Melanie Rigney's Blog, page 111

That Long, Ornamented Tunic and Us

Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

Consider Joseph’s brothers, who we learn in Genesis 37 are so envious of Joseph that they plot to get him out of their way. Other than that “long ornamented tunic,” we don’t see any significant paternal favoritism toward Joseph. It’s not as if their father, Jacob, was physically, emotionally, or verbally abusive to his other sons; indeed, the New American Bible no...

St. Maria Josefa of the Heart of Jesus: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

St. Maria Josefa of the Heart of Jesus was born in Spain on September 7, 1842, and died there on this date in 1912. She briefly entered a religious order, but it wasn’t a good fit.

Several years later, St. Maria Josefa and three other women left and founded the Institute of the Servants of Jesus, which nursed people suffering from cholera, tuberculosis, and other contagious diseases. When illness prevented her from doing direct ministry, she remained with her sisters in spirit through extensiv...

Blessed Marianna Biernacka: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

The feast day of the 108 Martyrs of Poland is June 12, which is kind of neat because that also happened to be the wedding anniversary for my mostly English grandfather andmy 100% Polish grandmother.

Today happens to be St. Joseph’s Day, and if you’re Italian American or Polish Amercan, that may conjure up memories of tables groaning with terrific ethnic food such as pierogi. That’s why I chose to talk today about a woman you may have never heard of, Blessed Marianna Biernacka. She’s one of the...

St. Gertrude of Nivelles: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

St. Gertrude of Nivelles was born in what’s now Belgium in 626 and died on March 17, 659. It’s said when Gertrude was young, she became extremely angry when King Dagobert attempted to arrange a marriage for her with a duke’s son. Gertrude rejected the proposed match, saying that her spouse was Christ the Lord.

Later, after her father died, Gertrude’s mother, Itta, built a Benedictine double monastery. Both women entered it, and Gertrude became abbess. The last three years of her life, Gertrude...

St. Ita of Limerick: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

Saint Ita of Limerick was born in Ireland around 475 and died on January 15, 570. January 15 is her memorial feast in Ireland. I chose her to write about today because I’m a quarter Irish. Next month, I’m headed to Ireland for the first time ever.

Ita was a bit of a homebody; after accepting four acres of land at Killeedy, she established a farm and school, attended by boys including St. Brendan the Navigator, and there she remained, unlike some other roving women religious of the time. You mi...

St. Catherine of Bologna: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

Saint Catherine of Bologna was born in Italy on September 8, 1413, and died on March 9, 1463. We observed her feast day last week.

Due to her father’s connections, Catherine spent time as a youngster as an attendant to the daughter of a marquis. As a result, she learned a great deal about literature and the fine arts, studying music, painting, and dancing, and writing poetry and literary works. However, when she was just fourteen, she chose to leave the court and join a religious community. Ev...

St. Louise de Marillac: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

St. Louise de Marillacwas born in France on August 12, 1591, and died on this date in 1660. Louise was the daughter of an aristocrat and was interested in philosophy.

She wanted to become a nun, but after prayer and contemplation, chose to marry and had a son. Her husband died when she was in her mid-thirties. It was then that Louise met Vincent de Paul, who became her spiritual adviser. Together, they founded the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

Louise is credited with the concept...

God’s Just Not Fair

Note: On Fridays, you can find me atYour Daily Tripod,owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.

It doesn’t sound fair, does it, the pronouncement in today’s lectionary first reading from Ezekiel 18 that someone who was good and became bad will die, despite that past goodness… while someone who was bad and turned good will live with God, despite that past badness?

It doesn’t seem fair, does it, that in Matthew 5, Jesus advises us:

“Settle with your opponent quick...

St. Matilda: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

St. Matilda (or Maud or Mechtildis as she is also known) was born in Germany about 895, and died on this date in 968. The children of Matilda and Germany’s Henry I rose to great heights in her world: one daughter, Gerberga, married Louis IV of France; the other, Hedwig, was the mother of Hugh Capet, the founder of France’s Capetian dynasty. One son, Bruno, was the archbishop of Cologne and was canonized himself.

Matilda’s relationship with the other two sons is of special note. After her husba...

St. Euphrasia: 2014 Daily Lenten Reflections

St. Euphrasia, whose feast day we observe today, was born in about 380 to a family of Roman nobles. Her father died soon after she was born, and she and her mother moved to property the family owned near a convent in Egypt. Euphrasia’s mother died shortly after the child chose to enter the convent.

When Euphrasia was twelve, the Roman emperor ordered her to come back and fulfill a marriage pledge that had been made on her behalf. Instead, she asked the emperor to sell of the family’s wealth an...