Our Lady
We
have
already
seen
Our
Blessed
Lady
at
the
beginning
of
this
course.
She
is
the
most
important
woman
at
the
beginnings
of
Christianity.
Virginity
and
motherhood
are
two
particular
dimensions
of
the
fulfillment
of
the
female
personality.
In
the
light
of
the
Gospel,
they
acquire
their
full
meaning
and
value
in
Mary,
who
as
a
Virgin
became
the
Mother of the Son of God.
New Testament women
The
New
Testament
Gospels,
written
toward
the
last
quarter
of
the
first
century,
acknowledge
that
women
were
among
Jesus’
earliest
followers.
From
the
beginning,
Jewish
women
disciples,
including
Mary
Magdalene,
Joanna,
and
Susanna,
had
accompanied
Jesus
during
his
ministry
and
supported him out of their private means.
(Lk 8:1-3).
New Testament women
Jesus
spoke
to
women
both
in
public
and
private.
According
to
one
account,
an
unnamed
Gentile
woman
(Canaanite,
by
birth
a
Syro-Phoenician)
was
the
occasion
for
Jesus
to
teach
that
the
ministry
of
God
is
not
limited
to
particular
groups
and
persons,
but
belongs
to
all
who
have
faith
(Mark 7:24-30; Matthew 15:21-28).
New Testament women
Jesus
was
a
frequent
visitor
at
the
home
of
Mary
and
Martha,
and
was
in
the
habit
of
teaching
and
eating
meals
with
women
as
well
as
men.
When
Jesus
was
arrested,
women
remained
firm,
even
when
his
male
disciples
are
said
to
have
fled,
and
they
accompanied
Him
to
the
foot
of
the
cross.
It
was
women
who
were
reported
as
the
first
witnesses
to
the
Resurrection,
chief
among
them
again Mary Magdalene.
New Testament women
In
addition
to
the
Twelve,
pillars
of
the
Church
and
fathers
of
the
new
People
of
God,
many
women
were
also
chosen
to
number
among
the
disciples.
We
can
only
mention
very
briefly
those
who
followed
Jesus
himself,
beginning
with
the
Prophetess
Anna
(cf.
Lk
2:
36-38),
the
Samaritan
woman
(cf.
Jn
4:
1-39),
the
Syro-Phoenician
woman
(cf.
Mk
7:
24-30),
the
woman
with
the
haemorrhage
(cf.
Mt
9:
20-22)
and
the
woman
whose
sins
were
forgiven
(cf.
Lk 7: 36-50).
New Testament women
Sometimes
women
appear
in
the
parables
which
Jesus
of
Nazareth
used
to
illustrate
for
his
listeners
the
truth
about
the
Kingdom
of
God.
This
is
the
case
in
the
parables
of
the
lost
coin
(cf.
Lk
15:
8-10),
the
leaven
(cf.
Mt
13:33),
and
the
wise
and
foolish
virgins (cf. Mt 25:1-13).
The widow’s mite
Particularly
eloquent
is
the
story
of
the
widow’s
mite.
While
“the
rich
were
putting
their
gifts
into
the
treasury...
a
poor
widow
put
in
two
copper
coins”.
Then
Jesus
said:
“This
poor
widow
has
put
in
more
than
all
of
them...
she
out
of
her
poverty
put
in
all
the
living
that
she
had”
(Lk
21:1-4).
In
this
way
Jesus
presents
her
as
a
model
for
everyone
and
defends
her,
for
in
the
socio-
juridical
system
of
the
time
widows
were
totally
defenceless
people
(cf.
also Lk 18:1-7).
The Anointing of Jesus
•
The
anointing
of
Jesus
is
an
event
reported
by
the
Synoptic
Gospels
and
the
Gospel
of
John,
in
which
a
woman
pours
the
entire
contents
of
an
alabastron
of
very
expensive
perfume
over
the
head
of
Jesus.
According
to
the
Gospel
of
Mark
14:3,
the
perfume
in
his
account
was
the
purest
of
spikenard oil.
•
Many
scholars
hold
that
it
is
actually
two
separate
events:
o
one
at
the
beginning
of
Jesus’
ministry
in
which
He offered forgiveness to a repentant woman;
o
the
other
in
which
He
is
anointed
in
preparation for His burial.
The Anointing of Jesus
This little video is an interesting anaysis of the anointings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4JeClVJI08
The Anointing of Jesus
•
In
the
events
of
Holy
Week,
there
are
two
different
recorded
occasions
when
a
woman
anoints
either
the
feet
or
head
of
Jesus.
Many
scholars
combine
both
events
because
of
their
similarities;
however,
by
studying
them
as
two
separate
events,
we
are
able
to
learn
of
some
powerful
symbolism
in
the
possible timing of these events.
•
The
first
anointing,
as
recorded
by
John
(John
12:1-8),
took
place
on
Saturday,
six
days
before
the
Passover,
in
an
unnamed
home
in
Bethany
by
Mary,
the
sister to Martha and Lazarus wherein she anointed only the feet of Jesus.
•
The
second
anointing,
as
recorded
by
Matthew
and
Mark
(Matthew
26:6-13
and
Mark
14:3-9),
took
place
on
Wednesday
of
Holy
Week,
two
days
before
Passover,
in
the
home
of
Simon
the
leper
in
Bethany
by
an
unnamed
woman
who
anointed
only
the
head
of
Jesus.
Both
women
used
ointments
valuing
300
or
more
pence,
and
both
women
were
criticized
by
a
disciple
for
their
acts of service towards Jesus.
The Anointing of Jesus
•
To
understand
the
significance
of
these
anointings,
we
first
must
understand
that
the
word
Messiah
in
Hebrew,
and
Christ
in
Greek
both
mean
‘the
anointed
one.’
In
other
words,
Jesus
Christ
would
actually
mean
Jesus
the
anointed.
In
the
Old
Testament,
there
were
three
groups
of
people
referred
to
as
being
anointed, that of prophets, priests, and kings.
•
By
following
the
chronology
of
John
and
placing
the
anointing
on
Saturday,
it
may
be
that
John
was
trying
to
foreshadow
how
Jesus,
being
anointed
the
day
before
the
triumphal
entry,
was
symbolically
being
anointed
as
the
king
of
Israel.
Remember
that
one
of
the
reasons
it
was
so
significant
that
Jesus
rode
in
to
Jerusalem
on
a
donkey
was
because
when
Solomon
was
recognized
as
the
king of Israel, he likewise rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (see 1 Kings 1:32-34).
The Anointing of Jesus
•
It
is
also
interesting
to
compare
the
anointings
by
the
two
women
and
the
washing
of
the
feet
of
the
disciples
by
Jesus
during
the
Last
Supper
(see
John
13:1-17).
All
three took place during a dinner.
•
All
three
events
are
criticized;
in
the
Gospel
of
John
Judas
criticizes
Mary,
in
Matthew
and
Mark
an
unnamed
disciple
criticizes
the
woman,
and
in
John
during
the
Last
Supper, Peter criticizes Jesus for washing the feet.
•
In
John
the
use
of
the
word
‘dinner’
refers
exclusively
to
Jesus’
Last
Supper
with
His
disciples.
This
dinner
has
echoes
of
that
meal.
John’s
version
of
the
story
combines
elements
from
both
Luke
and
Mark,
namely
Mary
anoints
Jesus’
feet
(Luke)
but
this
is
linked
with
Jesus’
burial
(Mark).
In
John
the
verb
‘to
wipe’
is
the
same
verb
used
to
describe
Jesus’
wiping
of
His
disciples’
feet
at
the
foot-washing
in
John
13:5.
Mary’s
anointing
and
wiping
of
Jesus’
feet
thus
point
toward
Jesus’
foot-washing
at
the
Last
Supper.
The Anointing of Jesus
•
John
12:1-8
names
her
Mary,
and
the
text
assumes
her
to
be
Mary,
a
sister
to
Lazarus,
as
it
also
identifies
her
sister
Martha.
Although
the
woman’s
act
has
traditionally
been
associated
with
Mary
Magdalene,
there
is
no
biblical
text
identifying her as such.
•
It
is
significant
that
by
actually
replacing
the
original
location
of
the
pouring
of
the
‘costly
ointment
of
pure
nard’
from
Jesus’
head
(Mk
14:3=Mt
26:7),
originally
understood
as
a
prophetic
act
of
messianic
character,
parallel
to
St
Peter’s
confession
at
Caesarea
Philippi
(Mk
8:27ff
and
parallels),
to
Jesus’
feet
(Jn
12:3),
John
made
a
woman
proleptically
anticipate
the
incident
of
the
washing
by
Jesus
Himself
of
His
disciples’
feet.
By
so
doing,
John
changed
even
an
act
of
‘witness’
into
an
act
of
diakonia = liturgical service.
The Anointing of Jesus
•
The
mystical
significance
of
St
John’s
account
of
the
anointing
is
further
underlined
by
the
mention
of
Mary’s
action
in
John
11:2.
This
verse
constitutes
a
prolepsis
–
a
rhetorical
figure
consisting
in
the
anticipation
of
a
future
event.
From
the
Synoptic
Gospels,
Christians
of
John’s
day
already
knew about Martha and Mary from Luke 10:38-42.
•
Therefore
John’s
reference
in
John
11:2
to
Mary’s
anointing
of
Jesus
in
John
12:2
is
clearly
understandable
as
underlining
the
mystical
importance
of
Mary’s
action
in
John
chapter
12,
by
anticipating
it
in
John
chapter
11.
Moreover,
the
context
of
John
chapter
11
is
the
raising
of
Lazarus
which
itself prefigures the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Women and the Passion of Christ
•
The
Gospels
then
tell
us
that
the
women,
unlike
the
Twelve,
did
not
abandon
Jesus
in
the
hour
of
His
Passion
(cf.
Mt
27:
56,
61;
Mk
15:
40).
Among
them,
Mary
Magdalene
stands
out
in
particular.
Not
only
was
she
present
at
the
Passion,
but
she
was
also
the
first
witness
and
herald
of
the
Risen
One
(cf.
Jn
20: 1, 11-18).
•
Saint
Veronica
or
Berenice,
who
was
a
pious
woman
of
Jerusalem
who,
according
to
tradition,
moved
with
pity
as
Jesus
carried
His
cross
to
Golgotha,
gave
Him
her
veil
that
He
might
wipe
His
forehead.
Jesus
accepted
the
offering
and
after
using
it
handed
it
back
to
her,
the
image
of
His
face
miraculously
impressed
upon
it.
The
name
"Veronica"
comes
from
the
(Latin:
vera
)
meaning
"true
or
truthful,"
and
(Greek:
eikon
)
meaning
"image;"
The
name
"Veronica"
itself
is
a
latinization
of
Berenice,
a
Macedonian
name,
meaning "bearer of victory" (corresponding to Greek:
phere-nike
).
Women and the Resurrection of Christ
Mary
Magdalene
is
the
first
to
meet
the
Risen
Christ.
At
first
she
thinks
He
is
the
gardener;
she
recognizes
Him
only
when
He
calls her by name:
Jesus
said
to
her,
‘Mary’.
She
turned
and
said
to
Him
in
Hebrew,
'Rabbuni'
(which
means
Teacher).
Jesus
said
to
her,
‘Do
not
hold
me,
for
I
have
not
yet
ascended
to
the
Father,
but
go
to
my
brethren
and
say
to
them,
I
am
ascending
to
my
Father
and
to
your
Father,
to
my
God
and
your
God’.
Mary
Magdalene
went
and
said
to
the
disciples,
‘I
have
seen
the
Lord’;
and
she
told
them
that
He
had
said
these things to her (Jn 20:16-18).
Artist: Duccio di Buoninsegna Date: 1308-11
Women and the Resurrection of Christ
It
was
precisely
to
Mary
Magdalene
that
St
Thomas
Aquinas
reserved
the
special
title,
“Apostle
of
the
Apostles”
(
apostolorum
apostola
),
dedicating
to
her
this beautiful comment:
Just
as
a
woman
had
announced
the
words
of
death
to
the
first
man,
so
also
a
woman
was
the
first
to
announce to the Apostles the words of life.
St Thomas Aquinas,
Super Ioannem
.
Artist: Duccio di Buoninsegna Date: 1308-11
Women and the Primitive Church
•
Women
were
the
last
disciples
at
the
Cross
and
the
first
at
the
empty
tomb.
they remained integral to the work of the Church in its early centuries.
•
After
the
death
and
Resurrection
of
Jesus,
women
continued
to
play
prominent roles in early Christianity.
•
The
letters
of
Paul—dated
to
the
middle
of
the
first
century—and
his
greetings
to
acquaintances
offer
fascinating
and
solid
information
about
many Jewish and Gentile women who were prominent in early Christianity.
•
Paul’s
letters
provide
vivid
clues
about
the
kind
of
activities
in
which
women
engaged
more
generally.
He
greets
Prisca,
Junia,
Julia,
and
Nereus’
sister,
who
worked
and
traveled
as
missionaries
in
pairs
with
their
husbands
or
brothers (Romans 16:3, 7, 15).
Women and the Primitive Church
•
Paul
tells
us
that
Prisca
and
her
husband
risked
their
lives
to
save
his.
He
praises
Junia
as
a
prominent
Christian,
who
had
been
imprisoned
for
her
labor.
Mary
and
Persis
are
commended
for
their
hard
work
(Romans
16:6,
12).
Euodia
and
Syntyche
are
called
his
fellow-workers
in
the
gospel
(Philippians
4:2-3).
This
is
clear
evidence
of
women
active
in
the earliest work of spreading the Christian message.
•
Paul’s
letters
also
offer
some
important
glimpses
into
the
inner
workings
of
ancient
Christian
churches.
These
groups
did
not
own
church
buildings
but
met
in
homes,
no
doubt
due
in
part
to
the
fact
that
Christianity
was
not
legal
in
the
Roman
world
of
its
day.
Such homes were a domain in which women played key roles.
•
It
is
not
surprising
then
to
see
women
taking
leadership
roles
in
house
churches.
Paul
tells
of
women
who
were
the
leaders
of
such
house
churches
(Apphia
in
Philemon
2;
Prisca
in
I
Corinthians 16:19).
•
This
practice
is
confirmed
by
other
texts
that
also
mention
women
who
headed
churches
in
their
homes,
such
as
Lydia
of
Thyatira
(Acts
16:15)
and
Nympha
of
Laodicea
(Colossians
4:15).
Women and the Primitive Church
•
Women
held
offices
and
played
significant
roles
in
group
worship.
Paul,
for
example,
greets
a
deaconess
named
Phoebe
(Romans
16:1)
and
mentions
women
are
praying
and
prophesying
during
worship (I Corinthians 11).
•
Philip
the
evangelist
had
four
virgin
daughters
who
were
prophetesses
(Acts 21-8-9).
St. Thecla
Thecla
was
a
saint
of
the
early
Christian
Church,
and
a
follower
of
Paul the Apostle. She was born around 30 AD in Konya, Turkey
St.
Methodius
of
Olympus
wrote
in
The
Banquet
of
the
Virgins
that
she
had
great
knowledge
in
profane
philosophy
as
well
as
literature.
•
He
also
stated
that
she
expressed
herself
with
strength
and
eloquence as well as sweetness and affability.
•
She
was
converted
by
St.
Paul
and
became
knowledgeable
in
our religion.
•
He
praised
her
love
for
Jesus
Christ,
which
she
demonstrated
on
countless
occasions,
principally
in
her
combats
for
the
Faith.
St. Thecla
According
to
the
apocryphal
Acts
of
Paul
and
Thecla
,
Thecla
was
a
young
noble
virgin
who
listened
to
St
Paul’s
“discourse
on
virginity”
and
became
his
disciple.
Thecla's
mother,
and
her
fiancé
Thamyris,
became
concerned
that
Thecla
would
follow
Paul’s
demand
“that
one
must
fear
only
one
God
and
live
in
chastity”,
and punished both Paul and Thecla.
She
was
miraculously
saved
from
being
burned
at
the
stake
by
the
onset
of
a
storm,
and
traveled
with
Paul
to
Pisidian
Antioch.
There
a
nobleman
named
Alexander
desired
Thecla
and
attempted
to
take
her
by
force.
Thecla
fought
him
off,
assaulting
him
in
the
process,
and
was
put
on
trial
for
assaulting
a
nobleman.
She
was
sentenced
to
be
eaten
by
wild
beasts,
but
was
again
saved
by
a
series
of
miracles
when
the
female
beasts
protected
her
against
her
male
aggressors.
After
other
failed
attempts
to
kill
her,
Thecla
was
released
again.
She
spent
the
rest
of
her
life
as
an
ascetic,
removed
from
the
world.
She
died
and
was buried in Syria.
St. Thecla
Under
the
first
Christian
Roman
Emperors,
a
basilica
was
built
over
her
tomb
and
became
a
site
of
countless
pilgrimages.
The
Cathedral
of
Milan
was
dedicated
to
St.
Thecla.
Many
pray
to
her
asking to obtain a good death.
She
was
widely
cited
as
an
ascetic
role
model
for
women.
The
Society
of
Saint
Thecla
of
Iconium
flourished
particularly
at
Seleucia
(where
she
was
said
to
be
buried),
Iconium
(present
day
Konya),
and
Nicomedia.
The
society
also
appeared,
at
least
as
early
as
the
fourth
century,
in
Western
Europe.
In
Bede's
martyrology,
Thecla
is
celebrated
on
23
September,
which
is
still
her
feast
day
in
the
Roman
Catholic
Church.
The
Eastern
Orthodox Churches commemorate her on 24 September.
St. Thecla
Both
St.
Gregory
of
Nazianzus
and
St.
Basil
of
Caesarea
spoke
of
Thecla
as
a
historical
figure.
Writing
in
the
300s,
they
described
her
teaching
center
and
hospital
near
Seleucia.
The
pilgrim
Egeria
visited
this
facility
in
399
AD,
and
also
described
its
monasteries,
convents
and
assembly
buildings,
along
with
the
teaching
and
healing ministries that went on there.
A
German
team
that
excavated
the
center
in
1908
found
the
apse
still
standing
above
the
ground,
with
the
main
basilica’s
outlines
covering
a
space
equal
to
that
of
a
football
field.
The
excavators
also
found
numerous
cisterns,
apparently
for
washing
the
sick,
two
other
churches,
and
many
fine
mosaics.
The
center
apparently
was
in
active
use
for
at
least
1,000
years,
indicating
the presence in Asia Minor of an extremely strong female leader.
St. Thecla
In
June
2010,
on
a
wall
of
the
Catacomba
di
Santa
Tecla
in
Rome,
Vatican
archaeologists
of
the
Pontifical
Commission
for
Sacred
Archaeology,
using
laser
technology
to
remove
layers
of
clay
and
lime
rind,
discovered
a
frescoed
portrait
of
St
Paul
the
Apostle,
“recognizable
by
his
thin
face
and
dark
pointed
beard...with
small
eyes
and
furrowed
brow”,
which
they
believe
is
the
oldest
image
in
existence
of
St
Paul,
dating from the late fourth century.
St. Catherine of Alexandria
•
Catherine
of
Alexandria
was
born
to
the
nobility,
and may even have been a relative of Constantine.
•
Learned
in
science
and
oratory.
Converted
to
Christianity after receiving a vision.
•
When
she
was
18
years
old,
during
the
persecution
of
Maxentius,
she
offered
to
debate
with
the
pagan
philosophers.
Many
were
converted
by
her
arguments, and immediately martyred.
•
Maxentius
had
her
scourged
and
imprisoned.
The
empress
(Valeria
Maximilla)
and
the
leader
of
the
army
of
Maxentius
were
amazed
by
the
stories,
went to see Catherine in prison.
St. Catherine of Alexandria
•
Maxentius
offered
Catherine
a
royal
marriage
if
she
would
deny
the
Faith.
Her
refusal
landed
her
in
prison.
•
While
in
prison,
and
while
Maxentius
was
away,
Catherine
converted
Maxentius’
wife
and
two
hundred
of
his
soldiers.
He
had
them
all
put
to
death.
•
They
converted
and
were
martyred.
Maxentius
ordered
her
broken
on
a
wheel,
but
she
touched
it
and the wheel was destroyed.
•
She
was
beheaded
around
305
AD,
and
her
body
was
whisked
away
by
angels
to
the
site
of
the
monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai.
St. Catherine of Alexandria
•
Her feast day is November 25th.
•
She
is
the
patroness
of
philosophers
and
preachers.
•
She is one of the 14 Holy Helpers.
•
Maxentius
was
later
defeated
and
killed
by
Constantine.
•
St.
Catherine’s
monastery
on
Mount
Sinai
is
built
over
the
tomb
of
St.
Catherine
of
Alexandria
and
was
built
by
Justinian
in
527;
it
has
borne
the
name
of Catherine since the eighth or ninth century.
Saints Marcella, Paula and Eustochium
•
“Slave
driver”
was
St.
Jerome’s
quasi-affectionate
name
for
Marcella,
a
wealthy
widow
of
Rome,
but
it
just
as
easily
could
have
been
applied
to
Marcella’s
students,
the widow Paula and her daughter Eustochium.
•
The
three
women
were
among
Jerome’s
closest
friends,
famed
for
being
so
virtuous
that
even
he
tamed
his
infamously
sharp
tongue
in
their
presence.
They
also
were
among
his
most
valued
intellectual
sparring
partners.
•
Eleven
of
Jerome’s
extant
letters
are
to
Marcella,
and
address
a
wide
range
of
theological
issues.
The
exchanges
between
them
are
probing
and
sharp,
with
Jerome
admitting
occasionally
to
staying
up
all
night
trying
to
find
an
answer
to
whatever
query
Marcella
had raised.
Saints Marcella, Paula and Eustochium
•
Marcella’s
home
became
an
academy
for
the
study
of
Sacred
Scripture
and
a
school
of
prayer.
Saint
Paula
and
other
Roman
ladies,
eager
for
the
pursuit
of
holiness,
joined
her.
Marcella
frequently
visited
the
shrines
of
the
Roman
martyrs,
seeking
their
intercession.
She
distributed
her
considerable
wealth,
“preferring
to
store
her
money
in
the
stomachs
of
the
needy rather than hide it in a purse.”
•
Marcella
was
a
woman
of
no
mean
intellectual
prowess.
While
she
respected
her
spiritual
father
Saint
Jerome,
the
crusty
ascetic
did
not
intimidate
her.
More
than
once
she
challenged
him
with
difficult
and
subtle
questions
concerning
the
Scriptures.
It
was
for
Marcella
that
Saint
Jerome
wrote
his
explanation
of
the
Hebrew
words Amen and Alleluia.
Saints Marcella, Paula and Eustochium
•
In
a
letter
to
the
Roman
lady
Principia,
Saint
Jerome
compares
Marcella
to
the
prophetess
Anna
in
Saint
Luke’s Gospel:
Let
us
then
compare
her
case
with
that
of
Marcella,
and
we
shall
see
that
the
latter
has
every
way
the
advantage.
Anna
lived
with
her
husband
seven
years;
Marcella
seven
months.
Anna
only
hoped
for
Christ;
Marcella
held
Him
fast.
Anna
confessed
Him
at
His
birth;
Marcella
believed
in
Him
crucified.
Anna
did
not
deny
the
Child;
Marcella
rejoiced
in
the
Man
as
king.
Saint Jerome, Letter 127.
•
This
is
Jerome’s
spiritual
portrait
of
Marcella:
she
clung
to
Christ,
believed
in
Him
crucified,
and
rejoiced
in
Him
as King.
Saints Marcella, Paula and Eustochium
•
Several
of
Saint
Jerome’s
letters
to
Marcella
survive
and
are
well
worth
reading.
Among
the
sayings
of
Saint
Marcella,
a
favourite
comes
from
the
period
in
her
life
when
a
humiliated
Rome
was
in
the
throes
of
a
famine
and
Marcella
herself
was
languishing
after
having
been
turned out of her own home.
•
She
was
eighty-five
at
the
time,
and
she
said:
“By
heaven’s
grace,
captivity
has
found
me
a
poor
woman,
not
made
me
one.
Now,
I
shall
go
in
want
of
daily
bread,
but
I
shall
not
feel
hunger
since
I
am
full
of
Christ.” A few months later, St. Marcella died.
•
Her feast day is 31° January
St. Macrina the younger
•
327-379 AD
•
Born at Caesarea now Kayseri, Turkey
•
Born into a family of saints.
•
Macrina
was
educated
by
her
mother
and
learned
how
to
read
when
she
was
very
young.
Her
mother
did
not
teach
her
through
poetry
or
literature,
which
was
the
typical
way
to
educate
at
that
time.
Instead,
reading
the
Scriptures
and
Holy
Writ
was
her
form
of
study
using
passages
a
young
girl
could
understand.
•
This
empowered
her
to
teach
her
younger
brothers,
Basil
and
Gregory
to
read,
She
later
became
known
as
St.
Macrina,
the
Teacher
acknowledged
by
the
great
influence
she
had
upon
the whole family.
St. Macrina the younger
•
Macrina’s
father
died
in
349
the
same
time
her
youngest
brother,
Peter,
was
born.
To
Peter,
Macrina
became
a
second
mother
caring
for
him
from
infancy
and
later
teaching
him
and guiding his moral development.
•
After
her
siblings
were
grown,
they
referred
to
her
as
Macrina
the Great, sign of the high respect they had for her.
•
Today, she is known as “Saint Macrina The Younger”
•
After
the
death
of
her
father,
Basil
took
Macrina
and
their
mother,
Emmelia,
to
the
family
estate
in
Pontus.
Here,
they
consecrated
themselves
to
God
and
led
a
contemplative,
yet
peaceful
life.
Macrina
became
devoted
to
her
widowed
mother
and
raising
her
infant
brother,
Peter.
Macrina
resolved
to
never
leave
her
mother’s
side
after
her
father
died
and
her
mother
was
left
distracted
with
many
anxieties
such as household responsibilities and 10 children to raise.
St. Macrina the younger
•
With
the
servants
and
other
companions,
they
lived
a
life
of
meditation
on
the
truths
of
Christianity,
and
prayer
were
the
chief
concerns
of
this
community.
There
was
no
task
too
demeaning
for
Macrina.
She
would
often
work
side-by-side
with
the
maid
servants
and
encouraged
her
mother
to
also
regard
these
servants
as
sisters.
Emmelia
who
carefully
nurtured
her
daughter
in
Christian
virtues,
now
became
her
pupil in the spiritual life.
•
When
Emmelia’s
son,
Naucratius,
suddenly
died
at
the
age
of
27,
she
would
have
grieved
inconsolably
had
not
Macrina
reminded
her
that
it
does
not
become
a
Christian
to
mourn
“as those who have no hope”.
•
With
her
spirit
and
words
of
consolation,
Macrina
relieved
her
mother’s
suffering,
and
they
both
endured
their
loss
with
courageous hearts.
St. Macrina the younger
•
Macrina
persuaded
her
mother
to
enter
with
her
upon
the
monastic
path.
Emmelia
divided
the
family
property
among
her
children
and
set
her
slaves
free,
while
she
and
Macrina
retained only some possessions.
They
withdrew
to
a
secluded
residence
in
the
wilderness.
A
number
of
liberated
female
slaves
were
so
moved,
they
joined
them
formed
a
convent.
They
all
lived
under
one
roof
and held everything in common.
They
ate
together,
worked
together
and
prayed
together.
They
considered
fasting
as
food
and
poverty
as
riches.
Neither
anger,
jealously,
hatred
nor
pride
could
not
spoil
the
harmony of the community .
St. Macrina the younger
•
Emmelia
died
holding
the
hands
of
Macrina,
which
stands
as
a foreshadowing symbol of Macrina’s sainthood.
Macrina
then
guided
her
siblings
and
her
monastic
family
through
the
grief
that
followed
the
deaths
of
first
Emmelia
and later, Basil the Great in 379.
When
Macrina
herself
was
approaching
death
later
that
same
year,
she
comforted
St.
Gregory,
prepared
him
for
her
own
death,
and
inspired
him
with
her
faith
and
calmness.
Even
though
she
was
dying
and
in
pain,
she
courageously
ignored
her
own
suffering
and
uplifted
his
spirits
with
her
cheerful
and edifying conversations.
Despite
having
brothers:
St.
Basil
the
Great
and
St.
Gregory
himself
a
great
bishop
and
theologian,
it
was
Macrina
who
was
looked
up
to
as
the
intellectual
and
spiritual
guide
of
the
family.
Christian wives: Elpis
•
There
are
some
interesting
figures
in
early
Christianity,
like
Elpis,
the
wife
of
Boethius,
the
philosopher.
Elpis
is
a
Greek
word meaning hope.
Anicius
Manlius
Torquatus
Severinus
Boethius,
the
most
learned
philosopher
of
his
time,
was
born
at
Rome
about
AD
480,
and
was
put
to
death
ad
524.
Boethius's
first
wife
was
Elpis,
daughter
of
Festus.
Elpis
was
a
Sicilian
lady
and
the
authoress
of
two
hymns
in
the
Breviary,
and
she
bore
two
sons
to
Boethius,
Patricius
and
Hypatius, Greek consuls AD 500. Elpis died about 493.
Christian wives: Elpis
•
The
importance
of
Elpis
is
that
she
composed
a
special
hymn
in
honor
of
St.
Peter
and
St.
Paul,
Decora lux
.
What fairer light is this than time itself doth own,
The golden day with beams more radiant brightening?
The princes of God's Church this feast day doth enthrone,
To sinners heavenward bound their burden lightening.
One taught mankind its creed, one guards the heavenly gate,
Founders of Rome, they bind the world in loyalty;
One by the sword achieved, one by the cross his fate;
With laurelled brows they hold eternal royalty.
Rejoice, O Rome, this day; thy walls they once did sign
With princely blood, who now their glory share with
thee.
What city's vesture glows with crimson deep as thine?
What beauty else has earth that may compare with thee?
Christian wives: Elpis
•
The
following
epitaph
has
been
handed
down
as
that
of
Elpis,
and
has
been
said
to
have been written by Boethius himself:
Hope was my name, and Sicily my home,
Where I was nursed, until I came from thence
An exile for the love I bore my lord:
Apart from him my time was full of tears,
Heavy the day, laden with care the night,
(But with him all was joy and peace and love)
And now, my pilgrim’s journey o’er, I rest
Within this sacred place, and witness bear
Before the throne of the Eternal Judge on high.
Christian wives: Aurelia
The
catacombs
in
Rome
bear
witness
to
many
married
women.
The
epitaphs
present
marriage
as
a
communion
of
souls
and
bodies.
They
underline
the
harmony
of
husband
and
wife
as
perennial
companions
and
the
joys
of
life
together.
The
early
Christians
thought
of
marriage
as
an
exclusive
union,
as
is
evidenced
by
the
eulogies
paid
to
a
departed
wife.
Love
and
tenderness
figure
in
Flavius
Crispinus’
epitaph
for
his
dear Aurelia.
Conclusion
Pope St. John Paul II
The
Church
gives
thanks
for
each
and
every
woman...
The
Church
gives
thanks
for
all
the
manifestations
of
the
feminine
‘genius’
which
have
appeared
in
the
course
of
history,
in
the
midst
of
all
peoples
and
nations;
she
gives
thanks
for
all
the
charisms
which
the
Holy
Spirit
distributes
to
women
in
the
history
of
the
People
of
God,
for
all
the
victories
which
she
owes
to
their
faith,
hope
and
charity:
she
gives
thanks
for
all
the
fruits of feminine holiness.
(
Mulieris Dignitatem
, 31).
