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aussieannie
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| Posted: July 19 2007 at 2:44am | IP Logged
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I have just finished reading a beautiful book called, "The Flowering Hawthorn" by Hugh Ross Williamson. It is a Neumann Press book.
I am so deeply touched by England's history, it's beautiful, Marian history. Starting with Joseph of Arimathea who arrived not long after the death of Our Lord and built on an Island given to him by the pagan King (Glastonbury was it's name but also known as Avalon if you are an Arthurian enthusiast) a church dedicated to Our Lady. Joseph had carved a wooden statue of Our Lady for this church and King Arthur was said to have had this image of Our Lady on his shield....
I could say so much more, I am on a lovely high from starting...and finishing this book today  But I am also very sad too....so sad that so much of all this was destroyed in the Reformation. 
When I talk about about Our Lady of Guadalupe (from what I have read) and how she was responsible for the greatest mass conversion of christians to the faith, I often say that it happened in a time when the Reformation was dragging so many away from the faith and from the love of their Heavenly Mother, this would include England.
England was always known as "Our Lady's Dowry" and was noted for it's great devotion to the Mother of God - how could all that be lost to such a great extent? What lesson is there for us all in the examination of all this history?
On the Glastonbury shrine website they saw it is(was) the oldest above ground church in our 2000year old history and it was dedicated to Our Blessed Mother.
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All For Jesus
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| Posted: July 19 2007 at 9:21am | IP Logged
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I think I have a good book to add to my Fall booklist.
Our Lady always has a way of coming at just the right moment in history to gather her children back into her fold. I often read the martrys accounts from the Reformation period in England in the Magnificat and I am just appalled at the cruelty and determination of the Elizabethan forces. Thanks for sharing this!
p.s. - can't seem to get the link button working on my post so I just wrote in the url to my blog. Going to have to investigate this later today.
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chicken lady
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| Posted: July 19 2007 at 5:10pm | IP Logged
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Thanks Anne something new to chew on 
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CKwasniewski
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| Posted: July 19 2007 at 6:34pm | IP Logged
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AussieAnnie--
In the last year this period has been my main history reading...
I'm going to look for "Flowering Hawthorn"--thanks!
Here are some books that have really helped me understand the Reformation in England:
Catherine of Aragon by Garrett Mattingly -- covers in detail what actually happened with her and Henry VIII
Shadowplay by Clare Asquith -- this is the literary, political and religious background to the Catholic "subtext" of Shakespeare, it is so eye-opening, both literarily and historically!
Right now I am reading:
Stripping of the Altars by Eamon Duffy --long, but very important!
and
Christopher Dawson's Dividing of Christendom (covers the whole Reformation)
Of course, bios of Edmund Campion, Thomas More would be good too. And apparently there's a bio of St. Margaret Clitherow out from TAN.
The nutshell answer to your q. "how could all of that have been lost"? The govt.--succesive rulers-- systematically eradicated Catholics through murder, torture, bribery, fines, imprisonment, indoctrination and an elaborate spy network. As Garrett Mattingly put it so succintly "terror and cant."
Robert Hugh Benson's novels "By What Authority?" and "The Kings Acheivement" show this very vividly. They are so beautiful and heartbreaking.
Hope this is not too long!
Martyrs of England and Wales Pray for us!
CK
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Kathryn UK
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| Posted: July 20 2007 at 3:57am | IP Logged
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Annie, I am writing a book on English Catholic history for children and the title I have chosen is "Our Lady's Dowry" .
Interestingly, despite over two hundred years of repression, the Church here is in a healthier state than some of the western countries that remained Catholic through the Reformation. The number of people attending Mass is now around the same as the number attending the Church of England. The Marian shrine at Walsingham that was suppressed by Henry VIII is thriving again. I think Our Lady may have something to do with it ...
Hugh Ross Williamson wrote some very good Catholic history books, including a collection of saints stories for children. Some of his work was rather eccentric though - he came up with the idea that Queen Elizabeth I was a hermaphrodite, or some such, which is bizarre.
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aussieannie
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Oh Kathryn, I look forward to that book and that is a GREAT name!!
Yes, I had some beautiful English, homeschooling friends who had lived out here in Australia for 18months but finally went back to England and this dear lady said that living in the city of Cambridge they had SO many Masses they could go to in a day (she was shocked by the amount of travelling that was needed to get to a good, orthodox Mass here  ) They often visited Walsingham.
Yes, when you look at Spain (lowest birthrate) and France and other Catholic countries, you could definately say that - Europe is struggling but then again Australia is too...I have to say that the renewal I see happening in the US gives me GREAT heart - I feel the first signs of the springtime that Pope John Paul II talked about are happening here in particular...
I had to look that herma...wordy up! (I hadn't heard of it ) Really? I wonder why he thought that? That is unusual!
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aussieannie
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CK, DO keep going - that was great! 
Thank you for that list of books as I am intrigued to read more now...
I've always had a love for England that I can't quite explain, it's just there and so this book has just wetted my appetite!
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chicken lady
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Kathryn that does sound like a great book, this topic can be so tricky for children.
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trish
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The Flowering Hawthorn is on my wishlist. I have a strong interest in English history also. Why I'm not sure because I don't think I have any English ancestory unless you look way way back. Maybe 400 years ago. But then that would be at the time of the reformation wouldn't it? Very interesting stuff.
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CKwasniewski
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Kathryn,
I'd love to read the finished chapters of your book! I've been curious aout it since I saw it mentioned on the MA website. If you're willing to share...
Anne,
I know the affinity you are talking about. And its strange... I've loved the English saints ever since I really got to know about them--through Fr. John Saward. But then, we are more closely related to them than even our own blood relations... They are our mothers and fathers in Christ.
A Man for All Seasons is a great play to read or watch the movie. About St. Thomas More. This was really powerful for our kids... they invoke him often.
Another thing to keep in mind about this time period is how confused it was. There were all sorts of conflicting opinions about what to do: some said help was coming from the Contient, some said that they should suffer in silence, some said it would all blow over and things would be patched up--that was always the hope. There was an uprising in the North of England, but it was put down quickly. Organized resistance was difficult bc. almost all of the faithful Catholic gentry--who could have lead a revolt--emigrated or were killed. And the spy system was extensive! Few wanted to actually do violence -- like the gunpowder plot. With King James there were promises of religious toleration that were immediately discarded once he had the throne.
A very difficult time. I don't know if I would have had the courage of men like Campion or women like Margaret Clitherow. You know, as well as hiding priests-- she started an underground Catholic catechism school--A recusant homeschooling mother martyr! I like to pray to her for our homeschool, esp. relgious ed.
Someday I hope to make a pilgrimage...
Okay, i have to go make lunch!
Blessings,
CK
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4Real Forums : Hidden Treasure
Topic: Delving into "Our Lady's Dowry"
