Day Thirteen- 1/13/11 Celebrate the Feast Day of St. Hilary of Poitiers

Day Thirteen: 1/13/11
New Thing:  Celebrate the Feast of St. Hilary of Poitiers
Inspiration: St. Hilary—Bishop of Poitiers, Teacher of the Faith, and Doctor of the Church
Cost: $0
Time: About a half an hour
Bottom Line: It was a delight to celebrate this most beautifully designated Saint who is a credit to the name! 

Reflection: Today I am celebrating my Patronal Feast Day! Even though I was not exactly named after St. Hilary (you will notice, I am sure that he spells his name with but one “L”), he has been one of my favorites for years, and not just because of his awesome name (although I think we can all agree, it is indeed magnificent). There was a point in my childhood when I kept asking my parish priest week after week if there was a St. Hill. Finally, out of what I assume was exasperation for this precocious little would-be-hagiographer, he loaned me his “Big Book of Saints” and advised me to “look it up!” What I found delighted me. 

            First of all, Hilary was a theologian and a scholar of the highest degree. However, he did not simply use his scholarly wisdom to write tomes. Instead his studies changed his life and the life of the Church Catholic. Celebrating the Saints has this to say about Hilary’s life (I have linked to topics of note that are very interesting but to lengthy for this post):

Hilary was born at Poitier in about the year 313; his family, though pagan, gave him an excellent education and he was proficient in Latin and Greek. After extensive personal study, he tells us that he was baptized at the age of thirty. He was elected bishop of the city in the year 350 and immediately became caught up in the Arian controversy, himself asserting that mortals of this world were created to practice moral virtues, thus reflecting the One in whose image they are made, the eternal and creative first cause, God; and that Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God is of one substance with the Father. His learning and oratory lead to his title of “Athanasius of the West”. He was known as a gentile, kind friend to all, even though his writings seemed sever at times. He dies in the year 367. 

So, not only did Hilary come to know and believe in God through his reason and study, he also helped to defend the church through his knowledge of the Trinity! His dedication to using his intellect to know and serve Christ has lead me to pursue possible Doctoral work in the future. Also, to honor his devotion to the Trinity, I wore several pieces of Trinitarian jewelry today including a bracelet given to me by my mother-in-law at my ordination, a pair of earrings that I bought in Ireland and a second pair of earrings that my farther gave me (I have two sets ear piercing) both bearing Celtic Trinity Knots. 

My new thing of the day has to do with the second reason that I love Hilary. He was not only a scholar, but also a gifted musician and poet. He wrote hundreds of hymns and we have two of them in our Episcopal Hymnal 1982. So, to honor Hilary, I learned one of those hymns (#224), which I had never sang before today. It is a lovely hymn about Pentecost, and I will be suggesting it to our worship committee at that season this year. I tried to paste it here to share it with you, but it wont upload. :( Here is his Collect as a consolation prize:

  O Lord our God, who didst raise up thy servant Hilary to be a champion of the catholic faith: Keep us steadfast in that true faith which we professed at our baptism, that we may rejoice in having thee for our Father, and may abide in thy Son, in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; thou who livest and reignest for ever and ever. 

P.S.- One of my fellow Morning Prayers at Trinity, upon noting that we were celebrating Hilary with one “L” said, “Well, our Hillary may have two “L”s in her name, but she is one “L” of a Curate!” I was well pleased.

P.P.S. I also made chuck roast in the cock-pot tonight for the first time. It was really delicious, but have nothing to do with Hilary.

P.P.P.S  He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" which is such a great nick-name. I went around all day trying to find things that I could be "The Hammer" of. Such as, "Hammer of the Chuck Roast."

P.P.P.P.S- Our name comes from the Greek word for happy or cheerful. My Chippewa name is "Laughing Child." It could also be "Hammer of the Chuck Roast."