You, dear soul, have already figured out why this story in this moment! And, depending on the particular folks who raised you right, you may have already met Aunt Gert… also known as St. Gertrude, the patron saint of cats.
Her story was not one I learned from Gramma Elsie, as I traced honeycomb shaped quilt pieces for her, with a pencil and a pattern made from a Cheerios box.
In fact, I’d bet this was not a story Elsie knew, though she loved stories like she loved quilts. You see, Elsie was raised right by a bunch of folks descended from a bunch of folks who got on a wee boat named the Mayflower and came to these shores to get away from the power structures of the people who did know about Aunt Gert and weren’t amused. And there were lots of stories that got buried. Intentionally.
I, however, have the advantage of questions, and buttons to push to help find answers.
Thus I discovered, while swinging from the branches of my on-line family tree a couple of years ago, a new Great Aunt, many, many generations back. Another of the handful of related Saints nobody ever mentioned.
Here’s what I first learned about Aunt Gert… She was born in what is now Belgium, in 626 CE. Like other women in her prominent family, she chose – with her mother’s help – to escape an arranged marriage of the politically correct and financially beneficial sort, and establish a monastery for women dedicated to living their faith and helping people.
Turns out, though, that there was more to the story.
When Gertrude was only 10 years old she was asked “if she would like to marry a duke.” Despite the power and wealth normally included in such deals back then, Gertrude – in a bold move – declined.
After Gertrude’s father passed on, her mother, Itta, worried lest her still teen-aged daughter be kidnapped for marriage so she shaved Gertrude’s head and built an abbey to protect her daughter. Eventually, that abbey – of Nivelles – became a double monastery where nuns and monks served together.
Pause for amazement!
Eventually, Gertrude served the monastery as the Abbess, though she spent her days caring for others and building hospitals and churches and she walked into her future at the age of 33 years. She was canonized soon thereafter.
What I learned just yesterday was that Gertrude was never officially named patron saint of cats, though the people she served considered her so. This was likely because, in the time of the plague known as The Black Death, cats were important in protecting people, especially the poor, from the rats which carried the disease. And Gertrude protected cats.
What I feel, as I read her story in the context of this moment, is that she was a fan of laying down beliefs which were not empowering! And I like to think of her having a presence something like my #Matrica painting, known as Liberating Lily.
This story also suggests that some of my tendencies in the direction of laying down limiting beliefs just might come from a long line of women who found hope in choosing to fill their Medicine Baskets with tools for change. Among the relatives Aunt Gert and I share are Saint Begga, and a couple of Saint Itta’s, all of whom were noble women, likely among the Beguine communities where women were permitted to own their property and make decisions about their finances!!!
And here we are, 13 or 14 hundred years later, in a world where the guys who think they’re entitled to make all the rules, are making fun of childless cat women. I’m all in for keeping that from happening in this world where my grandteens are trying really hard to grow up!
Matilda, whom you may have met lately, is on board!!!
She’s in charge of overcoming obstacles around here. You know… the path from here to the there where you are called! If you’re ready for some help along the way, let’s talk! Just ask the calendar elves to hook you up with 30 minutes. Our gift. You bring your dream, a cuppa, and some Red Thread, if it’s handy. We’ll come up with the next right thing. Really!
ps… I learned some of the newer parts of Aunt Gert’s story at catster.com in an article which was – ironically – updated yesterday!
pps… Aunt Gert and I are proclaiming that every day is cat lady day around here, even though we’re kind of more rescue Newf people. In fact, every day is strong people ready to make things better for all the people day!
