Hildi
2005-09-02 16:25:37 UTC
September 2nd - St. William of Roskilde B (AC)
Died 1067.
An Anglo-Saxon priest named William became court chaplain to King Canute of
England (1016-1035) and Denmark. Journeying to Denmark with the king, he was
shocked by the ignorance, idolatry, and superstition he found. He decided
that the missionary needs of that land were enormous, and stayed there for
the rest of his life. Eventually William was named bishop of Roskilde,
Zeeland, upon the recommendation of Canute. To live on terms of great
friendship with the royal family was no easy task for a bishop who wished
also to witness to the demands of the Christian Gospel, for Canute's
successor, King Sweyn Estridsen, in spite of many good qualities, was a
headstrong, willful man who several times greatly offended against Christian
virtue.
William managed to rebuke the king--once risking his own life in doing
so--and to remain in the end the king's good friend. Sweyn Estridsen stoned
to death a number of men who, whether guilty or not, should have been
granted first a fair trial. To add to his sin, Sweyn had done this in a
church, violating its sanctuary. Saint William decreed that a person who had
shed blood unjustly could receive no sacrament of the church until he had
done public penance.
King Sweyn came to the saint's cathedral with armed men. William stood at
the door, armed only with his crozier, and refused the king entry. The armed
men drew their swords, at which the saint offered them his neck, ready to
sacrifice himself for the Christian faith. Sweyn asked forgiveness, offering
property to the church as a token of his great shame.
In his private life the king infringed the moral laws of the church by
marrying his own stepdaughter. Repeatedly William remonstrated. He sought
and received the public support of the archbishop of Hamburg. But only after
both pope and Holy Roman Emperor had also censured the king did Sweyn put
aside his unlawful wife.
Yet the two men clearly loved each other, in spite of differences. Sweyn
died first (1070). As his body was being carried to Roskilde cathedral from
its first buried site in Ringsted Abbey, the saint, clearly heart-broken,
met the cortege and himself fell dead. The bodies of both men were then
buried together in Roskilde cathedral (Benedictines, Bentley, Farmer).
Bible Verse
-- Matthew 24:39 --
. . . and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He, the Son of Man, could be here tomorrow.
<><><><>
Martyrology
At Rome, St. Maxima, martyr. Together with St. Ansanus, she confessed Christ
in the persecution of Diocletian, and was beaten to death with clubs.
At Pamiers in Gaul, St. Antoninus, martyr, whose relics are preserved with
great veneration in a church in Palencia in Spain.
Also the holy martyrs Diomede, Julian, Philip, Eutychian, Hesychius,
Leonides, Philadelphus, Menalippus, and Pantagapa. Some of these completed
their martyrdom by fire, some by water, others by the sword or by the cross.
At Nicomedia, the holy martyrs Zeno and his sons Concordius and Theodore.
At Lyons in Gaul, St. Elpidius, bishop and confessor.
At Piccno (Italy), another St. Elpidius, abbot. A town which bears his name
glories in the possession of his body. (5)
On Mount Soracte, St. Nonnosus, abbot, who moved a huge rock by his prayer
and was famed for other miracles.
On the same day, the commemoration of the holy martyrs Evodius, Hermogenes,
and Callista, brothers and sister, who underwent martyrdom at Syracuse,
Sicily. They are also commemorated on April 25.
At Lyons in Gaul, the transferal of the relics of St. Justus, bishop and
confessor, and of St. Viator who was his servant. Their birthdays occur
respectively on October 14 and October 21.
(5). Sant' Elpideo a Mare.
<><><><>
Prayer to Archangel St. Raphael:
O glorious Archangel, St. Raphael, great prince of the
heavenly court, illustrious for thy gifts of wisdom and grace,
guide of those who journey by land or sea, consoler of the
afflicted, and refuge of sinners: I beg thee to assist me in all
my needs and in all the suffering in this life, as once thou
didst help the young Tobias on his travels. And because thou
art the "Medicine of God," I humbly pray thee to heal the
many infirmities of my soul, and the ills which inflict my
body, if it be for my greater good. I especially ask of thee an
angelic purity, which may fit me to be the temple of the Holy
Ghost. Amen.
Died 1067.
An Anglo-Saxon priest named William became court chaplain to King Canute of
England (1016-1035) and Denmark. Journeying to Denmark with the king, he was
shocked by the ignorance, idolatry, and superstition he found. He decided
that the missionary needs of that land were enormous, and stayed there for
the rest of his life. Eventually William was named bishop of Roskilde,
Zeeland, upon the recommendation of Canute. To live on terms of great
friendship with the royal family was no easy task for a bishop who wished
also to witness to the demands of the Christian Gospel, for Canute's
successor, King Sweyn Estridsen, in spite of many good qualities, was a
headstrong, willful man who several times greatly offended against Christian
virtue.
William managed to rebuke the king--once risking his own life in doing
so--and to remain in the end the king's good friend. Sweyn Estridsen stoned
to death a number of men who, whether guilty or not, should have been
granted first a fair trial. To add to his sin, Sweyn had done this in a
church, violating its sanctuary. Saint William decreed that a person who had
shed blood unjustly could receive no sacrament of the church until he had
done public penance.
King Sweyn came to the saint's cathedral with armed men. William stood at
the door, armed only with his crozier, and refused the king entry. The armed
men drew their swords, at which the saint offered them his neck, ready to
sacrifice himself for the Christian faith. Sweyn asked forgiveness, offering
property to the church as a token of his great shame.
In his private life the king infringed the moral laws of the church by
marrying his own stepdaughter. Repeatedly William remonstrated. He sought
and received the public support of the archbishop of Hamburg. But only after
both pope and Holy Roman Emperor had also censured the king did Sweyn put
aside his unlawful wife.
Yet the two men clearly loved each other, in spite of differences. Sweyn
died first (1070). As his body was being carried to Roskilde cathedral from
its first buried site in Ringsted Abbey, the saint, clearly heart-broken,
met the cortege and himself fell dead. The bodies of both men were then
buried together in Roskilde cathedral (Benedictines, Bentley, Farmer).
Bible Verse
-- Matthew 24:39 --
. . . and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and
took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He, the Son of Man, could be here tomorrow.
<><><><>
Martyrology
At Rome, St. Maxima, martyr. Together with St. Ansanus, she confessed Christ
in the persecution of Diocletian, and was beaten to death with clubs.
At Pamiers in Gaul, St. Antoninus, martyr, whose relics are preserved with
great veneration in a church in Palencia in Spain.
Also the holy martyrs Diomede, Julian, Philip, Eutychian, Hesychius,
Leonides, Philadelphus, Menalippus, and Pantagapa. Some of these completed
their martyrdom by fire, some by water, others by the sword or by the cross.
At Nicomedia, the holy martyrs Zeno and his sons Concordius and Theodore.
At Lyons in Gaul, St. Elpidius, bishop and confessor.
At Piccno (Italy), another St. Elpidius, abbot. A town which bears his name
glories in the possession of his body. (5)
On Mount Soracte, St. Nonnosus, abbot, who moved a huge rock by his prayer
and was famed for other miracles.
On the same day, the commemoration of the holy martyrs Evodius, Hermogenes,
and Callista, brothers and sister, who underwent martyrdom at Syracuse,
Sicily. They are also commemorated on April 25.
At Lyons in Gaul, the transferal of the relics of St. Justus, bishop and
confessor, and of St. Viator who was his servant. Their birthdays occur
respectively on October 14 and October 21.
(5). Sant' Elpideo a Mare.
<><><><>
Prayer to Archangel St. Raphael:
O glorious Archangel, St. Raphael, great prince of the
heavenly court, illustrious for thy gifts of wisdom and grace,
guide of those who journey by land or sea, consoler of the
afflicted, and refuge of sinners: I beg thee to assist me in all
my needs and in all the suffering in this life, as once thou
didst help the young Tobias on his travels. And because thou
art the "Medicine of God," I humbly pray thee to heal the
many infirmities of my soul, and the ills which inflict my
body, if it be for my greater good. I especially ask of thee an
angelic purity, which may fit me to be the temple of the Holy
Ghost. Amen.