Today in Lent Madness action it's Rose of Lima vs. Zechariah for a shot at Irenaeus in the Elate Eight.
Yesterday, Philip, Deacon and Evangelist, proved greater than Gregory the Great 54% to 46% to advance to the next round.
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Rose of Lima
Rose of Lima was the first person born in the Western Hemisphere to be canonized a saint. Feeling called to serve as a nun from an early age, she encountered opposition from her family, who expected her to marry, as young girls from prominent families were expected to do.
Rose defied expectations. Labeled defiant by her father and others of the day, Rose refused to marry. Rose was afflicted by the expectations of her as a woman of the day, unable to have power over her life to choose her path. So she, in some way, found a way to empower herself to follow God through her afflictions.
Rose marred her own skin and cut her hair. She wore a silver crown of thorns on her head. She burned her hands as an act of mortification and ate a strict vegetarian diet. She slept 2-3 hours a night to spend as much time in prayer as possible. A quote attributed to her gives us some insight as to how she understood these self-imposed afflictions. “Without the struggle of afflictions, it is impossible to reach the height of grace. The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases."
Rose’s choices to afflict herself, through our modern eyes, seem troubling. The saints of Rose’s day, including her beloved Catherine of Siena, understood suffering as a vital experience of faith. Christianity was not a casual affiliation, but an all-consuming embrace of Jesus, following him as closely as possible. Just as the cross was central to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, the cross was central to Rose and her theology. Just as Christ suffered on the cross, so must she see suffering as holy. Rose stated, “Apart from the cross, there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven.”
Rose’s life of faith and embrace of suffering led to her reaching out to those who suffered unwillingly. She lived in a small enclosure on her family’s estate, and in her later years, brought those who were sick, hungry, and in need into her home to care for them. An avid gardener, she cultivated flowers and sold them, using the funds to provide food for the poor. Rose explained, “When we serve the poor and the sick, we serve Jesus. We must not fail to help our neighbors, because in them we serve Jesus.” Her model of care became the foundation for social services in Peru.
Rose lived a life of service to Jesus. She followed him, embracing suffering in a way that most of us find disconcerting. And her embrace of Christ in his suffering allowed her to devote her life to prayer and to care for Jesus in the least of these.
Rose died at 31. Her final words are reported to be, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, be with me always.”
Zechariah
Zechariah is a model of fidelity, both in the Christian tradition and beyond. Luke leaves no room for doubt – he tells us that Zechariah and Elizabeth “were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord” (Luke 1:7). They were also both aged and beyond their child bearing years. As such, they are akin to Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Elkanah and Hannah (among others).
Incredulity at the promise of a child in old age is not uncommon–just ask Abraham and Sarah, both of whom scoffed when an angel told them they would have a child. Asking for a sign, in general, is fairly common as well (again, see Abraham and Sarah, Gideon, and in the New Testament, the apostle Thomas). The humanity of Zechariah and his own struggle to trust in this story should give us all hope. Faith and faithfulness are messy sometimes.
Because Zechariah asked for a sign, the angel Gabriel made him deaf and mute.
(As an aside, some astute readers in round one asked why I suggested that Zechariah is both deaf and mute – the adjective used in 1:22 is ambiguous and can mean both deaf and mute, though the context perhaps suggests he was only mute. In 1:62, the crowd gathered for John’s birth made signs at Zechariah suggesting that he was also deaf. I leave it to the smart readers of this delightfully mad competition to decide for themselves the exact nature of his punishment.)
But let’s be real here, Zechariah, for this misstep (?), is punished with silence for NINE MONTHS. Gabe is a little petty and punitive if you ask me. And yet, at the end of this purgatory, Zechariah is faithful to God’s command, and indeed names the young baby John. At this point his tongue is freed, he is filled with the Holy Spirit, and he utters a prophecy that is still prayed to this day, the Benedictus (see Luke 1:68-79): “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.” Zechariah recounts the many promises of God and looks to the future where God will “give light to those who sit in darkness” and “guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Later Christian traditions recount how Zechariah resisted Herod the Great and was killed for protecting his son from the slaughter of the innocents. The story can be found in the Protoevangelium of James 22-24.
Finally, although this is a distinctly Christian competition, it should be noted that Zechariah is a prophet in the Muslim tradition as well. The story is a little different but we still see a faithful, elderly priest who wants a son so that he might train him in the ways of piety and submission to God. God grants his request and he becomes the father of John the Baptist. Zechariah is also described as a protector of Mary. According to some Muslim sources, Zechariah was killed by a mob after John the Baptist was beheaded. For more, see the Quran 3:35-41.
53 comments on “Rose of Lima vs. Zechariah”
zechariah looks like a real nice guy and self torture was not required.
No contest on this choice!
Self-mutilation by attractive young women in order to escape from an arranged marriage has a long history in folklore and in the legends of the saints, and presumably some of those stories (including Rose's) have a basis in fact.
For an insightful feminist interpretation of the many, many Virgin Saints, check out the chapter about them in Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk.
I am a vegetarian, but it was Zechariah’s saintliness even in faiths other than Christianity that convinced me to vote for him.
Rose was a product of her time and took control of her life the only way open to a woman. If she had not self-mutilated, her father could have, (and probably would have,) married her off anyway. Rather, she set herself to serve others through prayer, sacrifice, and hard work; something to be honored even if it was accomplished in ways we now find hard to comprehend.
Didn't we vote on Rose of Lima last year? or in a very recent year, anyway? While I do appreciate the write-ups steps to contextualize her actions and I see that this morning she has her adherents (35% of the vote, plus comments), I'm wondering if we could take her off the list after this? The theme of self-mutilation is so strong in her story and is distressing, as many have noted, when cutting and anorexia plague so many young women.
Unlike a few this morning, I see no parallels to Francis of Assisi in her actions (Francis stripped himself before the Bishop to make a dramatic statement that he no longer belonged to or was owned by his biological father; and Francis's fasting and doing without material things are strongly linked in his teachings to social justice and the many ways that ownership of things separates us from each other and from God).
Finally, yes, there are other examples from other sacred traditions where self-inflected pain is a pathway to God -- so it's not only a part of Christian legend or Christian stories about women, especially the much discussed "virgins" -- nevertheless less . . .
We have received God’s grace freely. We do not have to mortify ourselves for it. Not voting for Rose. Voting for Zechariah.
I appreciate the explanation that self-mortification was thought of as faithfully following Jesus in Rose’s day. Jesus did undertake a 40-day prayer and fasting marathon during which he practiced self-denial and must surely have suffered hunger and weakness. There were almost certainly times he was so busy preaching and healing the many who came to him that he similarly went without food and sleep, working himself to exhaustion. I wouldn’t recommend that, either.
On the other hand, while he accepted suffering and death, he did not flog himself, put a crown of thorns on his own head, nor put nails in his own hands and feet. I feel like there’s a difference between accepting suffering and seeking it out, between forgetting oneself once in a while in service to one’s vocation and others and a regular practice of denying what one needs for one’s health.
It’s also sad that she felt she had to mar herself in order to avoid marriage, a sign of desperation and the few options available to women.
I’m glad she was able to find joy in gardening and living a life of service to the poor and ill.
Not sure I’ll vote for her. I’m still thinking.
reply to gm
My example of St Francis was in response to many comments attributing mental illness to Rose. People attribute mental illness to many saints. I agree with you that Francis' actions were in a whole different spirit than Rose's.
Sure would be nice to have Reply operating this year as it always has in the past.
Seems to me that Rose had a messier faith and faithfulness than Zachariah? So, if you want messy, vote for Rose! Also sounds like the self mutilation started because of societal and familial demands and expectations! No other way out?
Rose seemed to have helped many in her short life!
Are we all overlooking the fact that Rose is the first patron saint of the Americas, the indigenous people of the Americas, and Peru!!! That’s the real triple threat.
I feel as if Gabriel’s silencing (and deafening?) of Zechariah was an early metaphor of an antidote to toxic patriarchy: to wit, take a step back and stop insisting on giving your opinion. There is larger work at play here; the women, Elizabeth and Mary, were about to give birth to something extraordinary in the world, something altogether new and earth shattering. It was time for the men (Zechariah and Joseph) to husband this world into being, not to govern.
Because of this, I have never assumed that Zechariah was deaf, simply mute. He needed to listen, perhaps for once, and to stop speaking.
That, to me, is that scripture’s larger meaning.
Due to the self-mutilation alone most likely also causing an early death I felt I couldn't vote for Rose of Lima. Yes, she may have been attempting to get out of an arranged marriage, but there are better ways than self-harm, plus love of God, and faith should enhance not tear down and engage in self-harm as she was doing.
Also, I wanted to report an error most likely in Lent Maddness software- I had gone to make a comment last week and kept getting "Data base error" like there was a bug in the comments form somewhere.
Just read all the comments. Many of you need to go back and read the second paragraph on Rose. It does explain the self-mutilation. And you need to look back at the times that she lived in. Women did not have choices back then. Her choice was to be a nun, but was not allowed that, so she choose to hurt herself so others would leave her alone so she could focus on worshiping the Lord, pray without ceasing and help the poor and the sick. I agree wholeheartedly with Kathy from Nicaragua.
The information on Zechariah was new to me. I had no idea that he was also in the Quran. Always thought he was mute - no mention that he could have been deaf too.
I vote for couples going through infertility (been there, done that). And I vote for the Benedictus.
For the sake of John the Baptist I'm voting for his dad.
Putting aside modern day abhorrence of self-mutilation and anorexia I can not vote for Rose. Her devotion to Jesus although strong seems warped when I think no where in the Bible does Jesus approve of followers harming themselves "In his name" or as a sign of discipleship. He never marred his own body nor did his apostles. Only in his Passion was that done to him.
So very disappointed with many of the choices this year, and for maybe the third time so far, I'm just not going to vote. There's nothing wrong with Zechariah,like he's not a "lesser of two evils" choice but there's nothing terribly great about him either, that would lead me to think he belongs in "the Elate Eight." Maybe the rule about being "on the official calendar of saintly commemorations of some church" is too restrictive. I know you guys work really hard on this and I've enjoyed it for years now, but feeling like we are really scraping for inspiring stories at this point.
I shy away from: martyrs (especially if they welcomed martyrdom) self-inflicted torture and anchoresses. Zechariah for me this time.
For the third day in a row, the system is not taking my vote (which would be for Zechariah today). Based on this year’s experience with Lent Madness, it’s going to take a while before I’ll want to have AI running the world. Or driving my car
"Gabe is a little petty and punitive if you ask me"
I guess if you two are continually going to put your fingers on the scale for Sundhar Singh, he will probably get the halo...