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 Oxford, England. He was a stone mason and carpenter. He became one of the first Jesuit lay brothers in England. 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 th secret rooms. During the daytime, Owen worked 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 was arrested again in 1606; 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.
The first reading today from the prophet Micah was written at the time the Jews were returning from exile in Babylon in the 6th century BC. Micah was a prophet in the same era as Isaiah and Hosea. Micah was pleading to God to take care of his people. They had confidence in the Lord’s faithfulness and steadfast love.
In Lent, it is good for us to be reminded of God’s faithfulness to us, of our call to repentance and renewal in the context of his faithfulness. It is also good for us to be reminded of the example of the martyrs, of the sacrifices we need to make for our faith.
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