January 30 -- Feast of Saint Mutien Marie Wiaux

This nineteenth century Belgian saint was born Louis Wiaux, but he took the name Mutien Marie when he joined the Brothers of Christian Schools.  Given that his was a teaching order, Saint Mutien Marie's placement seemed poor.

He was notoriously lax on discipline, a characteristic that runs counter to the stereotype of the parochial school.  This may account for his placement at several different elementary schools around the greater Brussels area.   It certainly explains how he wound up teaching Visual and Performing Arts (VPA).  Just like so many school districts in Maine, his administrators perceived that VPA was a marginal subject and so he was relegated there.

Unlike Maine, the music and art classes he taught had very low numbers.  He worked closely with some of the least promising students in the school, distinguishing himself by "bringing even the least gifted to the limit of their abilities."  He became one of those teachers who really makes a difference in the lives of his students, helping them to like school, feel successful, and realize their potential. 

Yesterday, I looked at the new K-12 plan by Maine's Commissioner of Education.  His section on standards focused on the Common Core, a plan that thus far only addresses English and math.  They tell me that science standards will be coming out any day now.  As a social studies and Latin teacher, I can take some encouragement from Saint Mutien Marie Wiaux.  The Belgian bishops said of him that he "left no theological or spiritual treatise, nothing to bring his name out of the shadows. . . . [he] accomplished nothing out of the ordinary. . . . He was a man of prayer, an apostle among the students and went about his daily tasks with holiness. . . . hurting none and forgiving all."  I reckon those of us in the satellite disciplines could do worse. 

January 29 -- Feast of Saint Gildas Sapiens

Saint Gildas de Rhuys, en France. 

There's at least one historical Gildas -- maybe two.  There's also the Gildas of legend, some of whose exploits are no doubt in some way rooted in the historical Gildares (Gildae? Gildanes?  Gildases?). 

The historical Gildas was a Welsh monk, author of a somewhat more forgiving Rule than that of Saint David.  I'll confess that I don't know how David's Rule stacks up against Benedict's, but I would tend to favor a little elasticity in monastic rules, if I had to live under one.  Irish monks crossed the sea to learn from Gildas, which is high praise as the sixth century Irish monastic tradition was no small thing.

Michelangelo's Jeremiah

This same Gildas, author of De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae (On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain), blamed the faithlessness of the British people.  Just as Jeremiah (to whom Gildas is often compared) told the Hebrews that the Babylonian Captivity was their own fault for not following the laws of God, Gildas told the Brits that the Anglo-Saxons were swarming across Britain because they (the British) had failed the Lord.  It's called tough love. 

A saint named Gildas, perhaps the same guy or maybe another one, lived as a hermit in Brittany (France).  He/They are celebrated on January 29. 

Gildas, who stood in judgment of late antiquity British kings like Aurelius Conanus and Maelgwn, was apparently helpful to King Arthur.  King Melwas abducted Arthur's wife, Guinevere, at some point, which ought to have triggered a civil war among Britons.  Civil war was the last thing they needed during the Anglo-Saxon-Jute invasion, so Gildas negotiated the Queen's release and a reconciliation between the kings.  Sadly, Gildas' brother was less helpful to the King.  Huail ap Caw led a rebellion against Arthur and was beheaded by him.  The execution stone is preserved in the Welsh town of Ruthin.  Perhaps this is why Arthur is not mentioned in Gidas' extant writings, even though they were contemporaries.