Today in the Saintly Smackdown, we encounter a 19th century Canadian missionary and a 3rd century Roman martyr, as Henry Budd faces Cecilia. Will the entire nation of Canada rise up to vote for one of their own? Or will Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, strike a chord? Only the next 24 hours and your vote, will tell!
In yesterday's matchup, Moses the Black defeated John Wycliffe 65% to 35% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen where he'll face the winner of Raymond Nonnatus vs. John of Nepomuck.
Oh, and in case you missed yesterday's stirring edition of Monday Madness, watch it here. Tim and Scott give shout-outs to parishes and schools who are all in for Lent Madness 2017 (send us your photos!), discuss the importance of the comment section, and invite viewer mail. Yes, YOUR QUESTION for the SEC could be answered in an upcoming episode. Submit them via Facebook or Twitter.
Henry Budd
Sakachuwescam (Going-Up-The-Hill) was born to Cree parents in what is now Manitoba, Canada. He was baptized in 1822 by an Anglican missionary, who gave him the name Henry Budd (Budd is thought to be the surname of Henry’s father). Budd, his wife Betsy, and their children, as well as extended family moved to the Red River area where he taught at St. John’s parish school and served as a lay minister in the church. Budd proved a capable and enthusiastic teacher and a dedicated Christian serving the Cree community.
His success at St. John’s eventually led Budd to move with his family to W’passkwayaw (The Pas). He built a house church and held regular worship services. In June 1842, John Smithurst (another Anglican missionary) was overjoyed to see the result of Budd’s dedicated ministry: baptisms of 39 adults, 27 infants, and 22 schoolchildren. Pretty impressive numbers!
Budd was tutored and mentored by other clergy in the area, including Bishop David Anderson. Budd was ordained to the diaconate on December 22, 1850—the first person of First Nations ancestry to be ordained in the Anglican tradition in North America. Ordained a priest three years later, Budd served in Saskatchewan until 1867 and then resumed his previous ministry in The Pas. That same year, the local ministry board recommended reclassifying The Pas from a missionary station to one requiring a priest, preferably a First Nations pastor. Four previous English missionaries had failed to establish any thriving mission, complaining of “lack of evangelistic opportunities.” For all his success and exemplary ministry, Budd was paid half of what white missionaries in the same position made.
Budd was an eloquent preacher in Cree and English. His missions exhibited the highest standards of good management, self-sustainability, and outreach to the community. He translated the Bible and The Book of Common Prayer into Cree. He remained at The Pas until his death in 1875. His legacy includes the Henry Budd College for Ministry in Canada, which seeks to form Indigenous people for Christian ministry in the Anglican Church in Canada and to further the Christian expression of faith within the traditions of First Nations’ cultures and languages.
Collect for Henry Budd
Creator of the light, we thank you for your priest Henry Budd, who carried the great treasure of Scripture to his people the Cree nation, earning their trust and love. Grant that his example may call us to reverence, orderliness and love, that we may give you glory in word and action; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Cecilia
Cecilia harkens from the second century in Rome. Like many of the ancient saints, she is found somewhere in the mix of truth, legend, myth, and fiction. Whichever pieces of the story are “real,” they combine for a compelling picture of faith, belief, and devoutness to God’s calling.
Born to a wealthy Roman family, Cecilia was betrothed to a man named Valerian. Her family wanted her marraige to strengthen the bonds between the two families. Cecilia did not listen, instead insisting that she heard a chorus of angels calling her to a life of chastity and virginity. In the days before her wedding, Cecilia prayed, fasted, and sang, imploring God to protect her virginity. God sent an angel to protect Cecilia on her wedding bed. She told her husband that if he tried to consummate their marriage, the angel would smite him. Valerian could not see the angel, so Cecilia instructed him to walk to the third milestone on the Roman road, Via Appia, where his eyes would be opened. True to Cecilia’s word, an angel appeared to Valerian and his brother, and in short order, both converted to Christianity and were baptized. The brothers dedicated their lives to burying martyrs of the church who were persecuted by the local Roman officials.
While Valerian and his brother tended the dead, Cecilia preached and encouraged more than 400 souls to dedicate their lives to Christ. Her fervor attracted the wrath of the local prefect, and Valerian and his brother were executed, with the presiding prefect ordering Cecilia to be killed as well. They attempted to drown her. Then, they tried to burn the building down around her. An executioner was summoned by the prefect to behead her, and though he struck her three times, Cecilia remained in possession of her head. Three days later, she succumbed to her wounds and was buried by Pope Urban.
About 1,300 years later, in 1569, the church exhumed her body and found it to be incorrupt—without decay, the first saint to be found in such condition. The feast of Saint Cecilia is celebrated on November 22. Cecilia is the patron saint of music, in commemoration and honor of the heavenly chorus she is said to have heard each time she prayed to know and do God’s will in her life.
Collect for Cecilia
Saint Cecilia, heroic martyr who stayed faithful to Jesus your divine bridegroom, give us faith to rise above our persecutors and to see in them the image of our Lord. We know that you were a musician, and we are told that you heard angels sing. Inspire musicians to gladden the hearts of people by filling the air with God’s gift of music and reminding them of the Divine Musician Who created all beauty. Amen.
UPDATE This morning at about 11:45 EST, we became aware of voting patterns that are against the rules of Lent Madness. We discovered some 546 votes for Cecilia cast from a computer in Austin, TX, apparently at St. Andrew's Episcopal School (according to IP address databases). These votes have been removed, and the address in question has been banned. Please remember: vote once only! If you can encourage your friends to vote, that is wonderful. But do not attempt to cheat the system by using a single computer to vote multiple times. Big Lent is watching.
UPDATE AGAIN: A student has admitted gaming the system, apology has been accepted, and we've restored voting to the school in question. Please don't try to cheat. It's Lent, for Pete's sake!
[poll id="176"]
375 comments on “Henry Budd vs. Cecilia”
I cannot believe Cecila is losing, lets cross our fingers and hope she comes out on top!!
And still she persisted
"like"
But so did Henry+, but for only half the pay.
Cecilia has long been a saint honored in my lifetime. Since I sang in St. Cecilia"s
choir in the fourth grade and up until now, music brings a full expression to my faith.
Once again I go with a musician and a loser (I've voted for four losers in five days)--not just a musician but the patron saint of music. Appropriately, several composers have done an Ode (or hymn) to St Cecilia--Handel (poem by Dryden), Purcell, Britten (poem by Auden), several others. Part of her apocrypha (although I'm leery of apocryphas) is that her head actually was cut off, but continued singing and praying for several days.
How I love Lent Madness! I'm once again learning so much about these fascinating, powerful Saints. Cecilia is my girl! Nice write up, Anna.
As a church musician and opera singer, I have to vote for my patron, St. Cecilia. I wear a necklace pendant daily with her image and the inscription "Saint Cecilia pray for us." For her dedication and influence to musicians in the church, many who have written hymns and service music under her prayerful patronage, this is why I voted for her. #AndStillShePersisted
I voted for Henry Budd because my cousin Oliver would have voted for him Im not sure where he is today
Mia,
I am cancelling out your vote. Cecilia for me. Because I know her.
C'mon all you musicians.. Cecilia all the way!
Lovely and revered Cecelia is a myth, however beloved the story. Henry Budd was a real person. First Nations are still in need of such prophets and priests. And yes, it is time to turn from myth and honor real saints. Chi miigwetch (big thank you) to the SEC for putting up a native saint.
Hadn't heard of Henry Budd but thought his story was wonderful. He got my vote today.
This was a tough choice. I went with Budd because I too often default to ancient saints. Sorry, Cecilia!
Henry Budd is a REAL PERSON! The neurologic off Cecelia is fascinating, but let's vote for the actual person who has a form historical existence.
Martyrology...is apparently not in my smartphone's dictionary. Go figure 🙂
Maybe your phone isn't very smart.
While tempted to vote for a mystical woman of Rome I must give Henry Budd the vote as an indigenous missionary on the British frontier.
Thank you for Lent Madness. Every year I am reminded of what a great discipline this is, because over the year I remember the fun and the education of it and forget the thoughtful reflection it provokes in me. Good job.
THe United Church of Canada has been ordaining women since 1936. Many of them were sent to the mission fields of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The winters are brutal and travel Sunday by Sunday sometimes risky and always an adventure. they (women), were often sent to small and remote parishes. Henry Budd, at the Pas would see the extremes of winter, on a map it is far north, even for Canadians.For endurance in the faith he matches Cecilia, for overcoming obstacles he matches Cecilia, he is a Aboriginal First Nations indigenous pastor, and most of all a Canadian! He gets my vote!
Henry Budd. A lifetime of inspired service with people who'd been pushed to the margins. I'm glad to learn about him. Cecilia...though I'm a singer and honor her as the patron saint of music, and I'd bet the core of her story is real, I'm not a fan of angels being called to smite people who are making love especially within the context of marriage.
Easy choice for me this morning after spending several weeks this summer participating in an indigenous ministry program at the Vancouver School of Theology. However, Cecelia is getting her revenge as the refrain "Oh Cecelia, you're breaking my heart" keep looping through my head now.
It's those failed Beheading attempts that I simply cannot vote against.
I voted for Henry Budd because he seemed to show extraordinary faithfulness in the face of a discriminatory church. The Red River area would have been populated by the Metis who would be mainly catholic but Henry Budd was faithful to his Anglican teaching despite losing his name and probably his childhood to Anglican missionaries. A product of forced boarding school removals perhaps? He seemed to be able to find God in all this inequity and left the Cree a prayerbook in their language, a gift for the ages!
I think he was a little before the boarding school time. I'm not sure about Canada, but I know that they didn't start in the U.S. until around 1870, well after Henry was ordained. Maybe one of the Canadians among the commenters know if Canada had them as early as the 1820s or 1830s.
It doesn't say how old he was when he was baptized in 1822. Maybe he was old enough to have a say about his baptismal name. Maybe Laurie can look into how old he might have been at baptism and report back when he comes up in the next round.
A quick check on Google seems to suggest that Canadian Indian residential schools were around in a scattered kind of way since the early 1800s or even before then but they were not compulsory until 1884 under the Indian Act. So his parents must have agreed for him to be at this Church Missionary Society school. His birthdate is given as circa 1812 so perhaps he did choose his own name!
The tally has been tightening all morning- guess the musicians are waking up? I cast my vote early for Henry Budd and am hoping he can still go up this hill.
In honor of leadership by First Nations people (Native Americans in the Lower 48), especially Sacred Stone protests, and reality vs. myth - Henry.
Pretty sure I've voted for Cecilia every year. She's been my patron, as it were, since I was a small child, so it's always been in the "yay Church music" mode of voting. Gossamer imagery aside, her fierce evangelism and faith in the face of brutal Empire might be precisely what we need right now.
This appears to be a close one and I am glad. I voted for Cecilia as someone whose response to God's dramatic and demanding call on her life inspired others to come to Christ. I always wondered who Valerian was. Her intact body on being exhumed is pretty inspiring to me 2000+ years later.
It's hard to vote against a First Nations priest, but I had to vote for Cecilia in honor of my mother (who was named for her) and in honor of all choirs everywhere that sign to the glory of God!
This was a tough one. I wanted to vote for Budd, but St. Cecelia is the patron saint of music. My ministry in the church is music. I had to vote for her.
Voted for Budd's known work vs legend, myth and fiction. Also we supported the good work of a Native American church in our neighborhood in Minnesota. (Anglican missionaries got there before the Lutherans.)
Have you read "Lincoln's Bishop" about the first Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota? If not I highly recommend it.
I love Lenten Madness but am left wondering this year, "Where are the women?" There seem fewer women in the line up this year though I applaud the organizers' efforts to include more saints from other historically underrepresented groups this year. Tomorrow is International Women's Day and this is very much on my mind. It is Cecilia for me!
I had to go with Henry Budd, first because of my love for indigenous cultures (in the past, missionaries have committed crimes against such cultures, seeking to obliterate them out of fear of "heathen superstition") and second because of the issue of pay equality (there is no such thing as a lesser person), so with respect to the latter it was Henry Beard Delany all over again! I'm sure this will be a close contest, however, and I will be content with whichever saint moves ahead.
I, too found it hard to vote against a First Nations priest, but the church musician in me cannot help but vote for our patron saint, Cecilia. St. Cecelia for the Golden Halo!
Sorry St Cecilia, I love you but I have to go with Henry. He is Canadian, and he was a teacher at St John's Parish School.