Traditional Mass Propers for Christmas

Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pontifical_Mass_-_
15th_Century_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16531.jpg

Christmas Mass texts for the Traditional Mass 2021:- 

Christmas Day (Mass in the night) (6 pages) 

Christmas Day (Mass at dawn) 

Christmas Day (Mass in the day) (5 pages)

English Catholic Recusants - YCA "Thames Valley Papists Talk" Autumn 2021

Cheltenham Catholic Adults Meeting on Sat 6th Nov

Cheltenham Catholic Adults (formerly Cheltenham Young Catholic Adults) will be meeting on Sat 5th Nov with a social and an informal  discussion of the upcoming synod  at 1pm.  Please bring your own food and drink.

For more details text Damian on 07908105787

Live Talk from Douai Abbey about "Thames Valley Papists" on Saturday 30th October at 2.30pm

There will be  a talk on "Thames Valley Papists" featured on the YCA Facebook group on Sat 30th October at 2.30pm given by Dom. Christopher Greener O.S.B.  This will be proceeded by a Rosary. This is organised by YCA.

The talk is based on the following book - Thames Valley Papists: From Reformation to Emancipation,1534-1829, published by the Mapledurham Trust, by Tony Hadland (2004).

It will be streamed on the YCA Facebook group at :- https://www.facebook.com/groups/15913673965/.

 If you are  not a member simply click join group to view the talk.

The Amazing Miracle of the Sun at Fatima 1917

       Source:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_of_the_Sun

The Amazing Miracle of the Sun… 

This is a must read. Real eye witness accounts of that precious moment will turn any unbeliever into a believer. 

The story of the sixth apparition of Our Lady of Fatima on 13th Oct 1917.

During the night of 12-13 October it had rained throughout, soaking the ground and the pilgrims who make their way to Fátima from all directions by the thousands. By foot, by cart and even by car they came, entering the bowl of the Cova from the Fátima-Leiria road, which today still passes in front of the large square of the Basilica. 

From there they made their way down the gently slope to the place where a trestle had been erected over the little holm oak of the apparitions. Today on the site is the modern glass and steel Capelhina (little chapel), enclosing the first chapel built there and the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima where the holm oak had stood.

As for the children, they made their way to the Cova amid the adulation and skepticism which had followed them since May. When they arrived they found critics who questioned their veracity and the punctuality of the Lady, who had promised to arrive at noon. It was well passed noon by the official time of the country. However, when the sun arrived at its zenith the Lady appeared as she had said she would.

"What do you want of me?"

I want a chapel built here in my honor. I want you to continue saying the Rosary every day. The war will end soon, and the soldiers will return to their homes.

"Yes. Yes."

"Will you tell me your name?"

I am the Lady of the Rosary.

"I have many petitions from many people. Will you grant them?"

Some I shall grant, and others I must deny. People must amend their lives and ask pardon for their sins. They must not offend our Lord any more, for He is already too much offended!

"And is that all you have to ask?"

There is nothing more.

As the Lady of the Rosary rises toward the east she turns the palms of her hands toward the dark sky. While the rain had stopped, dark clouds continued to obscure the sun, which suddenly bursts through them and is seen to be a soft spinning disk of silver.

"Look at the sun!"

From this point two distinct apparitions were seen, that of the phenomenon of the sun seen by the 70,000 or so spectators and that beheld by the children alone. Lucia describes the latter in her memoirs.

After our Lady had disappeared into the immense distance of the firmament, we beheld St. Joseph with the Child Jesus and Our Lady robed in white with a blue mantle, beside the sun. St. Joseph and the Child Jesus seemed to bless the world, for they traced the Sign of the Cross with their hands. When, a little later, this apparition disappeared, I saw Our Lord and Our lady; it seemed to me to that it was Our Lady of Sorrows (Dolors). Our Lord appeared to bless the world in the same manner as St. Joseph had done. This apparition also vanished, and I saw Our Lady once more, this time resembling Our Lady of Carmel. [Only Lucia would see the later, presaging her entrance into Carmel some years later.]

This would be the last of the apparitions of Fátima for Jacinta and Francisco. However, for Lucia Our Lady would return a seventh time, in 1920, as she had promised the previous May. At that time Lucia would be praying in the Cova before leaving Fátima for a girls boarding school. The Lady would come to urge her to dedicate herself wholly to God.

As the children viewed the various apparitions of Jesus, Mary and Joseph the crowd witnessed a different prodigy, the now famous miracle of the sun. Among the witnesses there were the following:

Eye Witness Accounts

From the road, where the vehicles were parked and where hundreds of people who had not dared to brave the mud were congregated, one could see the immense multitude turn toward the sun, which appeared free from clouds and in its zenith. It looked like a plaque of dull silver, and it was possible to look at it without the least discomfort. It might have been an eclipse which was taking place. But at that moment a great shout went up, and one could hear the spectators nearest at hand shouting: "A miracle! A miracle!"

Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, whose aspect was biblical as they stood bareheaded, eagerly searching the sky, the sun trembled, made sudden incredible movements outside all cosmic laws---the sun "danced" according to the typical expression of the people.

Standing at the step of an omnibus was an old man. With his face turned to the sun, he recited the Credo in a loud voice. I asked who he was and was told Senhor Joao da Cunha Vasconcelos. I saw him afterwards going up to those around him who still had their hats on, and vehemently imploring them to uncover before such an extraordinary demonstration of the existence of God.

Identical scenes were repeated elsewhere, and in one place a woman cried out: "How terrible! There are even men who do not uncover before such a stupendous miracle!"

People then began to ask each other what they had seen. The great majority admitted to having seen the trembling and the dancing of the sun; others affirmed that they saw the face of the Blessed Virgin; others, again, swore that the sun whirled on itself like a giant Catherine wheel and that it lowered itself to the earth as if to burn it in its rays. Some said they saw it change colours successively....

 O Seculo (a pro-government, anti-clerical, Lisbon paper)

"At one o'clock in the afternoon, midday by the sun, the rain stopped. The sky, pearly grey in colour, illuminated the vast arid landscape with a strange light. The sun had a transparent gauzy veil so that the eyes could easily be fixed upon it. The grey mother-of-pearl tone turned into a sheet of silver which broke up as the clouds were torn apart and the silver sun, enveloped in the same gauzy grey light, was seen to whirl and turn in the circle of broken clouds. A cry went up from every mouth and people fell on their knees on the muddy ground....

The light turned a beautiful blue, as if it had come through the stained-glass windows of a cathedral, and spread itself over the people who knelt with outstretched hands. The blue faded slowly, and then the light seemed to pass through yellow glass. Yellow stains fell against white handkerchiefs, against the dark skirts of the women. They were repeated on the trees, on the stones and on the serra. People wept and prayed with uncovered heads, in the presence of a miracle they had awaited. The seconds seemed like hours, so vivid were they.

 O Dia (another Lisbon daily, edition of 17 October 1917)

We looked easily at the sun, which for some reason did not blind us. It seemed to flicker on and off, first one way, then another. It cast its rays in many directions and painted everything in different colours--- the trees, the people, the air and the ground. But what was most extraordinary, I thought, was that the sun did not hurt our eyes. Everything was still and quiet, and everyone was looking up. Then at a certain moment, the sun appeared to stop spinning. It then began to move and to dance in the sky until it seemed to detach itself from its place and fall upon us. It was a terrible moment.

 Ti Marto (father of Jacinta and Francisco)

The sun turned everything to different colours---yellow, blue and white. Then it shook and trembled. It looked like a wheel of fire that was going to fall on the people. They began to cry out, "We shall all be killed!" Others called to our Lady to save them. They recited acts of contrition. One woman began to confess her sins aloud, advertising that she had done this and that.... When at last the sun stopped leaping and moving, we all breathed our relief. We were still alive, and the miracle which the children had foretold, had been seen by everyone.

Maria de Capelinha (one of the earliest believers)

I was looking at the place of the apparitions, in a serene, if cold, expectation of something happening, and with diminishing curiosity, because a long time had passed without anything to excite my attention. Then I heard a shout from thousands of voices and saw the multitude suddenly turn its back and shoulders away from the point toward which up to now it had directed its attention, and turn to look at the sky on the opposite side.

It must have been nearly two o'clock by the legal time, and about midday by the sun. The sun, a few moments before, had broken through the thick layer of clouds which hid it, and shone clearly and intensely. I veered to the magnet which seemed to be drawing all eyes, and saw it as a disc with a clean-cut rim, luminous and shining, but which did not hurt the eyes. I do not agree with the comparison which I have heard made in Fátima---that of a dull silver disc. It was a clearer, richer, brighter colour, having something of the luster of a pearl. It did not in the least resemble the moon on a clear night because one saw it and felt it to be a living body. It was not spheric like the moon, nor did it have the same colour, tone, or shading. It looked like a glazed wheel made of mother-of-pearl. It could not be confused, either, with the sun seen through fog (for there was no fog at the time), because it was not opaque, diffused or veiled. In Fátima it gave light and heat and appeared clear-cut with a well-defined rim.

The sky was mottled with light cirrus clouds with the blue coming through here and there, but sometimes the sun stood out in patches of clear sky. The clouds passed from west to east and did not obscure the light of the sun, giving the impression of passing behind it, though sometimes these flecks of white took on tones of pink or diaphanous blue as they passed before the sun.

It was a remarkable fact that one could fix one's eyes on this brazier of heat and light without any pain in the eyes or blinding of the retina. The phenomenon, except for two interruptions when the sun seemed to send out rays of refulgent heat which obliged us to look away, must have lasted about ten minutes.

The sun's disc did not remain immobile. This was not the sparkling of a, heavenly body, for it spun round on itself in a mad whirl. Then, suddenly, one heard a clamor, a cry of anguish breaking from all the people. The sun, whirling wildly, seemed to loosen itself from the firmament and advance threateningly upon the earth as if to crush us with its huge and fiery weight. The sensation during those moments was terrible.

During the solar phenomenon, which I have just described in detail, there were changes of colour in the atmosphere. Looking at the sun, I noticed that everything around was becoming darkened. I looked first at the nearest objects and then extended my glance further afield as far as the horizon. I saw everything an amethyst colour. Objects around me, the sky and the atmosphere, were of the same colour. An oak tree nearby threw a shadow of this colour on the ground.

Fearing that I was suffering from an affection of the retina, an improbable explanation because in that case one could not see things purple-coloured, I turned away and shut my eyes, keeping my hands before them to intercept the light. With my back still turned, I opened my eyes and saw that the landscape was the same purple colour as before.

The impression was not that of an eclipse, and while looking at the sun I noticed that the atmosphere had cleared. Soon after I heard a peasant who was near me shout out in tones of astonishment: "Look, that lady is all yellow!"

And in fact everything, both near and far, had changed, taking on the colour of old yellow damask. People looked as if they were suffering from jaundice, and I recall a sensation of amusement at seeing them look so ugly and unattractive. My own hand was the same colour. All the phenomena which I have described were observed by me in a calm and serene state of mind, and without any emotional disturbance. It is for others to interpret and explain them.

 Dr. Almeida Garrett, PhD (Coimbra University)

The sun, at one moment surrounded with scarlet flame, at another aureoled in yellow and deep purple, seemed to be in an exceedingly fast and whirling movement, at times appearing to be loosened from the sky and to be approaching the earth, strongly radiating heat.

 Dr. Domingos Coelho (reported in the newspaper Ordem)

The sun appeared with its circumference well defined. It came down as if to the height of the clouds and began to whirl giddily upon itself like a captive ball of fire. With some interruptions, this lasted about eight minutes. The atmosphere darkened and the features of each became yellow. Everyone knelt even in the mud....

 Fr. Manuel Pereira da Silva (in a letter to a friend)

We made our arrangements, and went in three motor cars on the early morning of the 13th. There was a thick mist, and the car which went in front mistook the way so that we were all lost for a time and only arrived at the Cova da Iria at midday by the sun. It was absolutely full of people, but for my part I felt devoid of any religious feeling. When Lucia called out: "Look at the sun!" the whole multitude repeated: "Attention to the sun!" It was a day of incessant drizzle but a few moments before the miracle it stopped raining. I can hardly find words to describe what followed. The sun began to move, and at a certain moment appeared to be detached from the sky and about to hurtle upon us like a wheel of flame. My wife---we had been married only a short time- -- fainted, and I was too upset to attend to her, and my brother-in- law, Joao Vassalo, supported her on his arm. I fell on my knees, oblivious of everything, and when I got up I don't know what I said. I think I began to cry out like the others. An old man with a white beard began to attack the atheists aloud and challenged them to say whether or not something supernatural had occurred.

 Senhor Alfredo da Silva Santos (Lisbon)

There may have been many former atheists in Fátima that day, but there were plenty in Portugal, nonetheless, to charge hallucination. For those the Lady provided witnesses who were not at the scene and could not have been subject to collective suggestion.

On that day of October 13, 1917, without remembering the predictions of the children, I was enchanted by a remarkable spectacle in the sky of a kind I had never seen before. I saw it from this veranda....

 Alfonso Lopes Vieira (observed from a distance of nearly 25 miles away):

I was only nine years old at this time, and I went to the local village school. At about midday we were surprised by the shouts and cries of some men and women who were passing in the street in front of the school. The teacher, a good, pious woman, though nervous and impressionable, was the first to run into the road, with the children after her.

Outside, the people were shouting and weeping and pointing to the sun, ignoring the agitated questions of the schoolmistress. It was the great Miracle, which one could see quite distinctly from the top of the hill where my village was situated---the Miracle of the sun, accompanied by all its extraordinary phenomena.

I feel incapable of describing what I saw and felt. I looked fixedly at the sun, which seemed pale and did not hurt the eyes. Looking like a ball of snow revolving on itself, it suddenly seemed to come down in a zigzag, menacing the earth. Terrified, I ran and hid myself among the people, who were weeping and expecting the end of the world at any moment.

Near us was an unbeliever who had spent the morning mocking at the simpletons who had gone off to Fátima just to see an ordinary girl. He now seemed to be paralyzed, his eyes fixed on the sun. Afterwards he trembled from head to foot and lifting up his arms fell on his knees in the mud, crying out to our Lady.

Meanwhile the people continued to cry out and to weep, asking God to pardon their sins. We all ran to the two chapels in the village, which were soon filled to overflowing. During those long moments of the solar prodigy, objects around us turned all the colours of the rainbow. We saw ourselves blue, yellow, red, etc. All these strange phenomena increased the fears of the people. After about ten minutes the sun, now dull and pallid, returned to its place. When the people realized that the danger was over, there was an explosion of joy, and everyone joined in thanksgiving and praise to our Lady.

 Fr. Ignacio Lorenco (Alburitel, 11 miles away).

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Fatima. May her powerful intercession be with you and your family. Taken from "The Parish Priest" from Facebook.

.

Fr. Gabriele Amorth, Famous Exorcist Speaks About Fatima: Has The Consecration of Russia Been Done?

Cheltenham Catholic Adults Event October 2021

Cheltenham Catholic Adults (formerly Cheltenham Young Catholic Adults) will be restarting on Sat 2nd Oct with a social at 12pm. Please bring your own food and drink.

For more details text Damian on 07908105787.

It seeks to:-

-Foster authentic Catholic teaching and spirituality

-Promote a spirit of charity as practiced by the great saints of the Church such as St. John Vianney, St. Francis de Sales and the English Martyrs 

-We aim to promote a spirit of beauty and reverence in the Sacred Liturgy

-Cheltenham Catholic Adults is open to all ages.

It's sister group is YCA - see:- http://www.youngcatholicadults.co.uk/ and http://youngcatholicadults-latestnews.blogspot.co.uk/ for more details.

The group page is:-http://cheltenhamcatholicadults.blogspot.com/

MASS OF THE AGES: Episode 1 — Discover the Traditional Latin Mass

After her husband dies, Kristine seeks refuge in Traditional Catholicism. An introduction to the Traditional Latin Mass with stunning visuals and an original score. HELP US REACH MILLIONS OF CATHOLICS: https://massoftheages.fund + FIND A LATIN MASS NEAR YOU IN ENGLAND AND WALES: https://lms.org.uk/mass-listings

Mass Cancellations in the Diocese of Clifton

As of 17th July 2021 all EF Masses at Our Lady of Glastonbury were cancelled.  The parish blog at:- http://frbederowe.blogspot.com has also been deleted.

Prinknash Abbey, near Gloucester,  have ceased the very popular 11am EF Mass (approx a couple of months ago) - no official explanation has been given.

The monthly Cheltenham Mass at St. Gregory's Church, which was to become weekly as of the first Wednesday in September (this was already stated in the parish newsletter) has been cancelled in August as no permissions have been given by the Bishop. It is not known what will happen in the future.

It would appear that all other diocesan EF Masses have ceased in the diocese, at Cirencester, Bristol, Bath, Yeovil and Warminster.

First Wednesday Cheltenham EF Mass - Cancelled

The monthly first Wednesday Low Mass (4th Aug) Cheltenham Mass at St. Gregory's Church Cheltenham, has been cancelled. 

It is not known whether permission will be given to continue this Mass in the future.

Traditionis Custodes - Updates for England and Wales Available at YCA Facebook Page

Latest updates for England and Wales can be seen at the YCA Facebook group at:-

https://www.facebook.com/groups/15913673965/

URGENT - Traditionis Custodes - the 2021 YCA Event is under Review

By Zarateman - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34805092

The 2021 Young Catholic Adults event is currently under review - relevant permission(s) will be applied for. 

If it can go ahead the news will be posted on this site.

FATIMA Official Trailer (2020) - This film will be shown in UK cinemas from 25th June 2021

This film will be shown in UK cinemas from 25th June 2021. The new film on Fatima will be shown in Cinemas from 25 June. Some of the WAF England and Wales Committee members have written this review (for your guidance only): “The film is based on the memoirs of the Servant of God Sr Lucia. The story covers her childhood year starting off with the appearance of the Angel of Portugal and leading on to the apparitions of Our Lady. To understand the film, you would need to know the story of Fatima as not all events or apparitions are covered, and some artistic license is made. The film covers the reality of life in Portugal at that time with a modern perspective which makes it enjoyable to watch. The film, however, misses the important message of the Five First Saturdays devotion which is a pity, and it would have been good to end with this message. Overall, a good and enjoyable film.” You can see cinemas where the film will be available here: https://www.fatimafilm.co.uk/tickets/.

Good News the Return of the Young Catholic Adults Event 30th October 2021 (Subject to Covid)

Good news - a limited YCA national day will hopefully take place on Saturday 30th October (not the usual 3 weekend ) - this will, of course, be dependent what happens with covid.

Even if the "in person" events have to be cancelled there will be an online event in the afternoon.

St. Gregory's Church Cheltenham First Wednesday Mass for Pope St. Pius V on May 5th at 7pm

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/1/1a/Papa_Pio_V.PNG

The regular first Wednesday schedule continues with a Low Mass for St. Pope Pius V May 5th at 7pm.

"He began his pontificate by giving large alms to the poor, instead of distributing his bounty at haphazard like his predecessors. As pontiff he practiced the virtues he had displayed as a monk and a bishop. His piety was not diminished, and, in spite of the heavy labours and anxieties of his office, he made at least two meditations a day on bended knees in presence of the Blessed Sacrament. In his charity he visited the hospitals, and sat by the bedside of the sick, consoling them and preparing them to die. He washed the feet of the poor, and embraced the lepers. It is related that an English nobleman was converted on seeing him kiss the feet of a beggar covered with ulcers. He was very austere and banished luxury from his court, raised the standard of morality, laboured with his intimate friend, St. Charles Borromeo, to reform the clergy, obliged his bishops to reside in their dioceses, and the cardinals to lead lives of simplicity and piety. He diminished public scandals by relegating prostitutes to distant quarters, and he forbade bull fights. He enforced the observance of the discipline of the Council of Trent, reformed the Cistercians, and supported the missions of the New World. In the Bull "In Coena Domini" he proclaimed the traditional principles of the Roman Church and the supremacy of the Holy See over the civil power.

But the great thought and the constant preoccupation of his pontificate seems to have been the struggle against the Protestants and the Turks. In Germany he supported the Catholics oppressed by the heretical princes. In France he encouraged the League by his counsels and with pecuniary aid. In the Low Countries he supported Spain. In England, finally, he excommunicated Elizabeth, embraced the cause of Mary Stuart, and wrote to console her in prison. In the ardour of his faith he did not hesitate to display severity against the dissidents when necessary, and to give a new impulse to the activity of the Inquisition, for which he has been blamed by certain historians who have exaggerated his conduct. Despite all representations on his behalf he condemned the writings of Baius, who ended by submitting.

He worked incessantly to unite the Christian princes against the hereditary enemy, the Turks. In the first year of his pontificate he had ordered a solemn jubilee, exhorting the faithful to penance and almsgiving to obtain the victory from God. He supported the Knights of Malta, sent money for the fortification of the free towns of Italy, furnished monthly contributions to the Christians of Hungary, and endeavoured especially to bring Maximilian, Philip II, and Charles I together for the defence of Christendom. In 1567 for the same purpose he collected from all convents one-tenth of their revenues. In 1570 when Solyman II attacked Cyprus, threatening all Christianity in the West, he never rested till he united the forces of Venice, Spain, and the Holy See. He sent his blessing to Don John of Austria, the commander-in-chief of the expedition, recommending him to leave behind all soldiers of evil life, and promising him the victory if he did so. He ordered public prayers, and increased his own supplications to heaven. On the day of the Battle of Lepanto, 7 Oct., 1571, he was working with the cardinals, when, suddenly, interrupting his work opening the window and looking at the sky, he cried out, "A truce to business; our great task at present is to thank God for the victory which He has just given the Christian army". He burst into tears when he heard of the victory, which dealt the Turkish power a blow from which it never recovered. In memory of this triumph he instituted for the first Sunday of October the feast of the Rosary, and added to the Litany of Loreto the supplication "Help of Christians". He was hoping to put an end to the power of Islam by forming a general alliance of the Italian cities Poland, France, and all Christian Europe, and had begun negotiations for this purpose when he died of gravel, repeating "O Lord, increase my sufferings and my patience!" He left the memory of a rare virtue and an unfailing and inflexible integrity. He was beatified by Clement X in 1672, and canonized by Clement XI in 1712." (Source: the Catholic Encyclopedia).

The English and Welsh Martyrs - May 4th Feast Day

English and Welsh Martyrs taken from The Supremacy and Survival Blogspot

May 4th is the feast of the English and Welsh Martyrs (EF calendar), Stephanie A Mann writes (h/t tohttp://supremacyandsurvival.blogspot.com/):-

"When we speak of ALL the Catholic Martyrs of England and Wales, it is a considerable number:

~54 were Beatified on December 29, 1886 by Pope Leo XIII (including Thomas More and John Fisher and 11 others who would later be canonized)

~Pope Leo also declared 30 martyrs Venerable on that date (which is the feast of St. Thomas of Canterbury)

~Pope Leo XIII beatified nine more martyrs on May 13, 1895

~136 more were beatified by Pope Pius XI on December 15, 1929 (29 of those martyrs would later be canonized

~Pope St. John Paul II beatified 85 more martyrs on November 22, 1987

So there are 42 canonized martyrs: St. Thomas More, St. John Fisher and the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales. There are 242 beatified martyrs; and 30 venerable martyrs--314 Martyrs of England and Wales! (Not counting the Irish martyr St. Oliver Plunkett or the Scottish martyr St. John Ogilvie.)

Their feast has been celebrated on May 4 since 2000 since that is the anniversary of the executions of the protomartyrs of the English Reformation under Henry VIII in 1535: The Carthusians John Houghton, Robert Lawrence, and Augustine Webster; the Briggitine Richard Reynolds, and the priest John Haile.

Since I first "appeared" on the Son Rise Morning Show in 2010, we've told the stories of many of these martyrs--Anna Mitchell, Matt Swaim, and I even completed a weekly series on the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales in 2020 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of their canonization! So tomorrow, I thought we'd focus on what these martyrs model for us: their courage, their constancy, and their conversion.

Courage is perhaps almost too obvious: they risked their lives by being true to Jesus and His Church, to the unity of the Church, to the celebration of the Sacraments, and the protection of priests. Since executions, either by burning, beheading, hanging, or hanging, drawing, and quartering were public, they knew the agonies they could or would suffer.

If they faced a court and were condemned, they would hear the judge announce (language alert) what they would suffer: you will be "laid on a hurdle and so drawn to the place of execution, and there to be hanged, cut down alive, your members to be cut off and cast in the fire, your bowels burnt before you, your head smitten off, and your body quartered and divided at the Queen's/King's will, and God have mercy on your soul."

To take two obvious examples, St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More heard those words and returned to their cells in the Tower of London, not knowing that Henry VIII would commute their death sentences to being beheaded, merely, on June 22 and July 6. The martyrs who suffered before them on May 4, 1535 heard those words and then suffered the full torture of that punishment as traitors to Henry VIII. The Carthusians were wearing their habits and St. John Houghton still wore his hair shirt. 

Condemned martyrs might have been spared part of the agony of that form of execution if they died by hanging before the evisceration, but they would not know that would happen, so faced agony as they were dragged through the streets to their place of execution; as the first suffered, the others witnessed what they would endure. Executioners could be efficient, or inept like the one who tortured Blessed Hugh Green, unable to locate his heart to cut it out of his chest (August 19, 1642). 

Before their trials and executions, they demonstrated courage through imprisonment and torture, especially during the Elizabethan era: hanging by the wrists, the rack, flogging, and the Scavenger's Daughter. Clamped in irons, kept in the Little Ease, where they neither stand upright or lie down completely--the Tudors especially practiced many forms of torture to break the spirit of the martyrs. St. Robert Southwell's father exhorted Queen Elizabeth I to try, convict, and even execute his son rather than leave him in such filth and darkness.

These English and Welsh martyrs give us a model of constancy: they remained true to their faith through all the dangers and difficulties. Some of the missionary priests returned to England again and again after imprisonment and exile. The missionary priests had to hide, travel constantly while the laity protecting them had to be on constant look out, always aware of their danger. In the midst of all the changes in religion, in doctrine, worship, and devotion occurring all around them, these lay martyrs remained true. They--and many who did not suffer martyrdom--paid the fines, prayed the Rosary of Our Lady, counting on their fingers if it was too dangerous to use beads, made Acts of Perfect Contrition and Spiritual Communions, joined their intentions to Masses celebrated throughout the world; hid their Catholic books, and tried their best to practice the Faith of their Fathers and Mothers. The pressure to conform to the Established Church of England must have been enormous, financially, legally, socially, and within the family: but they were constant.

This might seem contradictory, but they also give us models of conversion; we might also say of contrition and repentance. Unlike the Carthusian priors, all the abbots and priors of the monasteries and priories of England took the oaths Henry VIII demanded: but a few repented and returned to the Faith: the last Abbots of Glastonbury, Colchester and Reading Abbeys finally refused to surrender and dissolve their monasteries and thus suffered martyrdom (beatified by Pope Leo XIII on May 13, 1895).

St. Edmund Campion, SJ was a Catholic when Queen Mary visited his neighborhood in London; he was an Anglican when Queen Elizabeth I visited Oxford and he was on his way to a brilliant career in academe and the Church of England. But then reading the Fathers of the Church and talking to others who had returned to the Catholic Church made him pause, leave his career track, and become a Jesuit and then return to England as a priest. When he was martyred on December 1, 1581, another future martyr converted after some of Campion's blood splashed on him, and St. Henry Walpole, SJ left his study of the law, became a Jesuit, and was martyred on April 7, 1595.

Two of the three female saints canonized among the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales, St. Margaret Clitherow and St. Anne Line, were converts. when St. Anne Line, alias Anne Heigham Line  became a Catholic she and her brother William Heigham were disinherited and disowned by their Calvinist father. In 1586 she married Roger Line, another disinherited convert. Not long after their marriage Roger and her brother William were arrested for attending Mass and exiled from England. Roger lived in Flanders and died in 1594. 

Left without the financial support Roger had sent her from Flanders, Anne did not return to her father and renounce her Catholic faith; instead she managed a house in London established by Father John Gerard, SJ, as a refuge for Catholic priests, a dangerous occupation. She was arrested on Candlemas, the Feast of the Purification or Presentation on February 2, 1601 after helping the priest Blessed Francis Page, SJ escape arrest. Before she was hanged to death on February 27 that year she proclaimed: 

"I am sentenced to die for harbouring a Catholic priest, and so far I am from repenting for having so done, that I wish, with all my soul, that where I have entertained one, I could have entertained a thousand."

She is is a model of all three of these virtues: courage, constancy, and conversion.

Catholic Martyrs of England and Wales, pray for us!"

For this and other articles about the English and Welsh martyrs please goto:- http://supremacyandsurvival.blogspot.com/.

Sung Mass for the Feast of St.Gregory the Great - St. Gregory's Church, Cheltenham at 7pm on Friday 12th March

There will be an extra Missa Cantata for the patronal feast of St. Gregory the Great Church in Cheltenham. This will be the first Sung Mass, in this church, for 50 years.

There will also be Low Mass at 7pm on the first Wednesday (3rd March) at St.Gregory's.

All are warmly welcome.

Young Catholic Adults Zoom Book Event Sat 20th February Starts at 2:30pm

 "[A]n outstanding resource for the ongoing discussion on the post-conciliar liturgical reform... Matthew Hazell is to be congratulated for creating a comparative tool to facilitate such a debate" -- Fr Uwe Michael Lang, C.O., in Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal

Young Catholic Adults Zoom Book Event  Sat 20th February Starts at 2:30pm

Timetable

2:30pm Rosary

3:00pm Matthew Hazell talks about his book Index Lectionem followed by questions. 

To book please send an email confirming your attendance to Dom. Christopher Greener O.S.B. at:-  christopher@douaiabbey.org.uk BY WEDNESDAY 17th February 2021.

To buy Index Lectionum go to :- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Index-Lectionum-Comparative-Extraordinary-Lectionary/dp/1530230721.

EF Low Mass for the Epiphany at St. Gregory's Church Cheltenham

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiphany_(holiday)#/media/File:Bartolom%C3%A9_
Esteban_Murillo_-_Adoration_of_the_Magi_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

There will be an EF Low Mass for the Epiphany at St. Gregory's Church,  10 St James' Square, Cheltenham GL50 3PR, on Wednesday 6th Jan at 7pm.

The celebrant will be Fr. Philip Thomas - all are very welcome.