Saint Camilla de Varano (Italy) was born into a princely family in 1548. Her father was the prince of Camerino, Italy and, from the looks of things, he was pretty well off. Like most parents, Camilla's parents hoped she would find a good marriage partner, but Camilla had other ideas becoming a Poor Claire at the tender age of 23. She must have been a good nun because she became abbess. Or, maybe it was just because her father had the money to refurbish the abbey for her. But, it was a successful monastic career.
In 1505 she was noticed by Pope Julius II who sent her to found a Poor Claire Convent in Fermo, Italy. And in 1521 she brought the rule of The Poor Claires to San Severino Marche, also in Italy. So she had a busy life and seemed to stick with The Poor Claires throughout which is a long way from royal life. You may remember that Saint Claire, who founded The Poor Claires, was a friend of crazy Saint Francis. Sometimes The Poor Clairs are even called The Second Order of Saint Francis. Though the rule is largely benedictine, The Poor Clairs didn't hold any property for a long time. Then it was changed, as rules do.
There was a time, and not that long ago, when theological knowledge was much harder to come by, especially for women. Women who wanted to know things had the option of joining a convent, and maybe that is what motivated Saint Camilla. But, she would still have been limited to what she was taught by the very few people who might have been willing to teach her at all. But, Camilla had visions... visions of teachers! I ran across this in the reading about Saint Camilla of Varano this morning:
It seems like most of us spend a lot of time trying to understand things. We read, we pray, we think it over, we talk with others who may know more than we do… that’s one of the ways we work out our salvation. It’s good.
Yet, yesterday I spent the better part of my morning trying to find more information about the jailer at Phillipi: Did he have a name, are there any stories or myths about him, what happened after he was baptized? I wanted some information to flesh out the very little we know from scripture, because this is an important passage about conversion and initiation. I didn’t find anything, by the way. My guess is that his household joined Lydia’s household, probably doubling the ASA of that early church. And I hope that he learned things and grew in grace. But, there are no stories about him, at least not that I could find. But, what does it matter?
I will probably not become any more discerning about the knowledge I seek. When it comes to God’s workings on this small planet, our island home, I want to know everything. But, I can relax a little knowing that if it’s really important God will send an angel… or something.
No comments:
Post a Comment