ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN AUGUST
Saints celebrated on the 19th of August
Prayer to the Angels and the Saints
Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.
In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.
Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.
Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.
SERVANT OF GOD NICHOLAS BLACK ELK, CATECHIST
Nicholas Black Elk was a catechist who taught others about Christianity. He has been credited with converting more than 400 people. (CNS)
HE HAS BEEN CREDITED WITH CONVERTING MORE THAN 400 PEOPLE
Black Elk was born sometime between 1858 and 1866. Black Elk's wife Katie was a practising Catholic.
In the late 1800s, Black Elk, who was an Oglala Lakota medicine man participating in the Ghost Dance movement at the time, had a vision of a figure with pierced hands who identified himself as Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He called on all the people of the world to unite.
HE WAS BAPTISED ON HIS NAMESAKE'S FEAST DAY
In 1904, Nicholas Black Elk was baptised on his namesake's feast day.
He devoted much of the remainder of his life [on the Pine Ridge Reservation] to serving as a tireless catechist among the Oglala.
His legacy proved enduring and in 2017, the cause for his canonisation was opened in the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota.
HE DEVOTED MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF HIS LIFE TO SERVING AS A TIRELESS CATECHIST
The former warrior was made famous by author John Neihardt's classic 1932 book "Black Elk Speaks," in which he recalled the lost ways of Native American life. But Black Elk had already been involved in several landmark events in American history.
HE WAS INVOLVED IN LANDMARK EVENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Present at both the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn - he was Crazy Horse's second cousin - and the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890, in between, Black Elk had travel led to England with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. The troupe gave a command performance for Queen Victoria in 1887.
(From: The Magazine of the Catholic Church in Eastern North Carolina/May 2020)
Black Elk died August 19, 1950, at Pine Ridge.
Black Elk’s love for God and Scripture had led him to become a catechist, fulfilling the mission of all disciples, said Bishop Robert D. Gruss of Rapid City in his homily at the October 21, 2017 Mass at Holy Rosary Church in Pine Ridge
THE PROCESS FOR THE SAINTHOOD CAUSE IS A LONG ONE
His bishop said the process for the sainthood cause for Black Elk is a long one. First, he must show a reputation for holiness that spread to others.
The first phase involves gathering testimony about his life and his virtues. Gruss said Black Elk’s public and private writings are currently being collected and examined. This documentary phase can take many years.
(Catholic News Service)
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