The Lord is the king of martyrs: come, let us adore him.
Year: A(I). Psalm week: 4. Liturgical Colour: Red.
Other saints: St John of Bridlington (1319 - 1379)
Hallam, Middlesbrough
John of Bridlington was born in about 1319. His family name was Thwing and it is likely that he was born in the village of that name a few miles inland from the east Yorkshire coastal town of Bridlington – or Burlington as it was then called. As a young man he was sent to Oxford to pursue his studies, but after two years he returned home. Soon afterwards, at the age of twenty, he entered the religious life under the rule of the Canons Regular of St Augustine and joined the ancient Priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Bridlington.
Though he held various offices in his community, John was unconcerned about his own advancement being totally preoccupied by public prayer and private devotion. When first elected to the office of prior he persuaded his fellow canons to choose someone else. But in time, when the office fell vacant again, he was obliged to accept this position. He was said to be a good and considerate superior to his brethren and a man of compassion and charity to all those in need. He died in 1379 and was buried in his own priory, but already his reputation had spread far beyond the local area. After his death the fame of the miracles wrought by his intercession spread rapidly through the land, and he was canonized by Pope Boniface IX in 1404. He was the last English saint to be canonized before the Reformation.
Saint John of Bridlington was a contemplative, a man of prayer, with a particular devotion to the celebration of the Mass. Although called to public office as prior, he always remained a contemplative at heart, and at various times in his life experienced the gift of ecstasies. He was noted for his self-effacing spirit and a great virtue of humility.
Other saints: Blessed Diego Luís de San Vitores, Priest, and Saint Pedro Calungsod (-1672)
21 Oct (where celebrated)
Diego Luis de San Vitores (1627-1672) was born in Burgos Spain. At age thirteen he entered the Society of Jesus. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1651, he taught at the university, and preached retreats and missions. He volunteered for the missions, and was sent to the Philippines. In June 1668, he and five other Jesuits were sent to Guam, to establish the first Jesuit mission among the Chamorro peoples of the Marianas Islands in Micronesia. Pedro Calungsod, a teenager, was among the Catechists chosen to accompany him as sacristan, Catechists and translator. Vitores and Calungsod were brutally killed in April 1672 by the village chief of Tumon, as a result of rumours — begun by opponents of the missionaries — that the water used in infant baptisms was poisoned.
In the Philippines Saint Pedro Calungsod has his own feast on 2 April.
Liturgical colour: red
Red is the colour of fire and of blood. Liturgically, it is used to celebrate the fire of the Holy Spirit (for instance, at Pentecost) and the blood of the martyrs.
| Mid-morning reading (Terce) | Daniel 6:27-28 © |
|---|
Our God is the living God, he endures for ever, his sovereignty will never be destroyed and his kingship never end. He saves, sets free, and works signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth.
|
| Noon reading (Sext) | Romans 15:5-7 © |
|---|
May God, who helps us when we refuse to give up, help you all to be tolerant with each other, following the example of Christ Jesus, so that united in mind and voice you may give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It can only be to God’s glory, then, for you to treat each other in the same friendly way as Christ treated you.
|
| Afternoon reading (None) | Philippians 4:8,9 © |
|---|
My brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Then the God of peace will be with you.
|