10/19 John de Brebeuf

 John De Brebeuf

John de Brebeuf is one of the saints we remember today.

He was a Jesuit missionary to the Huron starting in about 1630. I guess he is most well known for having named the game of lacrosse. John thought the stick used for handling the ball looked like a bishops crozier, la crosse, and thus it has been ever since.

John had a hard time at first, especially when it came to learning the Huron language. “The Huron language will be your Aristla crosse," he wrote to friends back in France. But, the harsh climate of the Canadian frointieer agreed with him and had the effect of toughening him up a little bit.

John was such a big man that some of the Huron were reluctant to get into a canoe with him for fear that he’d sink it. Apparently, though, they respected his strength because he gained the nick-name Echon which meant load bearer.

He was martyred in 1649 in Sault Ste. Marie near Georgian Bay when the Iroquois, long-time emenies of the Huron, captured him and his companions, tortured them and then killed them. 

Before he died he composed this list of instructions to Jesuit missionaries. Good advice for working with any group of people, foreign or not.

1.    You must love these Hurons, ransomed by the blood of the Son of God, as brothers.

2.    You must never keep the Indians waiting at the time of embarking.

3.    Carry a tinder-box or a piece of burning-glass, or both, to make fire for them during the day for smoking, and in the evening when it is necessary to camp; these little services win their hearts.

4.    Try to eat the little food they offer you, and eat all you can, for you may not eat again for hours.

5.    Eat as soon as day breaks, for Indians when on the road, eat only at the rising and the setting of the sun.

6.    Be prompt in embarking and disembarking and do not carry any water or sand into the canoe.

7.    Be the least troublesome to the Indians.

8.    Do not ask many questions; silence is golden.

9.    Bear with their imperfections, and you must try always to appear cheerful.

10.    Carry with you a half-gross of awls, two or three dozen little folding knives, and some plain and fancy beads with which to buy fish or other commodities from the nations you meet, in order to feast your Indian companions, and be sure to tell them from the outset that here is something with which to buy fish.

11.    Always carry something during the portages.

12.    Do not be ceremonious with the Indians.

13.    Do not begin to paddle unless you intend always to paddle.

14.    The Indians will keep later that opinion of you which they have formed during the trip.

15.    Always show any other Indians you meet on the way a cheerful face and show that you readily accept the fatigues of the journey.

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 4/5 Many Martyrs

There are a lot of saints we can remember today. Most do not have much of a hagiography. There were abbots, bishops, lay people, a teacher, one step-mother. And one man who wound up being the patron saint of motherhood and childbirth. Weird. 

Most of the saints don't even have names, particularly the martyrs. There were the five Martyrs of Lesbos, "a large group of Christians" martyred in North-West Africa, and the 120 Martyrs of Seleucia. Absolutely no names. Yet, traditions tells us to remember them. They are important to who we are today. That's why we remember.

Of the few saints on for today only a few have much of a story to tell. One was cured of terrible headaches, one was ousted as abbot for his austerity, and one was probably crazy. One predicted their own death, but I can predict mine too. I will die. There, it's been predicted. Write it in my hagiography. 

This lack of stories set me to wondering though, not about the pious saints of old but about you and me. If you were to somehow make it to sainthood, what would your hagiography say? Go ahead and use the language of hagiography, use symbols, stories, color. Think about the message of your life and tell it in fantastical terms. How would you be remembered a thousand years on? What will those future saints think when they read your story? How will they be inspired? 

4/4  Saint Bernard The Black

Fourth Day of Easter 2024

There is a saying, “God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called.” Nowhere could this be more evident than the life of St. Benedict the Black. A layman, son of slaves, poor, and illiterate he rose to positions of leadership in two monastic communities. 

He was born in the early 1500’s to Cristoforo and Diana Manasseri, slaves in the small town of San Fratello in Italy. Their real names unknown, Cristoforo and Diana Manasseri were the Italian names given to them when they entered slavery. They later became Christians. Christoforo and Diana were such loyal servants that when Benedict was born, the child was granted his freedom. Freedom is not much, but it’s a start. And, as Saint Janice Joplin once said, it’s another word for nothing left to lose. 

With his freedom, Benedict became a shepherd and though he was poor himself, he was eager to give what he made to the poor. Benedict surely knew that not only is it better to give than to receive, but that giving cultivates within the giver a generous spirit. 

Benedict’s good-natured patience at being taunted for the color of his skin came to the attention of some local Franciscan hermits who invited him to join their independent community, and Benedict quickly accepted. He sold his few possessions, gave the money to the poor, and became the cook for the community. His intuitive grasp of theology, and obvious advancement in spiritual matters brought him to the notice of the community and he was made its leader a few years later. 

In 1564, when Pope Pius IV disbanded independent hermitages, Benedict became part of the Friars Minor and was assigned to the Franciscan Friary of St. Mary of Jesus at Palermo. Again, he started as a cook, but his spirituality was quickly recognized, and he was appointed novice master and, later, guardian of the community. Many came to him for counseling and healing. He helped the community practice a stricter form of the Rule of Saint Francis. 

Benedict never learned to read or write, he was never formally educated, and he was poor all his life. He was a most unlikely saint, or even monk. But here we have an example of one utterly unprepared being equipped by the one who called him. 

 

What are you called to do with your life today? If you aren’t sure, just look around. God tends to put your calling right in front of you, you don’t have to go looking for it. You certainly do not need a committee to “discern” it. Just do what is in front of you.  God will equip you. 

Benedict The Black
Also known as: 

Benedict the Moor
Benedict il Moro

Benedict of San Philadelphio

Benedict of Palermo

Benedict of San Fratello

Benedict the African

 

Born:   1526

Died:   4 April 1589 (natural causes)

It is said that he predicted the time and date of his death. 
When his body was exhumed it was said to have been uncorrupted.

 

Patron Saint of:

African Americans

Black People

Negros

African Missions

Palermo, Sicily, Italy

 

Many churches have been named after Benedict. In the USA:  Washington DC; Bull Bay, Jamaica; at least two in New York City; Dayton, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Savannah, Georgia; Grambling and Bertrandville in Louisiana; and Chicago, Illinois. 

 

He is especially popular in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. 

 

Beatified by Pope Benedict XIV in 1743 

Canonized by Pope Pius VII in 1807

 

When I Googled images of St. Bernard The Black, I got a lot of pictures of black Saint Bernards. Somehow, I don’t think the real Bernard The Black would mind. Enjoy. 

 

While the question today was about what you will do, even if not especially equipped for it; a secondary theme is freedom. It’s just another word for nothing left to lose. Benedict didn’t have much to lose. For much of his life he didn’t have anything at all, referring to possessions as “ours.” What might you do if you didn’t have anything to lose? And, while you think about it, enjoy this from a more recent and uncanonized saint, Janice Joplin:   

You know, any excuse to have some rock and roll.