Sign on the door, Gone Fishing, was going to be my last post until we get back from vacation,but ........ things have changed. It was brought to my attention, and followed by my own research this morning, that the place we are going, an island off the Eastern shore of Maryland, is infested with mosquitoes and biting green head flies. I am the one who chose this destination for our big family get-to-gether, and now I feel like I have unwittingly offered up my family to be eaten alive or driven insane by mosquitoes and flies. I'm not worried so much about the adults, although I don't want their vacation to be miserable because of these hideous insects, but I am very concerned for the little children. So, what can I do about the situation at this late date? What I usually do when I'm faced with a problem that seems insurmountable. Call on the saints and angels.
I find it extremely interesting that St. Mark is portrayed with a lion, something I just found out during my research this morning. I simple googled "saints who protect against insect bites" and was led to Saint Mark the Evangelist. Since I am a Leo, this made me smile from ear to ear. I don't know how he got to be the patron of insect bites, maybe it's because he spent a lot of time in Africa. And then, of course, there is a story sticking in my mind, something I read earlier this morning while on my quest for a solution to the insect problem. Saint Mark, before his conversion, was appalled, perhaps even horrified, at the idea of Christians eating the flesh and drinking the blood of Jesus Christ. That seems a very good reason to put him in charge of protecting us from insects, especially blood drinking, flesh eating insects.
Agnolo Bronzino, Saint Mark, c. 1525.
Oil on wood, Cappella Capponi, Santa Felicita, Florence.
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