In 1980 in Slovakia, Melanie Molitorová (often shortened to Melanie Molitor) named her daughter “Martina.” Melanie named her daughter after tennis great Martina Navratilova. She determined before her daughter was even born that this child would become a tennis player and that she, Melanie, would coach her all the way to the #1 ranking. And, as night follows day, Melanie’s daughter, Martina Hingis, became the youngest female ever to hold the #1 ranking…at only age 16. Martina Hingis never had a choice, and the journey to the top was full of accomplishments for her, but–until she openly broke from her mother and from professional tennis for several years–little joy.

Back in the 8th century, Saint Stephen the Younger, whose life ended in martyrdom for the faith, was dedicated to the service of God while still in his mother’s womb. Like Martina Hingis, Stephen was never given any choice or agency. He was “grounded in pious sentiments from his infancy.” Stephen “was instructed in the perfect knowledge of the Catholic Faith, and his tender breast was fortified by the love and practice of the duties of religion.” He learned his Christian forehand, backhand, serve, overhead lob, and net play before he could read and write.

Perhaps the most curious phrasing that Butler uses to describe the training-from-infancy that Stephen received is that it was all geared that he be “preserved from the poison of profane novelties.” Setting aside the hyper-dramatic, plosive-filled alliteration going on here, the very notion of protecting a child from new ideas, from thinking outside the box, from questioning authority, from ever entertaining new ideas, from being affected by the world and by people who weren’t all “godly church people,” is actually quite horrifying and unnatural…kind of like many (though admittedly not all) examples of Christian homeschooling.

By acting in this way, Stephen’s parents ironically helped ensure that he would never be another “Jesus type.” He would never be the sort to hang out with prostitutes or tax collectors. He would never have his own “novel” ideas about what true religion and true love of God and neighbor mean. Stephen would never be “poisoned” by any idea that lacked the Church’s official imprimatur! He would never draw down the wrath of the religious leaders of his day–and he would never inspire anything other than the admiration of others for his whole-hearted dedication to the goals pre-determined by his parents.

In 2013, Martina Hingis gained entry by vote to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 762, Stephen the Younger’s martyrdom ensured he would have his entry in the Calendar of Saints.