St Margaret Clitherow

St.Margaret Clitherow

Like many Yorkshire women, Margaret Clitherow was not afraid of hard work and didn't lack courage. Known as the pearl of York she gave up her life, for her faith on the 25th of March 1586.
Born in 1555 she was raised in the Protestant faith by well to do parents. In 1571 she married John Clitherow a local grazier and butcher, they had three children, two sons and a daughter. Three years after her marriage Margaret converted to Catholicism. Her husband, whose brother was a Catholic priest was very supportive of her even though at times it could prove embarrassing as he was supposed to report people who failed to attend church services. On a number of occasions Margaret found herself in prison,during these periods of confinement she taught herself to read and write.
Margaret was very fervent in her faith, she often had mass said in her home and was always hiding priests. A hole was built into the attic of her home and the adjoining house so in the event of a raid the priest could escape.
The Clitherows sent their eldest son to Douai in France to study. This caused all sorts of problems for Margaret's husband who was called to give an account as to where his son was. Shortly after their house was raided. Margaret had many friends and supporters and none of them would give her away, but unfortunately they had a young Flemish boy staying with them and on being threatened he showed the authorities where everything was kept hidden, Margaret was arrested and sent to the Guildhall for trial. She refused to enter a plea, this meant her children and servants could not be called upon to give evidence against her. By doing this Margaret knew she could keep her family out of any involvement in her death. She was condemned to death by "Peine forte et dure" which meant to be pressed to death.
On Good Friday 1586 Margaret was led out,her arms were stretched out and tied to posts, a sharp rock was placed under her back and a door was placed on top of her, heavy stones were then placed on top of that, Margaret died within about fifteen minutes crying out to her Lord to have mercy on
her.
Margaret's bravery was not lost on her children her two sons went on to become priests and her daughter became a nun at St. Ursula's louvain.

Margaret was elevated to sainthood in 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

It would be very fitting to make Yorkshire rock cakes  to help celebrate this feast day. A rock cake is similar to a scone but tends to have more fruit in and is bigger. You could pile a batch of these up on a chopping board and serve them at tea-time.

Yorkshire rock cakes
8oz/225g self-raising flour
4oz/110 butter/margarine
2oz/55g sugar
6oz/150g mixed dried fruit e.g sultanas, raisins, currants.
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1-3 tblsp milk

Rub butter into flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in sugar, spice, zest and fruit. Add eggs and milk to make a stiff batter. Spoon 12 mounds onto greased baking trays. Bake for 15-20mins in an oven set at 200/400/gas mark 6.
If you wish you can add a couple of cherries and almonds to the top prior to baking to symbolize red for martyrdom and the white of the almond for purity.

Ash Wednesday.

Ash Wednesday begins with an entreaty from God, one that has been heard down through the generations. It is an appeal from the very heart of God. He is calling his wayward children to come back to him. Promising us that he is rich in mercy and compassion.

God calls after us again and again, wanting to be given the opportunity to bind up our wounds and to heal our sorrows. The only problem we have is the question: are we going to let him?

Ash Wednesday  is a day for us to decide to turn back to God and re-commit ourselves to this relationship. The problem for many is so often we feel we don’t know how to do this. But as with any relationship we need to invest our time and energy into it. We know that those relationships that are the most successful are the ones in which we have invested time and energy.
So how do we do this with God? Well, a good place to start is to begin by spending time alone with God, whether this is in the quiet of your home or in Church or elsewhere. What’s important is that we are committed to it.

If we want to know what God has to say then we must read his ‘letters’ to us in the form of Scripture. If you are not sure where to start you could follow the Church in the readings she selects for the readings at Mass each day.

We need to be honest in our reflection about how much time we give to God. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our everyday necessities that we push God into a short space on Sunday and maybe a extra few minutes now and then. But God wants to be the centre of our lives; he wants to fill us with good things, bringing healing and freedom into our lives; in fact he wants us to share in the fullness of his own life.

God promises us that every wound, all our faults and sins, all those things that hold us back from him, will be dealt with in kindness and compassion – because he is slow to anger and rich in 
graciousness, and ready to relent.

In the readings for Ash Wednesday we hear that we must “let our hearts be broken not our garments torn”. In days past the tearing of garments was an outward sign of repentance; think of the Ninevites when they heard Jonah’s call to repentance. Our “outward sign” can be found, for example, in the things we give up this Lent, the chocolate, the alcohol, etc. But God asks more of us.

Yes, these small sacrifices please him, but he is more interested in the heart that makes the offering. He wants to touch and heal us, and our little acts of self denial will be meaningless if we do not allow God to change our hearts; this is what Lent is all about.

If over the next forty days we drawer closer to God and allow him to heal our hearts, then when we arrive at the day of resurrection at Easter we will allow ourselves, as C.S Lewis said, to be “surprised by joy”.

St. Blaise.

Now here is a good Saint to invoke if you are suffering with any kind of ailment to do with the.
St. Blaise was a fourth century bishop who lived in Armenia. Devotion to this Saint has been popular throughout the ages but much of what we know comes to us through myths and legends.

Historical proof exists that Blaise was martyred for the Faith in his diocese of Sebastea in Armenia in the year 316. The legends surrounding Blaise state that during the persecution of Licinius, Blaise was forced into exile he fled to the hills in the backcountry of his diocese where he spent his days in prayer and penance,living the life of a hermit, surrounded by the wild animals as his only companions, who it is said never harmed him.

 One day while seeking wild animals for the amphitheater, soldiers came across Blaise and arrested him because they discovered he was a Christian. Blaise was taken to prison, but on the journey a couple of incidents happened. The soilders came across a child who was choking on a fishbone Blaise interceded for the child and he was cured. It is also believed that he talked a wolf into releasing a pig that belonged to a poor woman. Can you just imagine that wolf with a hangdog expression in his eyes looking at St. Blaise? Neither of these incidents made any impression on the solders and they continued to force Blaise to journey onto prison.
 While in prison, Blaise confirmed that he was a Christian and was given the chance to recant his profession of Faith and offer worship to the pagan idols. Blaise, needless to say refused and even though he was cruelly tortured he would not refute his belief in the risen Lord.
During his stay in prison Blaise was visited by the old lady whose pig he had saved from the jaws of the wolf, she brought him food and candles as way of thanks for his kindness to her.
In due course Blaise was beheaded and like all Martyrs entered into the glory of eternal life.

St Blaise is the patron saint of throat sufferers, and many churches hold a special ceremony in his honour, in which blessed candles are crossed beneath people’s throats and a special blessing is invoked. At this time of year when so many coughs and colds abound it is good idea to take the children to mass and get Father to bless their throats.

Prayer to Saint Blaise
Dear bishop and lover of souls, you willingly bore heavy crosses in faithful imitation of Jesus. Similarly, with Christ like compassion you cured many sufferers. Then after undergoing horrible torture, you died as a martyr for Christ. Obtain a cure for these {describe the afflictions} ills if this is agreeable to God. Amen.

Celebrating the Feast of Candlemas.

Today we celebrate the feast of Candlemas which incorporates two feasts, the Presentation of Our Lord and the Purification of the Blessed Virgin. Both rites were obliged by Jewish law. You can read about them in the book of Leviticus, where chapter 12 deals with the purification of a woman after childbirth.

When Our Lady and St. Joseph brought Christ to the temple, Simeon embraced the Child and prayed what has become known as the Canticle of Simeon: “Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; because my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).

Over time the custom developed in the West of blessing candles on this feast day. Christ is the light of the world, “a light to the revelation of the Gentiles”, and by the 11th century this custom was gaining popularity. The blessed candles were lit and a procession took place through the darkened church whilst the canticle of Simeon was sung. Hence the name “Candlemas”.

Usually the priest blesses the candles that are going to be used in the coming year. If your priest is open to the idea, you could ask if you can bring your own candles and then take these blessed candles home to use during your family prayer time. When celebrating some of the special feast days these can be used on the family dinner table. If you cannot get them blessed by a priest the head of the house can pray this lovely simple blessing over your candles:

Let us pray. God our father, source of all light, today you revealed to Simeon your light of revelation to the nations. Give us your blessing as we light these candles. May we who carry them to praise your glory walk in the path of goodness and come to the light that shines forever.

Shrove Tuesday.

Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is known by many names throughout the world. The most popular name globally, perhaps, is Mardi Gras.

Mardi Gras, which literally means Fat  Tuesday,  is a carnival celebration which has its roots in the ancient Roman celebration of Lupercalia, a festival that honored the Roman deity Lupercus. When Christianity began to spread the early Church decided to adapt and incorporate certain festivals into the new faith rather than just banning them.

The English terms “Shrovetide” and “Shrove Tuesday” come from the old English word “shrive”. “To be shriven” means to go to confession and receive absolution.

Not only was Shrove Tuesday a day of self examination, it was the last day in which people could feast before their Lenten fast kicked in. Shrove Tuesday’s menu was designed to use up all the fats, eggs and dairy products left in the kitchen and storerooms. Hence the name Fat Tuesday. Nothing was allowed to go to waste. Families often ate up to twelve times over the course of the day.

Pancakes, which are the traditional meal in England on Shrove Tuesday, came about because of the need to use up the eggs, butter and milk. Although the pancakes we have now came about in the 18th Century due to the influence of French cooking, we used to make a smaller more fatter pancake probably like a pikelet – a type of crumpet.

So as we enter into this season of fasting let’s enjoy our pancakes and look forward to the greatest of feasts.

Here is a simple pancake recipe which will have you flipping and tossing pancakes much to your children’s delight:

110g/4oz plain flour.

2 eggs.

200ml/7floz milk mixed with 75ml/3oz water.

50g/2os butter.

Pinch of salt.

Sift flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Break in eggs and begin to mix milk and water. Whisk until you have a smooth batter.

Melt a small amount of butter in a 7in frying pan. Put 2 tablespoons of batter in the pan and swill around. It will cook quite quickly. When you can lift a side up and it looks golden flip over and cook for another few seconds. Top with your favorite topping, lemon and sugar, golden syrup, maple syrup, Nutella – the combinations are endless. Enjoy!

St. Valentine.

History has it that Valentine was a priest in Rome around the time of the third Century. Along with his friend St Marius and his family he assisted the martyrs who were being persecuted under Claudius II. After Valentine was apprehended he was sent to the prefect of Rome who tried to him get him to renounce his faith. When all his attempts failed he had Valentine beaten with clubs, stoned and then beheaded on February 14th, about the year 270.

Even though Valentine is a hero in my eyes for his incredible bravery when faced with torture, I don’t quite know how his life suddenly made became associated with romance. Possibly it was because at that time in history Claudius decided he wanted to increase the size of his army. To inspire the young men to come and fight for him he issued an edict which prohibited young men from marrying. This was based on the assumption that single men fought better than those who were married because they did not have to give any thought to the wives and children they may leave behind if they died on the battlefield. As you can imagine there were many young couples who were not too impressed with the emperor’s ideals.

There are tales that say that Valentine, as a priest, knew the importance of a Christian marriage, so he secretly married young couples who came to him seeking his help in this matter. However when it was discovered that he was performing these marriage ceremonies, Claudius looked none too kindly on it and had him flung into prison.

While he was in prison, one of the men, Asterius, who was either going to be a judge on his case or was his jailer, (history seems to be unsure which it was) had a daughter who was blind. She came to visit Valentine in prison, and after the saint’s intercession she recovered her sight, which led to her Father becoming a Christian.

It is also said that some of the last words that Valentine wrote before his execution were to Asterius’ daughter; and in ending the note he signed it “from your Valentine”, thus inadvertently inspiring many romantics down through the centuries to sign their declaration of love in the same way.

Whatever the true story about St Valentine, as with all the Saints we need to look at their lives and see how we can emulate them. St Valentine is someone who dedicated his whole life to the service of God through his priesthood. He then lays down his life in service of his friends and pays the ultimate price.

Now, you and I may not be called to lay down our lives in quite the same way, but we are called to great sacrificial love that requires us to lay down our lives at the service of others. This is a sign of true love. It’s not just some romantic notion but something concrete that calls us beyond the borders of our own lives into something much deeper and richer. It calls us to be willing to invest our time, energy, money, talents, etc., for the good of another; and it asks us to do it time and time again. True love always requires real sacrifice.

To help your children celebrate the feast of St Valentine you could get them involved in some baking. Why not make some heart-shaped cookies; or a lovely heart-shaped cake to give to or to share with someone who you know who may need a bit of TLC.