Congratulations! You survived another weekend devoid of voting. We realize this can cause Itchy Mouse Finger Syndrome (IMFS) for which we recommend sleeping all weekend. But, sleepers wake! For it is time to begin the last FULL week of Lent Madness 2019.
As a reminder, on Friday, Gobnait washed away Paula of Rome 73% to 27% to reach the Elate Eight, where she'll face Ignatius of Loyola.
Today, in the final matchup of the Saintly Sixteen, Zenaida faces Nicholas of Myra with the last remaining spot in the Elate Eight on the line. After today we bid farewell to Quotes & Quirks and set our minds upon the Saintly Kitsch of the Elate Eight. Stay tuned later today for another exciting episode of Monday Madness as Tim and Scott break it all down.
Zenaida
Move over Mother of Dragons, it’s time to meet the Mother of Modern Medicine. In the time of Jesus, when winter was coming, the woman who faced off against what was known as “mercenary medicine” or healthcare for only those who could afford it, was Zenaida of Tarsus. She, along with her sisters Phionella and Hermione (hello ancient Harry Potter reference), were the first women to enter formally into the profession of medicine and establish what is known as “unmercenary” medicine. Unmercenary medicine was care that focused on the holistic integration of clinical practice with prayer, mental hygiene, and spiritual wellness and was offered to not only those who could afford it, but also to those who could not.
Even in earliest times, the idea of “universal healthcare” was seen as a need. Today, that tradition continues through the Spiritual Works of Ministry in which we heal the sick and care for the poor as a part of our Christian practice. On the healthcare side of the house, integrated medicine is making a comeback as more and more people see a connection between their physical ailments and other mental and spiritual ills.
Zenaida and her sisters were drawn to medicine after studying philosophy at the school of Tarsus. Following her baptism, the marriage of philosophy, Christian practice, and medicine appealed to her. The idea that salvation and redemption were a part of the healing process struck a chord for Zenaida and she saw how Christ is fundamental to the healing of the whole person: mind, body and spirit.
As a result, Zenaida is often attributed to be one of the first practitioners of psychiatry (along with gynecology and pediatrics—she really was a forerunner of the modern family physician) recognizing that mental illnesses often have specific causes and cures and are intricately interwoven with the health of the body and spirit.
Another name for Zenaida and her sisters is the “friends of peace.” They built their hospitals in areas of extreme poverty rather than in city centers where wealth was concentrated. Her sister Hermione is attributed with establishing “xenodochia” of “hostel hospitals” which became a ministry of the early Orthodox church. It is not surprising to learn that Christianity was spread concurrently with spreading health and healing across the lands. Indeed, can one really be healthy or whole without Christ?
Nicholas of Myra
“Everybody loves Saint Nicholas, because Saint Nicholas loves everybody.” - Father Andrew Phillips
The impact of and admiration for Nicholas of Myra cannot be overstated. He provides an example and a hope that reaches across denominational, historical, ethic, and religious lines.
Writing in her famous diary, young Anne Frank penned these lines:
Once again St. Nicholas Day
Has even come to our hideaway;
It won't be quite as fun, I fear,
As the happy day we had last year.
Then we were hopeful, no reason to doubt
That optimism would win the bout,
And by the time this year came round,
We'd all be free, and safe and sound.
Still, let's not forget it's St. Nicholas Day,
Though we've nothing left to give away.
We'll have to find something else to do:
So everyone please look in their shoe!
How has Nicholas remained so important for so many? How was it his story that inspired countless other stories about generosity and kindness?
It could be that Nicholas was known to stand up for the innocent and the wrongly accused – as when he intervened at the moment of execution for three innocent young men.
Or it could be that Nicholas is remembered for acts of great generosity – whether it was the story of providing the dowry for three girls, or providing food for two years in the middle of a famine.
But most of all, perhaps it is Nicholas’s care and love for children – those most vulnerable and innocent in every society – that has endeared him to history. There was the story beloved in the medieval church of Nicholas resurrecting three boys who had been murdered and then placed into pickling barrels. Or the infant that he rescued from being burned in an overheated bathtub. And on and on, countless stories told of Nicholas caring for, providing for, and protecting children.
The example of Nicholas – generous, kind, protector of children and the innocent – can be as daunting as it is inspirational. While no writings of Nicholas have survived, one of the few quotes attributed to him give us a hint of how Nicholas lived such an amazing life, and how we can follow in the same direction:
“The giver of every good and perfect gift has called upon us to mimic His giving, by grace, through faith, and this is not of ourselves.”
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108 comments on “Zenaida vs. Nicholas of Myra”
Could someone please give me the story of today’s St. Nicholas picture? Thanks!
Yes, it is a depiction of Nicholas intervening on behalf of three wrongly accused men. You can read one version of that event here:
https://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/righter-of-wrongs/
With all apologies to Santa, as a proponent of Universal Health Care and a nurse, it's Zenaida for me!
Just couldn't vote against St. Nick.... but wow, that Zenalda. Wish I could vote twice.
Tough choice! Both are very worthy of the Golden Halo but I was worried about retaliation next Christmas so I voted for Nicholas. He seems to know everything about us...
A though I am not in favor of voting for Saints we know very little about and are rich I like the ideas they promote. I voted for ZenaIda because of her health care for all.
I feel like my dearly departed nephew, Nicholas, has reached out to me recently, and in various ways, so I've got to vote for Saint Nicholas of Myra with heartfelt thanks. Love and miss you, Nicky. xo
This is the first painful matchup of this year for me! I love them both. I am voting for Zenaida, because Nicholas is already a superstar, but without Lent Madness I would never have known about her. I think the gentle, generous, and courageous Nicholas would approve!
Like!
Barbara, your comment was the tie-breaker for me. Learning about saints is what Lent Madness is really about, right?
(Also, I worked with a lovely woman named Zenaida, even though it wasn't in a health-care facility.)
And I just added Zenaida to my computer's dictionary.
😀
I have to go with Nicholas. Universal healthcare is still a debatable work in progress. But protecting children is not! There are so many wacked out abortion laws hitting the books in this day and age I just have to go with someone who protected the children. Kids need all the help they can get in life! Nicholas just warmed my heart.
For me, it has to be Nicholas, a leader in the church, protector of the vulnerable and outcast, a saint because he joyed in love.
It also helps that my wonderful parish is well named after him.
Since universal health care and the relevance of integrated medicine is on the national agenda, Zenaida is relevant for our times. This was a hard choice, because we are also dealing with cruelty of children at our borders.
Ambrose Pare, Napoleon’s surgeon said, “I dress the wounds. God heals them.” Beware of taking too much credit, healers.
I am so impressed with the ministry of Zenaida and her sisters that I have to vote for her. Once again I am astonished that such a significant Saint is so little known. Thank you, Lent Madness, for educating me.
Both Saints whose intercession is needed at this time. Zenaida’s comprehensive health care system won me over, and I wish her luck in the Elate Eight!
While I admire Zenaida immensely, she’s also getting credit for what her sisters did, as well, which makes the competition uneven and, hence, unfair.
Unlike many of the other saintly contestants, there is nothing negative about Nicholas. He’s pure love. What could be more Christ-like? Additionally, I was very moved by Anne Frank’s poem.
So, Nicholas gets my vote! I hope he goes all the way.
Both saints are incredibly worthy of the vote. I really thought I would vote for Zanaida, but the mom in me won out...when I think about all the joy and love that is spread during the Christmas season, and when I think about the joy in telling the legend of St. Nick, I just gotta go with Santa.
I believe that her colleague's name is Philonella. Just a typo, I'm sure!
I voted for Zenaida, why? Well I am a nurse and Canadian where we have Universal Health Care. Who else COULD I vote for?
I almost always vote before I read the comments. I voted for Zenaida, thinking she was the underdog, and was surprised to see she was ahead of St. Nick! LM keeps surprising me.
Voted for Zenaida because her ministry of "NOT mercenary health care" needs to be uplifted right now. Also, because so few people know about her and her righteous works.
Of course, Old St. Nick is most worthy of the Golden Halo, but he already more than enough exposure.
Anne Courie's words today were the clincher for me. "Following her baptism, the marriage of philosophy, Christian practice, and medicine appealed to her." As a nurse practitioner and a bioethicist, these are the reasons I left clinical practice for the field of bioethics. Care for the body AND the soul, regardless of the ability to pay? AMEN! Zenaida for the Golden Halo!
(but two-thumbs up for St. Nicholas and his care for children, so sorely needed today as well).
Oops, I meant ANNA Courie. My apologies for the typo, Anna.
Nice to see that through the centuries s.d ome things never change, especially wes here healthcare is concerned . . . NOT! We need a modern Zanaida!
Loved the Limerick, John!
It’s Nicholas, by the flip of a coin, today for us. We’d be happy if either got the Golden Halo.
I voted for Nicholas, though I’m not sure I believe the Anne Frank poem. She wrote in Dutch, so how did the English rhyming work?
I’ve been trying to find the Dutch original, so far without success.
The lines quoted from Anne Frank occur in the Diary of a Young Girl in the entry for December 6, 1943
With that information, I found the poem in the complete Dutch text, available at https://wikilivres.org/wiki/Het_Achterhuis_(Anne_Frank) . The English translation does very accurately capture the meaning and spirit of the Dutch original, though I’d prefer “such fun” to “so fun.”
Translators often render their translations in rhyme. Just think of “Silent Night” and all the other hymns that are translated from other languages.
Dutch is the closest major language to English, so the rhyming and meter of the original aren’t too hard to approximate. The English meter is actually more regular than the Dutch.
Zenaida gets my vote today. I just finished reading about a diabetic who died because he couldn't afford the insurance that would made it possible for him to continue taking insulin. Zenaida it is. Nota bene, Big Pharma.
correction: "...would have made it possible..." I hope that, when"that great gettin' up morning' " (as it says in the Spiritual) comes, I won't be judged on my typing.
BaaHaaa!
I badly want Santa Claus to win, but in the end I had to vote for Zenaida.
I am deeply suspicious of Santa's universal surveillance system. The commandment is to "love thy neighbor," not surveil thy neighbor. I understand that the reason is to cajole recalcitrant children into observing bedtime, but "let the little children come unto me" applies even after 7 or 8 or 9 pm. Besides, Mrs Claus bakes cookies all throughout the off season for Santa. He's fine.
I did not know that St. Nicholas could be a patron saint for criminal justice reform. I will add that to my thoughts about him. For her holistic approach to treatment, and health care for all, I will vote for Zenaida.
No, Virginia. It’s not happening this year.
Had to go for Zenaida. Her name is also the genus of several dove species including the mourning dove. The dove of peace named for the friend of peace. Plus, universal health care. We all need it.
I'm voting for Zenaida and praying she and Santa will help Miss Jan with her medical bill and her student loan.
Me too. I voted for Zenaida, for integrated medicine and that she treated everybody, even if they couldn't afford it.
I'm surprised Saint Nick is not ahead. I do wonder how easy it will be to find Saint Zenaida kitsch for the next round.
(If I had the time I'd go back through the nine previous years and attempt to locate the least kitschy Saint.)