The Sermon on the Mount window is the fourth large window on the right. The central medallion references the scripture passages of Matthew, chapters 5, 6 and 7 which reveal to us Jesus the Teacher. When we think of The Sermon on the Mount, we first think of the passages which reference the "Blessed" verses, specifically, Matthew 5:1-13. In the chapters, however, we learn more about Jesus the teacher through The Salt of the Earth, The Light of the World, Prayer, Fasting and the teaching of The Lord's Prayer.
Around this centerpiece four saints are found - all great teachers. Beginning on the upper right we have St. Boniface.
Born somewhere between 673 and 680 in Devonshire, England, he was educated at the Benedictine monastery in Exeter. He excelled in the profound understanding of scripture, of which he gives evidence in his letters. He was also educated in history, grammar, rhetoric and poetry. He made his profession as a member of the Benedictine Order and was placed in charge of the monastic school. At the age of thirty he was ordained a priest. He also had great success as a preacher and in conversion of pagans to Christianity. Tradition credits Boniface with the invention of the Christmas Tree. The Oak of Thor at Geismar, Germany was chopped down by Boniface in a confrontation with the old gods and local heathen tribes. A fir tree growing in the roots of the oak was claimed by Boniface as a new symbol. "This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the center of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your Comfort and Guide."
On the lower right is St. Cyril and the lower left St. Methodius. It is fitting that we examine these two brothers together as they are credited with Christianizing the Slavs and all of Europe. Their titles include Patron of Europe and Apostles to the Slavic people.
Cyril and Methodius were two of seven children born to a Greek military officer and his wife Maria. There is speculation that Maria was Slavic, although there is no proof. The brothers lost their father at a young age and their uncle became their protector. He was a powerful Byzantine official responsible for the diplomatic relations of the Empire. The brothers studied at the university in Constantinople under the patronage of their uncle. Cyril was a master theologian and linguist with a command of both Arabic and Hebrew. He assumed the role of professor of philosophy at the university while Methodius was designated as the Bishop of the Moni Polychroniou. In 862 they left Constantinople to propagate Christianity in the Slavic countries. In preparation for this mission the brothers devised the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet to be used for Slavonic manuscripts. Cyrillic (for St. Cyril) is a modification of the Glagolitic alphabet and is still used in a number of Slavic languages. The brothers translated Christian texts and wrote the first Slavic Civil Cod. The language derived from these translations is still used by several Eastern Orthodox churches. Cyril died in 869 in Rome and Methodius in 885 in Great Moravia. St. Cyril's remains are interred in a shrine-chapel within the Basilica de San Clemente in Rome. It is said that Pope John Paul II would often pray there for Poland and the Slavic countries.
In the upper left corner is St. Adalbert, a patron of Poland.
One of five brothers, Vojtech was born in a Czech noble family to Prince Slavnik and his wife in Bohemia. Vojtech was a well-educated man, having studied for about ten years (970-80) in Magdeburg under Saint Adalbert. When Adalbert died, Vojtech took on the name Adalbert Vojtech. In 980 Adalbert finished his studies at Magdeburg school and returned to Prague where he became a priest. In 981 his father, Prince Slavnik died. In 982, still not yet thirty years old, Adalbert became the Bishop of Prague. Although Adalbert descended from a rich family and could afford comfort and luxury, he lived poorly of his own free will. He was noted for charity, austerity, and zealous service to the Church. In 989 he resigned from his bishop's cloth and left Prague. He went to Rome and lived as a hermit in St. Alexis Benedictine monastery. Four years later, in 993, Pope John XV sent him back to Bohemia. Adalbert became the Bishop again. That time he founded a monastery in Brevnov, near Prague, the first one for men in the Czech lands. After the murder of four of his brothers in 995, Adalbert escaped from Prague and he went to Hungary where he baptized Geza of Hungary and his son Stephen. Then he went to Poland where he was cordially welcomed by Boleslaw I the Brave. It was a standard procedure of Christian missionaries to try to chop down sacred oak trees (like St. Boniface - above), which they had done in many other places, including Saxony. Because the trees were worshipped and the spirits who were believed to inhabit the trees were feared for their powers, this was done to demonstrate to the non-Christians that no supernatural powers protected the trees from the Christians. When they did not heed warnings to stay away from the sacred oak groves, Adalbert was martyred in April 997. It is recorded that his body was bought back for its weight in gold by Boleslaw I the Brave. June 1997 was the thousandth anniversary of Saint Adalbert's martyrdom. It was commemorated in the Czech Republic, Poland, Germany, Russia and other countries. Representatives of Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Evangelical churches pilgrimaged to Gniezno, to the saint's tomb. Pope John Paul II visited Gniezno and held a ceremonial service in which heads of seven European states and over a million believers took part.
On the uppermost portion of the window is Our Lady of Ostrabrama
Pictured right next to the medallion from our widow is the original icon in in the town of Vilna on the Lithuanian/Polish border. Revered much like Our Lady of Czestochowa for miraculous intercessions, Our Lady of Ostrabrama is a familiar site to all Poles.
The bottom medallion shows St. Isaac Jogues evangelizing the native Americans on what is now Manhattan.
Saint Isaac Jogues was a Jesuit missionary who traveled and worked among the Native Americans in North America. He gave the original European name to Lake George, calling it Lac du Saint Sacrement, Lake of the Holy Sacrament. Born in Orleans, France, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1624. In 1642, he was sent to "New France" as a missionary to the Huron and Algonquin allies of the French. While on his way by canoe to the country of the Hurons, Jogues was captured by a war party of Mohawk Iroquois, in the company of Guillaume Coutre, Rene Goupil, and several Huron Christians. Taken back to the Mohawk village, they were tortured in various gruesome ways, Jogues himself having several of his fingers bitten or burned off. Jogues survived this torment and went on to live as a slave among the Mohawks for some time, even attempting to teach his captors the rudiments of Christianity. He was finally able to escape thanks to the pity of some Dutch merchants who smuggled him back to Manhattan. From there, he managed to sail back to France, where he was greeted with surprise and joy. As a "living martyr," Jogues was given a special permission by Pope Urban VIII to say the Mass with his mutilated hands, as the Eucharist could not be touched with any fingers but the thumb and forefinger. Yet his ill-treatment by the Mohawks did not dim the missionary zeal of Jogues. Within a few months, he was on his way back to Canada to continue his work. In 1645, a tentative peace was forged between the Iroquois and the Hurons, Algonquins and French. In the spring of 1646, Jogues was sent back to the Mohawk country along with Jean de LaLande to act as ambassador among them. However, some among the Mohawks regarded Jogues as a sorcerer, and when the double calamity of sickness and crop failure hit the Mohawks, Jogues was a convenient scapegoat. On October 18, 1646, he was clubbed to death and beheaded by the Mohawks near Auriesville, NY along with Goupil and LaLande. The feast of St. Isaac Jogues and the North American Martyrs is October 19th.
All of the representations in this window were true teachers of the faith.
The Sermon on the Mount window has the blue background with red arches - one of two alternating backgrounds in all our windows.
This window was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Banas.