Official feasts used to be an important part of the human community. People would gather together to remember something sacred, express their faith and hope for the future, and / or just be together formally, recognizing each other as being part of a shared community. Few things express a desire for shared companionship and social intimacy more than dining together. Sadly, the gathering together for feasting is increasingly a relic of the past – at least here in the West.
It need not be so! Today we will remember the ancient feasts.
The Feast Day of St. Oda
This is a Christian religious celebration of Oda, a 7th and 8th century Scottish holy recluse. She spent the last decades of her life living in a humble hut in the Netherlands – a place which subsequently became a pilgrimage site.
Saint Oda of Scotland (c. 680 – c. 726) was a woman, supposedly of Scottish origin, who became a holy recluse in the Netherlands. Her feast day is 23 October.
Life
Oda was born blind and her father sent her on pilgrimage to Liège to visit the relics of Saint Lambert. While praying at his grave she was miraculously cured of her blindness, as recorded in the saint’s eighth century vitae. Vowing to dedicate her life to God, she returned to Scotland.
According to records written in the thirteenth century by members of the noble Van Rode family, her father wanted to arrange a marriage for her. Because of her vow she and her maid fled across the North Sea. After a pilgrimage to Rome and Monte Sant’Angelo sul Gargano, Oda prayed in various villages in the Netherlands and Belgium and finally settled in Venray, only to be repeatedly disturbed by magpies. Seeking solitude, she fled from the magpies and the birds led her to an open space in the forest. There the villagers built a hut for her.
In order to protect her humble shelter from the wind, hail, rain and snow and to hide it from the view of the world, Oda planted some bushes. The following day they had already grown into a thick hedge. Her father sought for her, and as in the story of St. Dymphna, her location was disclosed by her use of coins from her homeland. However, when he attempted to approach her hut, magpies repeatedly drove him off. Eventually he gave up and returned to Scotland without her. She remained there as a hermitess.
Iconography
Saint Oda is usually depicted wearing a long blue gown with one shoulder bare and carying a staff or a book (symbolic of her cured blindness). She is always shown with a magpie on her hand and a crown under her feet (symbolic of her rejection of her earthly father’s kingdom).
Sint-Oedenrode flag
Veneration
After Oda’s death, her humble hut became a place of pilgrimage. “Saint Oda’s place in the woods” became the town of Sint-Oedenrode, Netherlands (in Dutch, a small manmade open space in the woods is called a rode). Like the flag of Scotland, the flag of Sint-Oedenrode is a white saltire on a blue field.
Pieces of Saint Oda’s skull and teeth are kept in the Saint Martin Church of Sint-Oedenrode. Various statues and paintings are kept in a chapel dedicated to Oda in the church’s garden. Pilgrims visited Saint Oda for relief of sore eyes and other illnesses related to the head.
The specific magpies associated with St. Oda (the ones that hounded her until she ended up in the open space in the woods) are the Eurasian magpies (Pica Pica).
What is something you could eat for the Feast Day of St. Oda?
For this, I tried to imagine what someone living simply in the Netherlands might choose to eat. I think I have just the thing:
In a kettle, boil cauliflower in the water until tender.
While the cauliflower is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan, over low heat.
Whisk in flour, salt and nutmeg, making a smooth paste.
Add the milk slowly, stirring constantly to incorporate smoothly.
Cook over low heat until thickened, stirring constantly.
Optional: grated cheese may be added at this point, stirring constantly to incorporate into a smooth sauce.
Drain and place cauliflower in a serving dish.
Pour white sauce, (cheese sauce) over cauliflower and serve.
What is a prayer to say for the Feast Day of St. Oda?
Heavenly Father,
We thank You for the life of St. Oda, who dedicated herself to Your service after receiving the gift of sight. Through her intercession, may we also see the beauty of Your creation and the needs of those around us.
Help us to follow her example of faith and perseverance. Protect us from distractions and guide us in our journey towards You.
May we find solace in prayer, just as St. Oda did in the woods, and may her story inspire us to trust in Your divine plan.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
When is the Feast Day of St. Oda celebrated?
The Feast Day of St. Oda is celebrated annually on 23 October.
I hope that everyone who celebrates has a wonderful day!
