Mary Of Oignies Analysis

Mary of Oignies highly devoted herself to Christ and this, occasionally, was not well received by others. Jacques de Vitry writes such details of Mary’s devotion and encounters to show that she devoted as much time and energy as a male could. She was not always taken so seriously due to the fact that she was a woman. Jacques was in the mindset that actions, such as the ones performed by Mary, were more amazing and that they should not be overlooked. Jacques de Vitry believed that Mary of Oignies actions and devotions were a more amazing feat than that of a man, because of the extreme asceticism she performed even as a woman, and her feminine qualities overall. Mary leaned towards being more emotional than the average devotee. In numerous instances, Jacques writes that she was overcome with tears (370-371). He expressed that she was going to give herself as a sacrifice on Holy Thursday but left because she could not control her tears like the priest had asked her to (370). Although, she prays to God

She had the highest devotion, and was often underestimated because she was a woman. There are many examples throughout The Life of Mary of Oignies that show that she was not taken as seriously sometimes, because of the fact that she was so emotional. In Jacques’ eyes she was stronger, spiritually, than a fair amount of men because she was able to perform some of the ascetic acts, such as cutting off pieces of her own flesh, and because she had such a strong connection with the Lord from keeping to herself most of the time (371-372). He includes aspects of her femininity in plenty of cases to show that she was doing multiple of these incredible feats, despite the fact that she was a woman. Jacques wanted other people to know that they should not underestimate spiritual women, but rather be more amazed with them because they are a part of the “frail