11/28/07:
"Devotion to Mary" - Karlyn Crowley
First, I’d like to see a show of hands. How many of you knew that there were Norbertine Nuns before hearing Felice mention them? Well, you’re in for a nice surprise. Because neither did I nor did most of the people on the trip. Felice has done a lovely job painting the scene of the nunnery and discussing the foundational importance of locality; I want to share with you a moment that was as surprising to me as viewing the devastated convent—and that was when Augustina during our tour stated very matter-of-factly that St. Norbert is the patron saint of pregnant women and those longing to be pregnant.
When Augustina said this, several of us in the group turned, not so discreetly, with wide eyes to one another. Who knew? Until the trip, St. Norbert baffled me. Other than learning about the spider miracle, my sense of him was thin. (you all know the spider miracle? St norbert is drinking communion wine and sees the spider in the cup and realizes that he must drink the spider because the wine is consecrated. He does, and doesn’t die, as he was scared he might (common in medieval culture I hear from Bill Hyland) and the spider comes out his nose. By the way, we should change our mascot to the spiders. I recently learned that St. Norbert was particularly loved by women because he preached peace in a time of war and he promoted integrated abbeys. But finding out that he was essentially the patron saint of pregnancy, birth, new life, St. Norbert started to become a round character where he had once been flat. Augustina went on to describe how they received prayer requests from couples longing to be pregnant. I had known that the Norbertines had a particular devotion to Mary, one we experienced on the trip at Abbeys through various songs, prayers, images, and icons. Yet, no devotion to Mary seemed to me as poignant as this one.
If we view pregnancy in all its metaphorical potential, it becomes a signal for rebirth, renewal, and joyous life-affirmation. The Nuns embodied hope for the new life of their Abbey even in the face of crushing odds, just as Mary gave birth to a sacred child when she had little tangible hope for worldly protection and care. For me, Mary is a complicated figure—at once putting women at the center of a male tradition and honoring their contribution yet also perhaps reifying oppressive gender roles confining woman’s identity only to that of wife, mother, caretaker. Still, when we consider what rebirth can mean in any of our lives, perhaps Mary helps us imagine that most completely.
Some of you may know that this trip was also my honeymoon—and for the record, many people in my life thought we were nuts to spend our honeymoon on an Abbey tour with 21 other people. But in the middle of what was a beautiful, moving trip, we received the news of the death of our student, Cassandra Voss which reminded all of us of the essential importance of life. Mary represents this most movingly. And, by extension, so does the patron saint of pregnant women, St. Norbert. In the end, I should not have been surprised about St. Norbert’s revealed role because ironically Cassandra created this poster from attending the session on St. Norbert and Women last year—and you know me, I couldn’t resist: “Was I a Feminist? Norbert of Xanten equally valued women and men as essential contributors to service and community life.” The final emphasis here on life—in relation to community--indicates what it means for all us to see Mary around us.
