CONSTELLATION ORION Four saints are mentioned for remembrance today on Universalis The first, St. Elizabeth of Hungary was daughter of a king and became the loving wife of Ludwig, a count, and mother of three which is cause for sainthood itself. Ludwig supported what some considered her extravagant generosity to the poor and the sick. After her husband’s death, Elizabeth continued her life of service.
St. HIlda, also mentioned today, shared Elizabeth’s eagerness to reach out to all regardless of status. She is known as a woman of great learning and wisdom who was the founding abbess of the famous monastery of Whitby, a double monastery that had both women and men as members. They lived together in small houses of two or three people, and the men and women came together to worship. All types of people sought her out for guidance, including royalty. She gave freely of her gifts to all, and I imagine, teaching women to read and study Scripture, as well as to pray with it, was not common in her time.
She encouraged the man who cared for the animals, Caedmon, in his poetry and song. He became a brother at Whitby and is the first English poet that we know by name.
St Hugh of Lincoln is another mentioned today. He was a Carthusian at the monastery of La Grande Chartreuse until, asked by King Henry II of England, he became prior of a Carthusian house in England. Later he was named bishop, a position he accepted only when directed to do so by the abbot of La Grande Chartreuse. He worked with his hands helping to extend the cathedral building, but is known primarily for his commitment to justice and service to the poor.
These three saints stood out to me as I read readings from Amos for the Hours today. Amos was prophet in the 700’s BCE, when both Israel and Judah knew times of great prosperity and excess. The rich lived lavishly at the expense of the poor, and Amos spoke out forcefully against that, reminding them of God’s vengeance against those who do not keep his commands
Amos refers to God not as Lord of the Jewish people only, but as God of the universe. Some of the most poetic lines come from these descriptions:
He it was who formed the mountains, created the wind, reveals his mind to man, makes both dawn and dark, and walks on the top of the heights of the world; the Lord, the God of Hosts, is his name.Amos 4:13
He made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns the dusk to dawn and day to darkest night. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the land. The Lord is his name.Amos 5:8)
He has built his high dwelling place in the heavens and supported his vault on the earth; he summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the land. The Lord is his name.Amos 9:6
Being a night sky watcher, I particularly love the verse that reminds us that God created the universe and names Orion among the great constellations. Orion has been my companion for years, no matter where I lived. I could walk outside at night, look at the sky, and see Orion watching over me. He was my guardian and comfort when I was lonely or distressed. One view of that cluster of stars reminded me of the Holy Mystery that set the universe in motion. And I felt a small part of a bigger plan.
Today, we would do well to remember God’s care for the poor and commandment to care for them. At a time when some members of our “Super Committee” cannot agree on raising taxes as part of a fix for the economy, but insist instead on protecting the richest among us, Orion and the stars of the heavens remind us of the injustice of such a stance.
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