I recently finished reading an inspiring account of this marvelous English martyr. Margaret is numbered among the 40 English and Welsh martyrs whose feastday is on October 25. I must admit that I was raised to be proud of my Irish heritage which sometimes degenerated into a snobbish attitude toward the Brits. Nothing like the saints to prove one wrong! Margaret is an amazing character: vivacious, devout, remarkably charitable, and faithful to her Protestant husband. Against the increasingly bitter anti-Catholic laws enacted by Elizabeth I, Margaret stood firm. She frequently had Holy Mass, even daily Mass, celebrated in her home, and provided a Catholic tutor for the education of children from the neighborhood. Both carried the threat of death if caught. She had a wonderful combination of meekness and gumption. Joy and laughter were two more noted facets of her personality. Often at night, she would sneak off to the sites of martyrdom to pray for hours, treating them as holy shrines. She was twice imprisoned and finally was cruelly executed by means of peine forte et dure. The English devised the use of incremental measures to suppress and ultimately devestate the True Faith in England. It would do any sincere Catholic among us to read this book since it is not only inspiring, but the method used then to attack the Faith is very similar to what we are experiecing today! Learn how to stand strong! Tan Publishers has a 2003 republishing of this 88-page biography. O Lord, establish in our hearts, the fortitude and love of this holy martyr and mother of three!
