The Day of Saints - Day 6, Little Remains

Identifying who a saint was, or might have been, is often problematic

When I first thought up the idea of writing poetry and reflections hung on a peg of Cornish saints, something in me thought that it might have been overdone by many others, and part of me thought there would be masses of material to work with, 'lives' and so forth. However, having spent several hours this morning pouring over books, neither of these seem to be true. The latter is quite an eye-opener for me. I have on my shelves at home books with titles such as 'What Saint Paul Really Said' and The Confessions of St Augustine, but for the vast majority of characters in the ancient Cornish communion (I cannot find a better word - 'pantheon' doesn't do it!), almost nothing is extant, and even little in the way of legend.

Door detail, St German's Priory, St Germans.

Having taken time away today from sabbatical to attend a burial of ashes of a dear member of one of my churches, I am reminded that sometimes it can be a real challenge to remember and honour people well, especially if it is someone we've only known for a brief time or in a small way. Still finding my way into this project, I feel the struggle thinking in wanting to 're-member' saints (put flesh back on the bones) about whom nothing is known bar scraps of legend and contextual, often conflicting, places and dates. What can be said meaningfully, I am not sure, but perhaps, like icons painted centuries later with no likeness to work with, that is one reason to start in poetry. I have no option but to fall back on what I wrote yesterday, about God's providing in surprising ways, and trust that will continue to be the case.