Mass Schedule – Trinity XX (Oct. 9, 2016)
10, Feria
11, Feria
12, Wilfred, Archbishop of York
13, Feria
14, Feria
15, Our Lady of Walsingham
+ Wilfred was born around 634 in Northumbria, educated for a while at the island monastery of Lindisfarne, after which he went south to London, where he became an enthusiastic supporter of Roman liturgical customs, as contrasted with the traditional Celtic customs that were prevalent in the North and in other areas that had been evangelized by Celtic rather than Roman missionaries. The two questions that were in dispute were (1) the method of calculating the date of Easter, and (2) the method of tonsuring a monk — which areas of the head ought to be shaved. In about 654, Wilfred left England for Rome (stopping for a year in Lyons, France) and then returned (stopping for three more years in Lyons), arriving back in England in about 660. He was made abbot of Ripon in Northumbria, and there imposed the Roman rule. In 664 the Synod of Whitby was called to settle the usages controversy, and the Roman party triumphed, thanks in large part to the leadership of Wilfred. He was appointed Bishop of York by Alcfrid, sub-king of Deira (a division of Northumbria), but he was unwilling to be consecrated by bishops of the Celtic tradition, and so he went over to France to be consecrated and he did not return for two years. On his arrival back in York, he found that King Oswy of Northumbria had appointed Chad as bishop of York. Wilfred returned quietly to Ripon. But in 669 the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Theodore declared that Wilfred was rightful bishop of York. Chad quietly withdrew, and Wilfred was installed at York. For the next few years, Wilfred enjoyed peace and prosperity, stood high in the favor of King Efrith of Northumbria, and was undisputed bishop of a diocese that included the entire kingdom of Northumbria, with his cathedral at York. But trouble was brewing. The queen wanted to leave her husband and become a nun, and Wilfred encouraged her in this. After she had left in 672, the king was not as cordial to Wilfred as he had been, and in 678, Archbishop Theodore, acting in close concert with the king, divided the Diocese of York into four smaller dioceses, and appointed new bishops for three of them, leaving Wilfred with the fourth, which did not include the city of York. Wilfred decided to appeal to the pope. On his way to Rome, he spent a year preaching in Frisia, and so was the beginning of the movement by Christian Anglo-Saxons in Britain to convert their relatives on the Continent. The pope eventually sided with Wilfred, but the ruling was not accepted in England, and Wilfred was banished from Northumbria. He went to Sussex, the last center of Anglo-Saxon paganism in England, and preached there. When he arrived, there had been no rain for many months, the crops were ruined, and the people were starving. Wilfred showed them how to construct fishnets for ocean fishing, and so saved the lives of many. They listened to his preaching with favorable presuppositions, and soon a large number of them were ready for baptism. On the day that he baptized them, it rained. He remained in Sussex for five years, preaching with great success. Eventually he was reconciled with Archbishop Theodore, and returned to Northumbria, where he was again given a bishopric. He served there a bishop for five peaceful years, but then a royal council found him unfit; he was deposed again, appealed to Rome again, and ended up bishop of the small diocese of Hexham, with jurisdiction over the various monasteries that he had founded. In his will, he bequeathed his money to four causes: (1) to various Roman congregations; (2) to the poor; (3) to the clergy who had followed him into exile; and (4) to the abbots of the various monasteries under his jurisdiction, “so that they could purchase the friendship of kings and bishops.” He died 12 October 709.
+ All Saints Men’s Group will meets next on Tuesday, October 18, at 7:00 a.m. in undercroft.
+ Our Monday Morning Bible Study will meet next on Monday, October 17, 10:00 a.m.
+ The Holy Communion is celebrated Monday through Saturday at 12:15 p.m.
+ All Saints parishioner may obtain a Mass card from the Church office. A Mass card is a greeting card given to someone to inform him or her that a deceased loved one or friend was remembered and prayed for at a weekly Mass. It is a specifically Christian way to express one’s love. Call Julie McDermott at the Church office (434-979-2842) and she will help you fill out the form. The celebrant will sign the card and we will mail it from the Church to the family of the loved one.