Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Matthew 25:34-36
“Domna (Karpovna) was born to a wealthy and noble family in Ukraine sometime in the early 1800s. She was orphaned at an early age and was brought up by her aunt. The aunt provided Domna with an excellent education so that she learned to read and write very well and spoke several different languages.
She was reportedly a beautiful young woman who had many suitors, but she desired to devote herself wholy to Christ and preserve her virginity for His sake. Her relatives planned nonetheless to force her into marriage, and when she learned of their intention she secretly stole aaway form the house with nothing more than the clothes on her back and began a pilgrimage to various holy places.
While traveling to one of the holy sites, she was arrested by the police because she had no papers on her to validate who she was. Considered a vagrant, she was exiled to Siberia under the name Maria Shepchenko. When she arrived in Siberia, she settled in the city of Tomsk. It was there that she took up the struggle of becoming a fool for Christ…
The local citizens came to revere her for her piety, humility, and kindness toward others and would give her warmer clothing during the bitter cold winters. These she would accept with great gratitude, but within a few hours she would be found shivering again, having given her warmer outerwear to others suffering from the cold.
When she learned of the sad state of most prisoners in the local jail, she began to frequent the jail in order to pray for and encourage those within. She would walk among them singing hymns and praying. As the police were suspicious of such behavior, they eventually arrested her as well.
But when the local citizens learned of it, they brought all manner of food and tea to the jail in her support. These gifts Domna never kept by herself, but retaining the same giving attitude she had exhibited in the streets of Tomsk, she doled them out amongst the prisoners instead.
When finally released again, Domna continued to wander the streets as before, befriending not only the poor and needy but also the stray animals within the city. She would care for and even feed them, especially the dogs, who no doubt expressed their gratitude to her by keeping her warm on cold Siberian winter nights.
Even when in the presence of animals, Domna could be heard continuing in her unceasing prayer. Because of her great love and care for all of God’s creatures she often is pictures with dogs in icons.”
Domna of Tomsk (d. 1872) in Holy Fools: The Lives of Twenty Fools for Christ by Oswin Craton (Chesterton: Ancient Faith Publishing, 2024) 27-29.
When we read the story of Domna, we might call her crazy, but a closer look reveals the precise kind of behavior that Jesus expects of His followers.
She cared for prisoners, she clothed the shivering homeless on Siberian nights, and even had dogs keep her warm and care for her. This reminded me of Elijah in 1 Kings 17:2-6.
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
Here God instructs Elijah, another fool following the same pattern, to rely on ravens to sustain him while doing God’s work. Think about that. And think about how animals like dogs have carried you?
For us, our dog, Joy St. Clare, served as the heart of our family, not to mention being an excellent pheasant hunter. Now Grace St. Catherine is a faithful companion to Jenni and me in our empty nester season.
Regardless of what you are doing, God wants you to focus on doing His work and trust Him to sustain you. And he just might have dogs be your companion. So far so good in Colombia. One week down and one week to go.
He carried our team through Medellín and Cali. We trust Him to sustain and grant us favor in Cartegena and Bogotá. What crazy work might He have for you and how is He calling you to trust Him to sustain you?