"Are you a dog person or a cat person?" Not to get too philosophical on you, but this is one of the fundamental questions of human existence. A question that, had the Supreme Executive Committee in its infinite wisdom chosen the other Saint Gertrude ("of Nivelles" rather than "the Great"), could have perhaps been decided once and for all. You see today Roch, the patron saint of dogs, takes on Gertrude, the patron saint of...not cats but...the West Indies. Alas.
Of course, there are other criteria on which to base your decision as you seek to choose between a 14th century Frenchman and a 13th century German woman. Like whether you prefer cabernet to beer or croissants to pretzels. But enough of these European stereotypes!
Yesterday, in the most lopsided battle of the year, Joseph trounced Christina Rossetti, sending her into her personal "bleak midwinter," 79% to 21%. He'll face Absalom Jones in the Saintly Sixteen.
This is the last battle of the first full week of Lent Madness 2016. Save your voting energy, folks, and we'll see you bright and early on Monday morning as Columba takes on Kateri Tekakwitha.
Roch
Roch (Rock in English) is known as the patron saint of dogs, falsely accused people, and plagues. Many legends surround the saint, who was born in 1350 in Montpellier, France, to a rich merchant family. According to one legend, God touched Roch at birth, leaving the mark of a red cross on his breast. Rejecting his father’s directive to become a governor of their town following his father’s death, Roch instead sold his possessions and began a pilgrimage to Italy. During his journey, he passed through a town stricken by the plague. Roch miraculously cured the inhabitants with touch and the sign of the cross. Unfortunately, he was unable to prevent himself from contracting the plague, and stories say he fled to the wilderness to die.
As Roch was lying in pain, a dog appeared to him in a clearing. The dog began licking his sores and nurturing him to health. A water source sprang up beside him. Popular iconography of Roch shows him afflicted with sores and a dog by his side.
When Roch healed, he returned home. Unfortunately, his uncle, the governor, did not recognize him and threw Roch in prison as a spy. For five years, Roch lived in the prison without revealing his identity. It was not until he died that people recognized him by the cross-shaped birthmark on his breast. Following his death, the people of the village wept and gnashed their teeth in loss and regret, and a group of followers of Roch sprang up in Montpellier. Seeing the popularity of Roch, the Roman Church built the Church of San Rocco in Venice and entombed his remains.
Collect for Roch
Merciful Jesus, you know our deepest sorrows and aches and offer us comfort through your love and companionship. Thank you for the ministry and miracles of your loyal servant, Roch, who sought to comfort the sick and infirm for the sake of your love. Create in us hearts full of compassion and love that we would be agents of your healing and love in a broken world. Amen.
Gertrude
Gertrude the Great (sometimes called Saint Gertrude of Helfta) was a late thirteenth-century German Benedictine nun, mystic, theologian, and writer.
Little is known of Gertrude’s early life except that she was born in 1256. She entered school at the monastery of St. Mary at Helfta at the young age of four. While some speculate that her parents offered her to the Church as a child oblate (a person dedicated to a life in God’s service), another theory is that she was an orphan. In the monastery school, Gertrude was under the care of Saint Mechtilde, the younger sister of the monastery’s abbess, Gertrude of Hackeborn.
Gertrude joined the monastic community in 1266. Her later writing shows that she was well educated in rhetoric and Latin. Gertrude began to experience visions at the age of twenty-five. She shifted her study from the secular to focus on scripture and theology and devoted herself to a life of prayer and meditation. Wanting to share her experiences and dedication to God, Gertrude began writing spiritual treatises for her monastic sisters and became a spiritual counselor to whom people flocked for advice.
Gertrude produced numerous writings, although only a few survive today. The longest piece still in existence is The Herald of Divine Love. Partly written by Gertrude and partly written by other nuns, The Herald is composed of five books. Book Two, written by Gertrude, forms the core of the work. It includes vivid descriptions of Gertrude’s visions, including details on the veneration of Christ’s heart.
Gertrude died at Helfta, near Eisleben, Saxony (Germany) around 1302. While Gertrude is now regarded as one of the great mystics of the thirteenth century, she was not broadly remembered after her death until the Latin edition of her work was published in 1536.
Collect for Gertrude
Almighty God, your Holy Spirit gives to one the word of knowledge, and to another the insight of wisdom, and to another the steadfastness of faith. We praise you for the gifts of grace imparted to your servant Gertrude, and we pray that by her teaching we may be led to a fuller knowledge of the truth we have seen in your Son Jesus, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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273 comments on “Roch vs. Gertrude”
Roch, Roch, Roch!
We will we will Roch you!
I like 'em both. I love dogs. But I am fascinated with the mystics and will need to go with Gertrude. Besides, why didn't Roch just identify himself?
Roch. If for no other reason: the most, shall we say, bizarre Saintly Portrait to date.
Probably the most bizarre so far this year. But looking back, I think this pales next to Thecla and the pool of ravenous seals.
I'm with you there!
According to this considerably less ridiculous sounding account ... http://www.saintroccosfeast.Org/st_rocco.html ... the dog brought him bread. But, whether it was saliva or bread or just love, I know what it feels like to be saved by a dog ... and the Roch and I have a few other things in common, too. So... Roch on!
In honor of a favorite statue at the Cloisters museum, I vote for Roch.
Roch seemed to be continually running and hiding from his fate, Gertrude with a deep and inquiring mind and spirit gets my vote.
Stanley, the almost 14-year-old Weimaraner, made it perfectly clear who I was to vote for today. What can I say, he owns me. Besides I tend to side with anyone who cares for the sick and picked on. Go Roch!
This choice is not as tough as I first thought. Roch has my vote to move forward to the Saintly 16 because Julian of Norwich beat out my other Doer, William Wilberforce. Besides, my big brown-eyed dog Fitzy is staring at me.
Gertrude (lovely icon). Roch is showing a bit too much leg to claim saintliness. However I'm now in the doghouse with my faithful companion and she just trotted off with my iPad stylus.
I've been reading Gertrude's "The Herald of Divine Love" in a seminary class on Women Mystics, and she is an amazing visionary! She loved God with a fiery passion and a deep desire for unity with the holy that is truly inspiring. Gertrude gets my vote.
Having loved several dogs dearly and deeply I can test to their healing powers. But, being also, a CCCP (Card Carrying Cat Person) I must speak to a healing which just took place — I stubbed my little toe and as I was screaming in agony, one of my cats, with a foot fetish, came and put his big soft head on the offended toe an then rolled his whole significant body over it and it felt ucg better. St. Ash.
that's "much better, thank you.
Sublime! A citation from John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester in a saintly debate!
Just wondering? Yesterday it was stated that Constance had won by the biggest margin yet this year, and now you are saying Joseph won by the biggest margin. What about Absalom Jones? Did he not win 82% to 18% for Matthias. I am very confused??
I love dogs, but I can't figure out what Roch was or did to become a saint. So I voted for the mystic.
He healed people sick of the plague and then got himself healed in turn by a dog.
Roch. Sorry, Oliver. what does a 10 year old know?
Actually, 10 year olds are frequently more knowledgeable and astute than those of us who like to call ourselves adults.
yes, they are. i have a 10 year old granddaughter who is smart as a whip. you Roch, Oliver! even though you voted for Gertrude...
Excuse me?
(Donna, my question was for Beth.)
I figured we were thinking along the same lines. Besides that, Oliver's 8 years old.
When I read 'Patron Saint of Dogs' I knew that my vote would have to go to Roch ... however after reading about Gertrude's accomplishments in education, at a time when that would have been well outside the norm, and her writings that have inspired down through the centuries, I voted for Gertrude. I love the icon of her with her book and pen.
I was so torn on this one. I ended up looking up pictures of San Rocco in Venice and the Monastery of St. Mary's, Helfta on the Internet and based my decision on which one I liked better. San Rocco is a stunning church building! So I voted for Roch.
Roch. Accused pesos and dogs have much in common. (imo, the CAT is usually the guilty party)
Saint Roch AKA Rocco is also the patron saint of knee problems. He has certainly been a good intercessor for me.
Emory, that's good to hear! I may try asking for his intercessions, although my problems are more back and neck than knee. Unless I find a patron saint for those, I guess I'll see if Saint Roch is willing to branch out a little.
Am I the only one who thinks the icon of St. Roch looks a little like Angelina Joli in her Oscar gown a couple of years ago? Although a dog lover through-and-through, I voted for Gertrude. I agree with Oliver... she went to church when she was 4!
LOL
Gertrude the Great. Mystic, writer, spiritual counselor plus such a lovely icon! The dogs almost had me, but why would Roch not identify himself to his Uncle for five years? Gertrude had strong gifts.
Rock gets my vote today, not so much for himself as for one of his namesakes, a Cistercian monk who taught me theology at the University of Dallas many years ago.
Dogs' eagerness to inflict slobbery licks is one of the reasons I prefer to hang with cats (at least if a cat licks you--and why would it?--it would be a dry lick). At the same time, I am feeling particularly ache-y today, so almost voted for Roque. In the end, literacy for women won out. Go Gertrude!
Gertrude gets my vote. My grandmother was named after her; she was no mystic but a very wise woman.
went with Roch on this one. Just liked his desire to help the people and the Dog taking care of him is great too. My dog likes to take care of me. not much for mystics sorry
Roch (Roque/Rocco) started out well, healing the sick by invoking God. And the dog story is appealing. However, what did he do in prison? Was he ministering to his fellow prisoners? Did he remain because he was doing God's work there?
Comparing the work of the two I feel that Gertrude accomplished more than Roch did and so I vote for Gertrude.
I love my dog, and have a fine friendship with Jean-Roch, a French veterinarian, but I had to vote for Gertrude. Where would I be without my spiritual friends and advisors, and the writings of so many Christians who have gone before?
I voted for Gertrude. Neither of these saints jumped and grabbed me but when I was a kid one of my mother's best friends was/is named Gertrude so the old girl got my vote.
I voted for Gertrude.
I couldn't get past the fact that Roch just sat in jail and didn't reveal his identity. Why not? What did that accomplish? How many good works were missed?
Although I did not find this an easy contest, I did vote for Roch. In reading the comments, I'm impressed by how many dog lovers voted for the dog saint, when on Tuesday the coffee lovers gave Drogo a pass. I was sure he would win handily, especially since coffee is one of the SEC's main sacraments. Oh well. I do like dogs much better than I like coffee, so I'm not complaining. I just find it interesting.
I had never heard of Saint Roch before. I was pleasantly surprised during my Fat Tuesday bracket party to discover that I was VERY familiar with him as Saint Rocco! My "home" parish, St. James, had merged with the neighboring St. Rocco's (a strange patron for an Episcopal parish, I know, but the neighborhood was incredibly Italian).
My very first time worshipping at an Episcopal church I had been invited by the priest to provide music for the liturgy. I was set up in the trancept right in front of the statue of Saint Rocco (and his dog).
As I was discovering the Episcopal Church, I attended morning prayer weekly in the same trancept. And when I graduated with a degree in music I gave my senior recital in the same place.
Even though I'm not a dog person, not do I have even a drop of Italian in me, I see Rocco as something of a patron saint for me. So even if "Roch" is a silly version of his name, he's got my vote.