I don't think I'd heard of this Saint but her Astonishing story was on the Totus Tuus Fb page today: "Prepare to be mind-blown! This Belgian mystic has one of the most astonishing stories in Catholic history—carefully recorded by reliable eyewitnesses and by the Dominican chronicler Thomas of Cantimpré. A humble orphan and shepherdess, Saint Christina 'died' at around age 21 from a severe seizure. During her funeral Mass in the church, as the Agnus Dei was sung, she suddenly sat up alive in her open coffin—then levitated up to the rafters, perching there like a bird! The terrified congregation watched as she refused to descend, later explaining that after her 'death,' God granted her a vivid vision of Heaven, Hell, and especially the intense sufferings of Purgatory. Moved by compassion for those souls, she begged to return to earth to suffer and pray for their relief—and God allowed it. Her life afterward was extraordinary and radical: She often fled to treetops, rooftops, towers, or even windmill arms to escape the overwhelming 'stench' of human sin on people around her. She endured extreme penances without harm: rolling unharmed in fires, plunging into icy rivers in winter (emerging dry and warm), surviving being dragged under watermill wheels, and more. When her own family locked her in a dungeon thinking her mad, she miraculously produced sweet, healing oil from her body to nourish herself. She healed the sick, had prophetic insights, and quietly interceded for souls—despite seeming bizarre or 'possessed' to outsiders. In our comfort-seeking world, Christina challenges us: What are we willing to offer for the holy souls and for God's glory? Her astonishing life shows that holiness can look wildly unconventional—and that God's mercy works through the strangest paths. Saint Christina the Astonishing, obtain for us compassion for the suffering souls in Purgatory and courage to embrace our crosses. Amen.' What's your favorite 'hidden' or mystic saint story?"
I saw this unusual article, while learning a little more about St. Christina, from the National Catholic Partnership on Disability site: St. Christina the Astonishing and Autism "After my son, Ben, was diagnosed with autism, I came to see many things through the lens of all that I learned about autism. Sometimes, this led me to view something in a new way. Christina the Astonishing is perhaps the best example of how knowledge about autism opens the door to a new way of understanding something. Although her “legend” is somewhat outrageous and charming, when it is read from the perspective of deep familiarity with autism, it becomes a different story. Allow me to say a little about this “saint.” The Catholic Church has a long history of identifying human beings who have arrived at perfect union with Christ as saints. Some saints become so well known that they are identified with certain classes or professions of people as their patrons. Devotion to saints can help Catholics live exemplary lives so that they too can one day be united with God. Christina the Astonishing was born in the middle of the twelfth century and little is known of her early life. When she was a young woman, she suffered a severe seizure and was thought dead. During her funeral Mass, however, she awoke, sitting straight up in her coffin. Legend has it that she flew from her coffin to the rafters of the church and refused to come down because she claimed that she could no longer tolerate being around other people - the stench of sin on them was overpowering to her. Christina spent much of the rest of her life avoiding others and engaging in a variety of odd behaviors. She liked to roll herself into a ball to pray, and she liked to spin; legend has it that she would hang from the twirling arms of a windmill or a waterwheel yet never be harmed. Her unpredictable behaviors scared her contemporaries and they would occasionally tie her up, but Christina became renowned for her ability to escape any restraint. She seemed to have little awareness of hot or cold and is described both climbing into ovens to pray and jumping into chilly waters to swim away and escape. She is reputed to have spoken little and to often have made unintelligible noises; she was more comfortable in the woods, climbing trees and among animals than she was around other people. She spent her final days in a convent, where she spoke and responded to only the Prioress, ignoring all others. The people of Saint Christina's time understood all this as the result of a vision Christina had while she was thought to be dead. I am more interested in what she did than why. Many of Christina's behaviors remind me of autism: seizure disorders, odd reactions to sensory stimulation, lack of sociability, spinning, imperviousness to extremes in temperature, disordered and limited speech, withdrawal from other people. Therefore, I propose that we claim St. Christina the Astonishing as the patron saint of people with autism. I do not believe that St. Christina had an autism spectrum disorder. But I do believe that her behaviors frightened, surprised and astonished her contemporaries. Any of you who love someone with autism know how hard they work to learn what the rest of us learned effortlessly and take for granted: how to speak, how to relate to others, how to function independently in the world. I find how hard my son works, and how hard all of his dedicated teachers work to help him, simply astonishing. If you get to know someone with autism, you will likely find them astonishing, too. Most saints are recommended to us as models of piety or devotion. Not so for Christina the Astonishing. She is a saint because she reminds us that those who struggle with behavioral disorders also serve, like all people, as reflections of God. In every mundane and astonishing effort they put into learning how to live in our world, those with autism manifest the image of God." https://www.ncpd.org/resources_and_toolkits/st-christina-astonishing-and-autism
I read the little book on Christina many years ago and it truly is astonishing . There were whole crowds of people who witnessed her extraordinary behaviour her whole life. Personally I don't have any difficulty believing everything. I think that what set her off was that she died for quite a long period and got to see and experience a lot on the other side. The veil between the two worlds never closed for her I think she was one half human and one half angel
Painting of Saint Christina the Astonishing by contemporary American Quaker artist Cynthia Large (b.1972). "Theology is combined in Cynthia Large's paintings and assemblages with ideas about music and mental illness; these themes form the (sometimes) overlapping spheres of genius, madness, and spiritual ecstasy. In 1990 she moved to New York, received my B.F.A. from Parson's School of Design in 1994, and then spent two years in the Netherlands, examining the art and religious upheavals of the late Middle Ages. During this period she studied the techniques of the early Flemish painters, and developed a method of painting based on what she learned. Egg tempera and oil are Large’s primary mediums; the process is labor intensive, and each painting takes nearly two years to complete. The frames are handmade of various woods, with inlaid marquetry panels, and the artist often incorporates salvaged piano keys and organ pipes into her work. Cynthia Large is a member of the Religious Society of Friends, and believes that artistic talent is a gift from God, as all gifts are. Large strives, in her daily work, to honor that gift, and to remember the One who bestowed it."
[QUOTE="Dave Fagan, post: 493217, member: 6649" ...I do not believe that St. Christina had an autism spectrum disorder. But I do believe that her behaviors frightened, surprised and astonished her contemporaries. Any of you who love someone with autism know how hard they work to learn what the rest of us learned effortlessly and take for granted: how to speak, how to relate to others, how to function independently in the world. I find how hard my son works, and how hard all of his dedicated teachers work to help him, simply astonishing. If you get to know someone with autism, you will likely find them astonishing, too. Most saints are recommended to us as models of piety or devotion. Not so for Christina the Astonishing. She is a saint because she reminds us that those who struggle with behavioral disorders also serve, like all people, as reflections of God. In every mundane and astonishing effort they put into learning how to live in our world, those with autism manifest the image of God." https://www.ncpd.org/resources_and_toolkits/st-christina-astonishing-and-autism[/QUOTE] I have gotten know and highly respect such a one. He attends the Bible Study I've coordinated.
I have gotten know and highly respect such a one. He attends the Bible Study I've coordinated.[/QUOTE] Mario, our son has a Genetic condition which includes some features of Autism, which is why this article caught my eye. Thankfully he is not too severely affected, though he does have some learning difficulties and co-ordination issues. There are others we have met, diagnosed with the same condition, who are non verbal or more physically impaired. Life in this society can be very difficult for people with a disability. Autism can present further challenges for the person and those caring for them. The enormous effort they put in to achieve things we take for granted, is indeed a humbling lesson. St. Christina, pray for all those who require this additional care.
