4️⃣The Faithful Four is here!!4️⃣
In today’s video we are kicking things off with another faithful four, the past & present SEC!!
We hope you had a blessed Palm Sunday as we step into Holy Week and move closer to crowning this year’s Golden Halo winner 😇
The Faithful Four speaks for itself. We have read the bios, heard the legends, and seen the merch. Now it comes down to one simple question… who is most deserving of the Golden Halo?
First matchup of the round 👀
The Graces from Graceland, Constance and her companions, take on the man who made Reformation cool… Martin Luther
Do the girls of St. Mary’s School have what it takes to topple the Lutherans?
Will Wittenberg prevail over Memphis?
Only one will advance to the finals… and that choice is yours
Either of these two may face the winner of Friday’s matchup, Saint Benedict of Nursia who took down Blessed Gerard 55.09% to 44.91% 🔥
Watch the video, read the blogs, and vote!🗳️
Martin Luther
Martin Luther—priest, monk, theologian, hymn writer, early listicle pioneer—does not seem to have been an easy person to have been around. Perhaps no figure in the Reformation was a blast at dinner parties, but all the same, Thomas Cranmer does not have an insult generator to his credit. (Or does he? Someone get on that.) The stories about Luther depict a rather prickly, critical, person who could be combative and scathing one moment, sad and intensely self-critical the next, and yet deeply feeling and ardent in sincere faith. This person, with all his complications, perhaps more than anyone else, has shaped Western Christianity in all ways, and we are left to tease out what to make of his legacy.
I will not argue that Luther is a uniformly positive figure–his writings about the Jews were used centuries later by the Nazi regime to provide theological cover for their genocidal program. At the same time, Christian antisemitism neither began nor ended with Luther; he was hardly the only important church figure who voiced such ideas, and we who live in the wake of the horrors of the Holocaust cannot blame everything on him.
In fact, I think it is this very question that Luther did bestow upon the Church; he taught us that self-critical reflection was a necessity not just for ourselves, but for the entire institution. No longer, after Luther, would it be acceptable for the Church to exist in a bubble of impervious authority. No longer could the church exist hidden away from the questions and needs of the faithful. The Church instead must be always reforming, always examining itself, and always ready to repent and begin again, lest it stray from the path to which Christ calls us.
After Martin Luther nailed those theses to the door, daring the ecclesiastical powers to debate him, the powers that be now needed to explain themselves to the faithful, not just to God. The reformation he began ended up changing not just the Protestant churches, the Anglican churches, but the Roman Catholic church too. If the church is meant to be Christ’s Body in service to the world on earth, Luther showed us what it meant for the world to remind the Body that it was falling short of that call. He taught us that the faithful have a responsibility to ask for the church they need, and not just fall in line. He showed us that faith lived out in community, in the world, is an evolving proposition; never perfected, but always trying.
Reformation is not easy; asking an institution to fearlessly take a moral inventory and to change for the better isn’t simple or easily accomplished. It is an unending work that takes every one of us to see through. But it is thanks to Martin Luther that we have undertaken this work, rather than allow the church to ossify into a lifeless husk of what it was called to be. Reformation–constant reevaluation–is what keeps us seeking the will of God, and is what keeps the flame of the Spirit alive in our churches, and it is this gift that the irascible, difficult, devout saint bestowed to us.
— Megan Castellan
Constance and her Companions
I was thrilled when the Lent Madness gurus assigned Constance and her Companions, the Martyrs of Memphis, to me. I was familiar with their story, their ministry, and their ultimate sacrifice.
Mostly, I knew their names: Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler.
It is impossible to avoid making the clear and staggering analogy of Constance and her Companions to our modern first responders and health care angels. The dust is still settling from our COVID experiences, and our memories still burn with the images of the epidemic and heartaches of those suffering—both those with COVD and those helplessly watching loved ones suffer. Those recent memories provide us with an immediate glimpse of the yellow fever epidemic that the Martyrs of Memphis dealt with in 1878.
Nonetheless they persevered and refused to abandon their Christian ministry.
But Constance and her Companions faced much more as they tended to the sick and dying. They dealt with oppressive heat with no escape into an air conditioned room. They encountered the smells of sick people, and the summer’s effect on ailing and dead bodies. They faced food shortages, a result of the city’s quarantine and the inability to secure supplies. They suffered from a lack of help as thousands evacuated the city.
I admire these saints who persevered and refused to abandon their Christian ministry.
The six of them plus two others who survived the epidemic— the Very Rev. George Harris and Sister Hughetta— were publicly ridiculed for staying in Memphis. They were told their efforts were useless. However, they dismissed the jeers despite the name calling and societal shaming.
I am inspired by these saints who persevered and refused to abandon their Christian ministry.
We don’t have a clear number of how many were tended to by the Martyrs, and we don’t how many lives they saved. But we do know that, very much like our modern COVID workers, they touched lives. They saved lives.
I am thankful to these saints who persevered and refused to abandon their Christian ministry.
Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler are true examples of faith in action, of hands-on ministry to the sick, of the ultimate sacrifice to save others.
For these reasons and many others, Sister Constance, Sister Thecla, Sister Ruth, Sister Frances, the Rev. Charles Carroll Parsons, and the Rev. Louis S. Schuyler are worthy and deserving of the Golden Halo for 2026. They persevered and refused to abandon their Christian ministry.
Remember their names.
— Neva Rae Fox
61 comments on “Martin Luther vs. Constance and her Companions”
Say their names: Constance and Her Companions, worthy saings for The Golden Halo
Constance and her companions can field a basketball team with one substitute. Martin Luther can't possibly defeat them all by himself in the final four.
But seriously, I have voted for the Martyrs of Memphis in honor of the first responders and hospital workers who toiled selflessly and courageously during the darkest days of the Covid pandemic, when people were dying by the thousands every day of a disease we did not yet understand or know how to prevent.
All good comments about Luther BUT his urging the church to reflect seems to be at odds with his virulent antisemitism. I can't vote a halo for the man who wrote On the Jews and Their Lies and urged the burning of synagogues and Torahs.
I can't either. If Luther had become *less* antisemitic over time, that would be one thing. But he began his career by deploring antisemitism and gradually came to argue that Jews should just be exterminated altogether. The Nazis *loved* "On the Jews and Their Lies"--and it's actually being reprinted and published by far-right groups across Europe right now (and cheered on by terrorist-adjacent Islamic fundamentalists). Please don't let this lovely seasonal online community inadvertently endorse the newest incarnation of this ancient hatred, especially during Holy Week, a time when antisemitism has historically been at its worst during the church year.
The Church has done so much to confront our shameful past complicity, and ignoring this monstrous side of one of the most revered icons of the Reformation would set us back enormously.
Martin Luther carries too much historical baggage for me, despite the game-changer his theses had on reforming the church. In this round I choose Constance and her Companions who epitomised care with the ultimate sacrifice.
Amen. Nixon went to China. 95 theses does not forgive antisemitism.
Had to go with Constance and Her Companions this round. The anti-semitism of Luther prevented me from selecting him once again.
To err is human, to forgive divine. The contributions of Martin Luther were profound and continue to have an impact. These choices have been very difficult this year! Thank you biographers.
I am a health care worker, and resonate strongly to Constance and her sisters. I respect standing up to power, and there are many ways to do this. None of us are one-dimensional. I cannot vote for someone who was so antisemitic, and that lets Luther out.
Thank you to Megan and Neva Rae for the excellent writing that brought these saints to life for us.
The only downside of such excellence is that the choice becomes even more impossible!
Today I vote for Martin Luther because “Reformation–constant reevaluation–is what keeps us seeking the will of God,”
Yes, the Covid memories are fresh and Constance and her companions are laudable but in terms of lasting impact I have to go with Luther. Yes, he was a deeply flawed human being and his antisemitism is deplorable but his challenge of the Catholic church changed the history of Christianity. We wouldn't be where we are today without him.
That line " we wouldn't be where we are today without him" is very insightful. Given the
write up informing on Nazi gain from his treatiss, and the use of his work even today by the ill-hearted, it's worthy of deep consideration
Thank you so much to Megan for the reflections on Martin Luther and his legacy. It is always good to bring into the light the challenges posed by these complex figures. I agree wholeheartedly that the church must be always in reformation. However, today my vote goes to Constance and her companions, in honour of all those doing their best with inadequate supplies and under threat for their own lives in warzones today.
Constantly Constance! For all those who run in when everyone else is running out.
I am here because relatives of mine survived the yellow fever epidemics in Memphis. With much gratitude, I vote for Constance and her Companions and wish for them the Golden Halo!
I'm sitting here in my office next door to St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis and absolutely BEAMING with pride for our hometown heroes, Constance and her Companions! This amazing group of women have inspired me for years, and what a joy it is to see them get so much recognition.
I have to admit that I'm a Lutheran. You didn't do justice to our Martin. Among some of his other accomplishments, he translated the Bible, encouraging lay people to read and study the Bible. He may have been a crabby, beer-drinking German, but he had a powerful effect on Christianity.
How can anyone claim to love and worship Jesus as God incarnate, while despising and slandering his people and his religion? Grateful as I am for the fruits of the Reformation, on both sides of both the English Channel and the Tiber, I weep seeing the clear direct line from Luther's antisemitic vitriol to the Holocaust, and from there to bloodthirsty Zionist extremism and bloodthirsty resistance to it turning the middle east into smoke and graves and rubble. And also to the insane dominionism of Mike Johnson and his ilk, feeding into the dangerous heresy of "Christian" nationalism.
Constance and Co. saw the face of Christ in each and every suffering child of God they loved and tended to sacrificially. Following Jesus is ultimately, always, about Love. I vote for Love today.
Excellently put. Constance and her companions would serve the Palestinians of today and the Jews of the 1930s alike.
Our priest's given name is Constance, although we call her Connie. I must vote for Constance today to honor our priest who celebrated her 20th anniversary as our guide, teacher and friend this past tuesday 3/24/26!
As I voted this morning in the final round of Lent Madness, I recall that the Martyrs of Memphis also include Roman Catholic nuns, such as the Daughters of Charity, and some Protestant ministers who also stayed with the Sisters in Memphis during the outbreak, some of whom also died. A truly ecumenical response in a terrible crisis.
As a former healthcare chaplain who worked in Roman Catholic and commmunity hospitals, I am mindful of their example and sacrifice.
The semifinal round* We have one more matchup tomorrow and then the golden halo finals on Wednesday!!!
Had to vote for those who put Christ-like compassion into practice, following Christ's example all the way ... really, all the way.
Human beings are not perfect. (Well, actually, there was one perfect human being and we all know what happened to Him!), so I can still admire Martin Luther for kicking off the Reformation despite his antosemitic views. However, when it comes to today's match-up. I'm going with Constance, Thecla, Ruth, Frances, Charles and Louis because up until this year's Lent Madness I had never heard of them. They represent to me the hundreds and thousands of selfless caregivers who have served our Lord in their service to others - even to the point of giving up their own lives. I think of all those who tended the wounded and dying on battlefields throughout the millenia, of the doctors who serve with Medicins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders, of my great-aunt, a nurse who died during the Spanish'Flu epidemic of the early 20th century because she tended the sick and dying as a visiting nurse, and all the caregivers in hospitals around the world who risked contagion during Covid-19. So here's to Constance, Thela, Ruth, Francis, Charles and Louis - again I write their names - who loved others enouh to risk dying for them - as followers of that perfect human being whose sacrifice for us we remember on Friday of this week.
Sorry for the typos. Arthritic fingers are not good at typing.
You have my sympathy re arthritic fingers…wrists, too! I try to self-proofread before I send anything out, with limited success! But I’ve been plagued lately with the &^#% AI changing even the slightest misspelling to something ridiculous and not even close to the original error. I wonder if you’ve had the same problem?
And let’s go, Constance et al!
I can doze off for a few seconds and find that AI has taken it upon itself to "improve" the email I was writing, to make it more "concise" and then desttoys what I had wtitten. The result sounds utterly stupid with only a tangential relationship to what I had written. If anyone knows how to get rid of it, on a Samsung phone, using a Yahoo server, please let me know.
Arthritic fingers too. "Desttoys should be "destroys" of course, in earlier reply re AI.
Was Constance from Connecticut?
She’s marching like UConn Basketball!
Go get that Halo & trophy!
Go UConn Men's and Women's basketball!
I-L-L
I-N-I!
I'm sure we'll meet you there! Woohoo!
I'm grateful for Megan's writings about Martin Luther. I was set to vote for Constance and companions, but thinking about Luther and re-formation of our faith drew me in. This season of Lent Madness has been most challenging! Wonderful work, everyone!
Luther is fine, but we got an actual hometown hero in Constance and her companions, the martyrs of Memphis! Vote for Connie!
Thank you, Megan, for putting Luther's antisemitism into historical perspective. Yes, I recognize, as many have expressed here, these views and his writings against Jews prevent many from voting for Luther. But, as Megan pointed out, he was a complex personality, and his impact on the church and world was far reaching. Luther translated the entire Bible into German, making the Scriptures available to laity; he challenged the money-making penitential system of his day and brought people the comfort of grace and forgiveness. Flawed as he was, I owe him my understanding of the Gospel message.
I have recently become a Lutheran in a small church on Long Island, NY, pastored by a young, talented, vigorous woman. The church has three women deacons.
Since the issue of ordaining women deacons in the Roman Catholic has recently been discussed (debated) through a process of synodality I would propose that Luther's influence is still being felt in Christian churches.
Personal reformation (repentance) is the essence of Lent and seems relevant in choosing a saint who sacrificed his reputation, office and personal safety to become a well noted reformer.
The write-up for Luther was terrific.
I voted for Constance.
Parents sometimes say "Do what I say, not what I do". Luther's effect on the church was revolutionary. I'm reminded of the current controversy about Cesar Chavez, whose zeal for reform made a huge difference for farmworkers. Recent concerns are overshadowing that, but the result speaks for itself.
The response to those "certain concerns" (that Chavez raped women and teenaged girls and forcibly impregnated some of them) has been to de-emphasize Chavez and lift up the entire farmworkers' movement and its many, many activists. It's a lesson in not making one famous person the face of an entire movement, lest the idol in question turn out to have feet of clay. Many, many dissidents contributed to the Reformation in many different countries--many, like Richard Hooker, were also quietly influential as theologians, and many others, like Cranmer, Latimer, and Askew, gave their lives.
If we counted each one's sins we would never have saints. I voted for Constance but have always admired Martin Luther. However, if the Church had listened to Jan Huss about 100 years earlier there would have been no need for Martin Luther, though some sort of Reformation probably would have happened.
Go Constance and her Companions for the Golden Halo. Go Connie.
Although I strongly believe that those companions who survived deserve the same honors as the ones who died, I still voted for the Memphis bunch.
I *like* the Martyrs of Memphis much more than Martin Luther. I admire them, I revere them, I am inspired by them.
But.
Martin Luther changed the world.
Here I vote. I can do no other.