Return to the main feature about Germaine Cousin.
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Germaine Cousin
Posts from the “Saints” Category
Song: Rain https://halosarehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/rain_bykathygreenholdt.mp3 When writing about a saint, I usually turn to one or more books for research. So, be forewarned that my sole “authority” on the life of Germaine Cousin was Wikipedia.org. After poking around the Internet a bit more, I discovered conflicting accounts of her vita. Still, Germaine’s consensus story is worth telling. Who Was Germaine? Germaine Cousin was born in 1579 in Pibrac, a small town near Toulouse in Southwestern France. At birth, one of her hands was formed differently than the other, and she suffered from scrofula, a tubercular disease. Germaine’s family were farmers. Her mother died while she was still a baby, and her father remarried. Fearing the spread of disease, Germaine’s parents sent her out of the home…
Categories: Saints
Tagged: France, Germaine, Germaine Cousin, Germaine of Pibrac, Pibrac, Saint Germaine
Return to the main feature about Julian of Norwich.
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Julian of Norwich
Music Video: Never Coming Out We are now in the second year of the global pandemic in which millions have died, including more than 500,000 in my own country. Vaccines are beginning to roll out, which will permit greater mobility for many of us who have self-isolated. Last summer, however, I knew a long, lonely winter awaited us in Chicago. That’s why my husband, Paul, and I erected a 12-foot by 12-foot clear plastic dome-shaped tent in our backyard. The “bubble” was equipped with a small portable heater and became my personal sanctuary for most of the winter. Inside, I played guitar, read books, observed the natural world around me, and wrote in a bubble-centric journal. Sometimes our cat, Filemon, would join me. The…
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Anchorite, Dame Julian, Julian of Norwich, Mother Julian
Return to the main feature about Mary.
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Black Madonna, Greece, Icon, Mary, Mother of God, Saint Mary, Theos, Theotokos, Virgin Mary
Return to the main feature about Clare.
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Assisi, Clare of Assisi, Franciscan, Italy, Saint Clare
Return to the main feature about Catherine.
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Catherine of Siena, Dominican, Italy, Saint Catherine, Siena
Song: Theos https://halosarehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/kathy-greenholdt-if-02-theos.mp3 Over the past two thousand years, no other female has appeared in as many works of art as the woman known as Mary, purported mother of Jesus, the Christian savior of the world. A timeless muse, she dominates thousands of paintings, frescoes, sculptures, figurines, mosaics, and icons. According to Christian teaching, Mary is the fully-human, yet virginal, mother of God; she is not a god herself. Who Was Mary? Mary is considered a Catholic saint, but to me, she has never really seemed like one, because she gets a higher billing than the others. In art, she often wears a crown and holds a scepter, and bears the title Queen of Heaven. There doesn’t appear to be a convincing historical record…
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Black Madonna, Greece, Icon, Mary, Mother of God, Saint Mary, Theos, Theotokos, Virgin Mary
Song: Euphrosyne https://halosarehistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/kathy-greenholdt-if-03-euphrosyne.mp3 Full disclosure: I call Catherine of Siena my nemesis. This might seem unfriendly, but it’s true. I have a friend who once described Catherine as one of her favorite saints. To find out why, I read a biography, then traveled to Rome and Siena, Italy. I hoped for some songwriting inspiration based on Catherine’s “essence.” But, that didn’t happen right away. Even as I learned how Catherine accomplished unbelievable things during a very short life, her personality seemed distant and inaccessible. She appeared somewhat selfish, with an overly-high opinion of herself. I had trouble liking her. Or maybe, across the centuries, I was simply jealous of this formidable woman. Who Was Catherine? On March 25, 1347, Caterina di Giacomo di Benincasa…
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Catherine of Siena, Dominican, Italy, Saint Catherine, Siena
Music Video: If Assisi is an Italian hilltop village of medieval homes and churches. Birds soar overhead, and scenic countryside views are plentiful. It’s gorgeous. Every year, tourists of every (or no) spiritual outlook descend on the small town to visit the beautiful basilica dedicated to Francis, one of the world’s most popular Catholic saints, who promoted peace and justice while founding the Franciscan religious order. In 2019, I traveled to Assisi and planned to see the basilica. But, I also hoped to learn more about another saint — Clare — who was Francis’ first female follower. Who Was Clare? In 1194 Chiara (Clare) Offreduccio was born into one of Assisi’s noble clans. In medieval society, aristocratic families like Clare’s reigned over the feudal…
Categories: Saints
Tagged: Assisi, Clare of Assisi, Franciscan, Italy, Saint Clare
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