THE FEAST OF ST JOHN THE BAPTIST

In writing about St John the Baptist, E LeJoly said:

“John the Baptist points to God, a signpost on the way of life, for men to see and obey.  John the Baptist comes as a witness.  Filled with love for God, he has one thought, one concern, one purpose: to direct men’s minds and hearts to the Saviour who comes, to the Light of men, that they may turn to Him and believe in Him.”

In St John’s Gospel we read that John the Baptist “Came to bear witness to the Light.”  LeJoly tells us that John bears witness through his mode of life and through his preaching.  “There is no greater calling than to witness to the Light, that men may believe in Jesus.  The Father sent John to be the herald announcing His Son.  The Holy Spirit inspired him as he inspired the older prophets and the apostles and saints of the New Testament.  They witnessed by their personality, their speech, their life, even unto the shedding of their blood.  They witnessed to Christ under the lash, on the gridiron, chained in prison.  They proclaimed Him the Lord when stoned, bound to crosses, thrown to wild beasts.”

St David Lewis bore witness to Christ by his personality and his mode of life.   He studied at the English College in Rome and an entry in the College Diary describes him as “Vir prudens et pius”, that is “a wise and holy man”.  Later, in his ministry in Wales, he travelled the countryside, usually at night, on foot or on horseback to care for the persecuted Catholics.  But no person, Catholic or otherwise, was outside his love and concern and his kindness to all earned for him the affectionate appellation of “Tad y Tlodion” or “Father of the Poor”.

Like St John the Baptist and the saints and martyrs of the New Testament, St David Lewis bore witness to the Light by the shedding of his blood.  As he prepared to celebrate Mass on Sunday, 17^th November 1678, Fr David Lewis was arrested at Llantarnam.  Betrayed by his so called friend, John Arnold, he was conveyed to Monmouth Gaol where he was incarcerated for several months.  Then, on a bitterly cold day in the dead of winter, 13^th January 1679, he was moved to Usk Gaol.  At the March Assizes in Monmouth, David Lewis was condemned as a Catholic priest who said Mass.  In passing sentence, Judge Atkins said, “He that uses to read Mass commits treason”.  Convicted of High Treason, Fr Lewis was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered, the usual punishment for High Treason.  He was returned to Usk Gaol.

In April of 1679, Fr David Lewis, Fr John Kemble, Fr Roger Hanslip and Fr John Wall were ordered to London to be questioned by the odious Titus Oates and his fellow perjurers, William Bedloe and Stephen Dugdale.  The four priests were lodged in vile conditions in Newgate Prison.  Although they were rigorously interrogated by the trio, no evidence of involvement in any plot could be found against them.  Indeed, there was no evidence of a plot at all!  The priests were offered freedom and wealth if they would perjure themselves with details of a nonexistent plot or renounce their faith.  All four priests unequivocally refused.  They were sent back to their respective prisons to await their fate.

For Fr David Lewis S J this came on 27^th August 1679.  On that summer day David Lewis gave witness by his holy manner and the courageous way in which he willingly shed his blood for Christ.  The name of St David Lewis was added to the Church’s list of Martyred Saints on 25^th October 1970 when he and 39 others were canonised by Pope Paul VI in Rome.  Collectively they are known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

From the beginnings of Christianity the followers of Jesus have been persecuted.  Right down to the present day, Christians are bearing witness to Christ through persecution and death.  On this feast of St John the Baptist, let us be mindful of the sufferings of our fellow Christians around the world and keep them in our prayers.

Let us also be mindful of our great blessing of freedom of worship.  Never take it for granted! 

FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART

SACRED HEART OF JESUS, I PLACE MY TRUST IN THEE.

Once again I am posting a link to Catholic Culture.  Their page for today deals with the Sacred Heart and they do it far better than I can.  So just click here for the link or you can use the widget on my sidebar.  

CORPUS CHRISTI

 This took place last year in Preston.  It has generated a bit of controversy but I still think it worth posting today on this feast of Corpus Christi.  What do you think?

SUMMONED TO LONDON

St David Lewis

In March 1679, having been caught up in the fabricated Popish Plot spawned by the evil Titus Oates, Fr David Lewis S J was convicted of being a Catholic priest and saying Mass.  At that time this was considered High Treason.  The punishment for High Treason was to be hanged, drawn and quartered.  Fr Lewis was returned to his cell in Usk Gaol to await his fate. 

In late April 1679 there was a great hullabaloo in Parliament.  Word had been received that there was a plot afoot to poison Oates and his fellow lowlife, Bedloe.  Once again, there was no plot but, as Canon J Barrett Davies tells us, “The Government had not been able to produce any evidence to lend substance to the inventions of Titus Oates, and no doubt they felt it was high time a real Catholic priest was implicated or the commonalty might become as sceptical about the Plot as His Majesty was already known to be”. 

The House of Lords Journal for 28^th March 1704 records;

“23 rd April 1679, Upon report from the Lords Committees for Examinations, that their Lordships find it requisite that David Lewis, who hath been tried and condemned as a Popish Priest at the Assizes held for the County of Monmouth, and is now in Gaol there, may be brought to Town.  It is ordered that the Sheriff for the said County of Monmouth be, and is hereby required, to take care and give order for the speedy conveying of the said David Lewis in safety from the said Gaol, to be delivered into the Prison of Newgate; the charges of which service shall be allowed to the said Sheriff upon his Account in the Exchequer.

The like Order for Roger Hanslip, in the Gaol at Gloucester.

The like Order for John Kemble, in the Gaol at Hereford.

The like Order for Francis Johnson, alias Webb, in the Gaol at Worcester.”

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Newgate Prison

So it came to pass that on 23^rd April Fr David Lewis was ordered to be brought to London for questioning.   He was lodged in the disgusting hellhole that was Newgate Prison.  He was joined there by the three other priests, Fr John Kemble, Fr John Wall O F M (alias Francis Johnson) and Fr Roger Hanslip.   Fr Kemble, an eighty year old secular priest, and Fr Lewis were cousins.  John Wall* and David Lewis had been students together and were old friends. 

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St John Kemble

The journey to London was a torturous one for the aged Fr Kemble who suffered from a complaint, possibly arthritis, which made riding practically impossible for him.  Dom Bede Camm says that he made the journey strapped like a pack on the horse.  The four priests were to be examined by Titus Oates and two other miscreants involved in the Plot.  In the House of Lords Journal for 23^rd May 1679 we read:

“Oates, Bedloe and Dugdale to visit condemned priests to see if they are any of those whom they knew to be concerned in the (Popish) Plot.”  It continues; 

“ORDERED, by the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, that Mr Titus Oates, Mr William Bedloe and Mr Stephen Dugdale be and are hereby appointed to repair to the Prison of Newgate this afternoon, there to see and speak with David Lewis, Roger Hanslip, John Kemble and Francis Johnson, alias Webb, condemned Popish Priests, now prisoners there; and that the said Titus Oates, William Bedloe and Stephen Dugdale do attend the Lords Committees for examining matters relating to the discovery of the late horrid conspiracy tomorrow at nine of the clock in the forenoon to give the said Lords Committees an account whether they know that any of the said Popish Priests have been engaged in the said horrid conspiracy.”

The unholy trio of examiners could find nothing to implicate the priests in any plot and, although the three were ordered to report to the Lords Committees the next day, it appears that only Oates did so.  The priests were then questioned by Lord Shaftsbury who offered each of them life as well as rich rewards if they would reveal something of the Plot or renounce their Catholic faith. 

St John Wall

Shaftsbury had wasted his breath for the priests would neither lie nor apostatize!  On 18^th July, John Wall stated in a letter, “I told them I would not buy my life at so dear a rate as to wrong my conscience”.  Fr Lewis, in his last speech on 27^th August, said “Discover a plot I could not, for I knew of none, and conform I would not, for it was against my conscience”.

Despite the rigorous interrogation of the four priests, nothing was found to incriminate them.  Therefore, on 28^th May, an order was issued to return them to their respective gaols.  Fr Kemble was permitted to walk for most of the journey back to Hereford – no mean feat for a man of eighty!  Not surprisingly, he was in very poor health after this ordeal.   By 9^th June Fr Kemble and Fr Lewis were back in their respective gaols, Hereford and Usk.

John Wall was hanged, drawn and quartered at Red Hill near Worcester on 22^nd August 1679.  On the same day, at Widemarsh Common, Hereford, Fr John Kemble was executed.  Less than a week later, on 27^th August, Fr David Lewis was martyred at Usk, in Monmouthshire. 

As far as I can ascertain, Fr Roger Hanslip was reprieved.  If anyone knows differently, I would be very pleased to hear from you.

*While working on the English Mission, John Wall used several aliases, including Francis Johnson, Francis Webb and Francis Dromore.

BUT JUST WHO WERE THEY?

Of course we have all heard of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales but just who were they?

The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales were some of the hundreds of brave, faithful Catholics who, during the dark days of persecution in this country, laid down their lives rather than apostatize.  Among them were priests, teachers, fathers and mothers.  The following is a brief breakdown of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

THIRTEEN WERE SECULAR PRIESTS

           1.      Cuthbert Mayne                Launceston                  29^th November 1577

2.      Ralph Sherwin                  Tyburn                        1^st December 1581

St John Lloyd

3.      John Payne                        Chelmsford                 2^nd April 1582

4.      Luke Kirby                        Tyburn                         30^th May 1582

5.      Edmund Gennings             London                  10^th December 1591

6.      Polydore Plasden              Tyburn                  10^th December 1591

7.      Eustace White                   Tyburn                   10^th December 1591

8.      John Boste                         Durham                   24^th July 1594

9.      John Almond                    Tyburn                     5^th December 1612

10.  John Southworth               Tyburn                        28^th June 1654

11.  John Plessington               Chester                        19^th July 1679

12.  John Lloyd                        Cardiff                          22^nd July 1679

13.  John Kemble                     Hereford                       22^nd August 1679

TEN WERE JESUITS

         14      Edmund Campion               Tyburn                         1^st December 1581

St David Lewis S J

         15.      Alexander Briant                 Tyburn                         1^st December 1581

        16.      Robert Southwell                Tyburn                         21^st February 1595
         17.      Henry Walpole                    York                            7^th April 1595

          18.     Nicholas Owen                    London                       2^nd March 1606

19.    Thomas Garnet                    Tyburn                         23^rd June 1608

20.      Edmund Arrowsmith          Lancaster                     28^th August 1628

21.       Henry Morse                        Tyburn                         1^st February 1645

22.      Philip Evans                         Cardiff                          22^nd July 1679

23.       David Lewis                        Usk                              27^th August 1679

THREE WERE BENEDICTINES

24.     John Roberts                     Tyburn                         10^th December 1610

25.     Ambrose Barlow               Lancaster                     10^th September 1641

26.    Alban Roe                         Tyburn                         21^st January 1642

THREE WERE CARTHUSIANS

             27.     John Houghton                       Tyburn                         4^th May 1535

             28.     Augustine Webster                 Tyburn                         4^th May 1535
             29.     Robert Lawrence                    Tyburn                         4^th May 1535

TWO WERE FRANCISCANS

              30.     John Jones                               Southwark                   12^th July 1598
              31.    John Wall                                Worcester                    22^nd August 1679

ONE WAS A BRIGITTINE

         32.      Richard Reynolds                   Tyburn                         4^th May 1535

ONE WAS AN AUGUSTINIAN

              33.      John Stone                              Canterbury                  27^th December 1539

St John Rigby

FOUR WERE LAYMEN

              34.      Richard Gwyn                         Wrexham              15^th October 1584
              35.      Swithun Wells                         London                 10^th December 1591
              36.      Philip Howard                         London                  19^th October 1595
              37.   John Rigby                                  London                 21^st June 1600

St Margaret Clitherow

THREE WERE LAYWOMEN

              38.     Margaret Clitherow    York     25^th March 1586
              39.     Margaret Ward       Tyburn     30^th August 1588
              40.     Anne Line        Tyburn         27^th February 1601

All Forty were canonised on 25th October 1970 by Pope Paul VI.

TWO SEVENTEENTH CENTURY CHALICES

During the years of persecution in England, Catholics could not hold public office, attend university, inherit or own a horse nor practise their religion.  To be a Catholic priest was deemed high treason and many were hanged, drawn and quartered for saying Mass and carrying out their priestly functions.  Central to the Mass are the sacred vessels used.  The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us “The chalice occupies the first place among sacred vessels”.

Many examples of ancient chalices have been discovered.  Some are simple & some are elaborate.  The two I will deal with today are quite simple chalices.  Though they are simple in appearance they are both valuable in that they were owned and used by priests during the penal days of the 1600s.  Both chalices are in the safekeeping of the Catholic Church at Abergavenny and I am grateful to the Parish Priest, Dom Thomas Regan O S B, for allowing us to see and photograph these precious relics.

Two 17th century silver chalices used during Penal Times when to be a Catholic priest was considered High Treason

Thomas Gunter was a prominent and wealthy citizen of Abergavenny.  He was also a fearless and staunch Catholic.  At his mansion in Cross Street, Gunter kept two Jesuit priests, Frs Philip Evans and David Lewis.  Thomas Gunter also had a secret chapel in his house where Catholics of the area would gather for Mass celebrated by the intrepid Jesuits.  A report referring to this “secret” chapel said there was at Abergavenny “a public chapel for Papists adorned with the marks of the Jesuits on the outside, and such numbers flocked there that a hundred were seen to come out of it when not above forty attended the parish (Established) church.”

 During the bloodbath engendered by the Popish Plot invented by the evil Titus Oates, both priests were arrested and imprisoned.  Fr Evans was imprisoned in Cardiff Castle and Fr Lewis in Monmouth Gaol.  Fr Lewis was later moved to Usk Gaol.  Tried and convicted of the High Treason of being Catholic priests who “read Mass” Fr Evans and Fr Lewis were condemned to be hanged drawn and quartered.

Monmouth born Fr Philip Evans was martyred at Cardiff on 22^nd July 1679.  He was thirty-four years old.  This 17^th century chalice is thought to have belonged to Fr Philip Evans.

This 17th century silver chalice is thought to have
 belonged to St Philip Evans

His friend, colleague and superior, Fr David Lewis, who was Abergavenny born and bred, was martyred at Usk on 27^th August 1679.   This silver chalice was designed to be dismantled and hidden away at the first sign of priest hunters. It was owned and used by Fr David Lewis.  As such it is a sacred relic of the martyred priest and a very important part of our Catholic heritage in this country.     



This 17th century silver chalice belonged to St David Lewis

On 25^th October 1970, the two heroic Welsh priests, Fr Philip Evans and Fr David Lewis, were canonised by Pope Paul VI as two of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. 

ST GEORGE'S DAY

The "Martyrdom of St George"
Paolo Veronese, 1564

When I started this post I had something entirely different in my mind.  However, upon checking the widget in my right sidebar for today's Saint, I changed tack.  I read something that I had never heard before about ST GEORGE and the "FOURTEEN HOLY HELPERS".  I found it so interesting I thought I would encourage you to take a look too.  This is the link or you can just use the widget at the side.   Once there, go to "Activities" and read all about the Fourteen Holy Helpers.  Very interesting, indeed! 

Oh Yes, a very HAPPY ST GEORGE'S DAY  to all.

SIX OF THE FORTY

The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales were selected from among the hundreds of Catholics who gave their lives for the faith during the dark days of persecution in England. The Forty were canonised by Pope Paul VI on 25th October 1970. Six of the Forty were Welsh. They were a married man, a Franciscan, a Benedictine, two Jesuits and a secular priest.

St Richard Gwyn was born about 1537 in Llanidloes, Montgomeryshire. He was a teacher and a married man. He and his wife, Catherine, had six children. He was executed at Wrexham on 15th October 1584. St Richard Gwyn is the Protomartyr of Wales.

St John Jones O F M was born at Clynog Fawr, Caernarvonshire around the year 1530. He entered the Franciscan Convent at Greenwich and, at its dissolution in 1559, he went to the Continent and was professed at Pontoise, France. He died for the Faith at Southwark on 12th July 1598. At his execution, he had to wait an hour because the hangman had forgotten to bring the rope!

St John Roberts O S B, born at Trawsfynydd, Merionethshire, was the first prior of St Gregory’s, Douai. He was sent upon the English Mission in December 1602, arriving in England in April 1603. He was probably the first monastic to enter England since the Reformation. He was executed at Tyburn on 10th December 1610.

St Philip Evans S J was born in Monmouth in 1645. He entered the Society of Jesus on 7th September 1665. He was ordained at Liege and sent upon the English Mission in 1675. He diligently and joyfully served the area of South Wales for four years before his arrest at the house of Christopher Turberville at Sker, Glamorganshire on 4th December 1678. He was martyred at Cardiff on 22nd July 1679. He was thirty-four years old.

St John Lloyd was Brecon born and studied at Ghent and Valladolid. He was ordained a priest at Valladolid in 1653. He returned to Wales and laboured in Brecon and Monmouthshire for 24 years. In November of 1678, he was captured at a house at Penllyn, Glamorganshire. He and St Philip Evans shared a cell at Cardiff Castle until their martyrdom at Cardiff on 22nd July 1679.

St David Lewis was born in 1616 at Abergavenny, Monmouthshire. He attended the local Grammar school where his father, Morgan Lewis, was headmaster. Ordained in 1642, David entered the Jesuit novitiate in 1645. He returned to Wales and, based at the Cwm, he served the Catholics of the area for 34 years. He was arrested at Llantarnam on 17th November 1678 and martyred at Usk on 27th August 1679. St David Lewis was the last Welsh martyr.

A GOOD FRIDAY REFLECTION

DID YOU KNOW?

TEN FACTS ABOUT ST DAVID LEWIS:

1. David Lewis was born in Abergavenny in 1616. He was the youngest child of Margaret Pritchard, a Catholic, and Morgan Lewis, a Protestant.

2. One of nine children, David was brought up in the Established Religion by his father. David’s eight siblings were brought up in the Catholic Faith by their mother.

3. As a young man, during a stay in Paris, David converted to Catholicism.

4. David returned to Abergavenny in 1636 and lived with his parents until their deaths in 1638.

5. David decided to become a priest and, following the deaths of his parents in 1638, he entered the English College in Rome where he assumed the alias of Charles Baker. He was ordained there in 1642.

6. In 1645 David Lewis entered the Jesuit Novitiate at Sant’ Andrea. After profession he was sent to the Cwm, the Jesuit Headquarters in Herefordshire, on the English Welsh border.

7. David was soon recalled to Rome but in 1648 he returned to Wales where for more than thirty years he ministered to his beleaguered Catholic countrymen.

8. On 17th November 1678, while preparing to celebrate Holy Mass, Fr Lewis was arrested at a house in Llantarnam. He was conveyed to Monmouth Gaol where he was held until early 1679. On 13th January of that year he was moved to Usk Gaol to await his fate.

9. In March 1679, at The Monmouth Assizes, Fr Lewis was found guilty of being a Catholic priest and saying Mass. Under the Penal Laws of the time, this was considered High Treason and incurred the sentence of being hanged, drawn and quartered.

10. On 27th August 1679 Fr David Lewis was executed at Usk. Due to the love and respect the people had for this priest, known as ‘Tad y Tlodion’, i.e., ‘Father of the Poor’, he was allowed to hang until he was dead. He was then cut down and, although he was not quartered, he was disembowelled and beheaded. His remains were given a respectful burial in the churchyard of St Mary’s Priory Church, Usk.

SAINT JOHN PAYNE

Today, 2nd April, marks the 430th anniversary of the execution of John Payne, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.

John Payne was born at Peterborough in 1532. Neither the date nor the circumstances of his conversion are known but it is thought that John was born into a Protestant family. It is known that in 1574 he entered the English College at Douai and was ordained priest there on 7th April 1576. Less than three weeks later, on 24th April, he and Fr Cuthbert Mayne left for the English Mission.

Fr Payne based himself at Ingatestone, Essex. Early in 1577 he was arrested there and imprisoned. However, he was released and in November he went back to Douai. By Christmas 1579 he was back at Ingatestone.

In July 1581 Fr Payne was arrested in Warwickshire, due to the diligent efforts of the spy, George Eliot. Eliot was a known murderer, rapist and thief. Known as ‘Judas’ Eliot, he made his living denouncing Catholics and priests for bounty. The priest was committed to the Tower of London on 14th July. Here, he was twice racked, on 14th August and on 31st October.

On 20th March 1592, John Payne was woken and, half dressed, was taken from his cell in the Tower. The Lieutenant of the Tower, Sir Owen Hopton, delivered him to officers waiting to take him to Chelmsford Gaol. Two days later the prisoner was indicted on a trumped up charge of treason for conspiring to murder the Queen and to install Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne. Payne denied the charges and affirmed his loyalty to the Queen and questioned the reliability of the criminal, Eliot. No attempt was made to corroborate Eliot’s story and, of course, the guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion. Fr Payne was sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered and, receiving his sentence calmly, commented “If it please the Queen and her Council that I shall die, I refer my cause to God”.

On the morning of Monday, 2nd April 1582, Fr Payne was dragged from prison on a hurdle to the place of execution. He prayed on his knees for nearly half an hour, and then kissing the scaffold, he made a profession of his faith and declared himself innocent. He was offered a pardon on condition that he conform but he steadfastly refused.

Fr Payne was well known in the area and was liked and admired by many. When he was turned off the ladder, the crowd prevented the hangman from cutting his body down and disembowelling it until the priest was dead. Consequently, he was spared the agony of the drawing and quartering which was carried out on his dead body.

St John Payne was one of the group of Catholic Martyrs canonised by Pope Paul VI on 25th October 1970. They are know collectively as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.