Today's match-up features two saintly souls with devilish potential for misspellings. Calling Phillips Brooks "Philip" is like calling Johns Hopkins "John" while spelling Catherine's home of Siena with two "n's" rather than one is like spelling Saint Monnica with one "n" rather than two. Wait, what? Anyway, there's a lot of spelling on the line in today's match-up.
Yesterday, besides hearing Lent Madness featured on NPR, Lydia sent John of the Cross to Dark Night of the Soul redux 58% to 42%. It was a bad day for snails but something tells us we'll be hearing more about escargot during the Saintly Kitsch Round when Lydia faces Basil the Great.
Phillips Brooks
A dozen years ago Ellen Wilbur, a short story writer and member of Trinity Church, Copley Square in Boston, sought out Phillips Brooks’ sermons. A search yielded fragile, incomplete copies, some of which fell apart in her hands.
“I’d never read a book of sermons in my life, and now wanted to read nothing but Phillips Brooks. There was something wondrous about the loving voice with which he spoke and the utter faith which underlay and glorified all of his preaching,” Wilbur wrote in the preface to a collection of sermons she edited in 2003 titled The Consolations of God.
Peter Gomes, the late professor at Harvard Divinity School, wrote in the book’s foreword, “Even in print, and at the remove of a century, Brooks sounds well, which is no small thing when few sermons last beyond lunchtime.”
In one sermon Brooks inspired people to serve God whatever their station in life, not least, perhaps, his wealthy Back Bay parishioners.
Strike God's iron on the anvil, see God's goods across the counter, put God's wealth in circulation, teach God's children in the school— so shall the dust of your labor build itself into a little sanctuary where you and God may dwell together.
If you are not spiritually minded, do not wait for mysterious light and vision. Go and give up your dearest sin. Go and do what is right. Go and put yourself thoroughly into the power of the holiness of duty.
All the world is an utterance of the Almighty.
Brooks seemed not to worry about the scholarly detractors who dismissed him as an intellectual lightweight. Gomes wrote, “Brooks consistently practiced biblical preaching...he understood that part of his task was to open the treasures of the Scriptures to his people; and it was his pastoral concern for the human condition and its relationship to the eternal truths of the Christian gospel that made him a biblical preacher and not merely an orator on religious themes.”
In lectures at Yale, Brooks was famous for positing that preaching is “truth through personality.” He said, “the personality of the teacher invad[ing] the personality of the scholar, bringing the personal Christ to the personal human nature.”
Brooks was a rare breed of priest: a standing-room-only preacher and a deeply caring pastor, something people of all faiths and classes recognized. In 1893, after serving only 15 months as bishop, Brooks died, and the city of Boston grieved. M.C. Ayers, editor of the Boston Daily Advertiser, wrote after his funeral, “It was the people who were quickest to discern the incomparable worth of Phillips Brooks. They knew him, flocked to him, loved and trusted him.”
As usual, it comes down to love. Brooks knew he was entirely beloved of God and thus free to bestow upon his people lavish attention and words to stir their hearts to serve God.
Brooks once said, “Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully.”
-- Heidi Shott
Catherine of Siena
Catherine of Siena, the 14th century mystic, politician, carer for the poor, and all-around saintly all-star, was an overachiever on several fronts.
She was only seven when she had her first vision of Christ, but her visions kicked into high gear when she was in her mid twenties. She received the stigmata when the crucifix she was praying in front of exploded with five red beams of light, which pierced her hand, feet and heart. That same year, she had a vision in which Jesus appeared, and seemed to exchange her beating heart for his. When she received the Eucharist, she saw the bread become the Child Jesus floating down from heaven to earth to rest in the priest's hands. Once, when she gave the usual response to receiving the host ("Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof"), she heard a voice respond, "But I am worthy to enter you." As she received the bread, she said later that her soul merged with God so that "the soul is in God and God in the soul, just as the fish is in the sea and the sea in the fish."
But all this vision-having did not make her popular with the local clergy of her time, most of whom found her befuddling, even frustrating. One Franciscan, Fr. Lazzarino, was very bothered by her, and sought a meeting to explain why she was Doing Faith Wrong. This did not go well for him, since meeting Catherine in person, and asking for her prayers, caused an acute attack of guilt that evening. He realized that he had not been following the Franciscan path as he had vowed as a youth, and he raced back to Catherine the next morning to apologize, and to give away all he owned to the poor.
As Catherine's reputation as a great persuader spread, she was sought out by popes and politicians as well -- and not just for guilt trips. She was a sought-after counsel to two popes, including Urban VI. She and Urban had such a close relationship that she would chide him frequently to curb his arrogance, and he insisted that she come to Rome to help him lead the Vatican.
After her death at age 33 in Rome, the people of Siena wanted to bring her body back home to be honored. One man from Siena tried to bring back just her head, but was stopped at the Roman gates by soldiers. He prayed to St. Catherine, and miraculously, when the bag was inspected, it had transformed into rose petals. To this day, Catherine’s head (and thumb) reside in Siena, and her body resides in Rome.
Vote!
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108 comments on “Phillips Brooks vs. Catherine of Siena”
Wow.. this was a hard choice today... wish I could have voted for both....
Me too!
"If you are not spiritually minded, do not wait for mysterious light and vision. Go and give up your dearest sin. Go and do what is right. Go and put yourself thoroughly into the power of the holiness of duty. All the world is an utterance of the Almighty." Yep!
Oh, Cynthia, I came here to vote for Catherine. And you had to repost that!
Also going for Phillips Brooks. Hard choice, but here's my rationale: Lent Madness is an Episcopal priest's creation. Brooks was an Anglican priest. Catherine was Roman Catholic. (That will no doubt bring on the comments!) Besides, the quote of Brooks is very inspiring to this parish priest and hopefully to others. I don't fully grasp stigmata nor heads and thumbs separated from the body.
Oooh...another hard choice. Went with Catherine of Siena. Imagine! A woman in the 14th century being sought out by popes for counsel! She must have had such presence, such faith. (Besides, I've seen her head and thumb and have never gotten that image out of my mind - perhaps this vote will do it.)
Tough choice. I love Brooks dearly, but had to go Catherine. How many people care for the poor AND get a Stigmata?
Tough choice. I love Brooks dearly, but had to go Catherine. How many people care for the poor AND get a Stigmata?
Duh, Francis of Assisi?
Going off topic here again......wow.....we sure do have some night owls here don't we? I just got up. It's 6:48 am here. Good morning y'all 🙂
I just broke a tie! That's a first for me on Lent Madness. If I weren't named "Katherine" (after two great-grandmothers and my mother; my niece is the fifth Katherine in our family), this would have been a harder choice.
Catherine was obviously very special but it was Philips again for me.
¡Qué horror! Body dismemberment is a terrible thing. Many Christians still today have that need to keep something from the body of the dead saint. Just look at what happened with the blood of Karol Wojtyla. Distasteful!
I guess I'm not too mystically inclined. A good, solid sermon has the potential to do more good for plain, ordinary people seeking salvation and Brooks was that rare preacher able to do just that. Catherine was just too "out there" for me this morning and I haven't had my caffeine infusion anyway, so that might account for my choice. Maybe just reading again about the good Bishop is a sign for me as I've made no spelling errors.
I had to stick with my original vote, while it's certainly not the only reason, "o little town of Bethlehem" is one of my all time favorite Christmas songs!
Hopefully this will snap my losing streak......."duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully."
Well said to put it mildly! 🙂
Brooks gets my vote. Perhaps it is because I was baptized by one of his nephews. Or that my husband was baptized in Trinity Copley Square, which Brooks helped raise up. But mostly, I think it is because of his focus on God's love and our role in taking that love out into the world.
"Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully." Brooks!
The rose petals tipped the balance, Catherine it is. Tough choice though.
No can vote. But thank you so much for sharing guidance from these two saints.
Two real saints.
What I love about both of them is that both transcended their times through inner convictions of God's reality so directly shaping their dealings with others that their gifts became contagious, enabling them to act in their wider worlds in ways otherwise impossible.
What I enjoy about the choice is the contrast of piety and scale. Phillips Brooks's encounters with the God who spoke to him in scripture grounded the assurance of God's love that made him a 'little christ' (Luther's phrase) in a definite place-- his parish in Boston's Back Bay and its wider social connections. His sermons leave no doubt of his love for the voice that he heard in the Word. In him as in other pastor-saints, we see the intensive cultivation of a small garden.
St Catherine's capacity for framing her life as participation in Christ is what drives all the rest-- her refusal of marriage, her vocation as a lay associate of the Dominicans, her theologically rich visions, her interventions in papal politics. She was an authentic ascetic cultivating an interior life, though not shy about wielding the power that this could bring in the middle ages.
There is nothing wrong with susceptibility to either contagion.
"Go and give up your dearest sin." Today I lost my head for Brooks. You understand, Catherine...
Mysticism does nothing for me. Maybe for some of you. I identify myself more as Phillips who seems more Christ the Man than Cathererine the Spirit.
How does one get to be a saint in the Episcopal Church? I understand the arduous process in the Catholic Church, but I find myself asking who canonized Bach (and some others). Nonetheless, have really enjoyed learning about holy people I have never known before.
I know Bach is on the ELCA's (and other Lutheran denomination's) calendar of saints - but we don't call it canonization. The process is similar to what is in the Episcopal Church. I believe he is on the Episcopal calendar as well.
Bach is indeed on the Episcopal Calendar as well. And Lou, if I may include in my reply to you an answer to Victor of Sturbridge: I'm sorry if you thought I was being snippy when I wrote "Probably some organist." I didn't mean it that way. I, too love Bach's music and I voted for him when he was up against Anna Cooper.
"Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully.” how can you not vote for that??
Brooks for me today. It was the quotes that did it. I will be considering anew the things I am doing. Is it duty or love?
I have read many rants about the voting in this madness. For me it goes beyond the saintly qualifications of the candidates or even learning about them and hearing the stories. For me it is which one most helps me move closer to God today - in the circumstances I find myself in today. Keep me on your path Lord.
I like that ... which moves me closer to God today. Yes.
I voted for Catherine, but I am not sad at all to see Phillips leading the race. What an inspiring duo.
I'm torn! Torn like an old choir robe.
Nice.
"so shall the dust of your labor build itself into a little sanctuary where you and God may dwell together."
"she had a vision in which Jesus appeared, and seemed to exchange her beating heart for his."
It is hard to choose between these two, but today, I'm going for the heart transplant.
Catherine was an incredible woman but ... Bringing the word to the ordinary people means much to me. And Boston! I will try to do things "beautifully"! Thank you for Brooks!
Once again, I gotta go with the mystics (of whom there seem to be quite a few in your roster), even though they usually seem to be on the losing side (e.g., most recently, St John of the Cross). Skeptics might question where the line is between mystical visions and hallucinations, but to the faithful, a vision is unquestionable. Catherine also shows how mystics, partly because of their visions, "do not go well" with the ecclesiastical authorities--another plus for one of anti-authoritarian inclinations.. (Lovely biog by Castellan. Thank you!)
“Brooks consistently practiced biblical preaching…he understood that part of his task was to open the treasures of the Scriptures to his people; and it was his pastoral concern for the human condition and its relationship to the eternal truths of the Christian gospel that made him a biblical preacher and not merely an orator on religious themes.” As good as Catherine is, how can I not vote for Brooks.
Although a 3 year LM veteran, for some reason this year I'm feeling more sensitive to the more modern saints being consistently chosen over the older ones. While I absolutely believe that we have saints in our modern lives and should venerate those people, I don't think we should favor them because we may have better (and less fantastical) information about them. After all, it takes a while for legends to build up, as well as a lack of modern communication. Levitating bread etc. aside, Catherine WAS a woman whose counsel was valued by very powerful men, and that should not be ignored.
Not to dis Phillips. My whole point is that my choice was made as something of a backlash reaction.
Having previously supported for both of these saintly souls in the earlier voting round, I was somewhat concerned with the current matchup. However, I have elected to go with Phillips Brooks whose brother, Frederick, was the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Cleveland (now in Cleveland Heights) with which I am very much involved.
Besides, I'm worried about Big Baked Beans.
And I was wondering what Brooks' supporters might use as a hashtag!
General Convention approves
Wait! I meant to say more! Okay, General Convention approves who gets on the Calendar. The procedure for this is explained in "Holy Women, Holy Men" (take note, partisans of Fred Rodgers!). Beginning on page 742 are the "Guidelines and Procedures for Continuing Alteration of the Calendar of the Episcopal Church". This describes the steps that must be taken to add a new commemoration to the Calendar of Saints. The bishop of my own diocese (Arizona) has proposed two missionaries for inclusion in the Calendar: Eusebio Kino, a 17th century Italian Jesuit, and Endicott Peabody, a 19th century Episcopal priest. They were both active in Arizona. I don't know who proposed Bach for the Calendar. Probably some organist.
Bach doesn't even have his own "day in the sun" as he shares his day with Henry Percell and Handel, July 28. Catherine of Siena has her own day April 29 as does Phillips Brooks Jan. 23. Doesn't make the choice any easier!
Traditionally, a saint is commemorated on the date of his or her entrance into the Life Eternal, which for Bach is 28 July. By this standard, Handel should fall on 14 April and Purcell on 21 November, but I'm grateful that we got them in at all!
As to the preceding rather snippy remark, "Probably some organist," yes, I'm a professional harpsichordist and organist, but my audiences, who love Bach, are mostly not organists -- just people who like to hear great music played by someone who likes to play it.
rose petals did it for me, besides at Cursillo I sat at the table of St. Catherine of Sienna, how could I not vote for her.