January 13,2012

Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 309

Reading 1 1 Sm 8:4-7, 10-22a

All the elders of Israel came in a body to Samuel at Ramah
and said to him, "Now that you are old,
and your sons do not follow your example,
appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us."

Samuel was displeased when they asked for a king to judge them.
He prayed to the LORD, however, who said in answer:
"Grant the people's every request.
It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king."

Samuel delivered the message of the LORD in full
to those who were asking him for a king.
He told them:
"The rights of the king who will rule you will be as follows:
He will take your sons and assign them to his chariots and horses,
and they will run before his chariot.
He will also appoint from among them his commanders of groups
of a thousand and of a hundred soldiers.
He will set them to do his plowing and his harvesting,
and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
He will use your daughters as ointment makers, as cooks, and as bakers.
He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves,
and give them to his officials.
He will tithe your crops and your vineyards,
and give the revenue to his eunuchs and his slaves.
He will take your male and female servants,
as well as your best oxen and your asses,
and use them to do his work.
He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves.
When this takes place,
you will complain against the king whom you have chosen,
but on that day the LORD will not answer you."

The people, however, refused to listen to Samuel's warning and said,
"Not so! There must be a king over us.
We too must be like other nations,
with a king to rule us and to lead us in warfare
and fight our battles."
When Samuel had listened to all the people had to say,
he repeated it to the LORD, who then said to him,
"Grant their request and appoint a king to rule them."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:16-17, 18-19

R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
For you are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and to the Holy One of Israel, our King.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

Gospel Mk 2:1-12

When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,
"Child, your sins are forgiven."
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
"Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?"
Jesus immediately knew in his mind what
they were thinking to themselves,
so he said, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk'?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth"
-he said to the paralytic,
"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

Meditation:  "We never saw anything like this!"

Do you know the healing power of forgiveness? Jesus' treatment of sinners upset the religious teachers of the day. When a cripple was brought to Jesus because of the faith of his friends, Jesus did the unthinkable. He first forgave the man his sins. The scribes regarded this as blasphemy because they understood that only God had authority to forgive sins and to unbind a man or woman from their burden of guilt. Jesus claimed an authority which only God could rightfully give. Jesus not only proved that his authority came from God, he showed the great power of God's redeeming love and mercy by healing the cripple of his physical ailment. This man had been crippled not only physically, but spiritually as well. Jesus freed him from his burden of guilt and restored his body as well. The Lord is every ready to bring us healing of body, soul, and mind.  Do you allow anything to keep you from Jesus?

"Lord Jesus, through your merciful love and forgiveness you bring healing and restoration to body, soul, and mind. May your healing power and love touch every area of my life – my innermost thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and memories. Pardon my offences and transform me in the power of your Holy Spirit that I may walk confidently in your truth and righteousness."

---

This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager, whose website is located at: http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/

January 13
St. Hilary
(315?-368) 

This staunch defender of the divinity of Christ was a gentle and courteous man, devoted to writing some of the greatest theology on the Trinity, and was like his Master in being labeled a “disturber of the peace.” In a very troubled period in the Church, his holiness was lived out in both scholarship and controversy.

Raised a pagan, he was converted to Christianity when he met his God of nature in the Scriptures. His wife was still living when he was chosen, against his will, to be the bishop of Poitiers in France. He was soon taken up with battling what became the scourge of the fourth century, Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ.
The heresy spread rapidly. St. Jerome said “The world groaned and marveled to find that it was Arian.” When Emperor Constantius ordered all the bishops of the West to sign a condemnation of Athanasius, the great defender of the faith in the East, Hilary refused and was banished from France to far off Phrygia (in modern-day Turkey). Eventually he was called the “Athanasius of the West.” While writing in exile, he was invited by some semi-Arians (hoping for reconciliation) to a council the emperor called to counteract the Council of Nicea. But Hilary predictably defended the Church, and when he sought public debate with the heretical bishop who had exiled him, the Arians, dreading the meeting and its outcome, pleaded with the emperor to send this troublemaker back home. Hilary was welcomed by his people.

Comment:

Christ said his coming would bring not peace but a sword (see Matthew 10:34). The Gospels offer no support for us if we fantasize about a sunlit holiness that knows no problems. Christ did not escape at the last moment, though he did live happily ever after—after a life of controversy, problems, pain and frustration. Hilary, like all saints, simply had more of the same.

January 13
St. Canute

Patron Saint of:

Denmark

St. Canute IV

St. Canute IV

Feastday: January 19
Patron of Denmark
1042-1086

Martyred king of Denmark, sometimes called Knud. The illegitimate son of King Sven II Estridson of Denmark, Canute succeeded his brother Harald III Hen in 1081. After marrying Adela, the sister of Count Robert of Flanders, Canute built churches and monasteries. In 1085, he planned an invasion of England, but the nobles of the court rebelled against him and forced him to flee to the isle of Funen. There, Canute, his brother Benedict, and seventeen companions were slain in the church of St. Alban. Pope Paschal II authorized Canute’s cult in 1101.

from Wikipedia

Canute IV, later known as Canute the Holy or Canute the Saint (Danish: Knud IV den Hellige or Sankt Knud), (c. 1042 – July 10, 1086) was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy, devotedly supported the Roman Catholic Church, and had designs on the English throne. Slain by rebels in 1086, he was the first Dane to be canonized. He was recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as patron saint of Denmark in 1101, under the name of San Canuto.

Life

Canute was born c. 1042, as one of the many illegitimate sons of Sweyn II Estridsson.^[1] He is first noted as a member of Sweyn's 1069 raid of England,^[2] and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Canute was one of the leaders of another raid against England in 1075. When returning from England in 1075, the Danish fleet stopped in the County of Flanders.^[3] Because of its hostility towards William I of England, Flanders was a natural ally for the Danes. He also led successful campaigns to Sember and Ester, according to skald Kálfr Mánason.^[2]
When Sweyn died, Canute's brother Harald III was elected King, and as Canute went into exile in Sweden,^[2] he was possibly involved in the active opposition to Harald.^[3] In 1080, Canute succeeded Harald to the throne of Denmark. On his accession, he married Adela, daughter of Count Robert I of Flanders. She bore him one son, Karl (a name uncommon in Denmark) in 1084, and twin daughters Cæcilia (who married Erik Jarl) and Ingerid, born shortly before his death (ca. 1085/86).^[2][4]

King of Denmark

Canute quickly proved himself to be a highly ambitious king as well as a devout one. He enhanced the power position of the church, and demanded austere observation of church holidays.^[2] He gave large gifts to the churches in Dalby, Odense, Roskilde, and Viborg, and especially to Lund.^[2] Ever a champion of the Church, he sought to enforce the collection of tithes.^[1] His aggrandizement of the church served to create a powerful ally, who in turn supported Canute's power position.^[2]
In May 1085, Canute wrote a letter of donation to Lund Cathedral which was under construction, granting it large tracts of lands in Scania, Zealand, and Amager.^[6] He founded Lund Cathedral School at the same time.^[2] Canute had gathered the land largely as pay for the pardon of lawless subjects. The clerics at Lund got extended prerogatives of the land, being able to tax and fine the peasantry there. However, Knud kept his universal royal rights to pardon the lawless, fine subjects who failed to answer his leding call to war, and demand transportation for his retinue.^[6]
His reign was marked by vigorous attempts to increase royal power in Denmark, by stifling the nobles and keeping them to the word of the law.^[2] Canute issued edicts arrogating to himself the ownership of common land, the right to the goods from shipwrecks, and the right to inherit the possessions of foreigners and kinless folk. He also issued laws to protect freed thralls as well as foreign clerics and merchants.^[1] These policies led to discontent among his subjects, who were unaccustomed to a king who claimed such powers and who interfered in their daily lives.^[2]

Aborted attempt on England

But Canute's ambitions were not purely domestic. As the grandnephew of Canute the Great, who ruled England, Denmark and Norway until 1035, Canute considered the crown of England to be rightfully his. He therefore regarded William I of England as a usurper. In 1085, with the support of his father-in-law Count Robert and Olaf III of Norway, Canute planned an invasion of England and called his fleet in leding at the Limfjord.^[2] The fleet never set sail, as Canute was preoccupied in Schleswig due to the potential threat of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, with whom both Denmark and Flanders were on unfriendly terms. Canute feared the invasion of Henry, whose enemy Rudolf of Rheinfelden had sought refuge in Denmark.^[2]
The warriors of the fleet, mostly made up of peasants who needed to be home for the harvest season, got weary of waiting, and elected Canute's brother Olaf (the later Olaf I of Denmark) to argue their case. This raised the suspicion of Canute, who had Olaf arrested and sent to Flanders. The leding was eventually dispersed and the peasants tended to their harvests,^[2] but Canute intended to reassemble within a year.

Death

Before the fleet could reassemble, a peasant revolt broke out in Vendsyssel,^[1] where Canute was staying, in early 1086. Canute first fled to Schleswig, and eventually to Odense. On July 10, 1086, Canute and his men took refuge inside the wooden St. Alban's Priory in Odense. The rebels stormed into the church and slew Canute, along with his brother Benedict and seventeen of their followers, before the altar.^[1] According to chronicler Ælnoth of Canterbury, Canute died following a lance thrust in the flank.^[7] He was succeeded by Olaf as Olaf I of Denmark.

Canonization

King Canute's grave at Odense Cathedral (photo: Jacob Truedson Demitz)

Because of his martyrdom and advocacy of the Church, Canute quickly began to be considered a saint. Under the reign of Olaf, Denmark suffered from crop failure, which was seen as divine retribution for the sacrilege killing of Canute. Miracles were soon reported as taking place at his grave,^{[citation needed]} and his canonization was already being sought during the reign of Olaf.^[1]
On April 19, 1101, persuaded by the envoys from Eric III of Denmark, Pope Paschal II confirmed the "cult of Canute" that had arisen, and King Canute IV was canonized as a saint under the name San Canuto.^[6] He was the first Dane to be canonized.^[1] 19 January is recognised by the Catholic Church as his feast day. In Sweden and Finland he is historically, however, partially associated with St. Knut's Day, which in reality was celebrated in the memory of the death of his nephew, Canute Lavard.^[8][9]
In 1300, his remains and those of his brother Benedict were interred in Saint Canute's Cathedral, built in his honour, where his remains are on display.^[1]

Legacy

The reign of Canute has been interpreted differently through the times; from a violent king who tyrannized his subjects, to a strict but fair ruler who devoutedly supported the Roman Catholic Church and fought for justice without regard to his own person.^[3] He was never a thoroughly popular saint in Denmark, but his sainthood granted the Danish monarchy an aura of divine legitimacy.^[1] The cause of the rebellion which killed Canute is unknown, but has been speculated as originating in fines issued to the peasants breaking the leding of 1085 as specified in the Chronicon Roskildense, or as a result of his vigorous tithe policy.^[3]
The document of his donation to Lund Cathedral was the oldest comprehensive text from Denmark, and provided broad insights into Danish post-Viking Age society.^[6] The donation might have had the aim of establishing the Danish Archdiocese of Lund according to Sweyn II Estridsson's wishes,^[2] which was finally achieved in 1104. Canute's son Carl became Count of Flanders from 1119 to 1127, ruling as Charles the Good. Like his father, Charles was martyred in a church by rebels (in Bruges, 1127).^[2] According to Niels Lund, Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Copenhagen, Canute's abortive invasion of England "marked the end of the Viking Age." For it was the last time a Viking army was to assemble against Western Europe.^{[citation needed]}
In 2008, an X-ray computed tomography was taken of Canute, which showed that he was right-handed and of a slender build. It also specified his cause of death as a thrust to the sacrum through the abdomen, negating Ælnoth's account. He had no injuries indicating he fought against multiple enemies, which can be seen as supporting an account saying he faced his death without a struggle.^[7]
In Spain, Canute's feast day has become a tongue-in-cheek "holiday" for the marijuana legalization movement, appropriating the Spanish version of his name, Canuto, which coincidentally is also the word for a marijuana cigarette.^[10]

Ancestry

References

1.                              ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Stefan Pajung, Knud den Hellige ca. 1042-1086, danmarkshistorien.dk, Aarhus University, January 22, 2010

2.                              ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Bricka, Carl Frederik, Dansk Biografisk Lexikon, vol. IX [Jyde - Køtschau], 1895, pp.260-263.

3.                              ^ ^{a b c d} Knud 4. den Hellige at Gyldendals Åbne Encyklopædi

4.                              ^ DENMARK

5.                              ^ Monarkiet i Danmark - Kongerækken at The Danish Monarchy

6.                              ^ ^{a b c d} Knud den Helliges gavebrev 1085, danmarkshistorien.dk, Aarhus University, June 6, 2010

7.                              ^ ^{a b} CT-scanning af Knud den Hellige afslører nyt om kongemord, Ingeniøren, March 8, 2008

8.                              ^ Axelsson, M: Tjugo dagar efter jul, published 13 January 2007 (in Swedish)

9.                              ^ The Scandinavian Remedy: The murder at Haraldsted, published 3 of Januari 2009, retrieved 8 Januari 2012.

10.                          ^ [1], "El País", January 1st, 2003

Further reading

• The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings. Ed., Peter Sawyer. Oxford University Press, New York, 1997. Chapter Seven: "The Danish Empire and the End of the Viking Age" by Niels Lund. The quote is from page 181.
• The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Ed David High Farmer. Oxford University Press, 2004. See the entry on St Canute.

January 13
Blessed Jutta of Thuringia
(d. 1264?)

Today's patroness of Prussia began her life amidst luxury and power but died the death of a simple servant of the poor.

In truth, virtue and piety were always of prime importance to Jutta and her husband, both of noble rank. The two were set to make a pilgrimage together to the holy places in Jerusalem, but her husband died on the way. The newly widowed Jutta, after taking care to provide for her children, resolved to live in a manner utterly pleasing to God. She disposed of the costly clothes, jewels and furniture befitting one of her rank, and became a Secular Franciscan, taking on the simple garment of a religious.
From that point her life was utterly devoted to others: caring for the sick, particularly lepers; tending to the poor, whom she visited in their hovels; helping the crippled and blind with whom she shared her own home. Many of the townspeople of Thuringia laughed at how the once-distinguished lady now spent all her time. But Jutta saw the face of God in the poor and felt honored to render whatever services she could.
About the year 1260, not long before her death, Jutta lived near the non-Christians in eastern Germany. There she built a small hermitage and prayed unceasingly for their conversion. She has been venerated for centuries as the special patron of Prussia.

Comment:

Jesus once said that a camel can pass through a needle’s eye more easily than a rich person can enter God’s realm. That’s pretty scary news for us. We may not have great fortunes, but we who live in the West enjoy a share of the world’s goods that people in the rest of the world cannot imagine. Much to the amusement of her neighbors, Jutta disposed of her wealth after her husband’s death and devoted her life to caring for those who had no means. Should we follow her example, people will probably laugh at us, too. But God will smile.