We continue our march through the Saintly Sixteen this week as Lent Madness rolls on! In this round of Quirks and Quotes we'll continue to get to know our merry band of saintly souls in ever deeper ways. Don't forget, you can always return to the first round to refresh your memory of the basic bios by clicking the Bracket Tab.
Today it's Odo of Cluny taking on Mechtild of Magdeburg. To get here, Odo snuck past Theodore the Studite while Mechtild trounced Isaac the Syrian. Also, if you're in the market for a baby name, or need to suggest one to your daughter-in-law, we think "Odo" or "Mechtild" will soon wind up on the most popular list. Get ahead of the curve!
Whoever wins today will join Stephen and Florence Nightingale (who made it past Henry Beard Delany on Friday 53% to 47%) in the Elate Eight. Onward!
Odo of Cluny
Odo of Cluny, renowned for his reformation of the monasteries, was a man of deep prayer himself, and often spent days in dedicated prayer, especially at the Tomb of St. Martin. Like St. Francis, Golden Halo Winner in 2015, Odo encountered humans and animals intent on disrupting his prayer life. The animals proved much easier to deal with.
“From the sides of the road the foxes came out, at first following behind and watching him, and then throwing themselves in his way. But when they saw that they could not turn the eager youth from the straight path that he was pursuing, snarling and rushing at him with gaping mouths, they threatened to seize him by the throat. He neither fled nor resisted, but with legs together and shoulders hunched defended himself only with his shoulders and arms…[and] he guarded only his throat from their mortal wounds. Then suddenly a wolf came running swiftly and freed him from their attacks, and from thenceforth showed itself tame and acted as his companion.”
John of Salerno, the writer of this account argues if we find this difficult to believe, we should remember the life of St. Paul, whose grave was prepared by lions; blessed Ammon, whose monastic cell was guarded by dragons; or Florentius, who convinced a bear to guard his lambs. So Odo having a wolf as a prayer companion is not odd. At all.
During meals, the monks would read. When the reading ended, the meal was done and the monks were to resume their daily duties of prayer. Odo, after eating, would gather up the crumbs that had fallen from his plate, not wanting any food to be wasted. The abbot ended the reading with Odo holding a handful of crumbs. “He did not know what to do, for when the reading stopped he did not dare to death them, nor yet to leave them lest they should be lost. He therefore closed his hand on them thinking it would be best to keep them to offer to the abbot.” When they left their post-meal chapel, Odo prostrated himself at the abbot’s feet to offer the little pile of crumbs. But on opening his hand, Odo discovered the crumbs had transformed into a heap of pearls. The community was amazed and we read they immediately used the pearls to decorate a chalice.
Odo is also the inventor (or one of them) of attributing letters of the alphabet to musical notes. He’s also credited with identifying the note b-flat. Several hymns composed and attributed to Odo survive. A visitor to Cluny heralded the monks as a choir whose chants were dazzling prayers for the salvation of all souls. One of his hymns, composed for the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene, captures the dazzling love of an encounter with Christ:
She sees Jesus rising
victorious from the grave
and earns that first joy
-- Laurie Brock
Mechtild of Magdeburg
Mechthild of Magdeburg received her first Holy Spirit vision at the age of twelve. Was this a quirk or something normal in the thirteenth century? It’s hard to know and evidence of other quirky behaviors is long lost to history.
As an educated young woman she shared her visions through her writings:
“The love of God has moved my pen,
My book is not from the mind of men.”
She wrote on loose pages she believed were a gift from God. Friar Henry of Halle collected her writings dividing them into a series of books called The Flowing Light of the Godhead.
As her works were collected she said, “I was warned by some that my book might give much offence, and that it would be burnt as evil teaching. And I turned to my Beloved, as was my wont, and said to Him that if it were so, He had Himself misled me, for it was He who commanded me to write it. Then did He reveal Himself to my sorrowful heart, as if He held the book in His right hand, and said, ‘My beloved one, do not be sorrowful. The truth can be burnt by no man. He who would take it out of My Hand must be stronger than I.”
Mechthilde wrote in flowery Middle Low German; unusual since most wisdom literature during this period was written in Latin. She noted “of Latin I know nothing… And now, Lord, I will commend these writings to Thy tender mercy; and with a heart that sighs, and with eyes that weep, and with a downcast spirit, I pray that they never may be read by a Pharisee, and I pray also that Thy children may so receive them into their hearts, as Thou, O Lord, hast of Thy truth given out of Thy store to me.”
Like most members of the Beguine community where she lived, her time was spent tending those in need. She wrote of caring for the sick “to comfort them with the lovely words of God, and to refresh them also in a gentle way with earthly things, for God is very rich. It is needful also to bestow much care on the cleanliness of the sick-room, and it is a good thing to be merry and to laugh with them, but in a godly manner.”
While she was dedicated to serving others, her most joyful time was spent in prayer, “Prayer has a marvelous power, it makes the bitter heart sweet, and the sorrowful heart glad, and the poor rich, and the foolish wise, and the fearful bold, and the sick strong, and the blind to see, and the cold to burn.”
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Mechtild of Magdeburg—Unknown Artist, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
170 comments on “Odo of Cluny vs. Mechtild of Magdeburg”
I'm kinda stuck this morning! Wish I could vote for both! Odo's humility and persistence in prayer vs. Mecthild's visions, writings and care for the sick, presents a hard choice. So it all may boil down to pearls, wolves, and b flat!
Odo. I love wolves they're beautiful and cute. Also not hurting the foxes was brave we could use that these days.
A difficult choice. Thank heavens that there is heaven where such choices do not have to be made, rather all the saints have golden halos. Nevertheless, I am going to the dogs--the canine cousin wolf--and voting for Odo. Wolves are beautiful singers, too. Maybe he got the B-flat from the wolf? That might be a worthy addition to his hagiography
Well, with my inveterate sympathy for underdogs and anyone connected with music, I went with Odo, even though his connection with music seems rather tenuous, beyond attributing letters to tones and writing a few hymns (the few that survive) about St Martin. But I was rather perplexed by the story about the bread crumbs. Why did he save them? Why didn't he just eat them? I never leave crumbs behind on the table or the plate, and I'm not known for fastidiousness. Sometimes hagiographic myths are really weird. Dragons guarding your cell--yeah, sure!
At first I thought he was saving them for his wolf-dog or (as I have occasionally done) for the birds, but then he decided to give them to the Abbot, which puzzled me. The bread-pearl chalice must have been quite beautiful though.
He could not eat the crumbs once the meal was ended - that would be against the vow of obedience; nor could he throw the crumbs away - that would be against the vow of poverty. No matter what he did with the crumbs he would be breaking one vow or another, so he took them to the Abbot. You have no idea how complicated the Religious Life is until you've lived it!
Thank you, Sister, for the explanation.
Thanks for the explanation. Now it makes sense to me.
Odo, purely for the wolf, even though Mecthild was obviously born a nurse. Tough choice.
I ask as others have: where is Oliver?
As much as I love the story of Odo, the words of Mechtild move me to tears. So I vote for Mechtild. But I remain deeply thankful for Odo's identification of b flat.
I have Benedictine friends named Odo, but feel no guilt at voting for Mechtild, one of the greatest poets the Christian church has ever produced. Also a feisty woman unafraid to take on the church hierarchy at a time when that was becoming increasingly dangerous.
Odo for his wolf buddy, though he could have taught a thing or two to that saint from a few years ago who got eaten by seals.
being a wolf person myself, I voted for Odo
I voted for both in the last round. I love the sound of bagpipes. One of my favorite characters on Star Trek: Deep Space 9 was the shape-shifting Odo who served as the station's chief security officer. The snippet of a hymn about previous Lent Madness winner Mary Magdalene is lovely.
Yet still I felt the need to vote for the Beguine, Mechtild of Magdeburg, because #ShePersisted in following the Spirit at a time when those in power in the church were not exactly open to the ministry of women in the area of preaching & teaching. That's what tipped the scale today.
And as to the question of who is worthy of care, the only truly Christian answer is every single human on the planet. We are all created in the image of God. Which reminds me of something the Archbishop of York said on the BBC last year about Matthew 25 and our being judged on how we treat others. When did we see You with a pre-existing condition Lord and take away your health insurance?
To clarify the italics at the end is my extrapolation on Matt 25. The Archbishop's remarks were more general.
And speaking of Archbishops . . . I miss the Archbishops' commentary on Lent Madness.
Well done, Miss Jan!
Thanks!
I voted for odo because he created my favorite music note 😀 (legit)
Although I voted for Mechtild I am leaving strict instructions (since I may die before the event) that my first Great Grandchild, be it male or female, be named ODO!
when attending spiritual directors training we all choose a saint to read about and report on. My choice was Mechtild, so had to go with her. I am however, impressed by Odo as well and would have voted for him if my loyalties were not already spoken for. Anyone with such a deep connection to our 4 legged friends that he had one as a prayer partner has my heart.
Not a fan of notes labeled as letter. Soooo, it's Odo's doing, eh? That's a point against him 😉
No Latin, no problem! Never learned Latin, never felt the need as the vernacular is living language.
Mechtild got my vote.
ODO!! 🙂
In the first round I voted for Mechtild but now I chose Odo. Although both are very worthy, I felt Odo accomplished more and prayed at the tomb of St. Martin who is our patron saint!
I voted for Odo - mainly for his B-flat, a very important note in hymnody.
The Sprit moved me towards Odo today; it must have been the music. Though Mechtild almost had me with the quote about cleanliness in the sick room, one of her earlier quotes was a bit too cloying. Which is hardly fair, but that's the way my thoughts went down. I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if she won.
Suggestion to the SEC: Make it the ELECT eight. No, it doesn't rhyme, but it doesn't have to rhyme; the theme here is alliteration, not rhyme. And "Elate eight" is not English. "Elate" is a verb, not an adjective. "Elect" is an adjective AND also actually makes sense in this context.
Maybe they'll make an exception for Luther's bracket, letting him vie for Elect status. (Would be a better fit for Calvin, of course, but he's not playing this year.)
Actually, according to my Webster's, "elate" can also be an adjective (labeled "poetic"). It appears to mean the same as "elated."
Me too! The one by Laura Swan?
Since I watched the PBS show on the Brontë sisters last night, I like Merriam Webster's example sentence for "elate" as an adjective: "I smiled to myself and felt elate — Charlotte Brontë"
The usage is not very common these days, but our saints weren't common, either. SEC, I vote for keeping the Eight Elate rather than Elect.
ODO... out in the world, in the tradition of Francis....
Both very worthy of honour, but Odo having a wolf as a prayer companion swayed me in his favour. I miss having a canine prayer companion so my vote is in great thanksgiving for the dogs who have graced my life.
Odo's story of the foxes and wolf remind me of Carlos Castenada and the peyote vision quest.
Terrifying.
I much prefer the terror of passion to the terror of attack.
I admire how she faced being in intimate relationship with God; with humility, courage, and delight.
My vote was for Mechtild.
The Beguines were one of the first "active" orders in the church, living together and serving those in need. They had to fight mighty hard to do this, as women were either married or stayed in cloistered convents. Mechtild sounded like a lovely nurse, cleaning and singing and laughing with her patients! She was way ahead of her time. Imagine her up against Florence!
Both choices seem too far fetched, too much legend I can't bring my self to vote for either one.
Mechtild the Beguine!
I voted for Odo, although Mechtild was also worthy, because I'm to present chant as a spiritual discipline Saturday and am still gathering odds and ends, and that last paragraph seemed a gift from a saint.
As an often merry but musically challenged Registered Nurse I must cast my vote with
Mechtild.
Factual or not, the concept of a companion wolf and of B flat causes my spirit to soar.
At University, rather long ago, I actually knew a young woman named Mechtild, called "Maggie" I believe. She was a foreign student from Germany, and told me her name was really Mechtild, an old name. I liked her, so in her memory and because of the cleanliness of the sickroom and the laughter in same, I voted for Mechtild.
I think "Mechtild" is an early German form of the name "Matilda".
As one who feeds three animals at home, I thought it no wonder the animals gave Odo a hard time, since he would not share his crumbs. And Mechtild beat the Protestants in sharing her theology in the vernacular (at least for Germans) so she should get credit for that and her good works!