"When
the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The
Saints", is a black
spiritual. Though it originated as a Christian hymn, it is often played
by jazz bands. This
song was famously recorded on May 13, 1938, by Louis
Armstrong and his orchestra.
Feel free to sing along with Louis
Since I was raised as a Catholic, I knew that the Catholic church had a lot of saints.
So, how many saints are there?
In general, the range of answers to this question is between 1,000
and 8,000 saints. However, this may not include the vast number of
saints that have been canonized in the past few decades.
For example, St. John Paul II canonized 482 saints,
Pope Benedict XVI canonized 45 saints and Pope Francis has
alone canonized 893 saints. These numbers are often high on
account of “mass” canonizations, such as the canonization of 800 Italian martyrs by Pope Francis in
2013.
On the other hand, most people agree that the number of “saints”
is impossible to calculate, as the term can also refer to all those
people currently in Heaven.
https://aleteia.org/2019/07/19/how-many-catholic-saints-are-there/
One of the saints that you probably have never heard of is Saint Dymphna, who was mentioned briefly in Jennifer Haigh’s recent novel, “Mercy Street’. One of the characters in the book, an anti-abortion activist, attends the church of Saint Dymphna on a regular basis.
According to Catholic and Orthodox tradition, Dymphna was born in Ireland in the 7th century. Dymphna's father Damon was a petty king of Oriel. Her mother was a devout Christian.
When Dymphna was 14
years old, she consecrated herself to Christ and took a vow of chastity. Shortly
thereafter, her mother died. Damon had loved his wife deeply, and in the
aftermath of her death his mental health sharply deteriorated. Eventually the
king's counsellors pressed him to remarry. Damon agreed, but only on the
condition that his bride would be as beautiful as his deceased wife. After
searching fruitlessly, Damon began to desire his daughter because of
her strong resemblance to her mother.
Martyrdom of St
Dymphna and St Gerebernus by Jacques de l'Ange
When Dymphna learned of her father's
intentions, she swore to uphold her vows and fled his court along with her
confessor Father Gerebernus, two trusted
servants, and the king's fool. Together they sailed towards the continent, eventually landing in what is
present-day Belgium, where they took refuge in the town of Gheel.
One tradition states that once
settled in Geel, Dymphna built a hospice for the poor and sick of the region.
However, it was through the use of her wealth that her father would eventually
ascertain her whereabouts, as some of the coins used enabled her father to
trace them to Belgium. Damon
sent his agents to pursue his daughter and her companions. When their hiding
place was discovered, Damon travelled to Geel to recover his daughter. Damon
ordered his soldiers to kill Gerebernus and tried to force Dymphna to return
with him to Ireland, but she resisted. Furious, Damon drew his sword
and struck off his daughter's head. She was said to have been 15
years old when she died. After Dymphna and Gerebernus were killed, the
residents of Geel buried them in a nearby cave. Years later, they decided to
move the remains to a more suitable location.
Dymphna
is the patron saint of mental illness. According to some sources,
Dymphna is also the patron saint of incest victims due to
her refusal (and for it, her beheading) to allow her father to have an
incestuous relationship with her.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dymphna
Why is she relevant today?
The Des Moines Register is considered to be one of the most neutral
American newspapers. Like many other newspapers, the paper feels that the logic
used by Samuel Alito in the recent leaked document is deeply flawed.
In anticipation of Roe V. Wade being overturned, a number of
states have passed restrictive laws. The worst state is Texas, which not only
does not permit abortions after six weeks, but also allows ordinary citizens to
become vigilantes. Arizona recently passed a law that prohibits abortions after
15 weeks. More importantly, it does not allow any exception for rape or incest,
which is blatantly unfair. Beyond the fact that Saint Dymphna is the patron saint
of incest victims, there is legally that can be done to protect them.
Regardless of how you feel about Roe V. Wade, here’s a fact to
consider.
In many states, you must be 25 years old to adopt a child, but
Virginia allows women who are at least 18 to adopt. The logic being that woman
younger than that are not mentally or financially able to raise a child.
The best way to prevent abortions is (1) comprehensive sex education
and (2) easy access to birth control. The states that have the highest rate of
teen pregnancy (New Mexico, Texas, and Mississippi) don’t have either. As a result,
a large number of young women in those states are forced into lives of poverty
because that do not have job skills or financial means to support a child.
https://adoption.com/how-old-do-you-have-to-be-to-adopt
Although it’s likely that the Supreme Court will modify Roe V
Wade in June, but I hope that the court is smart enough not to adopt Alito’s opinion
unless it is made to be less restrictive.
In the current issue of the National Catholic Reporter, a
pro-live contributor named Rebecca Bratten Weiss explains why overturning Roe
V. Wade would not be a pro-life win. Although I could summarize if for you, I’d
recommend reading the entire article.
https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/overturning-roe-would-not-be-pro-life-win
As a society, we’re faced with a wide variety of problems, and
our political parties seem to be constantly at war with each other. We could
all pray to the saints to help us with our problems, but there is a better way.
Vote.
No comments:
Post a Comment