Welcome to the one and only Saturday matchup of Lent Madness 2020. From here on out every contest will take place exclusively on the weekdays of Lent. In a word, today is SPECIAL! And to mark this special occasion, Margery Kempe, a 14th century mystic, takes on Eustace, an early Christian soldier.
Yesterday, Elizabeth soundly defeated Andrew 63% to 37% in a battle of Biblical saints. We're still waiting for that first real nail-biter, but fear not! You're guaranteed to have a number of them before our work is done here.
By the way, if you need to check out the results from previous matchups or view the updated bracket, just head over to the bracket page. Our trusty Bracket Czar, Adam Thomas, updates the page every day, in his inimitable manner.
Now go enjoy your Saturday and don't forget to vote!
Margery Kempe
Margery was born into a prosperous family in about 1373, and at age twenty, she married John Kempe. She might have been like many other women of her time, known only through church records and occasional correspondence, except for The Book of Margery Kempe, the earliest surviving autobiographical writing in English that details her spiritual crisis, visions of Christ, and subsequent devotion to Jesus.
Margery herself could neither read nor write; she dictated her book to a priest in her later years. Margery’s book invites us into the life of a woman whose faith in God did not require her to edit herself but instead to offer her experience of God and her call as a disciple in unflinching, raw, humorous, and lovely glory.
Margery begins her book telling of her post-childbirth illness. She fasts and prays in response to horrific visions of demons. In this desperate state, Margery describes Jesus coming to her, saying to her she was not forsaken but loved. Margery devotes herself to Christ, eventually (after fourteen children) forcing her husband to honor her decision to live a life of chastity, calling on God to terrify her husband when he feels a desire to break this vow.
She is also imbued with the gift of tears, weeping and praying for hours in public and in private, especially when meditating upon the Passion of Christ. She begins a life of pilgrimage. She meets the Archbishop of Canterbury, is almost burned as a Lollard, visits with Julian of Norwich, and is arrested and examined as a heretic because she preached…as a woman. Margery travels alone to the Holy Land, Assisi, and Rome, walks the Santiago de Compostela, and engages in conversation with Christian mystics from all across Europe.
Margery did not dictate her book as a memoir or travel guide. She would likely not have considered her life experience alone worthy of recording. She instead recognized the profound, mystical, and even unsettling presence of God in her life and for that reason, sought to record the presence of the grace and mercy of God in her life so that God would be glorified. Her book is a wonderful testament to the grace of God in the extraordinary life of a woman who dared to be a disciple.
Collect for Margery Kempe
Direct our hearts, O Gracious God, and inspire our minds; that like your servant Margery Kempe, we might pass through the cloud of unknowing until we behold your glory face to face; in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Eustace
Strange things can happen when a person is out alone in the mountains, as shown by the legend of Saint Eustace. During the reign of the emperor Trajan, a Roman general named Placidas left his quarters to hunt. While in the countryside outside of Rome, Placidas came upon a stag moving in his direction. Between the stag’s antlers he saw a figure of Jesus Christ on the cross, and as the animal approached, he heard a voice calling him by name.
The vision changed him; Placidas immediately sought baptism into the church for himself and his family, moving from a general in the armies of Rome, which was persecuting Christians, to being numbered among the persecuted. At his baptism, Placidas changed his name to Eustachius—or in its anglicized form, Eustace. A series of catastrophes followed: Eustace lost all his wealth, and his servants soon died of a plague. As if those calamities were not enough, Eustace’s wife, Theopista, was kidnapped by the ship’s captain when on a voyage at sea. At a later point, when the family was crossing a river, his sons were taken away by a wolf and a lion. Yet Eustace remained faithful.
Eustace’s military acumen remained in high demand, and he was recalled to the Roman legions. Upon his recall, Eustace somehow managed to both reunite with his wife and children and play a part in a victory for Rome’s armies. Yet when the time came after the army’s victory to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods, Eustace refused. Legend holds that Eustace and his family were then martyred for the Christian faith, suffering death by roasting in a bronze statue of a bull.
Eustace is counted among the Fourteen Holy Helpers—fourteen saints venerated together in Roman Catholic tradition because their intercession against illness came to be believed as particularly effective in response to the Black Death. Among other things, Eustace is the patron saint of hunters, trappers, and those facing trouble; his intercession is invoked against family discord and against fire (as some sources clearly note, both temporal and eternal). He is also the patron saint of Madrid, Spain. Eustace is remembered in the West on September 20.
Collect for Eustace
Almighty God, who gave your servant Eustace boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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174 comments on “Margery Kempe vs. Eustace”
Eustace, methinks, suffers even more than poor Job. I much prefer the modesty of Elizabeth, although I have a hard time with her vow of chastity after fourteen children, and her death almost cancels out Eustace's sufferings in the comparison. It's a tough choice, but I'll follow the crowd and vote for St. Elizabeth.
Margery for sure. The wacko spinny saint who had a religious experience after she had been hit on the head, by a brick from the roof of the church under repair when she was praying. I wrote a song about her, years ago for some theology class I was in. What a gal. What hutspah!
I know, right? I'm reading her book, and it's one big lol-fest
Wish I could vote for both!
I cant help to think of Mother Teresa’s quote that says something like if you want to change the world go home and start with your family.
Even though I am women and consider myself a “liberal” christian I feel this is true. I would like to know who took care of all her children? I don’t know a lot about her so maybe leaving her family was taking care if them. Depression is real and can be dangerous. Anyway I’m not completely sure what she did for others. Maybe she paved the way for other women? At least her story seems to be documented so that’s something.
I voted for Eustace.
I've noticed the women are winning. Must be mostly women voting.
I think it's sadly simplistic that women vote for women and men for men when there is a choice. Particularly at this early stage in the game. Over the years I've voted for many women against men. I see many women I'll be supporting in the match-ups ahead. If you're truly concerned about gender imbalance, why not invite male friends to join in. As for me, I enjoy the company and ideas of women.
Bless you, Richard. Thank you for your thoughtful and generous response. I thought about replying and then passed on by as my response would have been sharper. Thank you for posting a comment true to the spirit of Lent Madness. "Like." "Two thumbs up."
Today's choice was hard not because both candidates were so very outstanding but rather because to me both seemed 'why were they part of the line up?'. I caste my vote for Margery. She had to be very brave to travel around the known world on her own and bless her for having the foresight to leave us her words of wisdom to ponder. P.S. I don't think it would have taken me 14 children before figuring out how that happened and putting a stop to it!!
Eustace, patron saint of trappers, in honor of my great grandfather.
Eustace has me a bit confused. I lived in Bavaria the church celebrations for hunters were all around St. Hubertus. When we were in the forests, giving thanks for the harvested animals and toasting the hunters with Jaegermeister, it was with a memory of Hubertus. So, Eustace is new to me and I am thankful for this remembrance of his life.
Poor Eustace. Just when you think things couldn't get any worse...
"Margery describes Jesus coming to her, saying to her she was not forsaken but loved. Margery devotes herself to Christ, eventually (after fourteen children) forcing her husband to honor her decision to live a life of chastity, calling on God to terrify her husband when he feels a desire to break this vow." God surely could smite her husband it he even looked at her sideways.
I could have voted for Margery as last fall I walked the Camino de Santiago. I instead voted for Eustace. What spoke to me, regardless that his story is true or not, is relevant to current politics. That is a story of courage to change from following a ruler cult of persecution to one of deep public service.
One vote in
One Vote for 4 years Celebrating Leap Day 2/29/2020 with a vote 4
Margery in honor of our former priest Marjorie
Margery Kempe
Oh dear, underwhelmed by both of these saints. Margery because I feel embarrassed just reading about the hours of public weeping and tears. Eustace because of the position he put his family in, and also because I can't bring myself to vote for the patron saint of hunting and trapping when the lion and wolf appear to have left his children unharmed. In the end I voted for Margery who visited Julian in Norwich which is where I currently live.
From the Wikipedia entry about the "brazen bull" execution device: The Catholic Church discounts the story of Saint Eustace's martyrdom as "completely false".[8] Footnote 8 is this: "Martyrologium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2001 ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
I voted for Margery Kempe in honor of Margery Wolcott, a member of St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis, TN. Our Margery is a Co-Founder of Constance Abbey where people dealing with homelessness and others in need can find a place to take a shower, wash their clothes, grab a bite to eat, spend the night, find a shoulder to cry on, get help finding a job or just wishing for a cat to pet. Lots of love to share plus the knowledge that God is good. All the time.
And all the time, God is good. Love your reason.
I'll admit to initially finding Margery's overabundance of tears off-putting, but after reading this in Robert Ellsberg's book All Saints: " She also committed herself to celibacy. Unfortunately, her husband did not immediately share this commitment, a source of ongoing marital discord that lasted throughout many years and the birth of many more children...When she was about forty she finally won her husband's consent to accept a mutual vow of chastity." I think perhaps she's a saint for those women who didn't have a choice or those whose only way of being heard is loud weeping. Today my vote goes to the one some of her contemporaries referred to as "a holy nuisance."
Today's matchup is a disappointing "no contest," pitting a saint (Eustace) the story of whose life is entirely based on late and unreliable legend and who may not even have existed, versus a real person whose amazing adventurous life and great spiritual struggles and depth we know from her own (dictated) autobiography. Of course I voted for Margery! I wish Lent Madness would give us people we actually know something about, not the stuff of imaginative legend, however charming.
Both worthy challengers, but Margery gets my vote for the account of the consolation she took from her experience of God's love.
I had to go for Eustace. If I had birthed 14 kids, I'd have gone crazy and tried anything to get out of having a 15th. She really knew how to cry.
There is a little cafe in Rome, to which I make a biennial pilgrimage, for it has the best espresso I have ever tasted. Sant'Eustachio gets my vote today!
https://santeustachioilcaffe.com/en/
It's a shame he's likely to lose today... The Saintly Kitsch round would have been perfect for him...
Yes! It's my favorite espresso in Rome as well. I even wrote about the place in Holy Grounds, my book about coffee and faith. https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Grounds-Surprising-Connection-between/dp/1506448232
Margery's write-up left out some interesting bits, such as the fact that her fellow pilgrims to the Holy Land found her so annoying that they threw her off the tour once their boat docked in the Mediterranean on the return trip. She had to hire a monk to guide her home over the Alps, but of course she made it back home to England. Her neighbors mostly couldn't abide her either but finally softened toward her because she took such wonderful care of her disabled husband at the end of his life.
Ladies and gentlemen,if you can't get past the demons,tears.depression and a whole host of mental issues then you have never been in an 8th grade public school classroom. I taught middle school for 20 years and none of these scare me as much as 34 8th graders and their drama. Granted I loved them and loved teaching. Having 14 children!!!!!! I would be depressed too. (LOL)Margery had to have my vote.
The poor woman needed more than consolation. She needed tranquilizers. I believe they say God will provide and He did.
The memes are wonderful and the comments are enlightening. Enjoying my 1st Saintly smack down.
Just an FYI. I just had eye surgery so my typing (which is never the greatest anyway) is probably even worse.
So very sorry.
I hope you heal quickly. Teaching middle school for 20 years may make you eligible for the saint's list. Bless you!
Anyone who has borne 14 children is a saint and deserves my vote. Sorry Eustace.
Birthing 14 children is nothing to sneeze at, but if you do sneeze be sure it is on your elbow.
TBH, I felt called to vote for Eustachius, who despite loss of privilege, loss of wealth, loss of servants, and temporary separation from his wife and sons remained faithful to Christ even to the point of martyrdom.
Hear. Hear.
Forces husband into celebecy...typical
Calling Richard the Chalice Bearer . . . Help!
Excuse me? Typical of what? I'm noticing a bit of repressed anger here. Might I suggest no one should be required to submit to someone else's demands regarding their own person, no matter what the prior relationship. Margery's husband had many more options available to him at that time than she did. If he respected her wishes, spiritually inspired as they were, I only have more admiration for them both. Your comment is not appropriate, particularly on a site devoted to Lent. If you meant it as humorous, you have failed badly.
She didn't force him...she desired to be celibate but he didn't want to until she was 40 and he had plenty of progeny by then.
While Eustachius' life certainly wasn't a bed of roses, and he is to commended for his loyalty to Christianity, Margery won my heart today. I ask, what's not to love about her! She birthed 14 children, and then set out dictating book, meets the Archbishop of Canterbury, is almost burned as a Lollard, visits with Julian of Norwich, and is arrested and examined as a heretic because she preached…as a woman. Margery travels alone to the Holy Land, Assisi, and Rome, walks the Santiago de Compostela, and engages in conversation with Christian mystics from all across Europe. She's a hero in my book (if I ever write it).
That being said, I will admit that I am enjoying the limericks! Thanks so much!
Margery Kempe all the way! I lost it after reading this sentence -- "Margery devotes herself to Christ, eventually (after fourteen children) forcing her husband to honor her decision to live a life of chastity, calling on God to terrify her husband when he feels a desire to break this vow." Wouldn't want to mess with her!
Eustace. I agree that we could use his intercession right now.