Naomi of Perge
Proselyte from Perga in Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), she accompanies her husband to Bethlehem for the census and arrives there while Mary and Joseph are still present:
"Do you not remember me, O Mary of Bethlehem. But I, for thirty-one years, have recalled your name and your face as that of mercy. I had also come from afar, from Perga, for the Edict. And I was pregnant..."Her husband dies there while she has been a mother for only twenty days. In shock, her milk dries up and she is covered with pustules. Rejected as a leper, only Mary, then a young mother like her, comes to nurse her child John.[1]
She searches for the Holy Family, unable To Believe that they perished in the massacre. She finally traces them.[2] It is an opportunity for Jesus to heal her son Confessiongle. Later Aurea will be entrusted to her along with Myrtha.[3]
Jesus spares this tried mother the sight of his Passion by keeping her away from Jerusalem.[4]
Character and Appearance[edit | edit source]
About the same age as Virgin Mary, approximately 46/47 years old.
Apostolic Journey[edit | edit source]
Having stayed in Palestine with her son, she is, like him, one of the Disciples."Let my son belong to you twice. Accept him, Lord, and the dream of poor Naomi will be fulfilled." she said when John asked to follow Jesus.
Her Name[edit | edit source]
ינעמ (Naomi).[5]
Noemi (Na'omi) means "my Grace" - Historical reference: the mother-in-law of Ruth, who, by marrying Boaz, became the grandmother of David.
Where is she mentioned in the work?[edit | edit source]
EMV 365 EMV 370 EMV 371
EMV 427 EMV 433 EMV 434 EMV 435 EMV 439 EMV 440 EMV 441
EMV 566 EMV 577
EMV 634