Subj : July 1st - Bl. Thomas Maxfield, Martyr To : All From : rich Date : Sun Jun 30 2019 09:30:02 From: rich July 1st - Bl. Thomas Maxfield, Martyr (A.D. 1616) THOMAS MAXFIELD (or Macclesfield) was born at The Mere, Enville, in the county of Stafford, about the year 1590. His father William was a confessor of the faith, and at the time of Thomas's birth was actually under sentence of death for harbouring priests. Thomas himself was eventually ordained and sent on the mission in 1615. Within 3 months he was arrested in London, and lodged in the Gatehouse at Westminster. After the usual interrogations he was left there for eight months, when, with the help of another prisoner, a Jesuit, he attempted to escape by means of a rope let down from a high window. But he landed right in the arms of a passer-by, who raised the alarm. The turnkeys seized him and =E2=80=9Cthrust him under a table, girdi= ng about his neck a massive collar of iron; to this again they fasten a ponderous chain of an hundredweight ... and in this painful posture they keep him for some hours till the morning". Then he was removed to a filthy and verminous underground dungeon, and fastened in wooden stocks, in such fashion that he could neither stand nor lie down properly; and so he was left from before daybreak on Friday until Monday night. Some of his fellow prisoners managed to get a blanket for him, and his Jesuit confessor spoke words of encouragement through a hole in the roof-and found the sufferer in very good heart. At his trial Mr Maxfield refused to take the oath of allegiance to King James in the form it was tendered, while protesting that he was loyal to him as his true and lawful sovereign; and the next day he was condemned for his priesthood to be hanged, drawn and quartered. The Spanish ambassador, the Duke of Gondomar, made a personal intervention at court to obtain Mr Maxfield's pardon or at least a reprieve; but without avail. Unusual crowds of people watched Bl. Thomas dragged to Tyburn the next day, July I, many following him to the scaffold, including a number of Spaniards. To the great vexation of the authorities it was found that someone had decked the gibbet with garlands of flowers, and covered the ground about it with leaves and sweet-smelling herbs. Bl. Thomas addressed the crowd from the cart, declaring that he had had no other object =E2=80=9Cbut only to be serviceable to the souls of my dear countrym= en" by preaching the faith that St Augustine had preached to their ancestors. In spite of the sheriff's peremptory order to the hangman to cut him down quickly, the bystanders insisted that he should be allowed to hang till he was dead, and so be spared the horrors of disembowelling. Special precautions were taken to prevent any relics of Bl. Thomas Maxfield being preserved. Nevertheless the Spanish ambassador was able to recover the body, part of which is still at Gondomar and the other part at Downside. In the year of his death a life of Bl. Thomas, by Dr Kellison, was published at Douay, and in the following year an eye-witness account of his execution: see Catholic Record Society publications, vol. iii. See also MMP., pp. 344-353; DNB., vol. xxxvii; and the Downside Review, vol. Xxxiv. Saint Quote: "They have abstained from the Eucharist and prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of Our Savior Jesus Christ." --St. Ignatius of Antioch, disciple of the Apostle John, concerning the heretics of his day Bible Quote For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. (John 6:56) <><><><> The Eternity of the Precious Blood [2] St. Peter tells us (I Peter i. 20) that the Precious Blood of Christ was "foreknown before the foundations of the world." From all eternity God had decreed that the Precious Blood of the Word made Man should be shed for us. Before man had sinned. God had provided a remedy, and had determined that if man should rebel against the sovereignty of God, He would not cast the rebel off, but would redeem him from sin, even at such a price as this. How can we sufficiently admire the love and mercy of God, thus counteracting the effect of sin even before it was committed! God's foreknowledge of what was to happen did not affect the perfect freedom of the human will, any more than the presence of a spectator affects the freedom of those whose actions he watches. God determined that the Precious Blood should be shed because He foreknew that man would sin, and he foreknew that man would sin, because in His omniscience. He foresaw that man acting freely would use his freedom to disobey. Make an act of faith in man's freedom and God's foreknowledge. When God looks forward at my life what does he foresee? This depends on myself and on my voluntary choice of good or of evil. What return from me for the inestimable gift of the Precious Blood does He foresee? Am I going to grieve and wound Him, Who, from all eternity, decreed that His Precious Blood should be shed to win for me the Kingdom of Heaven? http://catholicharboroffaithandmorals.com/July%201st.html --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .