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.