Stanislawa Leszczyńska: The Midwife of Auschwitz

Dear Readers,

As you can tell, the blog's been on sabbatical for a while here while I finish off another project.  The good news is, that's getting close to wrapping up so I hope I'll be able to get back to the Valiant Woman Project before too long, because I have so many inspirational women I want to introduce to you!

My sister recently shared this story with me, and ladies, grab your tissues and prepare to meet a woman who embodies valiant womanhood as few others do.

The incredible story of a midwife who delivered 3,000 babies in Auschwitz

Katherine of Aragon: The First Wife of Henry VIII

The name of Katherine of Aragon will forever be linked with that of her husband, King Henry VIII of England. She was the first wife of the notorious monarch, and arguably the most important, for Henry’s desire to divorce Katherine was the impetus for the British Protestant Reformation and the creation of the Church of England. But there is so much more to Katherine of Aragon than the famous divorce. She was a gracious, devout, and valiant princess and queen who bore the difficulties of her life with great patience and followed her mother’s example of putting the souls of her people first.

Apologies for the delay!

Better late than never, he's the promised post on Queen Katherine of Aragon, daughter of Isabella of Spain, wife of Henry VIII.

On a side note, this will probably be the last one for a while.  We'll be moving in the near future, so that will be occupying much of my time.

There are still so many more valiant women I wanted to get to, and I hope though, that once we settle down I'll have a chance to get back to the project.  If not, it will just be because God has something else in mind for me. 😊


God bless!

Queen Isabella, Part Three: The Woman

We’ve spent the past two weeks looking at Queen Isabella of Castile. We’ve seen her turbulent rise to power, and even more turbulent reign. We’ve looked at the facts of the events of her life, the important role she played in the history of Spain, Europe, and the world. But these events by themselves do not make her an example of valiant womanhood. Her wise political decisions alone are not the reason why there is currently a cause open for her canonization, and why she is recognized by the Vatican as a “servant of God.” In order to fully understand, and fully appreciate, Isabella’s great virtues, we must look at her through the lens of the Faith. We must see her as she saw herself—as a Catholic first, and a queen second.

Queen Isabella, Part Two: The Queen

Queen Isabella of Castile’s reign was one of almost constant activity. We’re going to look at the highlights one by one, but keep in mind that many of these overlapped with each other, meaning that while Isabella was visiting the front lines during the war in Granada, she was also in the process of reforming Castilian legal code, keeping tabs on the proceedings of the Inquisition, and meeting with an Italian explorer who wanted to reach the East by sailing west.

Queen Isabella of Spain, Servant of God: Part One: The Princess

Note: This is going to be a three part series with lots of history. Isabella and the events of her life are so woefully misunderstood today, even to the point of being incorrectly taught in Catholic schools, that there’s a need for extra details. Of course, if you want even more details, I highly recommend her biography written by William Thomas Walsh. It’s a fascinating and a wonderfully Catholic and factual account of her life. Isabella of Spain: The Last Crusader

Spring Break

Taking a week off over here, but tune in next week to learn about one of the most incredible women in history--Queen Isabella of Spain!

God bless!

Dear Margaret Remembers That for Me

Today we’re going to do something a little bit different—a song! Dedicated to all those women who are caregivers for family members and loved ones, and all those in the nursing and medical profession.

The Dutchman is a song written by Michael Peter Smith in 1968 about an elderly married couple living in Amsterdam, Holland. The husband is never named, only referred to as “the Dutchman,” and his wife is Margaret. The Dutchman is frail and forgetful, and beginning to lose his grip on reality. Margaret cares for him, and she protects him from the world. She lovingly patches his coat and helps him walk through the cobbled streets. She doesn’t let other people see him at his worst. When she looks at him, the first thing she sees is the man she loves, the man she married. What a beautiful portrait of selflessness and love!

Liam Clancy does a lovely rendition of the song with Tommy Makem, and he has some neat insights into the song as well. With that, I’ll hand it over to them:
The Dutchman--Makem and Clancy

Saint Bathilde: A Catholic Cinderella

Every once in a while I happen upon a story that simply must be told. All other plans for the blog were put on hold as soon as I heard the story of St. Bathilde. Her humility and generosity are inspiring, and the story of her life reads like a fairy tale, but one that is true and Catholic.

Beatrix Potter: The Rest of the Story

Beatrix and her pet rabbit, Peter.

This week we’re going to complete the story of Beatrix Potter’s amazing life. When we left her, she was happily publishing books with great success, and she had found a true friend in her publisher, Mr. Norman Warne.

By the way...

I've updated the "About" page.  Just in case you're interested.

Also, I'll take this opportunity to remind you that I'd love any feedback and ideas you have for the Valiant Woman Project!  Drop me a comment!

Wishing you all a grace-filled Lent!

Beatrix Potter: A Life of Resourcefulness, Perseverance, and Love

I’m sure you’ll all familiar with Beatrix Potter’s classic children’s stories with their delightful illustrations. You may even own some of the Peter Rabbit Wedgwood dishes. If you’ve seen the 2006 movie Miss Potter, then you’re familiar with the role she played in preserving the countryside of the Lake District. But did you know that she was also an amateur mycologist (that’s mushroom and fungi scientist) and that she helped saved the Herdwick sheep from extinction? Beatrix Potter lived a life full of activity, using her imagination and creativity when necessary. She never let obstacles or difficulties discourage her, and instead she would channel her energies toward another goal. Throughout it all, her life was full of love—for the natural world, for her family, for her work, and finally for her husband.

A Woman of Great Faith and Courage

Did you ever wonder why at a Traditional Mass the altar boys hold up the priest’s chasuble during the consecration at the elevation of the host and chalice?  This practice would have originated out of necessity because the chasuble was formerly made of heavily embroidered and stiff material. Later the pattern and material used for the vestments changed, but the practice remained because it had begun to be associated with one of Christ’s miracles from the Gospels.

Margaret Hale: Compassion in North and South

A long time ago we talked about Molly Gibson, the heroine of Wives and Daughters, one of my favorite books.  It’s high time we visit that other literary masterpiece by Mrs. Elizabeth Gaskell—North and South. If you are unfamiliar with this novel, I highly recommend it. (YouTube has multiple LibriVox recordings of the book as well as the amazing BBC adaptation with Richard Armitage, which I can't recommend highly enough!) North and South is the story of Margaret Hale, a young woman whose clergyman father uproots the family from their idyllic country home in southern England and takes them north to Milton, a smoky, dirty, bustling manufacturing town. One of the first people she meets there is Mr. Thornton, a factory owner whose manners are much rougher than what Margaret has been accustomed to while living in London. In Milton, Margaret’s pride is transformed into humility as she faces many trials and becomes well-acquainted with loss. But in this post we’re going to focus on Margaret’s compassion which inspires her to help and protect those she loves, and which inspires Mr. Thornton to find his own humanity.

N.B. I realize that this work may not be familiar to you all, so in an effort not to spoil any of the story, some of the details will be purposefully vague.

St. Zélie Martin

After celebrating St. Monica as a valiant mother here a few weeks ago, let’s look at the life of another “Mother Saint”—St. Zélie Martin, mother of the Little Flower. In addition to raising her daughters and running the household, St. Zelie made Alençon lace, a trade which required patience, attention to detail, and love. She brought these same qualities to every task in life. When sorrows and crosses appeared, and there were many, she heroically turned them into victories which bore such beautiful fruit in the form of her daughters’ vocations.

Katherine Johnson: Hidden Figure

It’s been about a year since the film Hidden Figures came to theaters, and ever since I saw it, I’ve been meaning to write a bit about these remarkable women here on the blog. The movie is based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly and mainly focuses on three black women and their struggles and triumphs while working for NASA. It is set in the early days of the Cold War and the Civil Rights movement. I will mainly focus on Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who worked on calculations for trajectories, launch windows, and emergency back-up plans for many NASA missions. She was a hard-working and confident woman, and while she worked to achieve and equal footing with her male co-workers, she also valued her role as a wife and mother.

St. Monica, Valiant Mother

Patroness of Mothers, Wives, Conversions and Alcoholics

“She spoke little, preached not at all, loved much, and prayed unceasingly.”--St. Augustine

The saying that “behind every great man is a great woman” is possibly no truer than in the case of the great Doctor of the Church, St. Augustine, and his mother, St. Monica. Without St. Monica’s countless prayers, tears, and sacrifices for her wayward son, we may never have had this great theologian. It is mainly through St. Augustine’s writings that we know the story of his mother and her heroic patience and valiant generosity which brought about so many conversions during her own life, and which still bears fruit today though the writings of her son.

She's often portrayed in what we would consider a religious habit, but it was the standard garb for widows at the time.

An Epiphany Post

The painting that inspired the composer.

Since the Feast of the Epiphany is just around the corner, I thought I’d tell you about a woman from an opera about the Three Kings. If you’re not familiar with Amahl and the Night Visitors, I invite you to check it out. It’s quite short (less than an hour), and in English. Here’s a link where you can watch the original TV broadcast of the opera on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlg81twKXbY

Basic story overview: Amahl is a crippled shepherd boy. His father has died and even after selling almost all they have, his mother doesn’t know how they will make ends meet. One night three royal visitors stop at their home on their way to Bethlehem. Amahl’s mother does her best to make them comfortable, gathering wood and asking her neighbors to bring food for her guests. While the kings sleep, the mother stares at all the gifts they are taking to another child they spoke of. She stares at the gold and thinks of how even a coin or two could help Amahl. 

And We're Back!

Happy 2018!

After a bit of a hiatus while working on another project, it’s time to get back to the Valiant Woman Project. I have so many inspiring women I want to tell you all about! So tune in on Thursdays for more stories of valiant women from history, literature, Scripture, and more.
 

 

R.I.P. Grandma Sue

[I'm sorry that I've gone AWOL as of late, but life has become busier in the recent months, and I've been working more, which leaves less time for doing thorough research and such.]

In your charity, please pray for the repose of the soul if my grandmother-in-law.  She passed away yesterday, on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, after almost a two year battle with cancer--a battle which she fought valiantly.

I really only got to know her during that time, as she was diagnosed shortly after her grandson and I became engaged.  Her daughters or granddaughters could give her a much more worthy tribute here, with countless examples of her valor throughout her life, but I'm going to do my best to do her justice.

Grandma Sue welcomed me into my new family with open arms, even before the wedding itself.  (Truth be told, it was probably from the moment her grandson and I started dating!)  It's sad for me to think that everyone else who marries into the family won't have known her, even for the small amount of time that I did, but it also makes me feel so lucky and blessed to have had her in my life. 

Living out of state, we didn't get to see as much of Grandma as we would have liked, but whenever we came to town and were able to spend time with her, I was amazed by her cheerful and positive attitude, despite the inconvenience, discomfort, and pain caused by her illness.  She was always smiling, telling stories, and fully enjoying each moment with her family. 

Her Catholic Faith, especially her devotion to Our Lady, was seamlessly woven into her life so that it was inseparable from life itself.  From the time of her diagnosis to her final hours, she carried her Cross without complaints and was ever ready to accept God's Will in all things.

That she held on for so long, and rallied after so many "close calls" is a testament to the power of prayer, but also to her resilient spirit.  She stayed with us long enough to prepare her soul for death, and for her family and loved ones to prepare themselves to say a final goodbye. In the end, though, Christ and Our Lady took her to themselves on such a beautiful feast day.

So please pray for her, and for her family.