Happy Monday! We hope you're ready for another full week of rough and tumble saintly action. We kick things off with Perpetua vs. Cecilia as we head into the early third century.
Last week concluded with Thomas of Villanova routing Aloysius Gonzaga 72% to 28%, in the most lopsided matchup to date. No word on how this will impact this year's NCAA basketball tournament.
And since it's Monday, stay tuned for today's episode of Monday Madness which will be released later today.
Perpetua
Perpetua, along with other Christian catechumens, was arrested in 203 CE in Thurburbo Minus, just west of Carthage (modern-day Tunisia). Prior to the arrest, not much about Perpetua is known. Once she was arrested, however, she kept a journal of her experience in prison and during the trials that ultimately culminated in her martyrdom. Portions of her journal survive to this day in the text of The Martyrdom of Saints Perpetua and Felicitas. Those journal entries may be the earliest extant Christian writings authored by a woman.
The journal narrates how Perpetua, a young 22-year-old mother of a nursing infant, repeatedly resisted pressure from her family to recant her faith. In the interactions, we see her father’s deep love and anguish for his daughter and her steadfast commitment to the Christian faith. Their tense exchanges are a sort of practice for her before she faces the regional governor. In each interchange, she states succinctly and clearly, “I am a Christian.” When she repeats the same before the Roman Emperor’s regent in court, she is condemned to death by wild beasts in the arena.
There is a certain humanity to her journals. In one entry, she narrates how her son was taken from her and given to her family. She expresses relief that her son did not go through the normal challenges of being weaned and is grateful that she herself did not experience pain in the process. It is noteworthy that her child is given to her family rather than to the father of the child and his family. One wonders if he was the one who turned her and her friends over to the authorities.
Throughout the journals, Perpetua also narrates visions and dreams she experienced while in prison. The visions give Perpetua agency and courage to stand fast in her faith. She embraced her fate and during games commemorating the fourteenth birthday of Geta, the younger son of the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, she and the other catechumens were sent to the arena. In the arena, a wild heifer was set upon her and Felicitas (somehow under the logic that a female animal should be used to kill women). They survive the assault, with Perpetua in an ecstatic state, only to be killed by the sword in an anticlimactic execution.
Collect for Perpetua
O God, the King of Saints, who strengthened your servants Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions to make a good confession and to encourage one another in the time of trial: Grant that we who cherish their blessed memory may share their pure and steadfast faith and win with them the palm of victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Cecilia
Cecilia has both inspired—and broken—the hearts of musicians, from George Frideric Handel to Paul Simon.
The patron saint of musicians was born into a noble family sometime around 200 CE in Rome. She grew up in the Christian faith and vowed as a young girl that she would remain a virgin. Still, when her parents arranged her marriage to a man named Valerian, she didn’t run away. Instead, Cecilia sang. The Golden Legend—a collection of stories of the saints read widely in late medieval Europe that paved the way for Lent Madness—recounts that when Cecilia heard the music begin at her wedding, she “sang in her heart, only to God, saying: O Lord, I beseech thee that mine heart and body may be undefouled so that I be not confounded.”
When her new husband approached her to consummate their marriage, she told him that an angel watched over her, and if he were to touch her, the angel would slay him. Unconvinced, Valerian told her to prove it. So, she told him to go to a place outside the city, where he would find Pope Urban among the poor, and ask the pope to baptize him. Only then would he see the angel. Valerian found the pope just as Cecilia described, was baptized, and returned home to find his wife indeed speaking with an angel, according to The Golden Legend. The angel crowned them both with roses and lilies and told them to keep their crowns and chastity.
The couple later converted Valerian’s brother, Tyburtius, to Christianity. The brothers became known for burying the remains of Christian martyrs and giving all they owned to people in need before they were martyred themselves. After burying her husband and brother, Cecilia was called before the Roman prefect Almachius. After sassing Almachius and refusing to offer a sacrifice to the Roman god Jupiter, she was sentenced to death. Her executioner struck her neck three times with a sword, but her head remained attached and Cecilia alive. For three days, she continued to preach and convert many people before she died.
Cecilia has been revered for centuries in poetry, art, music, and a number of Christian traditions, and her feast day on November 22 is celebrated with concerts and music festivals around the world.
Collect for Cecilia
Almighty and everlasting God, who chooses those whom the world deems powerless to put the powerful to shame: Grant us so to cherish the memory of your youthful martyr Cecilia, that we might share her pure and steadfast faith in you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
143 comments on “Perpetua vs. Cecilia”
First time I'm unable to vote !
The area where I could vote showed up empty.
Maybe tomorrow
Refresh your page, and try again. The answer to technology problems is always: "Re-boot."
Nov 22 is my ordination anniversary. Had to to with Cecilia
Scott and Tim: The coaching of the saints by your celebrity bloggers could explain the outcomes,thinking especially of the Villanova vs. Gonzaga matchup.
If anyone would like a little fun Madness today to distract from the grim news, the Washington Post has a "find the basketballs" game, which they are oddly also calling a form of Madness. Something about "March Madness."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/interactive/2022/search-game-basketball/?itid=hp_special_topic_chain1
With all this "I must remain unsullied" nonsense, it's amazing that there were ever enough Christians to carry the faith forward!
Because early Christians generally were not "born", they were converted.
There is a reason that Shakers are pretty much history as a Christian sect (they didn't believe in doing what is required to have children). Sure conversion is good and expected, but if no one is having children, there will soon be no one left.
God told Adam and Eve to go forth and multiply. God does't change. I can see Cecilia & Valerian not wanting to have children in a time of persecution, but living as nun and monk instead of wife and husband? Thinking that human reproduction fouls one's body? I can't even . . .
I voted for Perpetua over yet another example of perpetual virginity being the/ path to holiness.
[Also, do we know that Perpetua's husband did not precede her in death? That might be why her family got her son.]
You might want to read Alexander Pope's "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day," despite all the references to Greek and Roman mythology–or perhaps because of them.
I've always wondered why Cecilia chose chastity. Did she find her husband distasteful? Was she afraid? Did she not want to be tied down with a dozen children?
Did she just not want to die in childbirth? Methinks I might have opted to remain virgin in that time as well. Scary!
I'm not a great fan of the pious imaginations of the Golden Legend, but as a musician, I had to vote for Cecilia. Among other things she inspired Benjamin Britten's fabulous Ode to St. Cecilia. Listen! https://youtu.be/ViSQRzLk68s
Oops. Britten's Hymn to St. Cecilia, not Ode. Listen, anyway.
I am a Church musician. Gotta give Cecilia the nod today.
This was a difficult one for me. I had a pair of cats, one black and one white, named Felicity and Perpetua. But, as a musician, I've always honored Saint Cecilia. I finally decided for Perpetua, since Cecilia has always been a bit a-historical, more of a muse than a saint, so I voted for the more realistic and historical saint.
A courageous and devoted nursing mother vs. someone so dedicated to virginity that she persuaded her husband to keep their marriage sexless. And a very real story complete with primary source documents vs. an encrustation of legends. Virginity has its own valor, and legends have their own truth, but for my personal inspiration, it's Perpetua!
How could it not be Cecilia?
It is very difficult to get the vote in as it takes a few pressing and pushing to vote. Please help!
St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin, TX has a St. Cecilia Window named in honor of a choir member who drowned in the huge hurricane in Galveston, TX in 1900. I look at it every Sunday. It is St. Cecilia for me!
I learned about Perpetua in a church history class long ago. Her writings are some of the earliest we have that were written by a woman. She became one of my church heroes! One of these days I’d like to write/paint her icon. I couldn’t not vote for her. I was dismayed that she was paired against another strong woman of the church this early in the game.
Please go back to old voting way.
I have had a love for music since I was a child - piano, voice, choir, symphony all have been great gifts and inspiration. In addition, many women in my father's family tree were named Cecilia. The patron saint of music is my choice today!
Aye, tis music that reaches across the waves of time, leads us on when the way uncharted, rouses the spirit and calms the seas of uncertainty. As well, me crew once sailed on a bark named Cecilia, and a fine adventure it twas!
"White as an orchid she rode quite naked / In an oyster shell on top of the sea." The hymn to St. Cecilia suggests that her bite might be worse than her bark.
Many times all the comments help me sort my thoughts and decide how to vote. Today was one of those days. Perpetua for me.
Two worthy saints indeed! However, being a musician, I knew even before reading their bios that I would vote for Cecelia, the patron saint of music! When visiting the Vatican a couple years ago, I was delighted to find & buy a St. Cecelia medallion.
"Cecelia you're breaking my heart, you're shaking my confidence daily ...". You inspired this lyric for Paul Simon. You've inspired my voting today. I hope my vote gets counted. Prayers ascending.
As I think of people sheltering in basements and bomb shelters in Ukraine, I can only cast my vote for Perpetua, who lived with the knowledge of impending death and left her record of her faith and her humanity for us.
Still unable to vote.
I chose the young mom- Perpetua. Her choice took conviction and great courage. I;m afraid i also find the early medieval obsession with female virginity offensive so poor Cecilia doesn't get my vote.
Of the two saints in today's pairing I know which one I'd rather sit down with to enjoy a cup of tea and a chat, and it wouldn't be Cecilia. As a mother, I can identify more with Perpetua who seems refreshingly normal than with a goody two shoes like Cecilia. I like my saints to be real people first, saints second, and real people don't get married to remain chaste!
P.S. Why isn't Cecilia's husband Valerian a saint? He could be the patron saint of frustration!
I knew that musicians would vote for Cecilia but I am not one. I love to listen to music but neither sing or play. And, given what young mothers in Ukraine are going through right now, I went with Perpetua. How good that she kept a journal and that parts of it are still available to be read. I really should try to find a copy of it.
Being married to a musician and being a singer of sorts, Cecilia is my choice for today. However , I appreciate the person who chose Perpetua as a young mother and her suffering connected to the women of the Ukraine. God help us. Amen
I have been touched deeply by the people of Ukrain singing or playing musical instruments as fear and uncertainty encompass them.
I have witnessed the power of music to inspire and sustain. My vote went to Cecilia in their honor.
Is there any more to learn about Cecelia if she wins. But the journal inspiration may have swayed my vote as I think about it but I have already voted
Go, Cecilia! As I recall, she was also blind. So as a visually-impaired singer in choirs from my earliest years till the present, I had to vote for Cecilia. And yes, I do
believe she was a real person with real bones somewhere.
As a choir member, I've always revered Cecelia and sung her praises on November 22. But today's match-up seems to be between a simple, devoted woman condemned to a horrible death and someone around whose life much hagiography has grown. In this comparison, Perpetua's story rings more true and deserving of the halo.