Kemble, 1679.

Laymen:
Richard Gwyn*, poet and schoolmaster 1584;
Swithun Wells*, schoolmaster, 1591;
Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel and Surrey, died in prison (poisoned?) 1595;
John Rigby, household retainer of the Huddleston family, 1600.

Laywomen:
Margaret Clitherow, wife, mother, and schoolmistress, 1586;
Margaret Ward, for managing a priest's escape from prison, 1588;
Anne Line, widow, "harborer of priests", 1601.

But, obviously, I digress…
Back to John Almond….

John Almond was born in Allerton, near Liverpool [think Beatles]. His family moved to Ireland where he went to school. Along the way, John Almond responded to his priestly vocation.

John Almond went to Reims then, at age twenty, on to the English College in Rome where he was ordained in 1598. John Almond’s academic accomplishments were extraordinary – top of his class with honors and all that – an accomplishment I wish we were aspiring to – without such a goal it will not be achieved; and our talents will not be fulfilled, our potential not realized; we will have fewer, many fewer, than the ten thousand coins God is looking for us as an entry fee….

A man with the credentials and the gifts to be bishop or cardinal was called to the English Mission. John Almond was first arrested in 1602, having survived in service for four years. He was warned off his efforts but embraced his vocation to serve the Catholics in England. John Almond was imprisoned in 1608, released, and arrested again in 1612. Life in Tyburn Prison is infamous. As much as his captors tried to dissuade him from his beliefs, even torture him for recantation, John Almond sustained his faith and defended it eloquently.

With the Holy Name on his lips, John Almond was hung, drawn, and quartered.

One of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. A native of Allerton, England, he was educated in Ireland and then at Reims and in Rome. After his ordination in 1598, he returned to England as a missionary, and was arrested in 1602. John was imprisoned in 1608 for a time and arrested again in 1612. He was hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn.






St. John the Wonder-Worker
December 5 d. 750

Like John Damascene, John the Wonder Worker was a defender of sacred images against the decree of Emperor Leo V the Armenian. Unlike John Damascene, John the Wonder Worker was not a high official in the court of the Saracen.

John the Wonder Worker was the Bishop of Polybatum. As much as the Emperor wanten to persecute even execute this mighty thorn in his side, John the Wonder Worker was responsible for so many miracles that he had not only the support of people high and low, he probably scared the heebie jeebies out of the Emperor.

With or without court support, know that you are a wonder worker in the hands of God. Defend your faith with your life, with how you live and how you die.





St. Sabas
December 5 439

Sabas was born in Mutalaska, near Caesarea to an army officer. Roman officers posted to the hinterlands not uncommonly acquired great wealth and property – apparently Sabas’ father had a substantial estate. When his father was posted to Alexandria, he left Sabas with his uncle. When he was eight [that is eight years old, today’s second grader], he ran away from his uncle’s abusiveness and went to another uncle. The two uncles fought over custody of the child – actually fighting for control of his estate. Sabas ran away from both of them to a monastery near Mutalaska.

Sabas’ uncles eventually reconciled and wanted him to marry. Sabas remained in the monastery and in 456 went to Jerusalem into a monastery under St. Theoctistus.

In 469, Sabas became hermit under St Euthymius. [Choose your teachers with care and purposefulness.] After Euthymius’ death, Sabas spent four years alone in the desert near Jericho.

Despite his desire to be alone [a desire I empathize with deeply], his holiness and erudition attracted disciples. He formed a community aka laura, like in fran’s daughter, in 483. His now 150+ monks wanted a priest in their community and persuaded Sabas to accept ordination in 491.

Word spread. Disciples came from Egypt and Armenia. Sabas was responsible for several hospitals and another monastery. The Patriarch appointed him archimandrite [chief hermit in Palestine].

Sabas was selected to petition the Emperor Anastasius I to end his persecution of orthodox bishops. His delegation was unsuccessful and supported Elias of Jerusalem [not the sports book guy] when the Emperor exiled him. Sabas was at the lead in opposition to Eutychianism, Origenism, and monophysitism: a strong supporter of orthodoxy [someone not such not likely to be canonized, right?] and persuaded many led into the –isms to return to the church.

In the Catholic Encyclopedia we get for Origenism: not so much Origen's theology and his teachings but a number of doctrines, rightly or wrongly attributed to him, and which by their novelty or their danger called forth at an early period a refutation from orthodox writers. They are chiefly:
Allegorism in the interpretation of Scripture
Subordination of the Divine Persons
The theory of successive trials and a final restoration.

Eutychianism and Monophysitism are usually seen as a single heresy for all those who, like Eutyches, rejected the orthodox expression "two natures" of Christ.


In 531 (at 91), Sabas made one more effort to plead with the Emperor, now Justinian. He asked the Emperor to protect the people of Jersualem from revolting Samaritans who were harassing the city. Sabas died soon after returning from this journey.

Sabas is considered the founder of Eastern Monasticism. [maybe a paper on Benedict and Sabas would be a worthy effort. Their lives. Their writings. Their influence today. Their importance for us in our humble daily journeys.] The laura he founded, aka monastery, is honored as the preeminent Laura of the day – as such or noteworthy as such, the Laura attracted many disciples and was the wellspring for many saints. One’s legacy for generations…. Each person you touch, each institution you effect impacts for generations like a pebble tossed into the lake ripples further and further for a long long time. [one reason I liked consulting in a school on behalf of one child. Surely we helped that child. And with whatever improvements we left with that teacher, we effected each of her other students, in that class and throughout her career; not to mention any impact she had on other teachers or principals…. A ripple effect, forever….]

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dad