Memorial of Saint Scholastica, virgin
With today being the Memorial of St. Scholastica, I have the pleasure of sharing one of my favorite saints’ stories. Robert Ellsberg, in his book All Saints (c.1997), tells it well based on the writings of Gregory the Great about St. Benedict, the founder of Western Monasticism. Did you know that St. Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict?! The following story is said to have occurred just a few days before Scholastica’s death.
Apparently they had a close relationship and had the custom of getting together once a year midway between Scholastica’s convent and Benedict’s monastery to praise God and “talk of spiritual matters.” The story goes that during one of these visits, as dusk was approaching, Scholastica asked her brother to stay longer into the night to continue their spiritual sharing; but he refused based on the monastery rules. So Scholastica prayed to God for what her heart desired and, much to Benedict’s surprise, a thunderstorm erupted that prevented them from leaving. To this Scholastica replied to her brother, “I asked you, but you were unwilling to listen to me. I asked my Lord and He listened to me.”
The gospel passage (Luke 10: 38-42) chosen for this memorial seems very fitting. It is the familiar story about Jesus’ friends, the sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha is “burdened with much serving” while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet “listening to him speak.” As you know, Martha wants Jesus to tell Mary to help her, but Jesus replies in support of Mary. “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”
Similar to the Scholastica and Benedict story, which Robert Ellsberg refers to as illustrating “the affectionate and yet somewhat competitive relationship between the siblings,” both stories seem to emphasize what Ellsberg describes as the “power and virtue of love versus a rigid devotion to rules.” Yes, we are sometimes called to follow the rules and do the chores, but other times we are called to set those things aside for the greater virtue of love.
May the intercession of Saints Scholastica and Benedict help guide us this day and this week in discerning how we are being called to love God and one another. Amen.
~Eileen Miller