A great Jesuit - in the days when the Society of Jesus was a great order



                                                                      Fr Henry Morse
                                                                   1st February 1645

I had occasion to visit a Jesuit website this week and was not a little knocked back by the photographs of priests of the order - not a clerical collar in sight!

It seems rather sad that, after receiving the vocational call and undergoing years of study and sacrificing so many of life's comforts, a priest should discard his 'badge of office' to appear as an ordinary layman.

St Henry Morse SJ did not wear a dog collar either but, the times in which he lived were somewhat different, as were the style of clothes worn by a Catholic priest. But I somehow believe that this man, if he lived today, would not walk around wearing a shirt and a tie but the clerical black.

Interestingly, this website carried a history of the order in England and Wales and made much of their priests through the years but one of their greats, Fr Clement Tigar, late of this world and Campion house in Osterley, was missing.

Was it because this quiet man was a traditionalist I wonder?

But back to Fr Morse, born into the Protestant faith in 1595 in rural Suffolk.

What follows now is Fr Morse's statement from the scaffold at Tyburn, uttered as preparations were made for him to be hanged, drawn and quartered on February 1st 1645.

It is a most moving statement and one that, in these troublesome times for the Faith, we can draw a great deal of comfort from:

"I am come hither to die for my religion, for that religion which is professed by the Catholic Roman Church, founded by Christ, established by the Apostles, propagated through all ages by a hierarchy always visible to this day, grounded on the testimonies of Holy Scriptures, upheld by the authority of the Fathers and Councils, out of which, in fine, there can be no hope of salvation.

Time was when I was a Protestant, being then a student of the law in the Inns of Court in town, till, being suspicious of the truth of my religon, I went abroad into Flanders, and upon full conviction I renounced my former errors and was reconciled to the Church of Rome, the mistress of all Churches.

Upon my return to England I was committed to prison for refusing to take the oath of supremacy, and banished.
After even years I returned to England as a priest, and devoted myself to the poor and the plague-stricken".

"No self-glorification here" interrupted the Sheriff,

"I will glory you only in God" continued the martyr, "who has pleased to allow me to seal the Catholic faith with my blood, and I pray that my death may atone for the sins of this nation, for which end and in testimony of the one true Catholic faith confirmed by miracles now as ever, I willing die"

                                   St Henry Morse SJ  - Ora pro nobis!
               And pray also that the Jesuit order returns to its greatness!

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow



Could you crack a joke in the face of death?



Today is the Feast of St Cuthbert Mayne, first of the secular martyr priests. A man who was sought by the Queen's men and, when finally confronted by the High Sheriff and a gang of 100 followers, was ice cool but still showing a great sense of humour.

The High Sheriff was one, Richard Greenville and he and his men had surrounded the house of a Mr Tregan near Launceston, Cornwall in the hope of capturing the priest.

When Fr Mayne confronted them he said: Who are you looking for? Much as Our Lord once said: "Whom seek ye?"

Greenville replied: "We are looking for a man"

And, quick as a flash Fr Mayne responded: "Well, I am a man"

I believe that riposte was not only funny but, also, a reply that was honest. He was not going to lie and try to pretend that he was not Cuthbert Mayne.

Of course, they seized him and, in so doing, found about his neck an "Agnus Dei" a small disc made of wax imprinted with the symbol of a lamp.

Fisheaters describe the origins of the Agnus Dei -

The symbolism of the Agnus Dei is the same as that of the Paschal Candle; the wax is the pure flesh of Christ, and their protective qualities are like those of other blessed objects, with the Pope's blessing mentioning specifically protection in combat, and protection against tempests, lightning, fire and water; malice of demons and of every adversity; pentilence, sickness, and a sudden and unprovided death.

Normally, the disc would have the imprint of a lamb (Lamb of God) or, as in Fr Mayne's case, a lamp symbolising Christ the light of the world. These discs would also have been blessed by the Pope and were much loved by the Recusant priests.


Fr Mayne was thrown into prison while charges of High Treason were trumped up in order to secure his execution.
Finally, he went to trial but the jury found no charge against him. Nonetheless,  Judge Manhood instructed them that the guilty verdict had to be imposed,
 alleging "that where plain proofs were wanting strong presumptions ought to take their place." Not a very safe basis of law.

Three days before he was executed his gaoler came to tip him off regarding his impending death and he replied: !I wish that I had something valuable to give you for the good news you bring to me..."

The night before he faced the gallows a bright light was seen emanating from his cell, a not uncommon occurrence for those about to receive their martyr's crown (St Maximilian Kolbe's cell also showed the strong, bright light before he died).

A day or two prior to his execution his jailers had approached him offering pardon if he would swear upon the Bible that the Queen was the Supreme Head of the Church of England.

He answered that "the Queen neither ever was nor is nor ever shall be the head of the Church in England" and that answer sealed his fate.

On November 30, 1577, after having been dragged through the streets of Launceston feet first, he was hanged by the neck and then his body was drawn and quartered.

He was not allowed, as was customary, to make a gallows address to the crowd. Instead he humbly bowed his head in silent prayer.

One of The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales he is witness to the great sacrifices made by our priests both then and today.

                     St Cuthbert Mayne Ora pro nobis

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow

Exorcist dies for the faith!

The Angel St Giles High Street, aka 'The Resurrection Gate' - next stop Tyburn!

The Reformation period produced many great men and women who suffered for the faith. It was a time when the ‘recrudescence of evil’ was manifest throughout the country and beyond and it remains a mystery that so many young men courageously stepped forward to undergo seminary training in preparation for the priesthood, knowing that they were committing themselves to an almost certain death.

One such was Father Robert Dibdale*, brought up in the English heartland of Warwickshire, went to Douai and was ordained  in Rheims Cathedral on March 31^st 1584.

Five months later he set sail for the English Mission and, in the course of the next two years he became a skilled exorcist; a calling much in demand at the time.

Here is a brief account of his all too short ministry.

“….at Sir George Peckham’s, Denham, near Uxbridge, and other places, by the virtue and power that Christ has bequeathed to the ministers of His Church, the martyr showed his mastery over evil spirits.

They were forced to leave the bodies of the possessed, and to bring from their mouths pieces of metal and other things which could never have entered a human body.

In obedience to the prayers and exorcisms of the Church, they declared, to their own confusion, the virtue of the sign of the cross, holy water and relics, both of the ancient saints and of those suffering in England in those days for the Catholic faith.

These manifestations were slighted indeed by some incredulous and hard-hearted heretics; yet others who were not so prejudiced by passion, but more reasonable, were convinced by what they saw, and thereupon renounced their errors.

Father Dibdale was condemned to die for his priestly character with BB. Lowe and Adams, driven to Tyburn and there hanged, drawn and quartered, October 8, 1586”

*also listed as Richard Dibdale (Debdale)

Blessed Robert Dibdale, John Adams and John Lowe

ORA PRO NOBIS!

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow

Is she the world's favourite saint?

 Feastday Saturday 1st October

I mean, of course, St Therese de Lisieux, the Little Flower, the patron saint of the missions who never left her native France, the nun who, despite dying at the age of 24,  made a massive impact on the world - by doing what?

By living the life of Christ! By embracing all that surrounded her in a fervent manner! By suffering for Christ as He had suffered for her on the cross!

"I only love simplicity, I have a horror of pretence"

                Good words for Catholic bloggers to abide by

From Frances Parkinson Keyes’ biography ‘St Teresa of Lisieux’ comes this extract……….

“She observed every conventual rule for sefl-discipline meticulously, anticipated and expanded every precept for self-sacrifice.

Though stll beset by a sense of her own unworthiness, she bent her will and her spirit toward cleaving a pathway to Light.

“I will wait to make my profession” she told herself firmly, “as long as God may require. Only I could not bear it if were through my own fault that my communion with Him was indefinitely deferred.

I will put forth my best efforts to weave for myself a shining garment of goodness incrusted with the precious stones of righteousness.

When it is rich enough in His sight, He will not refuse to receive me as His own”.

We cannot doubt that it was “rich enough in His sight” long before the authorities of Carmel recognized its glory.

Being human they “saw through a mirror in an obscure manner” though yet “face to face”. But in heaven Teresa’s worth must have already been known; her name already “written”; and the time came, as it had come before, when her will – and heaven’s – could no longer be thwarted.

She made her profession on the eighth of September, in the year of Our Lord eighteen hundred and ninety.

The ceremony itself was not dazzling, as taking the habit had been, but the day was one of utmost splendour. No still snowbound night, this, but a mellow morning when the light seemed drenched in amber.

As the procession advanced, a great flock of swallows, sweeping across the glittering sky, suddenly swooped down and circled over the convent, skimming so close to it that their wings seemed to brush the walls.

As the procession passed, the bright birds shot upward again and vanished into etheral space.

They had gone as quickly as they had come. But none who saw their flight did so unmoved.

Was it only the wings of birds which brushed over the convent that day?

Or were there hovering angels, too, in that strange, swift flight?”

The church of St Therese de Lisieux, Laos - a country still oppressed by communism and in need of the intercession of St Therese

Tomorrow – Saturday 1^st October is the Feast of St Therese and the date set for the Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma (Catholic bloggers) meeting at the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, commencing with Mass at 10.30am – all are welcome

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow

"Burn him, burn him!"

The scene is Smithfield in London, 22nd May 1538. In the centre of the market area a huge pile of wood and faggots, stands ready to be lit and, over the pyre, a gallows with chain attached and waiting to be shackled to the chain a man implacably standing by for the fire to be ignited.

The man was Oxford born Franciscan, Blessed John Forest; his crime? To be a Catholic priest. Bl John Forest had become a popular man at court under the patronage of Catherine of Aragon. He was appointed first chaplain to the Queen and, later, her confessor.

"Neither fire, faggot or scaffold shall separate me from Thee, O Lord"

As Henry VIII began his persecution of the Church and augmented his personal annulment plans, so Friar John spoke out boldly and could be observed publicly preaching against the Crown and its actions.


By 1534 he was in jail and suffering for his outspokeness, but by early in 1538 he began to weaken in his resolve. Thomas Cranmer persuaded him to recant but, on returning to prison he was swiftly counselled by brother Friars and priests and rallied in his resolve to stand firm in his faith.

Finally, he was condemned to be burnt as a heretic and Bishop Latimer assigned to read a sermon of recantation in the hopes that this priest would cave in at the last moment. As Latimer preached so Friar John countered and rejoined and so compelling were his responses that Latimer, losing all self control screamed out: "Burn him, burn him!" He was then carried to the gibbet and and suspended by his waist over the pile. As the flames began to advance a wooden statue of a saint, believed to be that of St Derfell from North Wales was added to the blaze.


This fulfilled a supposed prophecy regarding the Saint that "one day he will set a forest on fire."
Friar John's sufferings extended for two hours as strong winds dissipated the flames so that he scorched slowly rather than rapidly. At the end of the two hours he was unshackled and his body cast on the fire.


Before he died the martyr prayed out loud:

"Neither fire, faggot or scaffold shall separate me from Thee, O Lord"


                        Blessed John Forest - Ora pro nobis!

Posted by Richard Collins - Linen on the Hedgerow