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| Domenico Ghirlandaio's fresco of Nuestra Señora de la Merced, painted approximately 1472. |
Today, 24th September, has
traditionally been the feast of Our Lady
of Ransom in England, a feast which celebrated the strength and endurance
of the Catholic Church under centuries of persecution and suppression. In last
week’s Southern Cross, a 2017 survey
revealed that 53% of Britons do not believe in God at all. This is up by a
staggering 2% from 51% only two years ago! It is a distressing statistic, given
what Christianity once meant to Britain.
For Britain was once a jewel in the
crown of Christianity. It produced great theologians like Duns Scotus and St
Anselm. It produced heroic martyrs like St Thomas á Becket of Canterbury,
St Thomas More, St John Fisher and the Carthusian monks who died at
Tyburn rather than give up their faith. In fact, if one looks at the saints of
Britain, most of them were martyrs. The great evangelical hymn tradition which
forms the backbone of our church music is theirs, brought out by missionaries.
British converts to Catholicism have included such illustrious names as GK
Chesterton, Cardinal Manning, Cardinal Newman, Edith Sitwell and Evelyn Waugh.
During the centuries of persecution and suppression, great noble Catholic
families impoverished themselves paying crippling fines, rather than abandon
the Mass to attend alternative worship services.
What has happened? Why has faith in
Jesus Christ collapsed in that once great Christian country? The answer is
difficult and complex. But one thing is certain; modern Britain needs our
prayers. We must all pray for the re‑conversion of England. Indeed, the
Cathedral choir will do just that at the end of the 9 am Mass this morning, by
singing Sir Hubert Parry’s setting of William Blake’s mystical poem Jerusalem.
But we, who live so happily
in a country of strong faith, South Africa, must also pray for the faith here.
We cannot afford to take our faith for granted, to be lukewarm about it in an
era when it is under attack as never before. We need to turn our prayers, our
hearts, to the Lord Jesus and ask him to increase and strengthen our own faith,
“in spite of dungeon, fire and sword,” as the old hymn has it. We need to bear
witness to Him more than ever. Faith in Jesus Christ is our only hope. We
should allow nothing to separate us
from his love.
Fr Phillip.
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