Saintly Women

Let us go on until morning talking about the delights of the spiritual life

Feb 05, 2024

“Let us all praise that valiant woman with a manly heart, who, by the glory of her sanctity, everywhere shines gloriously.”

Today we would be quick to take a pessimistic approach to the hymn being cited above. What is the author attempting to say about saintly women? Are their “manly hearts” signifying to us that holiness itself is something more akin to being a man than a woman? There’s a way to interpret the author’s intentions that would probably surprise us.

This hymn is one that we find prescribed in the Liturgy of the Hours for days when we celebrate Holy Women. The breviary prayers have always been required praying for religious communities, priests, bishops, — the pope himself. This means the majority of those praying the Divine Office, and therefore singing this hymn, have historically been men. I think the “manly heart” is supposed to inspire men, especially, to be better men.

It’s almost a sort of taunt — if you want to be a man, how do you measure up to this woman? The hymn is a profound example of reverent humility before women who are saints. There are, of course, arguments to be made that you could translate the word “virile” as something more like courageous. But the contrast of the “man’s heart” in the saintly woman is more provocative, and therefore perhaps more evocative of holiness in the one praying.

So — high! Let us all our voices raise in praising the women we will celebrate in the liturgy this week. Spend some time reflecting on, listening to, and even singing this wondrous hymn. This website offers both the popular translation, but also a more direction translation from the Latin in the footnotes at the bottom. It is a hymn unfamiliar to most, but well worth getting acquainted with.

Fortem virili pectore / High Let Us All Our Voices Raise