Today marks the last matchup of a full week of saintly action! Raymond Nonnatus, a 13th century Spaniard, takes on John of Nepomuk, the 14th century patron saint of Czechoslovakia.
Yesterday, in the closest vote of Lent Madness 2017 to date, Odo of Cluny held off Theodore the Studite 52% to 48%. Odo will advance to the Saintly Sixteen where he'll face Mechtild of Magdeburg.
One point we want to stress before you start pulling levers for Raymond or John. You should know that our fabulous Celebrity Bloggers are kept to strict word counts on their write-ups. Of course so much more could be said about each saint presented in Lent Madness. If you're curious about learning more about a particular holy soul, we encourage you to dive deeper! Often additional information gleaned by participants is shared in the comments sections below each post. Feel free to share tidbits and resources with your fellow Lent Madness pilgrims. In the next round, the Saintly Sixteen, we get into Quirks and Quotes (either by or about said saint). So fear not. The further a saint advances, the more information you'll be given. [Here endeth the Lent Madness lesson].
Those of you who read the comments will be very familiar with Oliver--Nine Years Old. Well, we are pleased to report that Oliver's mom sent us this picture of the boy himself, posing in front of the pictorial bracket he created for his home church, St. John's in Stamford, CT.
We'll see everybody bright and early on Monday morning for the Battle of the Augustines™ as Augustine of Canterbury squares off against Augustine of Hippo.
Raymond Nonnatus
Raymond Nonnatus lived in thirteenth-century Spain, and his nickname “Nonnatus” refers to his birth. Traditions agree he was delivered via Caesarean section, and so was “not born” (according to the scientific understanding of medieval Europe).
We don’t know much for certain but gather that Nonnatus was either the rebellious son of a local count or a local shepherd’s child. Either way, tradition says he spent his childhood tending sheep and liked to spend his spare time praying in his local church.
According to one story, Nonnatus convinced his father to let him join a group of monks in Barcelona. Called the Mercedarian order, these men were devoted to freeing Christians from slavery around the world.
After emancipating 140 slaves in Valencia, then another 250 slaves in Algiers, Nonnatus ran into trouble in Tunis—or rather, the ransom money ran out. So, Nonnatus surrendered himself as payment, winning the freedom of 28 captives. His captors, according to legend, bored a hole through his lips with a red-hot poker and padlocked his mouth shut to prevent Nonnatus from preaching. His Mercedarian brothers came to his aid and paid his ransom so that he could return to Spain. Impressively, he clung to life for several more months before dying in 1240 in Castle Cordona, near Barcelona.
After his death, Nonnatus’s popularity flourished—literally, everyone wanted a piece of him, with the count and the townsfolk of Castle Cordona and the Mercedarians all laying claim to his body. To settle the dispute, it was decided to put his body on the back of a blind mule, let the mule wander loose, and see where the mule decided Nonnatus should be laid to rest. The mule proceeded to the chapel where Nonnatus had spent so many of his childhood hours in prayer—and there he was buried. Nonnatus is celebrated as the patron saint of midwives, expectant mothers, and newborn babies—which is why the Anglican order in the novel and popular television program Call the Midwife is named Nonnatus House. Nonnatus and his locked lips remind us of the seal of the confessional, the falsely accused, and those wounded by gossip.
Collect for Raymond Nonnatus
God of all light and life, you knit together birth and death in beautiful mystery: Grant us, through the example of your servant Raymond, whose death was punishment for the lifegiving ministry he proclaimed as an emancipator, the courage to be reconciled to you and the world, through Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Advocate, who dwells with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
John of Nepomuk
John of Nepomuk (also called John Nepomucene) was born around 1345 in Bohemia, part of the modern-day Czech Republic. He studied at the University of Prague and later at the University of Padua, eventually becoming the vicar-general of St. Gilles Cathedral (St. Gilles Church) in Prague.
It is believed that King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (not the Good King Wenceslas—this Wenceslaus was definitely not good) engaged in a feud with John over the appointment of a new abbot. John appointed an abbot to the abbey at Kladruby whom the king opposed. On the night of March 20, 1393, John was thrown into the Vltava River and drowned.
Eventually the story was told like this: King Wenceslaus suspected that his wife had a lover. Because John of Nepomuk was her confessor, the king ordered him to reveal the name of her lover, but to no avail. As punishment, the king ordered John to be drowned. Because of this legend, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the seal of the confessional and a patron against slanderers. Because of the way he died, he’s also considered a protector from floods and drowning.
John of Nepomuk is typically represented with a halo of five stars, commemorating the stars that hovered over the Vltava River on the night of his martyrdom. Sometimes his figure is accompanied by an angel indicating silence with a finger placed over the lips.
Collect for John of Nepomuk
Merciful and forgiving God, we thank you for the gifts of confession, absolution, and reconciliation; for without them, we are without remedy and solace in our sin and shame. Thank you for the life of your servant John of Nepomuk, who upheld the seal of the confessional even unto death, for the sake of your love. Grant that we might have such zeal and conviction in our own day, to the honor and glory of our only Mediator and Advocate, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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301 comments on “Raymond Nonnatus vs. John of Nepomuk”
Close one again today! But I had to go with John because of the midwife thing! How interesting and I did not know that cesarean births were "invented" at that time in history! Plus he gave his life to free those bound in slavery.
I voted for Raymond because his collect is about knitting birth and death together.
Always nice to see knitting in a collect. That's what pushed me over the fence too.
Miss Jan who knits everywhere, even during sermons.
I voted for Raymond because he is the patron saint for the falsely accused.
I want to vote for Oliver. My vote is that he be placed in next year's bracket. He is clearly devoted, spiritual, and a seeker. I vote for Oliver!
Hear, hear!
Again, tough choice. I went with the emancipator. I'm surprised the voting is not closer. But it's early hours yet.
The statement, "God of all light and life, you knit together birth and death in beautiful mystery", spoke to me as I am morning the death of my sister yet celebrating the life of a yet to born first grandchild. Raymond also reminds me of the damage that gossip does in our world. Guess you figured out I voted for Raymond!
Good grief...not morning but mourning. Perhaps my glasses need to strengthened.
Very lopsided outcome indeed, but in this round, despite my respect for freeing slaves and protecting midwives, I had to go with John Nepomuk for (allegedly, once more) standing for the seal of the confessional. And there's the fact that while I lived in Vienna many years ago, I learned a little poem by Rainer Maria Rilke called "Saints," which has this to say about the saints of Prague. In true Rilke style, the poem hovers between referring to the saints themselves and to the images through which their cultus is maintained. I like that as a reminder that God calls to us--woos us?--through matter as well as spirit. My translation is somewhat halting, but here goes:
Heilige
Große Heilige und kleine
feiert jegliche Gemeine;
hölzern und von Steine feine,
große Heilige und kleine.
Great saints and small saints
Every congregation celebrates;
Carved in wood and stone refined
Great saints and small saints.
Heilige Annen und Kathrinen,
die im Traum erschienen ihnen,
baun sie sich und dienen ihnen,
heilgen Annen und Kathrinen.
Saint Annes and Saint Katherines
Who appear to them in dreams
They make for themselves and serve them
Saint Annes and Saint Katherines
Wenzel laß ich auch noch gelten,
weil sie selten ihn bestellten;
denn zu viele gelten selten -
nun, Sankt Wenzel laß ich gelten.
Wenceslaus I should also include--
Because they seldom ordered him,
Because there aren’t a lot of them
Now Saint Wenceslaus I will include.
Aber diese Nepomuken!
Von des Torgangs Luken gucken
und auf allen Brucken spuken
lauter, lauter Nepomuken!
But these Nepomuks!
From the gateway hatch they peek
And haunt all the bridges
Nothing but Nepomuks!
Rainer Maria Rilke, 1895
Aus der Sammlung Larenopfer
love it! thanks!!!
Absolutely lovely!! Thank you ... "Nothing but Nepomuks" indeed ... will live on in my memory, really charming!
Hi Oliver,
Love your picture and your insights!
And now "Our lips are sealed" by the Go-Go's is in my head!
Well there are many worse things to have in your head on a Friday morning! 🙂
Oh, thank you!! The Go-Gos!! I am smiling now!
The Nonnatus explanation had me.
Raymond seems to cover all the bases mentioned, but the falsely accused hit home the hardest. However, being the protector of floods gives John points because of the recent flooding in my home city. But Raymond won out.
Paying ransom to free slaves, patron saint of midwives - how can I go wrong. Right on Ray!
Great to see a picture of Oliver. He is a wise young man.
Oliver, you are a Rockstar! Just knew you'd be good looking kid! Thanks, Oliver's Mom, for taking the pix and raising a wonderful young man.
Oliver, you're even more handsome than I'd expected. And your Lent Madness board at church is amazing! Well done.
Waiting for my daughter's first child to be born this summer, I give my vote to Raymond Nonnatus today.
Great to see Oliver. I enjoy his insights and think he is a wonderful young man.
I enjoyed learning about John but cast my vote for Raymond Nonnatus. I'm a huge Call The Midwife fan and have a great deal of respect for those ladies. All the way with Ray!
Well, Raymond Nonnatus is worthy for so many reasons, but I have to admit it was the burial site chosen by a blind mule that reeled me in. Now that is a story --- the saints certainly are NOT boring.
Oliver is real and if you remember back to our early posts last week, Oliver announced that he is now 10!!!
As for my vote, I went with Raymond, not because of mid-wives, whom I appreciate, but because any man who would spend his fortune to free others and then give his own freedom in exchange for more. Saintly indeed!
I voted for Raymond because of his devotion to free Christian slaves and to give his life for others
Not looking at results, it sounds like things are going lopsided, but today the sanctity of the confessional--and the freedom of the press--are paramount. I shall support the underdog yet again!
Two men who both lived out their faith and, whether overtly or as a result, died for their faith. Both were silenced: one by force and one by choice. Interesting that even back then people who disagreed with the way one lived out his or her faith used force and threats to silence the opposition, even when the opposition is right. I guess it is good that Twitter didn't exist back then. Generally in that time, the Muslims were mostly tolerant of other faith traditions. It was only later when the Inquisition started slaughtering the Muslims that they reciprocated. The Crusades had not yet hit Western Europe with much force until the Inquisition took over. It is a hard choice.
Thoroughly enjoy "Call the Midwife", and entering this world of ours via cesarian myself, felt I should stand with a fellow nonnatus. So great to see a picture of Oliver - thanks to Oliver's Mom!
Raymond Nonnatus has my vote today. My case load as a social worker was mainly with pregnant girls and women. And yes, I love "Call the Midwife" -- although a little before my time as a social worker, the poverty was not just in Great Britain. Many of the women were Native Americans and poverty was rampant on and near the Reservations. I was part of a team that taught pre-natal and parenting classes to young women.
The blind mule gets my vote. Clesrly it was led by the Holy Spirit.
Yikes! The padlock image--over breakfast, no less!--nearly did me in. Both men were silenced, one freed slaves...I decided to let a blind mule lead me to the right decision. And, of course, that was Nonnatus!
Well....today's offerings are about as "out there" as you could get, or rather your bloggers. Have to go with Nonnatus and the strange birth, freeing of slaves, and then the punishment of boring through his lips. Even on acid, a blogger couldn't have made all that up from scratch. Best is the influence on stopping careless and cruel gossip that does untold amounts of damage.
Raymond's blurb spoke to me. Helping to free captives and the connection with Call of the Midwife got me hooked.
Thank you, Oliver's mom for the picture.