266 comments on “Happy Nominationtide!”

1. Gregory the Great ( 540-604 ) Bishop of Rome, Monk, Deacon and Patron of Gregorian Chant. During a plague in Rome he lead a procession of laity and clergy who prayed for the end of the plague and at the conclusion of the prayers the plague was lifted. He also termed the title for future popes , Servant of the Servants of God.

2. Re: St. Roche: I forgot to say WHY I believe he should receive a nomination this year for
   Lent Madness. During this time of the pandemic, here is a saintly soul who cared for the
   victims of the plague, became infected himself ( with the thigh scars to prove it), and was
   healed with the help of a dog who licked his wounds and brought him sustenance as well.
   At this time in 2020 when the world is faced with a type of plague, I am finding sustenance
   from my 3 dogs who bring me laughter, get me out walking them, provide warm fur for
   petting and the companionship of unconditional love that only dogs and other animals can
   bring in a time of solitude. Each of us are in our own forest during the pandemic. St. Roche
   shows us that healing miracles can come from social distancing and the love of a good dog!
   And, the uncle shows that in death there can be forgiveness and reconciliation of wrong
   doings.

   1. I second the nomination for St. Roch. For all the above reasons. That he healed others after his recovery parallels the use of immune globulin from folks that recovered from coronavirus.

3. Henry Budd. The first indigenous person ordained an Anglican priest.

4. I am nominating St. Damien of Molokai, who is a worthy patron saint of plague and quarantine, and who did not socially distance himself from the lepers he was called to love and serve until his own death from the disease.

   1. Ditto

   2. I love his (Damien's) statue as one of the two Hawaiians honored in the U. S. Capitol - perhaps the only saint honored there?

5. Egeria. I first read about her in a prior Lent Madness and was inspired to read her writings about her travels to the Holy Land in the 4th century. Her observations of the liturgical year are detailed and faithfully recorded.
   I love knowing that a woman's observations, primarily written to share with other women, support our liturgical worship to this day.

6. Fr. Hiram Kano - a survivor of the internment camps of WWII, his steadfastness of faith in the face of real prejudice and his desire for the well being of those he served, was an example by which people were able to see light in the midst of darkness

7. Jonathan Myrick Daniels, a saint in the Episcopal Church USA. He attended Virginia Military Institute and later Harvard Episcopal Divinity School. In 1965 , he was murdered (August 20, 1965). by a shotgun-wielding special county deputy, Tom Coleman, who was a construction worker in Hayneville, Alabama, while in the act of shielding 17-year old Ruby Sales.

   1. I second the nomination of Jonathan Myrick Daniels!

8. Zita of Lucca

9. Paul Carlson, physician, missionary to the Congo, martyr.
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Carlson
   The Covenant Church doesn't formally name saints, but they do name foundations, and the Paul Carlson Medical Program https://www.paulcarlson.org/about-us/paulcarlson/ carries on his work in health and community development

10. Clarence Jordan, founder of Koinonia Farm in Georgia, out of which grew Habitat for Humanity. Koinonia was and is a farm community dedicated to demonstrating the love of God and its power to cross racial boundaries. It was a very risky enterprise in the 1940s when it began and for many years after. Read all about it here: https://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/witness/clarence-jordan

11. St. Catherine of Alexandria, (died c. early 4th century, Alexandria, Egypt; feast day November 25), one of the most popular early Christian martyrs and one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (a group of Roman Catholic saints venerated for their power of intercession). She is the patron of philosophers and scholars and is believed to help protect against sudden death.
    My Junior Altar Guild was named after her because she was also the patron saint of girls.

12. Saint Anne - mother of Mary, Grandmother of Jesus
    Why? First of all, look at that lineage!
    Secondly, I am an Anne, although I am certainly not a saint.

13. Edith Cavell. She was a British nurse in WWI. She tended the soldiers of both sides without discrimination. She also helped 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium. She was arrested for treason and executed by a German firing squad. The night before her execution she said “ Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” Her feast day in the Church of England calendar of saints is October 12.

14. Saint Etheldreda - Feast Day is June 23. She was born in 636 in Suffolk. She is mentioned by the Venerable Bede and is is honored in the Orthodox churches, the RC & Anglican Communion. And let's face it.... Etheldreda is just fun to say.

15. I nominate

    Dorothy Sayers, Apologist and Spiritual Writer, 1957

    Dorothy Sayers, best know as an author of detective novels also wrote quite prolifically about the Sacred Mysteries. She was a "copyeditor, playwright, translator, and passionate advocate of the truth of the Christian faith." LFF 2018

    Sayers produced an excellent translation of Dante's Divine Comedy with extensive notes that makes the theological allegory clear to a modern reader. She also went to great lengths preserve the rhyme scheme of the original Italian.

    Here defense of the Creedal Christianity in "Creed or Chaos?" is every bit the equal of C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity," but far less well know. She gives a brilliant and accessible defense of what she saw as the distorted and watered down version of Christianity she saw around her.

    I believe Dorothy Sayers would make an interesting Lent Madness saint as she is well known for her secular works but, like past Golden Halo winner Francis Perkins, most do not know of her deep connections to religion and faith.

16. Rosa Parks stood up for the right of blacks to sit where they chose.

    1. Thought about her and second that nomination

17. Sr. Ignatia Gavin, CSA
    Known as “The Angel of Hope” to members of Alcoholics Anonymous. She was a nurse in Akron, and later Cleveland, Ohio. Working with AA co-founder Dr Bob Smith, Sr Ignatia admitted alcoholics to the hospital for treatment at a time when hospitals refused to treat “drunks.” She founded Rosary Hall, a treatment center at St Vincent Medical Center that still operates today. She worked in this area from 1935 to 1965, and died in 1966. An overflow crowd fills St. Patrick’s Church (Bridge Ave, Cleveland) on a Saturday near each April 1st first to celebrate a memorial Mass in her honor.

18. Julian of Norwich - If ever there were a time for an anchoress to reassure us of God's love and that God is our mother and father, now seems most appropriate. from the short text:
    "for God always wants us to be secure in love, and peaceful and restful, as he is toward us. And in the same way he is disposed towards us, so he wishes us to be disposed towards ourselves and towards our fellow Christians. Amen."

    1. I also nominate Julian of Norwich - the first woman to write a book in English and a true mystic.

19. How about St Melangell: Feast Day – 27 May?
    St Melangell is the Welsh patron saint of animals. She was found Praying in a bramble thicket by a prince hunting hares when The hunted hare took shelter in her skirts. She was able to calm the hunting Hounds and the exasperated prince gave up hunting. He listened to her Tale of exile and Persecution then determined that his lands would be a sanctuary To God and for those persecuted And in exile. I found her by looking up saints of animals. She doesn’t seem to be well known but has an intriguing story I’d be very interested in seeing the bloggers tell.

20. I would like to nominate John Woolman. Problem is that he was a Quaker and the Quakers do not have saints. They won't use ANY title. But I think there was a Quaker in 2020. He is called "the Quaker saint" for his work with abolition. The Quakers, thanks to Woolman, were the first group in America to free slaves. He also helped Native Americans and merchant sailors who lived under heinous conditions where flogging and piracy were among the problems.

    I have suggested for the last two years -- and only partially in jest -- that one year ALL the saints be female and another ALL male. Or maybe just pose male against male and female against female at least in the first round. I will hear from a lot of people telling me this is silly. But I read comments closely. An amazing number of people vote because the person is female. (Rarely, if ever, because the person is male). I am a female; I was a feminist in the 60ies at the beginning of the movement. I am nevertheless annoyed at gender based voting!

21. Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) - commemorated on the Episcopal Church calendar on May 17. Graduate of Howard University Law School. Long-time Executive Director of NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, in which capacity he argued many cases before the Supreme Court, including Brown v. Board of Education. Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 1961-1965; Solicitor General of the U.S., 1965-1967; Justice, United States Supreme Court, 1967-1991. One of the foremost advocates for ensuring that the provisions of the Constitution of the United States, especially the Bill of Rights and the 14th Amendment, apply in an expansive way to all Americans.

    Lifelong Episcopalian - a member of St James, Baltimore, in his youth; long-time member of St Philips, New York City, where he served as Senior Warden; Deputy from Diocese of New York to General Convention 1964, member of St Augustine's, Washington, after moving to D.C.

22. Father Emil Kapaun. Father Emil is from a small Catholic town west of Wichita, Kansas. He was a chaplain and a prisoner of war during the Korean War. Dozens of stories of his selfless service attest to his saintly manner under horrendous conditions. He unquestionably sacrificed his health and his life to give physical and spiritual comfort to the other prisoners with no consideration of their faith or lack thereof. One of Wichita's Catholic high schools is named for him. He is in the "saintly pipeline" for Sainthood in the Catholic church. I am a United Methodist, but I know Father Emil is deserving of a Lent Madness nomination

    1. St. Polycarp. Mainly because I like the name, but I think his saint's day may be my birthday.

23. It feels like this global lockdown is a repeat of Lent, only longer, and without the good kind of Madness! I can only think of living saints at this time.

24. I thought Julian of Norwich had previously been nominated, but if not, I nominate her because she lived through the time of the Black Death and faithfully gave us visions of God's Love in Jesus.

25. Dorothy Day(feast day Nov 29 in the Episcopal Church, in process for canonization in the RCC), activist and witness to God's justice in the world. In an age where the powerful are weighing the lives of many against the economy, asserting that 'the poor will always be with us', more than ever we need to give ear to the witness who said "Surely God did not intend there be so *many* poor!"

26. James DeKoven
    Proponent of the Oxford movement . Teacher and founder
    Of Racine College. Suffered for his catholic beliefs ,
    Within the church.
    His college went on to become a center for spiritual growth in the Midwest, and
    Racial equality in the church under the guidance of the Community of St. Mary.
    Still standing as a spirituality and retreat center and artists haven.

27. I nominate Edith Stein, AKA St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Philosopher who combines Thomas Aquinas in a living fashion with Phenomenology. Also, an advocate with Rome against persecution of Jews. Also martyred at Auschwitz. Mystic, Contemplative and Philosopher

28. St. Lucia....because that is my name and I think that's a good reason.

29. I nominate St. Cuthbert also!! We have a cat named after St. Cuthbert and he said that he would really like to see St. Cuthbert in the running next year. He said he would even pose alongside a picture of St. Cuthbert and would give permission for it to be used in promotion of Lent Madness -

30. St. Andre Bessette. I will keep nominating him until he gets chosen! Literally the coolest and most underrated saint out there. He was a very sick child and they did not think he was going to live for very long. He was originally not accepted to the Congregation of Holy Cross. When he eventually joined the novitiate, became their doorkeeper. He is one of the most humble people and he had a great devotion to St. Joseph and prayed for his intercession. He became known as the Miracle Man of Montreal and thousands came to him to ask for his intercession for healing. Going to the Oratory of St. Joseph is one of the most moving experiences - one of the rooms is lined with crutches of people who were healed because of St. Andre's prayers. Truly an awesome example of servant leadership and love of God and neighbor.

    1. His chapel is the room with the crutches. I believe his heart is a relic upstairs in the main building. Very moving story - a modern day healer. God bless Fr. Andre!