reveal your glory in their lives:
make us thankful for the example
of the martyrs, missionaries and saints of this continent,
and strengthen us by their fellowship
that we, like them, may be faithful
in the service of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be all honour and glory,
now and for ever.
4 February
Gilbert of Sempringham
Founder of the Gilbertine Order
England: Commemoration
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Religious
Born in 1083 in Sempringham, the son of the squire, Gilbert became the parish priest in 1131. He encouraged the vocation of seven women of the town and formed them into a company of lay sisters. A group of lay brothers also came into being and they all kept the Benedictine Rule. Gilbert was unsuccessful in his bid to obtain pastoral guidance from Cîteaux for the incipient communities and they came under the ambit of Augustinian canons, Gilbert himself becoming the Master. At Gilbert’s death in 1189, aged 106, there were nine double monasteries in England and four of male canons only. It was the only purely English monastic foundation before the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the sixteenth century.
4 February
Manche Masemola
Martyr
Wales: V
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Martyrs
Manche Masemola lived her short life in Marishane, a small town near Pietersburg, South Africa, and was declared a martyr by the South African Church less than a decade after her death in 1928. Manche’s journey to martyrdom began when she and her cousin joined baptism preparation classes in 1927. Every time she returned, Manche was beaten by her parents. Once her mother tried to stab her with a spear. Eventually her mother stole Manche’s clothes, but she ran away naked and hid. When her mother found her, she beat Manche until she died. Manche was killed before she was baptized; however, she had predicted to her priest that she would be ‘baptized in her own blood’.
Collect
Heavenly Father,
whose child Manche [Masemola]
was baptized in her own blood
as a disciple of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ:
grant us such trust in him
that our lives may reflect his unfailing love;
through him who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
6 February
The Martyrs of Japan
or Paul Miki, Priest, and the Martyrs of Japan
England, Scotland: Commemoration
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Martyrs
Almost fifty years after Francis Xavier had arrived in Japan as its first Christian apostle, the presence of several thousand baptized Christians in the land became a subject of suspicion to the ruler Hideyoshi, who soon began a period of persecution. Twenty-six men and women, Religious and lay, were first mutilated then crucified near Nagasaki in 1597, the most famous of whom was Paul Miki. After their martyrdom, their blooded clothes were kept and held in reverence by their fellow Christians. The period of persecution continued for another thirty-five years, many new witness-martyrs being added to their number.
9 February
Teilo
Bishop
Wales: V
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Bishops
Teilo was born at Penally, near Tenby, and studied, along with David, at Paulinus’ school at Llanddeusant, near Llandovery. Legend has it that Teilo, along with David and Padarn, went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where, it is said, all three were consecrated bishops. What is more certain is that Teilo had episcopal oversight of a number of monasteries in West Wales, the chief being at Llandeilo Fawr. With the coming of the Yellow Plague in 547, Teilo fled to Brittany, staying with Samson at Dol for seven years, and founding a number of churches. Soon after his return to Llandeilo Fawr, Teilo died, three churches – Penally, Llandeilo Fawr and Llandaff – claiming his body. The twelfth century Book of Llandaff says that ‘miracles proved that Teilo’s body was undoubtedly brought to Llandaff’, and his shrine on the south side of the high altar in the Cathedral became a place of pilgrimage. Teilo is one of the patron saints of Llandaff.
Collect
Father of all,
you raise up in every generation men and women
to act as beacons of your love in the storms and perils of life:
grant that we who revere the memory of your servant Teilo
may, like him, bear witness to your fatherly care;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit
be all honour and glory
now and for ever.
10 February
Scholastica
sister of Benedict, Abbess of Plombariola
England, Scotland: Commemoration
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Religious
Scholastica is a more shadowy figure than her famous brother, Benedict. She too was born at Nursia, central Italy, around the year 480. At an early age she chose to consecrate herself to God, but probably continued to live at home. Only after Benedict moved to Monte Cassino did she settle at Plombariola nearby, joining or maybe founding a nunnery under his direction. As abbess she sought to follow his Rule, and met him each year at a house near his monastery where they would praise God together and discuss spiritual matters. She died in about the year 543. Benedict had a vision of her soul rising up to heaven and, collecting her body, he had her buried in the tomb prepared for himself. Scholastica soon became a figure for veneration
