Gospel in Art: Feast of the English and Welsh Martyrs

The English Martyrs (detail). Stained glass window by Aidan McRae Thomson, Our Lady of the Angels church, Nuneaton © the artist

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 4 May 2024
Matthew 10:17-20

Jesus said to his disciples: 'Beware of men: they will hand you over to sanhedrins and scourge you in their synagogues. You will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the pagans. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.'

Reflection on the stained glass window

Our stained glass window by contemporary artist Aidan McRae Thomson, at Our Lady of the Angels church in Nuneaton, depicts St Thomas More contemplating his fate, removing his chain of office as he chooses his faith over his relationship with the king.

I am showing you, however, a detail of the lower section of the window, where we see beneath Thomas's feet a wall opening up to reveal a prison cell containing other martyrs also awaiting their fate. We see depicted St John Fisher, St Margaret Clitherow and St Edmund Campion placed most prominently at the front. The engraved names of these and other martyrs are carried upwards throughout the window as flames, escaping their prison and ascending heavenwards as their souls.

During the tumultuous period of the English Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries, these brave men and women courageously defended their Catholic faith in the face of persecution and martyrdom. Many were executed for refusing to renounce their allegiance to the Pope and embrace the religious changes imposed by the English monarchy.

These martyrs gave their lives for bearing witness to Christ and, as in today's Gospel reading, they lived their lives 'with the Spirit of their Father speaking in them'. For most of us today, the idea of laying down our lives because of our allegiance to Christ and his Church is a remote concept. But the sacrifice of these martyrs, who fully embraced the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, goes far beyond any geographical boundaries or even historical limitations. Still today Christians around the world are prepared to die for their faith. These are the quiet, modern martyrs who away from any cameras or press give incredible witness to their faith. When Pope Paul VI gave his homily in 1970 at the Canonisation of the English Martyrs, he quoted Tertullian:

'The blood of Christians is the seed that is sown as it was with the shedding of Christ's own blood, so it is with the sacrificial offering of her Martyrs in union with His: a source of life and of spiritual fecundity for the Church and the entire world.'

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-10-17-20-2024/