Today in the Saintly smackdown it's the Flower Follies as Hyacinth faces Rose of Lima. Every member of the Flower Guild should cast a vote! And maybe be a little judgy about their choice?
Yesterday, on Opening Day, Thomas the Apostle defeated Thomas Cranmer 56% to 44% with nearly 5,700 votes cast, to become the first saint to advance to the Saintly Sixteen.
It wasn't the smoothest start to our little bracket competition as so many people tried to vote early in the day that the server crashed. A few times. But we're up and running and looking forward to another full season of saintly thrills and spills. Please note that you cannot vote from the email we send out, you can only vote directly from the website. All of the extra steps involved are to protect the Lent Madness Global Public from voter fraud (yes, it's a thing). Thank you for your patience when you have trouble voting. You were patient, right?! it's supposedly a virtue.
Don't forget that tomorrow is the ONLY WEEKEND VOTE of Lent Madness as Kassia takes on Casmir.
Now go exercise your right to vote!
Hyacinth
Hyacinth was born in 1185 to a noble family in Silesia, Poland. As young nobleman of his age did, he received a thorough education and was trained as a priest, where his uncle (a bishop) appointed him as a canon at a local cathedral. This same uncle took Hyacinth with him when he traveled to Rome, a trip that would change Hyacinth’s life.
During his time in Rome, Hyacinth encountered Dominic of Osma, who had recently founded the order of Dominicans, a group of avowed people committed to sharing the Gospel through preaching the Good News and preaching against heresy. Hyacinth received his religious habit in 1220 from Dominic himself.
Hyacinth then returned to Poland and Kyiv to establish the Dominican Order in the Northlands and preach to the people of Poland. Through his efforts, Dominican friaries soon existed in all the major cities in Poland and thousands of lay people were converted to Christianity through the preaching of Hyacinth. Tradition holds that Hyacinth evangelized throughout northern Europe in city squares, markets, and streets and if necessary, churches, leading to his title as Apostle of the North.
When Hyacinth was in Kyiv, the city was invaded by Moguls. Hyacinth ordered his friars to flee for their safety. He finished praying Mass, then prepared to move to safety himself. In full vestments, he took the Blessed Sacrament with him. As he was leaving, legend holds Hyacinth heard the voice of the Blessed Virgin Mary asking Hyacinth to take her, too. Hyacinth realized the statue of Mary, Mother of God, was quite large and heavy, but he complied, and to his surprise, he was able to easily carry the large statue. Images of Hyacinth frequently show him carrying a monstrance (even though monstrances weren’t used until over a century later) and a statue of Mary. He is also the patron saint of weightlifters.
A Polish saying, “Swiety Jacek z pierogami!" (St. Hyacinth and his pierogi!) comes from another miracle attributed to Hyacinth. The saying is one of pleasant surprise, and comes from the story that Hyacinth, while walking from one village to another, came upon the town of Kościelec, where the crops had been destroyed due to hailstorms. The villagers faced certain starvation with no crops to harvest for bread. Hyacinth invited the villagers to pray with him. They all knelt, praying for God to deliver them. The next day, the crops were restored, and the harvest was plentiful. In gratitude, the villagers made pierogi for Hyacinth to celebrate the miracle.
Hyacinth died 15 August 1257 in Kraków, Poland. He is buried in the Basilica of the Holy Trinity, which also houses a Dominican monastery founded by Hyacinth.
Collect for Hyacinth
O God, who didst make Blessed Hyacinth, Thy Confessor, glorious amongst the people of divers nations for the holiness of his life and the glory of his miracles, grant that by his example we may amend our lives, and be defended by his help in all adversities. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima was born around April 20-30, 1586 in Lima, Peru. She is the patron saint of all of Peru, South America and the Philippines and is known for being the first saint canonized in the western hemisphere. She is also the patron saint of embroiderers, gardeners and those that suffer because of their piety.
Rose’s story is one of parental conflict, coupled with extreme devotion and chastity. She was a beautiful woman. Her story is one that is uncomfortable: in conflict with the physical beauty she was bestowed, she preferred to seek the beauty of God. Early in life, Rose felt called to serve God. She was drawn to a penitential and spiritual life focused on study, prayer, and self-denial.
Her mother wanted her to marry. In defiance, Rose cut off all her hair and burned her skin with hot peppers to make herself repugnant to the men her mother was parading for marriage. Their struggle continued for years. Upon taking a vow of chastity, her mother finally relented and allowed Rose to become a Dominican. However, they would not let her join the convent and instead confined her to their home with strict boundaries on where she could worship. Rose spent her days in embroidery and gardening. She would spend hours in prayer, adoration of St. Mary, and in taking communion daily. Unfortunately, Rose was known for self-flagellation, fasting, wearing a crown of thorns, and sleeping on a bed of potsherds. She lived a life of solitude, self-rejection, and denial.
To the reader, this life may seem repugnant. It appears that everything about Rose was uncomfortable. She was uncomfortable with her looks, the attention her looks garnered, her parents’ wishes for a “normal” life of marriage and children, and discomfort with almost anything but prostration before the cross. It is often difficult to reconcile our understanding of God’s love in light of Rose’s story. However, we are reminded, that in the presence of a story of great suffering, great self-disgust, and self-loathing, the beacon of this story is God.
Collect for Rosa of Lima
Merciful God, you sent your Gospel to the people of Peru through Martin de Porres, who brought its comfort even to slaves; through Rosa de Lima, who worked among the poorest of the poor; and through Toribio de Mogrovejo, who founded the first seminary in the Americas and baptized many: Help us to follow their example in bringing fearlessly the comfort of your grace to all downtrodden and outcast people, that your Church may be renewed with songs of salvation and praise; through Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (GCW 2015)
— Anna Courie
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198 comments on “Hyacinth vs. Rose of Lima”
I have to go with Hyacinth too......I don't understand Rose's story of self-imposed martyrdom.
Although I loved my visit to Peru, I felt that Hyacinth made a strong contribution to the development of Christianity.
A difficult choice! I voted for St. Rose.
Although I found her ways of being pious abhorrent, she was called to be other than what others wanted or expected. A cruel irony!
Her way of following God's will for her was heroic in my view.
Other saints like St. Francis of Assisi had similar journeys.
I agree- St. Francis was another great example!
"Dominican friaries soon existed in all the major cities in Poland and thousands of lay people were converted to Christianity through the preaching of Hyacinth."
That seems an odd way to describe a preaching campaign in a nation where Christianity was already the official religion and the "lay people" were presumably baptized members of the church, however poorly instructed and cared for. I believe the mission of the Dominicans in most of Europe at that time was to preach against heresy and to exhort the lay people to lives of greater piety: that's not the same thing as "converting them to Christianity."
Neither saint spoke to me, but I think hyacinths are prettier flowers, with a lovely scent.
I surprised myself in voting for Rose of Lima. While I admire all of what Hyacinth did, it wasn't so ordinary for those in wealthy, religious families. Rose, on the other hand, was given nearly everything that would make a young girl happy. But instead, it made her miserable and believed her love for God meant more than fancy clothes and baubles and handsome suiters. Instead, she made the ultimate sacrifice for God. Was it a bit extreme, probably yes. But oh, to have a faith that strong.
It looks as if all the voting problems are with people trying to vote using their phones. I'm on my laptop and have had NO trouble either yesterday or today.
I had no trouble on my phone today. Who knows?
While Rose seems mentally ill in terms of her self-abuse, according to other biographies she also cared for the sick and destitute. Having known people who hurt themselves physically because they suffer emotionally, I have both pity and admiration for Rose of Lima. Hyacinth's pierogies appeal, as well, but I'm going with Rose this time.
It's all in the minor details. Pierogi, you bet. And weightlifters need love, too.
Not impressed by pious self-disfigurement.
Darling fellow Madnessers: Perhaps there's a way to let the supremes know that you can't vote rather than echoing others' complaints? I know it's frustrating not to be able to vote, but I am confident that Tim and Scott are working diligently to make the site work. It makes me sad to see them getting piled on for something they're trying to fix. Yes, they absolutely need to know that the site has issues, but I'm pretty sure that they've gotten that message. How about some love for them and for their efforts instead?
I think Saint Rose is a Saint for our time- she had so much internal suffering and turned so fiercely to God for deliverance. I wonder if our 21st c ears are deaf to what people of her time might have understood? Perhaps she had mental illness and it would have been a terror on all had it not been for her devotion to the Lord?
Well I wanted to vote for Rose because that was the confirmation name my older daughter took. ( my husband was Roman Catholic at the time) But having read both stories I had to go with Hyacinth.
I am curious that the collect for St Rose of Lima says that she worked among the poorest of the poor, but her bio doesn't mention anything other than gardening, embroidering, and personal piety. I have a feeling we have missed something major in her story.
There is a St Rose of Lima Catholic Church on a rural road* in Gaithersburg MD, which has stood on that lonely hill since the Civil War. I wonder how it came to be named for a Peruvian saint? I was prepared to vote for St Rose because of that church, even though I don't belong to it, but in honor of St Rose's self-denial I will accept the fact that my earlier vote disappeared and I must not sin by voting again.
* Clopper Road, which inspired the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads."
I love pierogi and even make them from scratch with my entirely non-polish family. Plus, I have done my share of lifting weights. Yet, there is something in the pious rebellion of Rose in the face of her domineering and conformist family that wins my heart. In her repressive culture, the only opening to following her calling, that she saw, led through the mortification of her own flesh. We see this kind of thing happening in abusive families even today.
Finding the vote difficult today, so I decided to vote for the flower theme instead. Roses are difficult for me to grow in my garden whereas hyacinths thrive. They come up every year without any work on my part. I love the scent of hyacinths in spring. Hyacinth gets my vote.
I still can't vote.
Gotta go with Rose. Her level of devotion to her calling and the obstacles she overcame to live a life of faith. Yes there is trauma, repugnance and disgust central to her story, but God shines brightest in the darkest nights.
If you're having trouble voting, please visit our newly created Help page. we've made some tweaks to the system over the past 24 hours, but this should resolve any lingering issues or address concerns around saintly suffrage. https://www.lentmadness.org/faqs/help/
Go for the pierogis, not self-flagellation.
I would have preferred to vote for none of the above after reading about these two, but that not being an option settled for the myth-encrusted Hyacinth.
I love pierogi as much as the next person, but I had to cast my vote for the Patron Saint of Gardeners. Also, while extreme, Rose did remain steadfast to her calling.
I abstain, seems fitting regarding these 2.
Like many I have not been able to vote either yesterday or today. I’m praying the glitches are worked out soon. In the meantime, please add my vote to Hyacinth.
The grateful farmers making pierogis ealed the deal for me. Hyancinth gets my vote. (Maybe pierogis for dinner.....)
I get that it was a different era but can't see Rose's self-loathing as something to be emulated. I voted for Hyacinth and will pray for his help in the gym today.
I loved the story of Rose of Lima. Who knows if she was mentally ill or a saint? Who knows if her refusal to marry and claim her beauty was an act of protest against a world that exploited beauty, an act of self-hatred, or a dedication to God? Sometimes it is impossible to tell the difference. Yet for all those who struggle with self-repulsion and never are freed. Rose reminds us of God's love and tender mercy when the abundant life is absent.
John Cabot, I love you! And today, I agree with you. 🙂
I was totally intrigued by Hyacinth. Maybe because we recently had a foreign exchange student from Poland. More likely because of the effect he had on so many people.
The first time I read about Rose of Lima, years ago, the story included the bit where she claimed a huge earthquake was about to rock the city but she had miraculously prayed it away. Definitely separates skeptics and believers, that.
Is that the Beaver from the Oregon State Flag in your profile picture?
To preach 'in churches...if necessary' got to me. As a deacon, evangelism starts out in the world. It reminded me of the hanging in a church I served, St. Francis. 'preach the Gospel, if necessary, use words.' Hyacinth it is.