668 comments on “Nominationtide has arrived!”

1. Cleopas is my nominee. "Did not our hearts burn within us?" It is well that we learn about and think about matters of faith so that we can speak of faith to others, as did Cleopas and the other disciple. Good information lacks life and may only end with more questions than answers without our awareness of the movement of the Spirit within us and our sense of Christ's enduring relationship with us. "Did not our hearts burn within us." the moment when all he knew transformed into all he became for Cleopas.

2. I nominate Dorothy Day. Here are a few reasons: https://www.catholicworker.org/dorothyday/dd-interesting-facts.html.

3. I nominate St. Hubert the Hunter. He is the patron of metalworkers and my daughter is a metalworker. That is my logic in nominating him. Check him out on the wiki.

4. I nominate the Rev. James Solomon Russell. Born in slavery, he educated himself, became a priest, and rose to become archdeacon in the diocese of Southern Virginia. He rode around on horseback, establishing churches for black people throughout southern Virginia. He founded 37 churches, plus St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA. He was appointed suffragan bishop in Alabama, and in North Carolina but refused each offer, both because the job would only allow him to be bishop of black people, and because it would remove him from his church planting work in Virginia. He has an incredible legacy, and he's hardly remembered.

5. I nominate Mechthild de Magdeburg. Because she said, "Stupidity is sufficient unto itself. Wisdom can never learn enough."
   Her thoughts on compassion are perfect for America in 2019.
   "If you love the justice of Jesus Christ more than you fear human judgment then you will seek to do compassion. Compassion means that if I see my friend and my enemy in equal need, I shall help them both equally. Justice demands that we seek and find the stranger, the broken, the prisoner and comfort them and offer them our help. Here lies the holy compassion of God that causes the devils much distress."

6. St Herman of Alaska was a gentle monk of great compassion who came to Alaska from Russia at about the time of the American Revolution. He defended the Inuit women who were taken as concubines by Russian fur traders. Even today the Inuits simply call him “Father Herman”.

7. Hildegard von Bingen, known as the first extant female composer, started her own convent, preached throughout her area, taught holistic living, encouraged sustainable living. "I am a feather on the breath of God."

8. Christina Mirabilis (the Astonishing), c. 1150-1226, vita by Thomas of Cantimpre
   Born to a modestly well-to-do family; with her two sisters, orphaned when Christina was still quite young. Died 2.5 times (the last time definitively), given a grand tour of Hell, Purgatory and Heaven in the first instance before being asked by God if she would prefer to remain dead and achieve salvation, or return to the land of the living and perform penitential acts of suffering to alleviate the miseries experienced by other souls. She lived on the margins of society in Flanders (mod. Belgium) for decades, and subjected her body to various torments. She could fly to treetops and castle parapets; she could bend her body into the shape of a hoop during her ecstasies. She begged alms, stole from people, plunged her body into fiery ovens and freezing rivers, hanged herself from gallows in sympathetic suffering with criminals bound for execution, but was also a consoler of the dying. Also predicted crusade losses, famines, and knew where each soul was destined after death. As the final clincher, subject of a New Yorker fiction piece in 2017; her life was also the basis for an episode of Nurse Jackie on Showtime, and Australinan rocker Nick Cave wrote a weird song about her.

   1. Seconded!

9. I nominate St Barbara. Locked in a tower, converted, was decapitated by her pagan father who promptly was killed by lightning, causing the whole town to become Christian.... also may have been an early feminist by saying she would not be the property of any man...

10. I nominate Thersa of Avila. She has the most beautiful prayers that speak straight to my heart: “Christ has no body now, but yours. No hands, no feet on earth, but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ looks compassion into the world. Yours are the feet with which Christ walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which Christ blesses the world.” and “May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.” Theresa has a message for the people of God living today.

11. I nominate Jonathan Myrick Daniels, Martyr, 1965. It is important to know that there are modern day saints and this could also honor those who have shielded others in the horrific mass shootings that are taking place now. Plus, I came to know of Jonathan when Scott suggested him as a possibility when renaming our church in East Providence, RI.

    1. Yes! I second this! Jonathan Myrick Daniels for his witness and sacrifice.

    2. I'm a huge fan of Jonathan Daniels! I've been to the annual pilgrimage in Hayneville, Alabama, twice with high school kids from the Diocese of New York. I've nominated him before, but was so disappointed when he wasn't chosen I went another way this year (to Alaska).

12. I nominate Fred Rogers. If he is not on a saintly list somewhere he should be. This man made the world a safer and kinder place for children and parents. He is a great example of a modern saint.

    1. Seconded.

    2. Yep. The Presbyterian Church approved an overture "to observe a memorial time for the Reverend Fred M. Rogers" at its General Assembly. The rationale for the recognition of Rogers reads, "The Reverend Fred Rogers, a member of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh, as host of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood since 1968, had a profound effect on the lives of millions of people across the country through his ministry to children and families. Mister Rogers promoted and supported Christian values in the public media with his demonstration of unconditional love. His ability to communicate with children and to help them understand and deal with difficult questions in their lives will be greatly missed."[

       1. Aha! He is recognized and remembered by the Presbyterians! Saint Fred of the Neighborhood qualifies!

    3. I would like to say it would be great to see the Rev. Fred Rodgers square off with my earlier nominee of Joshua Son on Nunn in the finals.

13. I nominate the Menningers, on the Episcopal liturgical calendar for March 6. They were faithful Episcopalians but my nomination is based upon the changes that occurred in medicine, particularly in psychiatric medicine, as a result of their efforts. Human dignity was preserved and the gift of a full life returned to so many.

14. I nominate Copernicus. He is a reminder that ALL of God's creation is good and sacred. He unveiled some of the beauty of the skies. And he is a reminder that God and science offer mutual illumination.

    1. Oh, he has quite the story behind how he went from being born Jewish in Eastern Europe to being an Episcopal missionary Bishop in China. (He was a contestant in a previous edition of Lent Madness.)

       1. Ugh, this reply was suppose to go to the comment below by Joyce about Bishop Scherschewsky. And I can’t delete it. Sigh.

          1. I feel your pain. I wish you could edit and delete these things!

15. 14 Joseph Schereschewsky, Bishop of Shanghai, 1906. No particular reason except his day October 14 is my birthday and his name is hard to spell. I also wonder about his being the Bishop of Shanghai. He must have done something great in China.

    1. Can you tell us why?

       1. Although an Irishman, he established the Priory at Lindisfarne and was the first Bishop of the area. He introduced Christianity to Northern Great Britain.

    2. Oh, he has quite the story behind how he went from being born Jewish in Eastern Europe to being an Episcopal missionary Bishop in China. (He was a contestant in a previous edition of Lent Madness.)

16. St. Julie Billiart. Though she was well-educated, she had to take up manual labor when her family lost their money. She used her time working to teach the faith to her fellow workers. She became paralyzed at 30 due to the trauma of an attack she witnessed against her father. Even from bed, she continued to teach the faith. She barely survived the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, and had to be smuggled out in a hay cart. She eventually even temporarily lost the ability to speak due to the trauma. Together with Françoise Blin de Bourdon, she founded the Institute of Notre Dame to educate poor, young women and the order of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. That same year, she was cured of her paralysis. She is known as the Smiling Saint, because despite all her hardships and even when she could not speak, she smiled during prayers.

17. I nominate Villana delle Botti (1332-1361), who was venerated as a saint for her moderate piety at a time when most women saints were venerated for their extreme asceticism (c.f. Catherine of Siena). By contrast, Villana was a wife and mother whose life of piety was a ray of hope for other married women who struggled with their own spirituality in a culture that favored virginity and poverty.

18. I nominate Margaret of Castello!-a person with disabilities born to parents who cannot believe their child is not perfect and hidden away from the world. Abandoned by those parents when a visit to a Franciscan shrine for healing in Castello does not immediate remedy the disabilities. Homeless, she was embraced by the people in Castello and ultimately brought into a Dominican community where she studied and worked within ministries and lived life in the fullness of God.

19. I nominate St. Florian.
    During rehab of my 3rd floor I noticed burned wall beams but not the roof. While volunteer secretary for the Salem City NJ Union Fire Company I read in their November 30, 1868 minutes: “Made a (firefighting) run down Oak Street to the unfinished Nicholson house.”
    Our Victorian home had caught fire during construction and put out by the volunteers of Union Fire Company and St. Florian.

20. I would like to nominate St John Vianney aslo known as he Cure d'Ar.

    John Vianney had a tough time learning but kept at it and was ordained a priest. I taught kids who had learning issues and have seen many of them grow up to be successful adults. Some are teachers one is a school administrator and one has won the writers guild award more than once (he writes for ABC news and I taught him remedial writing!) I am dyslectic and was a Reading/Writing teacher! Those who struggle can achieve!

21. I nominate Saint Brendan of Clonfert. One of the 12 apostles of Ireland. Also known as Brendan the Navigator. He spread the good news and he has great name!

22. I just returned from my first visit to the Czech Republic, where I learned about my nominee, Saint Ludmila. She and her husband, the first Christian Duke of Bohemia, worked to convert Bohemia to Christianity. She raised, and acted as regent for, her grandson Saint Wenceslaus (of Good King Wenceslaus fame). Her daughter-in-law had her murdered because she was jealous of her influence. She is venerated by the Orthodox and Roman Catholics and is the patron saint of Bohemia, the Czech Republic, converts, duchesses, widows, and problems with in-laws.

23. I nominate The Venerable Bede. He is considered the "Father of English History". His ecumenical writings were extensive and included a number of Biblical commentaries and other theological works of exegetical erudition. Another important area of study for Bede was the academic discipline of computus, otherwise known to his contemporaries as the science of calculating calendar dates. One of the more important dates Bede tried to compute was Easter, an effort that was mired with controversy. He also helped establish the practice of dating forward from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini – in the year of our Lord), a practice which eventually became commonplace in medieval Europe. Bede was one of the greatest teachers and writers of the Early Middle Ages and is considered by many historians to be the single most important scholar of antiquity for the period between the death of Pope Gregory I in 604 and the coronation of Charlemagne in 800.

24. Jonathan Daniels, an Episcopal seminarian killed August 20, 1965, aged 26, in Haynesville, Alabama. He was working in the civil rights movement, and he jumped in front of a shotgun blast that had been aimed at his 17-year-old African-American friend, Ruby Sales. He laid down his life for his friends, literally and completely. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Daniels which says he's "venerated" in TEC and the Anglican Communion.

25. I nominate St. Francis Solano (16th century). He was a Franciscan friar who practiced strict habits of poverty. After much ministry in Spain, he was sent to South America where he was an effective evangelist among the indigenous peoples. He has a wonderful church and monastery dedicated to him in Lima Peru. One tale of his life is that he entered a gathering one Christmas Eve and played his fiddle with such joy that soon everybody there was dancing and celebrating. I am nominating him in memory of my sister who used to enjoy Lent Madness but who died in December 2018. She loved St. Francis Solano, and I hope they're dancing and celebrating together in heaven!

26. I nominate Vida Dutton Scudder, Educator and Witness for Peace, celebrated in the Episcopal church on October 10. She taught literature at Wellesley College and supported striking textile workers in 1912, stating: "I would rather never again wear a thread of woolen than know my garments had been woven at the cost of such misery as I have seen and known past the shadow of a doubt to have existed in this town. ... If the wages are of necessity below the standard to maintain man and woman in decency and in health, then the woolen industry has not a present right to exist in Massachusetts."

27. I nominate Mary Magdalene, Apostle to the Apostles. Nuff said.
    But I love her next to Martha of Bethany.
    Mary deserves the Golden Halo no less!

28. I nominate Paul of Tarsus, the original badass Christian.
    ( if my nomination of Mary Magdalene was posted, I take it back - poor reading on my part!

29. I nominate Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard's deep spirituality was bound in mystical experience, visions and sound theology. She was able to work with people at a deep spiritual level as a musician and healer, integrating organic and spiritual medical practices that are still credible to this day. Hildegard's spirituality was so profound that she was respected by the male ecclesiastical structure of her time. Her ability to present spiritual reality in a receivable way is a voice crying in the wilderness to the force that is used today for social change. Hildegard's work was transformational beyond the level of social work on the egoic level which direction the church of today has seemed to attach itself (I am a Master's level licensed social worker so I see this from the inside). Hildegard worked with people from the inside out, not merely the outside in. Her inner work was the source of transformation for the multitudes.

30. I nominate Thomas Cranmer, slightly squidgy, politician and martyr. He exemplifies the best of Christianity, which is overcoming our human imperfections through faith. He is the father of the Book of Common Prayer, the great compromise between public acclamation and private belief.