"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”
I am a dog person (and really allergic to cats!). My Grandmother was Gertrude, I speak German, and thus I must give my "Ja!" to St. Gertrude the Great. Some days that's the best sort of logic I can muster.
I voted for Roch because my dog is sick. Here's hoping the healing can go the other way, too....
My dogs said I had to vote for Roch.
I wonder if I were as faithful to God as my little dog is to me would God tell me (in a high squeaky voice) what a good little person I am? Nonetheless I voted for Gertrude.
I think today's bloggers had to really dig deep. I could only generate enthusiasm for Gertrude because my father's sister was named Gertrude....However, too little was known in my estimation whereas we know quite a bit about Roch...I guess dog spit isn't the worst cure for plague sores. After all, Linus was always kissing Lucy in PEANUTS and she survived although she was still a juvenile tyrant. So Roch who healed and then was quite unjustly imprisoned gets my vote today with hopes for something more uplifting Monday morning bright and early...OK, Monday bloggers?
had to go with the dogs...
With three dogs sitting next to my breakfast table, I had to vote for rough, lest they feel insulted. Actually it was a hard choice so I had to use a silly reason to make up my mind.
Gertrude! A mystic and early spiritual guide!
healing the sick, healed by a dog, patron saint for falsely accused...all very noble. However; it was the artwork that bowled me over! A substantial amount of skin displayed for the time era of 1350 combined with that side long glance that seems to say "vote for me".
I'm voting for Gert - LOVE dogs, have had many but, why the heck didn't Roch say something during his 5 LONG years of imprisonment??? What a waste of time that was!
As a Benedictine confrater it had to be Gertrude -- and this was just fine with our cat!
How could one fail to vote for a man named "The Rock"? Maybe not too bright to sit in a cell for5 years without divulging his name, but he was clearly marked (red cross) for greatness. He was a doer, heals the sick, loves dogs and is saved by one. Also remember that the Supreme Executive "rocks."
Roch has a compelling story, but I'm puzzled why he didn't reveal his identity to secure his release. Was he healing and converting prisoners? Perhaps we'll never know.
Female mystics nearly always get my vote, though. I find that kind of devotion really speaks to my heart. I'm rather far too worldly to be a mystic myself, but perhaps in another life. So Gertrude it is!
I voted for Gertrude because the things she did and wrote inspired me. I can only think that Roch at this moment is winning because the dog lovers are voting for him. (Where is a good patron saint of cats when we need one?)
As a Public Defender, Roch had me at patron saint of the wrongfully accused.
I'm with saucy CC (Carolyn is that you?) The dog, the leg, the compassion, the silent suffering (hence the gnashing of teeth and the ground roots surge for sainthood) Julian and Gertrude should have been pitted against each other.
I wasn't particularly inspired by either choice. I would rather have voted for the dog who healed Roch's wounds! Since I couldn't, I voted for Roch and also enjoyed the amount of leg showing in the artwork.
Roch's leg and handsome face
drew my attention,
but the lovely Gertrude won my vote
with her erudition,
and her counseling skills.
(it didn't hurt that my husband's mother was named Gertrude.)
Glad to finally discover the story behind São Roque, a name with which I became familiar while living in Lisbon. Dog lover though I am, I admire Gertrude's work as a counselor, theologian and writer. She left a lasting contribution and gets my vote today.
Are there a lot of Martha/Mary pairings this year? Or does it just seem so to me? Gertrude sees visions and writes about them. Roch serves the ill and suffers because of it. And then suffers again because he will not speak who he is.
I voted for St. Gertrude in honor of my great aunt who shared her name. Also, I'm allergic to dogs.
I voted for education, especially of young women in places and eras where education is not common.
Had to vote for a much favored saint from my childhood, St. ROCH! Even the sisters who taught us to say this (in my mind "magic" small prayer), didn't know really anything about his life other than that he was a great healer. Well, I'm 67 amd still use this prayer. "ST. ROCH, pray for us and keep us well." (3X)
The picture of him looks like he's showing his leg like a dancer. There are many images of Roch, his wound, and dog caregiver. I just saw a great one yesterday as I was researching that match up. I must say that the icon of Gertrude today though, is stunning!
I voted for Roch, though it was a hard choice (no pun intended). At first I was put off wondering why he stayed in prison. But my guess is, judging from his past behavior, that he saw a need there and stayed to take care of the prisoners. He likely saw that they were mostly poor or outspoken victims of an unjust political and prison system. Very much a saint for today.
After reading all these comments, something is niggling away at me- so I would just like to point out that the bio for Gertrude says she entered SCHOOL in the monastery when she was 4 because she was either given by her parents, or because there was no where else for her, as she was an orphan. How do you get "she went to church" out of that?
Gertrude seemed like the obvious choice to me. Roch may have been a holy man (for all we know) and certainly he has been the object of a very widespread cult (still popular here in Mexico), but almost everything in his story is pure legend. Gertrude has left us writings about her mystical visions which still inspire and teach us, as do the writings of all those wonderful medieval mystics, so many of them women who overcame many obstacles to be influential leaders in a church which mostly tried to deny them that opportunity. So go, Gertrude--the Great!
I almost always find myself drawn to the saints who have documentation rather than legend as their story today, and this is no exception. But I wonder where my faith is placed given my own life experiences. I ought to pray more before voting, and will in the future
Another mystic. Big year for mystics. I'd never even heard of Gertrude. Although I'm a dog person, Roch doesn't seem to have much connection with dogs aside from being healed by one, and he doesn't seem to have paid much attention to them after he was healed, so I'm going with the mystic again.
For me the highest level of Grace is when someone serves the sick and poor putting their own life on the line. That is why I chose Roch .
IT isn't so much that Roch loved dogs, it's that he was loved by the dogs. Why else would they search him out, help him heal, and stay lovingly with him. He chose the better path from youth - following the St Francis path of giving up riches and seeking God in the poor and sick.