Welcome to the Round of the Saintly Sixteen! With Barbara's defeat at the hands of Thomas Ken 67% to 33%, we've collectively narrowed the field down from 32 saints to 16. Now the truly hard work begins on the journey towards the 2015 Golden Halo.
Lent Madness, like Lent, is part endurance race and we encourage those who have come thus far — both voters and contestants — to buckle down for the duration and, in the words of Saint Paul, to “Run with perseverance the race that is set before you.”
In this round, we move past basic biographies and delve into what we like to call “Quirks and Quotes.” We’ll learn some unusual facts about our saints and hear about them, either in their own words or in words uttered or written about them. Some of our holy men and women are quirkier than others and some are more quotable. As always, remember these matchups are neither fair nor for the faint of heart. If you want a bland Lenten devotion you’ve come to the wrong place.
The Saintly Sixteen begins today with Brendan the Navigator taking on Thecla. If you need a refresher from the first round you can do one of two things: consult your handy Saintly Scorecard or click the Bracket tab and scroll down. Our Bracket Czar, Adam Thomas, provides links to every previous matchup meaning you can, with just a few clicks, access the initial bios. Now go read and vote. There is work to be done!
Brendan the Navigator
Brendan lived a long a full life in service to God. His courageous and adventurous spirit led him to the ends of the world. The many hagiographies written to honor him speak to the inspiration he provided to the faithful. Even the most fantastic stories give a glimpse of his extraordinary character.
As Brendan and his friends set out to sea he insisted that they follow Jesus’ command to the seventy that they bring no provisions, trusting that God would provide all their needs. He encouraged his fellow travelers, “Fear not, brothers, for our God will be to us a helper, a mariner, and a pilot; take the oars and helm, keep the sails set, and may God do unto us, his servants and his little vessel, as he wills.”
A little later, they encountered a maiden of the sea. She was enormous — one hundred feet tall, nine feet between her “paps,” and a middle finger seven feet long. She had been pierced with a giant spear and had died. Brendan brought her back to life and baptized her into the faith. Upon baptizing her, Brendan asked if she would like to return to her home or if she would like to go to heaven. She answered, “To heaven, for I hear the voices of the angels praising the mighty God.” Brendan therefore gave her the body and blood of Christ and she died without distress.
In Brendan’s travels he saw both the horrors of hell and the glories of paradise. In one particularly poignant episode, he and his companions found themselves in a great storm of hail and snow. Some of the brothers complained to him, “Holy father, the cold in the infernal regions is not more intense than what we feel now.”
To this Brendan replied, “You speak like ignorant rustics. We have seen Judas, the betrayer of our Lord, in a dreadful sea, on the Lord’s Day, wailing and lamenting, seated on a rugged and slimy rock… Against the rock there rushed a fiery wave from the east, and a wave of icy coldness from the west alternately, which drenched Judas in a frightful manner; and yet this grievous punishment seemed to him a relief from pain, for thus the mercy of God granted this place to him on Sundays as some ease amidst his torments. What therefore must be the torments suffered in hell itself?”
For five years they traveled without injury or incident. At one point they needed to find land in order to properly celebrate the Easter Eucharist. Brendan encouraged his friends with the promise that “God is able to provide us with land in any place he pleases.” God’s good pleasure was the back of a whale named Jasconius.
After a long and full life, Brendan died. As he died, he raised his eyes to heaven, and echoing the words of Christ, uttered, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit; save me, O Lord my God.”
Thecla
Thecla is among the earliest saints of the church, and is often referred to as “Equal-to-the-Apostles,” for the fervor of her witness to Jesus Christ and the power of her example.
While the story of her life as documented in the Acts of Paul and Thecla may raise a few eyebrows – with its scintillating accounts of Thecla twice making miraculous escapes from martyrdom, including a notable self-baptism by throwing herself into a pool filled with ravenous seals – Thecla’s life and ministry made an undeniable and well-documented impact on the early church.
The great Cappadocian Father Gregory of Nyssa hailed Thecla as an example of holiness and asceticism in one of his homilies, writing that “she undertook the sacrifice of herself, by giving death to the flesh and practicing great austerities, extinguishing in herself all earthly affections, so that nothing seemed to remain living in her but reason and spirit.” His comments resonate with the Acts of Paul and Thecla, which intimate that Thecla belonged to a wealthy family of status and privilege, and that, as Butler noted in his Lives of the Saints, “She forsook father and mother, and a house abounding in gold and riches where she lived in state and plenty: she left her companions, friends, and country, desiring to possess only the treasure of the love and grace of God, and to find Jesus Christ, who was all things to her.”
Early Christians almost unanimously regarded Thecla as a protomartyr, even though she did not die a martyr's death. In the sense that the word martyr comes from the Greek word meaning witness -- one who bears testimony to their faith with the whole fullness of their life -- Thecla most certainly meets that definition.
Perhaps the great affinity for Thecla among so many came from the reality that in her, they saw a picture of themselves. In the portrait of a woman pursuing great risk to hear the gospel as preached by Paul, early Christians could see the risks they bore in order to hear and preach the gospel. In the vision of a woman who the powers of the world would have put to death many times over, they found an exemplar for what it means to be a witness to Jesus Christ, even at the cost of their own lives.
Thecla’s own confession of faith, recorded in the Acts of Paul and Thecla, are perhaps the most simple yet persuasive testimony to the power of her witness in the face of adversity: “I am a servant of the living God, and as to my state, I am a believer on Jesus Christ his Son, in whom God is well pleased. For that reason none of the beasts could touch me. He alone is the way to eternal salvation and the foundation of eternal life. He is a refuge to those who are in distress, a support to the afflicted, a hope and a defense to those who are hopeless.”
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205 comments on “Brendan the Navigator vs. Thecla”
How can you beat Easter Sunday on the back of a whale?
Yes, imagine the bunny hopping out the blow hole with foil-wrapped eggs for all.
Thecla has some nice quotes, but to those who have commented about her being in the scriptures, please please please actually read the Canonical books of the New Testament! The Acts of Paul & Thecla is not there and not to be confused with the Acts of the Apostles which follows the four Gospels.
Once again, I cast my vote for Brendan. Regardless of how fantastical his journeys might seem, I know from my late grandfather's (1874-1961) stories that one can see amazing things after long periods of time on the high seas! And when we set out on the great Sea of Life, aren't we dependent on God for our very breath as well as any other "provisions" we need? To me, Brendan is a beacon for all of us as we navigate the uncertain waters of life.
Thecla is certainly an example to us - and it appears she will win today's face-off - but Brendan captures my heart and my imagination, as well as my vote!
Another thank you to Tutu Lois. Prayers for all of our middle eastern Christians who currently suffer persecution. Remember the Sisters of Ma'loula who care for Thecla's shrine.
I'm all in with Thekla.
To honor Rev. David S's son I vote for Brendan.
Unimpressive...voted against both last round. Enormous maid of the sea 's middle finger...is there a message here?...and ravenous seals! I will just flip a coin!
Three reasons I’m voting for Thecla:
1) Still a bit miffed about the “Groupie” comments from the first round.
2) I find it disturbing that many seem to celebrate the crazy but adventurous stories about the men in the bracket (like Brendan) and yet dismiss the crazy and grisly stories of women being greatly harmed by men. My heart goes out to these women just thinking about what must have actually happened to have inspired the stories about their torturous lives and deaths.
3) “Ravenous” does not equal man- (or woman-) eating. I’m thinking Thecla was pretty smart to have jumped into a pit of ravenous seals to avoid being eaten by wild beasts. She knew her pinnipeds!
Regarding your second point:
I've noticed that the fantastic stories about men are more palatable than the fantastic stories about women, perhaps because the women are portrayed more as victims of circumstance while the men are more active. Thecla is the rare exception--she wasn't locked in a tower for her safety.
With both saints, it's good to get back to encounters with God's creation (even if they are seen as ravenous) instead of all that towers and beheading stuff. It was wonderful learning Brendan's story, but I need to go with Thecla, especially since so many women have been defeated in the first round.
Thank you Susan Boyer for bringing a beautiful perspective to what I also perceived as some "snippiness" bordering on belittling on both sides of the "issue," something I am sure the SEC would disapprove. I have never encountered ravenous seals OR a 100 foot mermaid, but then I also have some problems with guys surviving an evening in a furnace at 10,000 degrees (F or C, take your pick). All of that said, Truth can be communicated in some pretty fantastical ways. With apologies to "Poetry Alive," V: "Metaphors be with you." R: And also with you.
Vote for Brendan, a saint with class, nerve, and a star to steer by. Arrr! My son in Brendan the Aviator. and was named for this one. He was a saint who had a non-violent encounter with a whale; he was one of the first European visitors to Turtle Island, and unlike some others of ignoble memory, he came in peace. Oh that he had been the patron of Columbus, Pizarro, Cortes and the rest.
Good point about Columbus, etc.
Thecla has my vote today!
Her confession of faith is the heart of Christianity. “I am a servant of the living God, and as to my state, I am a believer on Jesus Christ his Son, in whom God is well pleased. For that reason none of the beasts could touch me. He alone is the way to eternal salvation and the foundation of eternal life. He is a refuge to those who are in distress, a support to the afflicted, a hope and a defense to those who are hopeless.”
I didn't vote for Thecla in the first round, but this is what got me today:
"Perhaps the great affinity for Thecla among so many came from the reality that in her, they saw a picture of themselves. In the portrait of a woman pursuing great risk to hear the gospel as preached by Paul, early Christians could see the risks they bore in order to hear and preach the gospel. In the vision of a woman who the powers of the world would have put to death many times over, they found an exemplar for what it means to be a witness to Jesus Christ, even at the cost of their own lives."
I voted for Thecla this time around. If Gregory of Nyssa thought enough of her to commend her than that's good enough for me. Plus the seal thing...
Both of these saints abandoned safety -- family, food, dry land -- to be witnesses for God.
Thecla's story inspires me more because she was more than just a traveller and church builder. Without provoking conflict, she was a fighter who was willing to defend herself and her faith.
Well, I've already stated my predisposition to Celtics and musicians, so of course Brendan got my vote (even though the biography didn't mention that he was Irish). But perhaps I'm not reading these biographies in the proper spirit of whimsy. I know hagiography isn't supposed to be the New York Times, but isn't a 100-foot-tall mermaid stretching things a bit even for hagiography?
"Ravenous seals?" Oh my.
Both certainly were real people, but whose real lives perhaps did not live up to their legends. I will have to go with a real person's witness - Gregory - and go with Thecla
I think people are voting for the ravenous seals rather than either saint. Just my impression.
In today's battle of David vs. David, I went with Mr. Creech. His quotes won me over. Gotta love a sailor who, at the risk of being tossed overboard into frigid waters, is not afraid to refer to his fellow travelers as "ignorant rustics".
Go Thecla! I am in a Lioness Club, and so I love that, in one version of where Thecla was supposed to be eaten by wild beasts, the Lioness in question did not eat Thecla but merely licked her feet.
And actually defended her against an attacking male lion!
Brenden got my vote today because he said "You speak like ignorant rustics."
I feel certain that I will be able to quote him before the day is over.
I'll vote for Thecla because she left wealth and comfort to follow a spiritual path that led to danger and suffering. Also, she's revered in the Eastern church. The Acts of Paul and Thecla, the Gospel of Mary, and other early texts (ex. the Nag Hammadi library etc) probably didn't make it into the canon because the people who were choosing were men who had a hard time accepting women as apostles, given their background and culture. Lent Madness gives us a chance to meet saints we might not otherwise know about. Wish I could vote for Brendan as well because Celtic Christianity is something I'd like to know more about, too. Susan Boyer, thanks for your explanation. I will certainly check out Celtic Daily Prayer.
Us nasty men! We also left out of the canon of scripture the Gospel of Thomas and the Shepherd of Hermes and the Didache and the writings of Justin and...
There are many reasons why something got left out of the canon of scripture. John's Gospel barely made it and [if memory serves me] Marcion gutted most of the Hebrew texts. Yes, there was no doubt a male cultural bias with respect to inclusion in the canon. But to say that The Acts of Paul and Thecla and other works "probably didn’t make it into the canon because the people who were choosing were men who had a hard time accepting women as apostles" makes it sound as if that was the predominant, if not the only, reason for doing so. And I just do not think this to be the case.
There's a church near here named for her! http://sttheclapembroke.org/
Brendan, my dad the Navigator (8th Air Force) called him his patron! Steered him through many missions over Europe, through the fields of France, and safely home from Stalag Luft in Barthes.
Tessa Lucero, one of the best-known Old Irish texts is a prose retelling of the Odyssey, so it was certainly known in the milieu where the Brendan legend originated. Another related source would be the genre of beast lore, which blended real and fantastic animals. One of the latter was Fastitocalon, a giant sea-turtle that floated on the sea. When mariners seeking dry land saw him, they dropped anchor and went "ashore," whereupon Fastitocalon dived and they all drowned. This was an allegory of the wiles of the Devil; the Brendan story introduces a whale, probably an allusion to the "sign of Jonas" and Christian belief in resurrection. Fastitocalon is best known to modern readers from a poem by J. R. R. Tolkien.
I grew up with legends and fables and never dismissed them as mere fantasy...any more than would I dismiss Jonah's whale as mere fantasy....
But I went with thecla this time...found her devotion too much to ignore.
I think I am plunged back into 1815 theology with these characters or is this more" EWTN nunsence"! All in all this is fun. Cheers TNC
Blessed with a long life, active late in life, and a sailor - good stuff. I voted for Brendan.
I voted for Thecia, she gave up her earthly possessions , wealth & comfortable life to follow Jesus.
Thecla and the ravenous seals is no harder to believe than Daniel in the lions' den.
Very true. Maybe he was a lion whisperer. No harder to believe than the sun standing still until a battle was finished, etc.