Oct 17 – S Margaret M. Alacoque / S Richard Gwyn

It’s the Feast of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, 3rd Class, with the color of White. In this episode: the meditation: “Faith in the Angels”, today’s news from the Church: “Liquid Magisterium”, a preview of this week’s episode of The SSPX Podcast: “The Roman Catechism: Who Belongs to the Church?”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

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Saint Richard Gwyn was a Welsh schoolteacher who had a remarkable talent for getting under the skin of the authorities. He was intelligent, stubborn, deeply Catholic, and apparently had a sense of humor that even imprisonment couldn’t take away.

He was born around 1537 in Montgomeryshire, Wales, and received an excellent education, studying at Oxford and Cambridge. Eventually he returned to Wales, married a woman named Catherine, and became a schoolteacher. Together they raised a family while England and Wales were undergoing enormous religious changes.

Under Queen Elizabeth I, attendance at Protestant services was compulsory, and Catholics who refused could face heavy fines and imprisonment.

Richard refused.

He believed the Catholic Mass and the authority of the Pope were worth defending, even when doing so threatened his livelihood and his family.

Eventually, he was arrested.

The authorities tried several ways to make him conform. On one occasion, Richard was taken to a Protestant church and placed in front of the pulpit so he would have to listen to the sermon.

Richard had other ideas.

According to the traditional accounts, he began rattling his chains so loudly that nobody could hear the preacher.

When ordered to stop, he reportedly replied that he was making noise because he didn’t want to hear what was being preached.

That didn’t improve his relationship with the authorities.

During his imprisonment, Richard continued writing Welsh religious poetry, much of it defending the Catholic faith and criticizing the religious policies of the government. His verses are among the most interesting surviving examples of Welsh Catholic resistance during the Reformation.

And he wasn’t imprisoned for just a few weeks.

Richard spent years in confinement, separated from his wife and children, repeatedly pressured to abandon his faith.

Eventually he was charged with treason, largely because of his refusal to accept the religious settlement and his defense of Catholic authority.

At his trial, Richard defended himself with the same sharp wit that had made him so troublesome in prison. When witnesses offered contradictory testimony, he pointed out the inconsistencies and refused to pretend the accusations were true.

He was condemned anyway.

On October 15, 1584, Richard was taken to the marketplace in Wrexham and executed by hanging, drawing, and quartering.

According to tradition, his final words included a prayer for his executioners and an appeal to God for mercy.

Today, Richard Gwyn is remembered as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970. His memory remains especially strong in Wales, where Catholic schools and churches bear his name.

There’s something particularly appealing about Richard’s story.

He wasn’t a bishop.

He wasn’t a famous theologian.

He was a husband, a father, and a teacher who refused to surrender his faith.

And when the authorities tried to silence him, he sometimes responded by making even more noise.

Saint Richard Gwyn, courageous Welsh martyr and joyful defender of the Catholic faith, pray for us.

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What is the SSPX Podcast?

The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.

What is the SSPX?

The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.

Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.

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