On this day…

0483 St Felix III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1564 Cardinal Granvelle flees Brussels
1639 Cambridge College renamed Harvard for clergyman John Harvard
1656 Jews are denied the right to build a synagogue in New Amsterdam
1687 Father Eusebio Kino, 42, an Italian-born Jesuit in the service of Spain, began missionary labors in the American Southwest. In all, Kino established 25 Indian missions in the area now divided between northern Mexico and Arizona.
1735 1st US Moravian bishop, David Nitschmann, consecrated in Germany
1804 Birth of James W. Alexander, American Presbyterian clergyman and hymn writer. It was Alexander who, in 1830, rendered the English text of Paul Gerhardt’s immortal German hymn, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.”
1846 Friedrich Hebbel’s “Maria Magdalena” premieres in Königsberg
1868 Birth of Charles E. Cowman, American missionary pioneer. In 1901 he sailed to Japan with his wife Lettie (who later authored “Streams in the Desert”), where in 1910 they founded the Oriental Missionary Society.
1869 Arkansas legislature passes anti-Klan law
1904 Bronze statue of Christ on Argentine-Chilian border dedicated. “The Christ of the Andes”, a bronze statue of Christ located on the Argentina-Chile border, was formally dedicated.
1918 American Red Magen David (Jewish Red Cross) forms
1925 Tennessee makes it unlawful to teach evolution. Tennessee Governor Austin Peay signed legislation prohibiting the teaching of evolution within the state’s public school system. (A celebrated violation of this law led to the famous July Scopes Monkey Trial.)
1981 Attempt on Pope John Paul II by Mehemet Ali Agca

March 13

On this day in 1456, Johann Gutenberg first published the Bible on his printing press with movable type.

Feast Day:

St. Euphrasia, virgin, 410.
St. Mochoemoe, abbot in Ireland, 655.
St. Gerald, bishop in Ireland, 732.
St. Theophanes, abbot, 818.
St. Nicephorus, patriarch of Constantinople, 828.
St. Kennocha, virgin in Scotland, 1007.

March 13

Consortia, virgin (Translation) [GTZ: Arles]
Euphrasia, virgin [BLS; GTZ: Chur]
Gerald, bishop [BLS]
Kennocha, virgin [BLS; GTZ: Scotland]
Leo, pope, confessor [HCC]
Macedonius, bishop [WTS (Bruges); PCP (Paris)]
Mocheomoc (or Pulcherius), abbot [BLS]
Nicephorus, bishop (of Constantinople) [BLS]
Theophanes, abbot [BLS]

JAMES THEODORE HOLLY
BISHOP OF HAITI AND DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

(13 March 1911)

The First African American Bishop in the Episcopal Church & Bishop of Haiti. He was an African-American minister and abolitionist.

Born in 1829 in Washington, DC, James Theodore Holly was the descendent of freed slaves. Great Great Grandfather James Theodore Holly was a Scotsman in Maryland. He was master of several Holly slaves whom he freed in 1772, including his son and namesake James Theodore Holly. This son married the daughter of an Irish Catholic whose last name was Butler, and they were the Great Grand Parents of Bishop James Theodore Holly. Their son Rueben was Bishop Holly’s Grandfather.

Holly was baptized and raised a Catholic yet gradually he moved away from the Catholic Church. He spent his early years in Washington, D. C. and Brooklyn, NY where he connected with Frederick Douglass and other Black abolitionists. He was active in anti-slavery conventions in the free states, participating in abolitionist activities.

Bishop Holly left the Roman Catholic Church over a dispute about ordaining local black clergy and joined the Episcopal Church in 1852. He was a shoemaker, then a teacher and school principal before his own ordination at the age of 27. He served as rector at St Luke’s Church in New Haven, Connecticut and was one of the founders of the Protestant Episcopal Society for Promoting the Extension of the Church Among Colored People (a forerunner of UBE) in 1856. This group challenged the Church to take a position against slavery at General Convention.

In 1861 he left the United States with his family and a group of African Americans to settle in Haiti—-the world’s first black republic. In July 1863 Holly organized the Holy Trinity Church. He lost his family and other settlers to disease and poor living conditions but was successful in establishing schools and building the Church. He trained young priests and started congregations and medical programs in the countryside. During this time Haiti was split with the Vatican and most men of Haiti supported their religious sentiment through the symbolism and observance of the Masonic Lodge. As an experienced Masonic leader and scholar, Holly visited the Masonic temples and made friends among their exclusive members. He was also willing to perform Masonic burial services.

In 1874 he was ordained bishop at Grace Church, New York City, not by the mainstream Episcopal Church, who refused to ordain a black missionary bishop, but by the American Church Missionary Society, an Evangelical Episcopal branch of the Church. He was named Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Episcopal Church of Haiti. He attended the Lambeth Convention as a bishop of the Church. Bishop Holly was also given charge of the Episcopal Church in the Dominican Republic from 1897-1911. He died in Haiti in on March 13, 1911.

Readings:

Psalm 86:11-17
Deuteronomy 6:20-25
Acts 8:26-39
John 4:31-38

Preface of Apostles and Ordinations

PRAYER (traditional language)

Most gracious God, by the calling of thy servant James Theodore Holly thou gavest us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led thy people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom thou callest from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

PRAYER (contemporary language)

Most gracious God, by the calling of your servant James Theodore Holly, you gave us our first bishop of African-American heritage. In his quest for life and freedom, he led your people from bondage into a new land and established the Church in Haiti. Grant that, inspired by his testimony, we may overcome our prejudice and honor those whom you call from every family, language, people, and nation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

St. Leander of Seville

(c. 550-600)

The next time you recite the Nicene Creed at Mass, think of today’s saint. For it was Leander of Seville who, as bishop, introduced the practice in the sixth century. He saw it as a way to help reinforce the faith of his people and as an antidote against the heresy of Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ. By the end of his life, Leander had helped Christianity flourish in Spain at a time of political and religious upheaval.

Leander’s own family was heavily influenced by Arianism, but he himself grew up to be a fervent Christian. He entered a monastery as a young man and spent three years in prayer and study. At the end of that tranquil period he was made a bishop. For the rest of his life he worked strenuously to fight against heresy. The death of the anti-Christian king in 586 helped Leander’s cause. He and the new king worked hand in hand to restore orthodoxy and a renewed sense of morality. Leander succeeded in persuading many Arian bishops to change their loyalties.

Leander died around 600. In Spain he is honored as a Doctor of the Church.

ST. RODERICK
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010

Roderick, also known as Ruderic, was a priest at Cabra, Spain during the persecution of Christians by the Moors.

Roderick had two brothers, one was a Muslim and the other, a fallen-away Catholic. One day, he tried to stop an argument that was occuring between his two brothers. However, his brothers turned on him and as a result he was beaten into unconsciousness. The Muslim brother then paraded Roderick through the streets proclaiming that he wished to become a Muslim. His brother also told the authorities that Roderick had converted to Islam.

When Roderic awoke, he renounced his brothers story and told the authorities of his loyalty to the catholic faith. The authorities accused Roderick of apostacy under Sharia Law and he was imprisoned.While in prison, he met a man named Solomon, also charged with apostasy, and after a long imprisonment, they were both beheaded.

Ear Muff Day
When : Always March 13th

Ear Muff Day celebrates a warm invention…the ear muff! People in cold climates can really appreciate this day. And, they are ever so thankful to the person who created the ear muff. If you live in Florida, you might not even know what an ear muff is.

Ear muffs keep your ears warm, and protect you from ear infections and earaches resulting from icy cold wind and weather. Manufacturers have responded to their popularity with a variety of designs and colors, making one to fit almost anyone’s personality.

It is really easy to celebrate Ear Muff Day…. just wear your ear muffs!

Origin of “Ear Muff Day”:

Big-eared Chester Greenwood is the father of the Earmuff. Greenwood patented the “Champion Ear Protector” on March 13, 1877. It later became known as “ear mufflers”, and was eventually shortened to “earmuffs”.