4/16 The Mercedarian Martyers of Africa

16 April 2020
The Mercedarian Martyers of Africa
Year A

Yesterday we learned about the Mercedarian order and how they give their lives to free those who are enslaved, whether in actual chains or the metaphorical chains of addiction, ignorance, or what have you. 

Today we remember Blessed Mariana of Jesus, also known as Lily of Madrid. At age 23 she turned down a marriage proposal and instead became a Discalced Mercedarian nun at Madrid. We know what a Mercedarian is, but if someone is ”Discalced” that just means they don’t wear shoes. A lot of discalced orders now wear sandals or even shoes, though I don’t think they have very fancy shoes. Probably Sketchers or something like that. Definitely not Prada. Not Louboutons either. I am sure. Just so you know, I wear Sketchers. I love ‘em. 

Anyway, like a lot of saints, she was devoted to the Eucharist and she prayed a lot. Her bosses at the convent ordered her to write her spiritual autobiography which is something that lot of people do. Personally, I think it’s very ego-centric and overly self-serving, but people do it. 

It’s something to think about, though. One question we could ask today is whether or not there is something we want to write down. I’ll leave it to you to decide. 

“Blessed Mariana of Jesus“. CatholicSaints.Info. 17 April 2017. Web. 16 April 2020. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-mariana-of-jesus/>

Oh, and this is the fifth day of Easter. There are 45 more feast days to go!