Churches of the Day
Pictorial Thought for Today


Mar 26 - St Maragret Clitherow: the Pearl of York

Paul Hurley SVD tells her story.
Some people complain that Pope John Paul II canonised too many saints. How many are too many? During his 26-year reign he named 482 saints, more than all those canonised by the 50 previous popes in the last 500 years. But unlike these European saints, mainly priests and nuns, most of John Paul’s 482 were Asian lay people and nearly 84 per cent were martyrs – 120 Chinese, 117 Vietnamese and 103 Koreans. Some of the 81 saints canonised by Pope Paul VI were also martyrs, among them 40 British men and women. One was St Margaret Clitherow, a young married woman.
Margaret's Story
Born in York in 1556, Margaret was a daughter of Thomas Middleton, a Protestant and prosperous chandler. He died when she was nine, leaving her “one silver goblet and half a dozen silver spoons”. Four months later her mother married Henry May, Lord Mayor of York.
Brought up a Protestant, Margaret, like most middle class girls at the time, learned housekeeping but not to read and write. At 15 she married John Clitherow, a widower with several children. Kind and easygoing, he was also a Protestant, but many of his family were Catholics, among them his brother William, who became a priest. So Margaret soon had many Catholic friends and became a convert herself when she was 18. For a Protestant husband to have a Catholic wife was not uncommon then.
Margaret's Family

Margaret lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, whose Protestant mentors launched a savage persecution of the Catholic Church. Catholics were fined for not attending the new Anglican service and were imprisoned for six months for going to Mass, which was forbidden. Margaret sheltered many priests in her home, which became one of the main Mass centres in York.
Imprisonment
Between 1577 and 1585 she was imprisoned several times; she learned to read and write in prison and her youngest child was born there. Her older children were also imprisoned, even her 12-year-old daughter Anne, who later became a nun. Margaret’s good Protestant husband allowed her to help priests and paid her fines. Her last and longest imprisonment lasted 18 months.
Her Eldest son, Henry, a priest
Shortly after her release in 1585 it was made high treason for an Englishman to be ordained abroad and return home to minister as a priest, as some did. To shelter priests was also made punishable by death. Margaret had already sent her eldest son, Henry, abroad to be educated at Douai, where he was ordained after her death, as was one of her stepsons.

She was arrested on 12 March 1586. Her house was raided and though her children revealed nothing when questioned, a Flemish boy, a guest there, was so frightened under threat of a beating that he disclosed the secret place for celebrating Mass. Margaret was then charged with treason for harbouring priests.
Martyrdom
On 15 March she was condemned to a barbaric death – to be pressed under a heavy board loaded with weights. Judge Clinch said,
“You must be stripped naked, laid down, your back upon the ground, and as much weight laid upon you as you are able to bear, and so continue for three days. On the third day you shall be pressed to death, your hands and feet tied to posts and a sharp stone under your back.” A Protestant minister and others then tried to make her renounce her Catholic faith.
When John Clitherow heard of the sentence, he said,
“Let them take all I have and save my wife, for she is the best wife in all England and the best Catholic also.”
The last part of her savage sentence was carried out on 25th March, the Friday of Passion Week, 1586. Fifteen minutes after an extra load was laid upon her, she was crushed to death. Her last words, cried out in excruciating pain, were,
“Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, have mercy on me.” She was 30 years old.
Her body was left in “the press” for six hours before being buried beside a dunghill. Six weeks later it was found, still incorrupt, by some Catholics and buried with honour.
On this day, her feast day, let us remember the beautiful 'Pearl of York'.
This article first appeared in The Word (2001), a Divine Word Missionary Publication.
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Memorable Saying for Today
A woman of immovable faith in God won't let anything
stand in her way.
No matter what comes her faith is unstopable
~ Joanne W ~
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Wednesday, Third Week of Lent
The Laws of Moses are a great treasure to be carefully guarded as a sacred trust.
The laws of Christ are more insightful and will never go out of date.
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy 4:1. 5-9
Take notice of the laws, and observe them.

'And now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. See, as the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim,
"No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation."
And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?
'But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and to your children's children.'
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 147
Response O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
1. O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God!
He has strengthened the bars of your gates, he has blessed the children within you. Response
2. He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command.
He showers down snow white as wool, he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. Response
3. He makes his word known to Jacob, to Israel his laws and decrees.
He has not dealt thus with other nations; he has not taught them his decrees. Response
Gospel Acclamation Jn 8:12
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
'I am the light of the world,' says the Lord,'
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.'
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
or Jn 6:63, 65
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life; you have the message of eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 5: 17-19 Glory to you, O Lord
The man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.

'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.
Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.'
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Wednesday. Third Week of Lent Matthew 5:17-19
In today’s first reading, Moses is portrayed as asking the question, ‘What great nation is there that has is gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him?’ Even though the people of Israel had a very strong sense of the otherness of God, God’s distance from them, they also had a sense of God’s nearness to them, God’s presence in the midst of their lives.
As followers of the Word who became flesh, we have an even stronger sense of the nearness of God to us, through his Son. Jesus came among us as Emmanuel, God-with-us, and he promised to be with us until the end of time. Even more than Moses, we can ask the question, ‘What great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him?’ It is because Jesus knew himself to have a unique relationship with God, to be God-with-us, that he claimed the authority to reveal God’s will for our lives fully.
Up until the time of Jesus, it was believed that the Jewish Law revealed God’s will for the lives of his people. However, Jesus claimed to be a fuller revelation of God’s will for our lives than the Jewish Law. That is why Jesus says in today’s gospel reading,
‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them’. Jesus would complete the role of the Jewish Law by revealing God’s will for our lives more clearly and completely. That is why we stand up for the reading of the gospel. Because we believe that God is speaking to us through Jesus in a uniquely complete way, we spend our lives taking the word of Jesus to heart, so that it shapes all of our living.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
CÉAD LÉACHT
Sliocht as an céad leabhar Deotranaimí 4:1, 5-9
Tabhair aird ar na dlíthe agus na reachtanna a mhúinim daoibh; comhlíonaigí iad.
Dúirt Maois leis an bpobal:

“Más ea, a Iosrael, tabhair aird ar na dlíthe agus na reachtanna a mhúinim daoibh; comhlíonaigí iad i dtreo go mairfeadh sibh agus go rachadh sibh isteach agus seilbh a ghlacadh ar an bhfearann atá an Tiarna, Dia bhur n-aithreacha, á thabhairt daoibh. Faoi mar a d’aithin an Tiarna mo Dhia dom, le comhlíonadh agaibh sa tír ina bhfuil sibh ag dul le seilbh a ghabháil air. Coimeádaigí iad agus leanaigí iad, agus taispeánfaidh siad bhur n-eagna agus bhur dtuiscint don saol. Nuair a chluinfidh siad faoi na dlíthe seo go léir, déarfaidh siad: ‘Nach eagnaí agus nach tuisceanach an dream an cine mór seo!’Agus cén cine mór atá ann a bhfuil a ndéithe chomh gar dóibh agus atá an Tiarna ár nDia dúinne ach glaoch air? Agus cén cine mór a bhfuil comhfhíréan an dlí go léir, a chuir mé romhaibh inniu, de dhlíthe agus de reachtanna acu?
“Bí aireach i mbeart, agus bí san airdeall. Ná déan dearmad ar na nithe a chonaic do shúile cinn agus ná lig dóibh sleamhnú as do chroí aon lá de do shaol; múin do do shliocht iad agus do shliocht do shleachta
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 147
Freagra Tabhair moladh don Tiarna, a Iarúsailéim.
1.Tabhair moladh don Tiarna, a Iarúsailéim;tabhair moladh do do Dhia, a Shíón.
Óir dhaingnigh sé sparraí do dhoirse; agus bheannaigh sé do chlann atá istigh ionat. Freagra
2. Cuireann sé a aithne ag triall ar an talamh; agus gluaiseann a bhriathar go lántapaidh.
Scaipeann sé sneachta amhail olann; croitheann sé cuisne amhail luaithreach. Freagra
3. D’fhoilsigh sé a bhriathar do Iacób; a reachtanna agus a fhoraitheanta d’Iosrael.
Ní dhearna sé amhlaidh d’aon chine eile; níor nocht sé a reachtanna dóibh. Freagra
SOISCÉAL
Go raibh an Tiarna libh. Agus le do spiorad féin
Sliocht as an Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Matha 5:17-19 Glóir duit, a Thiarna.
An té a choimeádfaidh iad agus a mhúinfidh, measfar eisean ina dhuine mór i ríocht na bhflaitheas.

“Ná bígí ag ceapadh gur chun an dlí agus na fáithe a chur ar ceal a tháinig mé. Ní á gcur ar ceal a tháinig mé ach á gcur i gcrích. Óir deirim libh go fírinneach, is túisce a imeoidh neamh agus talamh ná mar a imeoidh aon litir ná aon ghiota den dlí gan gach aon ní a bheith tagtha i gcrích.
Dá bhrí sin, an té a chuirfidh aon aithne ar ceal den chuid is lú de na haitheanta seo, agus a mhúinfidh do dhaoine eile an rud céanna a dhéanamh, measfar é sin ar an té is lú i ríocht na bhflaitheas.
Ach an té a choimeádfaidh iad agus a mhúinfidh, measfar eisean ina dhuine mór i ríocht na bhflaitheas.
Soiscéal an Tiarna. Moladh duit, a Chriost
AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
© An Sagart
Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year C
Laetare Sunday (Rejoicing Sunday)
Today's Readings are a source of hope and consolation to all sinners.
This Sunday is traditionally known as ‘Laetare Sunday’ from the opening word of the Introit at Mass:
Laetare Jerusalem ... (Be joyful 0 Jerusalem (.Is 66:10-11).
(The Second Scrutiny is celebrated today)
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Joshua 5:9-12
The People of God kept the Passover on their entry into the promised land
The Lord said to Joshua,
'Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you'.

From that time, from their first eating of the produce of that country, the manna stopped falling. And having manna no longer, the Israelites fed from that year onwards on what the land of Canaan yielded.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 33
Response Taste and see that the Lord is good.
1. I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips;
in the Lord my soul shall make its boast. The humble shall hear and be glad. Response

2. Glorify the Lord with me. Together let us praise his name.
I sought the Lord and he answered me; from all my terrors he set me free. Response
3. Look towards him and be radiant; let your faces not be abashed.
This poor man called; the Lord heard him and rescued him from all his distress. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 5:17-21
God reconciled us to himself through Christ

In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men's faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ's name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation Lk 15:18
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
I will leave this place and go to my father and say:
'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 Glory to you, O Lord
Your brother here was dead and has come to life.
The tax collectors and the sinners, meanwhile, were all seeking his company to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained.
'This man' they said 'welcomes sinners and eats with them.
So he spoke this parable to them:
'A man had two sons. The younger said to his father,
"Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me."
So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
'When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said,
"How many of my father's paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants."
So he left the place and went back to his father.

'While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said,
"Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son."
But the father said to his servants,
"Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found."
And they began to celebrate.
'Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about.
"Your brother has come" replied the servant "and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound."
He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father,
"Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property - he and his women - you kill the calf we had been fattening."
The father said,
"My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found."'
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here: https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/
Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.
Sliocht as Leabhar Iósua 5:9-12
Choimeád muintir Iosrael an Cháisc ar an gceathrú lá déag den mhí.
Dúirt an Tiarna le Iósua:
“Inniu féin rinne mé aithis na hÉigipte a dhíbirt uaibh.”

Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 33
Freagra Blaisigí agus feachaigí a fheabhas atá an Tiarna.
I. Beannóidh mé an Tiarna gach uile thráth, beidh a mholadh ar mo bhéal de shíor.
Déanann m'anam mórtas as an Tiarna: cluineadh lucht na huirísle is déanaidís lúcháir. Freagra
2. Móraigí an Tiarna mar aon liom, agus adhraimis a ainm in éineacht.
Chuardaigh mé an Tiarna is d'fhreagair sé mé, agus shaor mé ar gach uile eagla. Freagra
3. Féachaigí ina threo chun go mbeadh gliondar oraibh is nach mbeadh luisne náire ar bhur n-aghaidh.
Scread an t-ainniséoir is chuala an Tiarna é, agus shaor sé é óna anacraí go léir. Freagra
DARA LÉACHT
Sliocht as dara Litir Naomh Pól chuig na Coirintigh 5:7-21
Is é Dia a thug sinne chun athmhuintearais leis féin trí

Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Véarsa Lc 15. 18
Cuirfidh mé chun bóthair agus ráchaidh me chun m'athar agus dearfaidh me leis:
'A athair. pheacadh mé in aghaidh na bhfaitheas agus i do láthairse.'
SOISCÉAL
Go raibh an Tiarna libh. Agus le do spiorad féin
Sliocht as Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Lúcás 15:1-3.11-32
Bhí an deartháir seo agat marbh agus tá sé beo arís.
San am sin bhí na poibleacánaigh agus na peacaigh, uile ag teacht ina ghar chun bheith
ag éisteacht leis. Agus bhí na Fairisínigh agus na scríobhaithe ag monabhar:
“Glacann an duine seo peacaigh chuige,” deiridís, “agus itheann sé ina gcuibhreann.”
Agus labhair sé an parabal seo leo:
“Bhí fear ann a raibh beirt mhac aige. Agus dúirt an duine ab óige acu lena athair:
‘A athair, tabhair dom an chuid den sealúchas atá ag titim chugam.’
Agus roinn sé a mhaoin shaolta eatar thu. Agus i gcionn beagán laethanta, tar éis don mhac ab óige gach ní a bhailiú le chéile, d’imigh sé ar an gcoigrích go tír i gcéin, agus scaip a shealúchas ansiúd, ag tabhairt a shaoil go drabhlásach.
Nuair a bhí gach aon ní caite aige, tháinig gorta millteach sa tír sin, agus thosaigh sé féin bheith in uireasa. D’imigh sé agus rinne fostú le duine de mhuintir na tíre sin, agus chuir seisean faoina chuid talún éag aoireacht mhuc. Agus ba é ba mhian leis a bholg a líonadh de na féithleoga a d’itheadh na muca, agus ní thugadh aon duine dó iad. Ach tháinig sé chuige féin agus dúirt:
‘Cá liacht de lucht tuarastail ag m’athair a bhfuil fuílleach aráin acu, agus mise anseo ag fáil bháis den ghorta! Cuirfidh mé chun bóthair agus rachaidh mé chun m’athar agus déarfaidh mé leis: A athair, pheacaigh mé in aghaidh na bhflaitheas agus I do láthairse; ní fiú mé feasta go dtabharfaí mac duit orm; déan díom mar a bheadh duine de do lucht tuarastail.’

Chuir sé chun bóthair ag triall ar a athair.
Ach le linn dó fós bheith i bhfad uaidh, chonaic a athair é agus ghabh trua é, agus rith sé chuige, á chaitheamh féin ar a bhráid agus á mhúchadh le póga. Dúirt an mac leis:
‘A athair, pheacaigh mé in aghaidh na bhflaitheas agus i do láthairse; ní fiú mé feasta go dtabharfaí mac duit orm.’ Ach dúirt an t-athair lena sheirbhísigh: ‘Beirigí amach gan mhoill an éide is uaisle agus cuirigí air í, agus cuirigí fáinne ar a mhéar agus cuaráin ar a chosa, agus tugaigí libh an lao biata agus maraígí é, agus bímis ag ithe agus ag aoibhneas; óir bhí an mac seo agam marbh agus tá sé beo arís, bhí sé caillte agus fuarthas é.’
Agus thosaigh siad ag déanamh aoibhnis.
“Bhí an mac ba shine aige ar fud na talún, agus nuair a tháinig sé i ngar don teach, chuala an ceol agus an rince. Ghlaoigh sé chuige duine de na giollaí agus d’fhiafraigh de cad é an rud é seo a bhí ar bun. Dúirt seisean leis:
‘Do dheartháir a bheith tagtha, agus mharaigh d’athair an lao biata de chionn go bhfuair sé ar ais slán é.’
Ach bhí fearg air agus níorbh áil leis dul isteach.
Tháinig a athair amach ag achainí air. Ach dúirt sé lena athair á fhreagairt:
‘Féach féin a bhfuilim de bhlianta ag seirbhís duit agus ní dheachaigh mé riamh thar do réir, agus riamh níor thug tú dom mionnán gabhair chun go ndéanfainn aoibhneas le mo chairde. Ach an mac seo agat nuair a tháinig sé, tar éis do mhaoin shaolta a ídiú le striapacha, mharaigh tú an lao biata dó.’
Ach dúirt sé leis:
‘A mhic, bíonn tusa liom i gcónaí, agus gach a bhfuil agam is leat; ach bhí sé ceart aoibhneas a dhéanamh agus áthas, óir bhí an deartháir seo agat marbh agus tá sé beo arís, bhí sé caillte agus fuarthas é.’”
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Machtnamh ar Bhriathar Dé dia Domhnaigh
An deartháír níos sine
Spreagann freagra fiachmhar an deartháír níos sine ár ndearcadh i dtaobh stráinséirí a scrúdú. An bhfuil breis agus ár gcuid tuillte againn thar éinne eile? An dtugamíd adhradh do Dhia mar dhualgas orainn ach le doicheall mar gheall ar thrócaire Dé ar na h-aithrí. An bhfearaimíd fáílte le tuiscint rompu siúd a iarann cead isteach chughainn aineoinn a n-oidhreacht? An fearr dúinn ballaí a thógáil in áit an lámh fáilte a shíneadh. An bhfuilimíd cáirdiúil cneasta nó an gcuirimíd droch bhail agus amhras ar eachtrannaigh?
Pádraig Ó Rúairí, cp,
liabh Argus, Átha Cliath.
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AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
© An Sagart
