God, Be with our troops this day and
they selflessly protect our country and our right to worship as we please,
especially for Capt. Patrick
M. Kerins, Lt. Jared C. Long, Lt. Daniel S. Quinlan,
Lt.
Col David Weir
and Sgt. Brett Williams.
Today's Saints are Blessed John Nutter, James Fenn, and John Munden,
Martyrs for the Faith in Elizabethan
England
Saint Margaret Clitherow
From
CatholicTradition.org
In Elizabethan England, it was a crime
to be Catholic. This was a reflection on the struggle that was taking place
between Spain and that country. Spain wanted to return England to the Church,
while Queen Elizabeth wanted it to remain Protestant. Queen Mary is stated in
the secular history books, such as
Fox's History of
Martyrs, as being "Bloody Mary", a title she did not deserve. No such
mention is made of the same atrocities being committed by Elizabeth.
The martyrdom of John
Nutter, James Fenn and John Munden give testimony of a revengeful Protestant
with the aim to eliminate 'popery' and the threat of Rome. Elizabeth made
the Church of England the religion of state. Merely being a Catholic
became a capital crime. Priests were hunted down, and a Mass was an illegal
activity. It is no small wonder that the Church was all but eliminated during
the reign of Elizabeth. It was a time of severe religious persecution, not
only of Catholics but anyone who defied the Church of the State. It is in
this spirit that the First Amendment of our Constitution guaranteed the right
to worship free of a state imposed religion. It is unfortunate that that
document was so interpreted so as to eliminate God from our public domain and
even strike the ten commandments from our courthouse walls.
The narration of the
execution of these fine men is presented on the web page of the
Catholic Encyclopedia.
They were truly martyrs to our faith.
James Fenn was educated at
Corpus Christi College and Oxford University. He was a schoolmaster and after
the death of his wife was ordained in 1580 after studying at Reims.
Blessed John Nutter was the
brother of Blessed Robert Nutter. John was a fellow at Saint John's College,
Cambridge. He also studied for the priesthood at Reims, France. He returned
to England but didn't recon with the power of the 'priest-chasers'. He was
arrested for the crime of Catholicism after he arrived in England in 1581.
Blessed John Munden
studied at New College, Oxford. He was a teacher and schoolmaster, and like
the others prepared for the priesthood at Reims, and Rome. He was ordained in
1582, and like the others was arrested and imprisoned for the crime of
Priesthood.
Blessed Thomas Hemerford
was a native of Dorsetshire. He was educated at Oxford and then studied for
the priesthood at English College, Rome. He was ordained in Rome in 1583, and
returned to England, where he was swiftly arrested and condemned for being a
priest.
All four were hung, drawn,
and quartered at Tyburn on February 12, 1583. They were was beatified in
1929 and their cause for sainthood is pending.
An objective discussion
of this horrible time in English history is presented on the St. John Seminary
web page, in a short paper by Richard Mark Ssajjabbi on the
Martyrs of Elizabethan England
