Contemplating the Motherhood of My (Soon-To-Be) Patron Saint
Mar 27th, 2007 by michelle
Melania the Younger, despite her desire to be a nun, was forced to marry Pinianus. She honored this marriage and was blessed with two children, both of whom died at a young age. Her son was born pre-mature and died at birth. Her daughter died just a little while after her brother; she was the firstborn.
After this, she is said to have isolated herself in her home where she wept for years; it has been recorded that at first she refused or could not be consoled. However, these tragic circumstances did not cause her to lose her faith. Rather, she is quoted as saying to her husband, “If God willed us to bear children, he would not have taken my children at an untimely hour.” It seems as though she is encouraging her husband that God is willing them to live an ascetic life. It is after this that Melania and Pinianus begin to live a life as brother and sister, devoting themselves to their faith.
I was recently reading an article about Melania where the author argues that the Fathers, in their writings about Melania, often gloss over this part of her life. The author states that this may be due to the fact that the Fathers could not understand the maternal bond that Melania felt for her children.
As for myself, I feel a deep connection with Melania due to her very motherhood. Were I not so deeply involved with my own motherhood, Melania’s life may not have appealed to me. But I am able to understand her deep love for her children and even the concept of losing a child, as my son was on his deathbed for nearly a week after he was born (thankfully, he is a healthy little boy now!).
One quote, in the article that I previously mentioned, really struck me: “… the unimaginable hole in her heart, the hole that seemed to have even replaced her heart, ever her very self at times, was presented to God as a kind of living sacrifice. This is where her work truly began.” It was only by Melania’s emptying of herself that she was truly able to follow God.
Thanks for sharing more info about St. Melania. I am always struck by how the few saints I have read about often have a sort of loss that they offer to God. Saint Sophia of Ainos (my saint name) lost her husband and all six of her children to a plague and also went through a period of serious grief and despondency, then ended up turning her loss into an opportunity to give back to others, starting an orphanage and helping hundreds of orphans. It’s hard to imagine the grief someone goes through losing children. But it’s encouraging to be familiar with saints who survived such losses and ended up offering them back to God.
What a lovely story. I cannot even imagine her sorrow. I really liked the part about her giving her heart to God as a living sacrifice.
that is an amazing story. we are ’surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses’.
I find it so encouraging to have the saints looking out for us, praying on our behalves, even when we may be unaware of their intercessions.
Congratluations on your Christmations! Welcome Home!
Christ is Risen!