Welcome back for the first FULL WEEK of Lent Madness 2019. If you're just joining in the fun, we're glad you're here! There's plenty of madness to go and we're delighted to have people jump aboard the purple Lenten train at any point in the season.
Over the weekend, in the only Saturday battle of the season, Ignatius of Loyola strode past Tikhon of Zadonsk 65% to 35% to advance to the Saintly Sixteen, where he'll face the winner of Dominic vs. Marina the Monk.
Today we make our first foray into the Miscellaneous quadrant of the bracket as John Chrysostom faces Margaret of Cortona. Perhaps we should have had a play-in round to decide, once and for all, whether the correct pronunciation of "Chrysostom" should have the accent on the first or second syllable. But however you pronounce it, this should prove an intriguing battle to kick off your Monday.
And don't forget, later today, in order to make your Monday complete, Tim and Scott will be releasing another epic episode of everyone's favorite penitential viewing experience: Monday Madness. Stay tuned! (or just binge-watch old episodes).
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom was born to a wealthy family around 345 ce in Antioch, Syria. His father, a commander of imperial troops in Syria, died at an early age. John felt a call to monastic life early but stayed with his mother, acting as a caregiver. When the time came for his education, John was sent to study with the great pagan orator Libanius. John excelled in his education. (Later, at the time of his death, when asked who should succeed him in the leadership of his school, Libanius is reported to have said, “John, had not the Christians stolen him.”) John would ultimately use his intellect to become one of the great doctors of the church.
Around 373, John became a hermit and took to an ascetic life, continually standing, scarcely eating, and reading the Bible constantly. Like so many at this time, his asceticism would later impact his health. John was made a deacon in 381 and a priest in 386. From 386-398, John would earn his surname Chrysostom (literally, the “golden-mouthed”) through powerful sermons and oratory. In fact, his Easter sermon is still read from pulpits around the world today. Against his wishes John was made bishop of Constantinople in 397.
His focus on reform and care for those who were poor and vulnerable won him a good deal of respect and admiration. But Chrysostom was often blunt and tactless and did not shy away from criticizing people with incredible power. His disputes, first with Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, then with Empress Eudoxia, led to the Synod of the Oak, in which he was deposed. One year later, despite support from Pope Innocent I and much of the Western Church, Chrysostom was convicted of unlawfully resuming his episcopal duties and was exiled.
By this time, Chrysostom was in poor health from his years of asceticism. He was nonetheless forced to march to Pontus in extreme heat. He died in September of 407 from the toll the journey took on his body.
Collect for John Chrysostom
O God, who gave your servant John Chrysostom grace eloquently to proclaim your righteousness in the great congregation, and fearlessly to bear reproach for the honor of your Name: mercifully grant to all who proclaim your word such excellence in preaching, that all your people may be made partakers of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.
Margaret of Cortona
Margaret of Cortona grew up in Laviano, Italy, where her family farmed the land. Margaret was a beautiful girl and an only child. Her mother died when Margaret was only seven years old. Her father remarried, and Margaret had a treacherous relationship with her stepmother.
When she was seventeen, Margaret met Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano. She became the nobleman’s servant. Gugliemo recognized Margaret’s beauty and began to offer her gifts and attention. Margaret became Gugliemo’s mistress and had a son.
When they had been lovers for about ten years, Gugliemo went on a journey. When he didn’t return, Margaret became worried. Then Gugliemo’s dog came home alone, went directly to Margaret’s room, and began whining. Margaret followed the dog into the woods until the hound began whimpering over a pile of sticks. Margaret immediately set about moving brush and found the body of her lover in a hole below.
In her shock and distress, Margaret left the home of her murdered lover and took her son to her father’s house. They were turned away, and so Margaret knocked on the doors of the monastery of Cortona. The monks welcomed the mother and son—and her son later became a friar there.
Margaret practiced extreme acts of penance. She clothed herself in rags and slept on hard ground. She cut and bruised her face in order to mar her beauty. When she visited her hometown, she hired a woman to lead her around like a beast on a rope, yelling, “Look at Margaret, the sinner!”
Margaret joined the Order of Saint Francis and chose to live in poverty, often begging for bread to eat. She became a nurse and began a hospital for those who were sick, poor, and homeless. And she was willing to stand up to authority figures, even chastising a bishop for his violence and plundering.
Throughout the rest of her life, Margaret was drawn to God, not through severe acts of self-punishment but through the mystical reality of God’s love for her. She became known as the second Magdalene because of her tears and Christ’s love for her.
Collect for Margaret of Cortona
O God, as your servant Margaret of Cortona found a home where her repentance led to a life of prayer, service, and leadership, Grant that we may always seek to dwell where estrangement yields to reconciliation, through Jesus Christ, who is himself the goal of all our seeking and the answer to our desires, unto whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.
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219 comments on “John Chrysostom vs. Margaret of Cortona”
Like many others, I am not drawn to either saint today. However, that being said, I am voting for Margaret.
John was born into a wealthy family and enjoyed an education, as well as positions of power and influence throughout his adult life. He is honored regularly with a prayer bearing his name. He’s already received significant recognition.
Then there’s Margaret, the farmer’s daughter, with the stereotypical ‘wicked stepmother.’ A wealthy man takes her on as a servant, and while it cannot be ascertained as fact, my guess is she didn’t have a huge chance of refusing his advances. So there she is, servant-mistress with an illegitimate child. With the death of her employer/protector, she fled in fear. Turned away by her father, she turned to the monks. Her beauty had been a source of trouble for her in the past, so I understand her self-mutilation; it was an act of protection in the totally male world that had taken her in. Of course, I’m creating a whole scenario here, but I feel her aseceticism and self-humiliation might have been prompted by the monastic environments in which she found herself. At any rate, she became a nurse and took care of the sick and homeless.
My vote goes to Margaret.
Ah, a good new perspective on Margaret. Thanks!
Margaret's story has it all. Loss of mother, evil stepmother, seduced by her boss, murder, the dog, single mother, and actually helping a lot of people. I would like to hear more about the murder - motive, suspects.
Go dog go!
I will vote for Margaret today because she found her way through self-loathing to recognizing that God loves everyone, including her. Then, she channeled that love to help others. A powerful message.
I cannot vote for John, who anti-Semitic writings echoed down through the centuries and caused such harm. Margaret shows us God's grace in the our brokenness. I hope she wins so I can learn more about her. I don't think her sins were that great, but she apparently thought so.
Tough choice because I don’t like either one for the reasons cited in many comments above. Went with John but not happy about it.
This is the sentence that swayed me to vote for Margaret
‘Throughout the rest of her life, Margaret was drawn to God, not through severe acts of self-punishment but through the mystical reality of God’s love for her. ’
We stomp our feet and ring our bells at the Vigil.
Lenten fasting and abstinence are appropriate ways of observing the season...
Neither John nor Margaret speak to me; he because of his anti-Semitic rhetoric and she for flaunting self-loathing and disfigurement.
As many have already pointed out, they are both 'off-putting' (though they both also have redeeming qualities. )
Therefore, I abstain from voting today.
Margaret's story and contribution to Christian life is worthy but not as compelling as John's contributions for me. It is likely that those who practice self-denial through prayer and fasting may have "baggage," however in Christ all of the baggage that we carry is transformed in doing His work. Jesus gives us the gift of our imperfections, our greatest strength as well as weakness. So, go John! And blessings on Margaret.
The dog gets my vote!
John’s write-up didn’t do him justice. I feel like I still don’t know him ... know what special something that caused his endurance.
My consideration of Chrysostome relies on an experience with a Russian Orthodox supervisor I had working for a national nonprofit. My friend, Julia, lived him and shared his Easter sermon with me. I loved her dedication to Chrysostom’s teaching and legacy.
Then there’s Margaret. Sheesh! I’m sickened by the steps she needed to take to Humbly prove her dedication to Christ in her world.
I’m voting Margaret, the underdog. Of the two, I’d love her for my neighbor.
John was an anti-semite, not unusual in the Church at his time, but I am distressed by that part of him. Margaret made good use of her erring ways by doing good deeds. I cast my vote for Margaret.
I think it can be difficult to blame persons in the past for opinions which we now reject as wrong and opposed to God's love. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, we continue to learn and grow and I hope that this enlightenment continues to fight the wrong opinions of our day. I don't see Margaret as encouraging our young women to disfigure themselves, but rather as one who came to know God's encompassing love and who accepted herself as she began to serve others. The point is that she DID accept that love and shared it with others less fortunate.
The biography of John suppressed his extreme anti-Judaism, which is not exactly fair. I'm with the other commenters that extreme asceticism is a distortion of the Gospel, and though it may have spoken well of the church in past cultural settings, it is hard for us to understand. I voted for John because of his glorious Easter homily.
I've gotta go with Margaret. Didn't know much about her before today, but I feel truly moved by someone who, from a modern perspective really looks like she's struggling with self-harm, saying "peace between my soul and this miserable body is no longer possible. Let me treat it as one treats an irreconcilable adversary..." who is also called by God to mediate peace between 'irreconcilable' warring factions in medieval Italy. Someone excluded from community repeatedly (kicked out by stepmom as a teen, homeless after the violent death of the father of her child, denied entry to religious order she wants to join for three years) who builds and supports communities (building a tertiary congregation of women, setting up a pilgrim's house, establishing a hospital, caring for the homeless and orphaned children, working in community peacekeeping and what we'd now consider family counseling, etc etc). If we can kinda see through the veil of medieval narrative with its obsession with women's impurity and sexuality (SIGH) there's a lot in Margaret's life that emphasizes the idea of God working in and with our most broken parts of ourselves. I think that's lovely.
Hear, hear! As you say, we need to consider the medieval narrative. Margaret lived in a society that considered female beauty a lure for sin. (Geez, this is my 3rd posting about this match-up! I guess both saints have struck a nerve.)
Haha! I hear you! The more comments I read, the more I wish I’d voted for Margaret. I should’ve know there was something off since I found myself on the side of the winner!
You take a persuasive line of thought toward Margaret. I find it highly credible. Thank you.
Neither of today's contestants wholly turns my crank. I voted for John of the Golden Mouth based solely on that wonderful Easter sermon which still resonates 1, 602 years after his death. St Margaret of Cortona (of whom I had never heard before today) strikes me as being somewhat over the top, and while I hesitate to apply today's standards to the behaviour and attitudes of mediaeval people, the self-humiliation, self-abasement, and disfiguring makes her, to my mind, a very poor role model. Perhaps I shouldn't have voted at all...or you should have given us the choice of voting for Margaret's lover's dog, who displayed true love and devotion.
Even though my name is Margaret Jane, I voted for Margaret because despite the self-mutilation and anorexia, there was healing, and that allowed her to express God's Grace in her life to the benefit of humanity. I wasn't thrilled with either of them, but the manner in which John used his gift of oration, not to mention his caustic tongue, cost him my vote.
I'm voting for John because of his color commentary with Cranmer. It was a weekly high point for me.
Consider this: What path would Margaret have chosen had her baby-daddy not been killed? I highly doubt self-humiliation would have made her list. Yes, she redeemed herself after entering the monastery, but remember, this was her third choice. What other option did she have? It seems to me that all of Margaret's choices have an aroma of self-servitude to them. Hooking up with her boss & having his child must have garnered a bit of status for her. Disfiguring herself as well as being led around on rope also must have gained her status (albeit of a different sort). Jesus commanded "When you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face", calling those who make a show of their pious suffering "hypocrites". Surely she could have established a hospital and done good works without drawing so much attention to herself.
John, on the other hand, despite his less than appealing qualities, was deliberate in his path, he had wealth but chose Christ intentionally, not because it was his only option.
One note on Meg’s behalf: The hoi
polloi didn’t have access to scripture at that point in time. She probably didn’t know any better when it came to self-mortification.
As a writer, I am crazy abour John Cabot's poems (rhysostom! brilliant) and would vote for him if I could. Next vote would be for the faithful dog and finally for the monks who took Margaret in. But that won't work, so I voted for Margaret and then read the comments about John and would have gone back and voted for Margaret again, if allowed. (I didn't, I didn't.)
Thank you for your words of praise, Nancy! However, I would prefer you not vote for me because:
a) I'm no saint
b) I'm also not dead yet
I'll keep working on the former, until the latter intervenes. ;^)
If this was a summary of a murder mystery novel, we would all be fingering Margaret as the killer-- motive, opportunity, acts of contrition. I guess she wouldn't be the first saint to start as a murderer-- St. Vladimir murdered his brother. Do others come to mind?
Sorry, what would the motive have been?
If you take the romance out of it, you have a young woman employed as a maid to a nobleman. Her master proceeds to have sex with his servant, leading to an illegitimate child. At least according to one account, Margaret "accepted the [master's] importunities unwillingly". Whether you consider the relationship consensual or not, there was certainly a problematic power dynamic. As one example of that power dynamic, Margaret asked repeatedly to be made the master's wife. The master promised marriage, but never honored the commitment. So you have a young woman who left her parents' home to seek independence and adventure who instead found herself with a child, reliant completely on the man who (for all practical purposes) owned her. I think there might be some motive in there somewhere.
Yes, I can see that. Thanks for the additional information.
I wonder is such suspicions delayed her canonization.
Margaret had an evil stepmother! That earned my vote. : )
These were two tough candidates; perhaps a demonstration that saints are not perfect, and some are less perfect than others. I truly wish that Margaret had lived in a time where she could have gotten help, and not blamed herself and gone to such extreme measures of self-harm for what she perceived her sins to be. There are people reading this today who have similar feelings and impulses, and I pray that they both understand God's love and grace, and that part of that love and grace is the availability of help through compassionate and well trained counsel and medicine.
I agree with many of the above comments. I just can’t find myself voting for either one.
The best thing about them is that they stood up to authority! Voted for John, would rather have been able to vote for the dog.
Yes, the dog would have been the best choice. I finally voted for John with great reluctance.
As a fellow sometimes blunt and tactless communicator and the hardship of his forced march to Pontus, John's story moves me, but Margaret's telling off a "fat" bishop appeals to me too. Only one vote, only one vote ...
As a part-time Cortonese I am very much in Margaret’s corner. The loving veneration accorded her by the citizenry of Cortona finally brought about her canonization in 1728, 421 years after her death, and continues to this day. Her shrine crowns the hill on which the city is perched, and it was only fourteen years ago that her hospital was replaced by a modern facility named in her honor.
As to the accounts of self-harm and humiliation I will say only that, among the many accounts of Margaret’s good works, I had never heard them until now. She was certainly ascetic, but she remained in and with the world. I see her as an example of the sort of balance that is so often sought in these pages between action and contemplation.
Having belonged to a parish named for John Chrystostom (where it was always pronounced KRIS-oss-tum), I had to cast my vote for him. But I wouldn't lay money on either of this pair for the Golden Halo.
Bryan
The one in Quincy, Massachusetts pronounces it Kri-SOSS-tum.
My guess from Greek class is Kris-OSS-stom.
Tim and I settle this controversy in today's episode of Monday Madness. Tune in for the answer.
https://www.lentmadness.org/2019/03/monday-madness-march-11-2019/
Margaret was really such a wuss ! That's why I voted for her....a weak, probably sex crazed,run-of-the-mill little nobody whose own family didn't want to be bothered with her and her little offspring bastard. Sounds cruel for me to describe her that way but that's how her own treated her. Yet, in her brokenness. she found strength in her belief of the God of mercy and love and forgiveness, the One in whom we place our love and trust and our serving God by serving God's people.