BRING IN THE NEW YEAR WITH SOME QUIET SAINTS

SAINT EUPHROSYNE

Although today is the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God, there are more than enough books, articles and blog posts about our Blessed Mother, so that I don't feel I have much to offer on that score. But I DO like to highlight the little known saints, as you know - and talk a little bit about them, especially if they are female and monastic, because I relate personally to those stories.

Saint Euphrosyne of Alexandria

As is the case for many saints of the early church, especially FEMALE saints, we know very little about Euphrosyne, other than she was the virgin daughter of Paphnutis, a merchant of Alexandria, Egypt, sometime in the early 5th century. Rebelling against her father, she took to monastic life and went about in the disguise of a monk, in order that no one would know who she was. She used the name "Smaragdus," a name which means "emerald" and which has some significance.

I that think one reason she sought to hide the fact that she was female was that it was particularly dangerous for women to flout societal expectations of marriage and motherhood. Obviously, she did not wish to be caught by her relatives and forced to marry against her will, and the only loose association of monastics nearby was all-male.

Saint Euphrosyne of Alexandria

Euphrosyne fits into the paradigm of a storyline repeated about several of these early female saints, i.e., that her own father didn't know her, her disguise was so expert, and that he consulted with her on many occasions. Finally, as she was about to die, she divulged her true identity to him, and he was so overcome by the revelation and all that it meant, that he took her place in her hermitage after her death and continued as a monastic from that day forward.

This story about her is not considered specifically valid for her, but the underlying paradigm of the wealthy man who seeks and receives spiritual instruction from a person of lesser social status and then becomes confirmed and abandons his wealth to follow Jesus is a type of parable that Christians continue to tell one another since the early Christian era. The message, therefore, is bona fide, even if the details of the story and the participants are not.

An old fresco, depicting portions of Saint Euphrosyne's life

Euphrosyne WAS likely a female hermit of Alexandria. Many other things are inferred, such as her surreptitious taking of the veil without her father's consent, since NO ONE was consenting to their  young daughter throwing away her life (at least substantially shortening it) by devoting herself to a life of prayer and meditation, least of all the fathers of prosperous merchant class families. If Euphrosyne was a monastic, chances are good that her father didn't approve.

The bit about her father becoming a hermit after her death and occupying her monastic cell for the last ten years of his life is what stretches the imagination. Few genuine tales are that neat, and grand spiritual conversions in which the wealthy abandon their money for the sake of God remain few and far between. Even the young, wealthy man couldn't bear to part with his gold and possessions in order to follow Jesus. We aspire to this high spiritual metamorphosis, however, which is why we really like this paradigm and have used it in many stories about the saints.

Saint Euphrosyne of Alexandria

Saint Euphrosyne of Alexandria's story is authentic because it stirs authentic Christian feeling in our hearts and pushes us toward Jesus and away from filthy lucre. It is a "true" story because it is true to the Christian message.

SAINT ZDISLAVA OF LEMBERK

1220-1252

Here is another female saint who is not terribly famous, but a bit more well-known than Euphrosyne of Alexandria, and I am enjoying learning about her. She was ALSO the daughter of a well-to-do and aristocratic family, this time in Czechoslovakia, in the middle ages. 

Like Euphrosyne, she longed to become a hermitess and went to the forest at the age of 7, resolved to do just that, but her family tracked her down and brought her back to the castle, from whence she later married a nobleman, the Count of Lemberk.

Lemberk Chateau

Zdislava and her husband had 4 children, but her domestic life did not dampen her religious ardor, since she received Holy Communion every day, as much as was possible, and she experienced regular ecstasies and visions.

Of special interest for Zdislava was the care of the poor, the sick, and the homeless. Her husband wasn't too thrilled with having to share his personal space with the many destitute people she invited to live with them while she treated their illnesses, and even threatened to throw a sick beggar into the street, on one occasion, but when he approached the beggar's resting-place, all he found was a crucifix among the bedsheets. The beggar was nowhere to be found.

Whether that apocryphal story is accurate or not is also up for debate, but it is cited as the reason why he allowed Zdislave to contribute money to a foundation for the new Dominican convent nearby.

Please note the echo of the similar story to the first saint I discussed in this blog post. A person of lower social stature (the beggar) causes a high-born and/or wealthy person (Count Lemberk) to relent in his persecution of the saint's activities, and even assists the saint in accomplishing some aim, becoming converted to our Lord's work in the process.

Saint Zdislava's resting place

Basilica of St. Lawrence and Saint Zdislava

Zdislava was still fairly young when she died on January 1, 1252, and her husband is said to have experienced a vision of her "in glory" upon her death.

BASILICA OF SAINT LAWRENCE AND SAINT ZDISLAVA

Zdislava's remains are housed in the Basilica of Saint Lawrence in Jablonne, to which they had been transferred in 1731. The Basilica endured many hardships and operates as a type of museum for sacred art.

The Lemberk Chateau, where Zdislava lived with her family, is also located in Jablonne and can be toured during certain parts of the year.

Lemberk Chateau - the home of Saint Zdislava

Zdislava is the patron saint of the Czech nation, and her visage can be seen throughout the country, in various public venues. Here is a picture of her, emblazoned on a well, which I found in Wikimedia.

I hope my readers will pay special attention to this saint, since I hear from many women that they too wish to live a life completely devoted to God, but it is hard to do when the demands of domestic life come into play. My position is that an intense spiritual life is still possible in the bosom of the family. It may not reach the mystical heights of a monk or nun whose entire day is devoted to prayer, meditation, and serving the Lord in a monastic institution, but it can come darn near to it.

Keeping in mind that this particular saint (and others of the upper classes) most assuredly had servants to do the hard work of domestic maintenance. Others were cooking and cleaning, no doubt, leaving time and space for the saint to care for the sick and the poor. We shouldn't be too ambitious for ourselves, as far as establishing monasteries and serving large numbers of poor people.  Experiencing ecstasies and floating around the house like angels are also not reasonable to expect, since most of us live rather pedestrian lives that make ordinary demands upon our time, but we CAN devote every action to the Lord by an action of the will and the heart, reminding ourselves to remain humble in our aspirations.

In my life, these saints help inspire me to stay focused on the Lord and his service, and to develop more kindness to the poor, sick, and disadvantaged. I highly recommend them.

Saint Zdislava, with child

Today, it is snowing in Albuquerque, and it is rather fun, since we don't get much of the white stuff and, when we do, it rarely sticks for long. While writing this post, I saw a large flock of Canadian geese walk across the snow-covered grass in single file, in their own gray version of the yearly Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena. I prefer the quiet, stately walk of the geese.

House keeping duties of cooking, cleaning and laundry occupy my day, between the prayers, meditations, and episodes of dog walkies.

I pray for a much improved year in 2019, in every respect.

God bless us all

Silver Rose