St. Peter's 

Anglican Church

John Donne

Priest and Poet

d. 1631 A.D.

Portrait retrieved from Luminarium.

(http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/donnebio.htm)

PRAYER (traditional language):

Almighty God, the root and fountain of all being: Open our eyes To see, with thy servant John Donne, that whatsoever hath any being is a mirror in which we may behold thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

From Holy Women, Holy Men:

“Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.

And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls: It tolls for

thee.”

      These words are familiar to many; their author, John Donne, though less well known, is one of the greatest of English poets. In his own time, he was the best-known preacher in the Church of England. He came to that eminence by a tortuous path. Born into a wealthy and pious Roman Catholic family in 1573, he was educated at both Oxford and Cambridge, and studied law at Lincoln’s Inn. Some time later he conformed to the Established Church and embarked upon a promising political career of service to the State. The revelation of his secret marriage in 1601 to the niece of his employer, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, brought his public career to an end. In 1615, he was persuaded by King James I and others to receive ordination.

      Following several brief cures, Donne rose rapidly in popularity as Dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, from 1622 until his death. He drew great throngs to the Cathedral and to Paul’s Cross, a nearby open-air pulpit. His sermons reflect the wide learning of the scholar, the passionate intensity of the poet, and the profound devotion of one struggling in his own life to relate the freedom and demands of the Gospel to the concerns of a common humanity, on every level, and in all its complexities.

      In one of his poems, he wrote:

We thinke that Paradise and Calvarie,

Christs Crosse, and Adams tree, stood in one place;

Looke, Lord, and finde both Adams met in me;

As the first Adams sweat surrounds my face

May the last Adams blood my soule embrace.

So, in his purple wrapp’d receive mee Lord,

By these his thornes give me his other Crowne;

And as to others soules I preach’d thy word,

Be this my Text, my Sermon to my owne.

Therefore that he may raise the Lord throws down.

To learn about John Donne and read some of his poetry, click the link below.

http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/35.html

Source: https://diobeth.typepad.com/files/holy-women-holy-men.pdf