In England, during the reign of Elizabeth I, Catholics were forbidden to practice their religion. Starting in the year 1585, it was considered treason, punishable by death, if a man in England had been ordained a priest abroad. Thus, priests needed places to hide. Nicholas Owen was originally from the city of Oxford in England. He was a stone mason and carpenter by trade. He became one of the first English Jesuit lay brothers. From 1588 to 1605, Owen travelled around England constructing hiding places in safe houses where priests could hide. During the evening and night he worked on his own, carving concealed rooms out of stone walls or out the ground. Only Owen and the home’s owners knew the location of these secret rooms. During the daytime, Owen would work as a carpenter in the house in order to keep this secret from others. He was arrested in 1594 with a Jesuit priest; despite torture, he would not give the names of any other Catholic priests. He was released when a wealthy Catholic paid a fine for him. He is believed to have engineered the escape of Father John Gerard from the Tower of London in 1597. He was arrested again in 1606, at which time he died of torture. He was canonized a saint by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Catholic Martyrs from England and Wales.
We hear in the psalm today; In my distress I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice. The psalmist calls the Lord his rock, his fortress, and his strength. The Lord hears our cries and the Lord gives us strength and courage to endure the trials and tribulations of this world. I think of the struggles and challenges that I faced as a missionary overseas. I think of all the struggles and challenges of the prison ministry. Sometimes these trials and struggles seem overwhelming. Yet, in our faith, we endure. I think of Nicholas Owen and the martyrs of faith, of what they endured. May their intercessions help us in what we face.
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