Day 17 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Amshir, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Seventeenth Day of the Blessed Month of Amshir
Martyrdom of St.Mina the Monk
On this day St. Mina the monk was martyred. This saint was born in Akhmim to Christian parents who were farmers. Since his youth, his heart was inclined to renounce the world, so he became a monk in one of the monasteries of Akhmim. For a period of time, he fasted two days at a time and he was ascetic in his food and drink. Then he went to El-Ashmounein and dwelt in a monastery there for 16 years without leaving it. When the Arabs ruled the country, St. Mina heard that they denied that God had a Son from His nature and essence, and equal with Him in Eternity. This denial of faith was painful to the saint, so he took permission from the abbot of the monastery and went to El-Ashmounein. He came before the commander of the Arab camp and asked him, "Is it true that you say that God has no Son from His nature and essence?" The commander replied saying, "We deny that saying about God and totally reject it." The saint told the Arab commander that it should only be rejected if His Son was born through parental procreation, but our belief is that the Lord Christ is God of God, and Light of Light. The commander replied, "In our faith, this is blasphemy." The saint told him that the Bible says, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides in him." (John 3:36) The commander became enraged at this and ordered his soldiers to cut the saint into pieces and to throw him into the sea. The believers gathered the pieces of his body, shrouded and buried it. They arranged a commemoration of St. Mina the monk on this day.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
It’s so important that all people are able to recognize themselves as God’s image. Icons and images of Mary, the mother of Jesus, with a dark or ebony hue are revered in many cultures around the world. For example, the Black Madonna as a model of maternal love, faithfulness, and hope is esteemed by people across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Yet, as we explored a few weeks ago, the divine feminine—especially in darker form—generally has been suppressed by Western Christianity unless the image had already reached iconic form.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that women of African descent have faced so much oppression in the United States, both historically and to this day. For example, black women are paid 61 cents for every dollar paid to white men. [1] Last year at least twenty-six transgender people died due to violence (and at least eleven already in 2019), and the majority were black transwomen. [2] Yet even as white men continue to monopolize positions of religious leadership and theological authority, black women are reframing Christian traditions, practices, and Scripture in liberating and justice-oriented ways.
Womanists today build on a long lineage of courageous and wise prophets and mystics. This week I’ll introduce you to a handful of African American women mystics. They reveal Christ to us as they speak of their personal relationships with and experiences of the Divine and, as they stand in their truth, remain uncompromised by the systems that seek to silence them.
Thea Bowman (1937–1990) was a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration born in Mississippi. I am drawn to Sr. Thea since my own mother would listen to her talks, especially when she knew she was dying, and she found out that Thea listened to mine! I am sorry we never met. Her description of Black American spirituality provides helpful context for this week’s reflections:
[It] is rooted in our African heritage, with its ways of perceiving and valuing reality, its style of expression, its modes of prayer and contemplating the divine. It is colored by our Middle Passage, Slavery, our Island and Latin experience, segregation, integration, and our on-going struggle for liberation. [3]
For Sr. Thea, “God is present in everything. In the universe, in creation, in me and all that happens to me, in my brothers and sisters, in the church, and in the Eucharist—everywhere.” [4]
Like other mystics, Bowman found God everywhere, in all beings. She saw many images of God:
God is bread when you’re hungry, water when you’re thirsty, a harbor from the storm. God’s father to the fatherless, a mother to the motherless. God’s my sister, my brother, my leader, my guide, my teacher, my comforter, my friend. God’s the way-maker and burden-bearer, a heart-fixer and a mind-regulator. God’s my doctor who never lost a patient, my lawyer who never lost a case, my captain who never lost a battle. God’s my all in all, my everything.
God’s my rock, my sword, my shield, my lily of the valley, my pearl of great price. God’s a god of peace and a god of war. Counselor, Emmanuel, Redeemer, Savior, Prince of Peace, Son of God, Mary’s little baby, wonderful Word of God.
