Greetings saint supporters!
Catching up after a very rejuvenating retreat this weekend, and discovered that Julian of Norwich easily put out the fiery Brigid of Kildare. While I'm always sorry to see an Irish saint go down to defeat, I must admit that Julian of Norwich's resume is much more substantial than that of someone who probably began her career as a Celtic fire goddess. Julian is a hero of the Christian mystical devotional tradition and she will go on to face (and, I predict, defeat) Zita. Or is it Rita? Who can tell them apart, really?
Apologies to Annie Lennox for the title of today's post. One of the things I'm grateful to Lent Madness for is it's introductions to so many women who have embodied and passed on our faith through study, charity, and devotion to our Lord. Today's matchup features two such saintly sisters, and they were sisters, in the religious and vocational sense.
Rafqa Pietra Choboq Ar-Rayès, to give her full name, saw her share of the religious violence that still afflicts her part of the world, and yet lived a life of quiet and calm devotion, making her own clear choices as to in which convents she would live out her vocation. Her Wikipedia entry contains a particular graphic account of the loss of her eye, which did noting to relieve a suffering which she gladly embraced. Today, when medicine keeps our suffering at bay as much as possible, and where MAID is an option, the desire of many saints to draw closer to the passion of Christ in their suffering is remarkable, and maybe even admirable. Would we choose such a route, I wonder?
Clare of Assisi also reminds us that the religious vocation could be a liberating path in a man's world (and in a man's church). Her decision to follow the way of St. Francis also reminds us of how Francis' call to embrace a Christ-like poverty and service must have captivated the imaginations of many. Her example still inspires today, for her Order, the Poor Clares, maintain convents in BC and in Quebec.
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