The Other Madness

What makes a saint? Do we like them to be just a little…mad? Like Saint Bridget, of whom the 20^th century American poet Phyllis McGinley wrote:

To any soul

Whose luck was out

She'd give her bowl

Of stirabout;

She'd give her shawl,

Divide her purse

With one or all.

And what was worse,

When she ran out of things to give

She'd borrow from a relative.

Her father's gold,

Her grandsire's dinner,

She'd hand to cold

and hungry sinner;

Give wine, give meat,

No matter whose;

Take from her feet

The very shoes,

And when her shoes had gone to others,

Fetch forth her sister's and her mother's.

Those saints may inspire us, or they may scare us. How about Frances Perkins, whom the Episcopal Church remembers on May 13^th, as a “public servant and prophetic witness”? Perkins was the first Secretary of Labor and devout Episcopalian. Her reading of the Good News of Jesus Christ led her to address what she saw as the unjust treatment of workers. A little too earthly for your taste? How about the great Christian writer C.S. Lewis.

Saints come in all shapes and sizes, metaphorically speaking. But Perkins and Lewis have at least one thing in common. They have both won The Golden Halo in Lent Madness. It began online four years ago, and has grown to the extent that people have entirely forgotten the, uh, March Madness that it was based on.

Just like that hoops tournament, starting on the Thursday after Ash Wednesday, two saints will face off. Read the biographies provided for each saint, and then cast your vote. Come back during the day and read the comments to see why people voted for their favorite saint that day. At midnight, the votes are counted and the winner advances to the next round. Forget the Sweet Sixteen. Lent Madness has the Saintly Sixteen, followed not by the Elite Eight and Final Four, but the Elate Eight and the Faithful Four.

Along the way, you will see just how diverse a thing is holiness, as diverse as the human race, all of whom God made in the divine image. You will also laugh along the way. And a little laughter will leaven your Lent (Say that three times fast).

You can get started now by downloading the bracket. And you can do your research by ordering the Saintly Scorecard from Forward Movement. Have a happy, and holy Lent.