By Kaitlin Klein
Wonderful Adventure
The martyrs amaze me; they gave their very lives for Jesus Christ and his Church. This complete love for their creator and redeemer inspires me and urges me to do everything it takes to follow and love the Lord.
One martyr I'm drawn to is St. Margaret Clitherow (c. 1553-1586). She had three children, with a fourth likely on the way. She loved her husband, had a mostly happy marriage, helped her husband with his business, was a wonderful homemaker and had a delightful spunk and joy. Above all, she kept at the forefront of her life her obedience to Christ and His Church, the true Catholic faith. She was martyred under the reign of Elizabeth I in England, who made it illegal to be a Catholic and required all to attend Protestant services with specific preachers who spread propaganda. Although Margaret was uneasy about the strict laws, she knew her obedience to God was most important. Her spiritual director helped guide her decision to continue to hide priests and have Mass celebrated secretly in her home.
She did all this while her husband was a Protestant. It pained her that he was not interested in being Catholic and that she had to keep things from him. However, it is clear they still loved each other. He paid the fine for her not attending the Protestant services, turned a blind eye to any practices of the faith he observed and "was in the habit of saying that he could wish for no better wife, 'except only for two faults, as he thought, and those were, because she fasted too much, and would not go with him to church'" (Margaret Monro in St. Margaret Clitherow: “The Pearl of York").
For 12 years, Margaret was in and out of prison, and her times in confinement she made as valuable as possible, praying and growing in virtue. She was happy to suffer for her Lord and ministered to other Catholics there who seemed to have worldly comforts more in mind. Finally, she was accused of harboring priests, and amazingly refused to plead in order to spare her husband and children from having to testify against her and the jury of its guilt; this resulted in a more painful execution of lying flat on a stone floor and being crushed with a door on which weights were placed. She spent ten days in prison before her execution, where she endured harassment about her beliefs and preachers sent to chip away her resolve to remain Catholic. Through it all, Margaret held fast to Jesus. She fasted in order to make her spiritual self stronger. She had her moments of sadness and worry, but the vast majority of the time, she remained peaceful and went to her death a beautiful servant of God.
St. Margaret of Clitherow's story is remarkable, and her steadfastness to the Catholic faith is inspiring. May she pray for all of us also striving to one day meet our Lord face to face.