SAINT(S) OF THE DAY: FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 25TH

MEMORIAL OF SAINT DISMAS, THE GOOD THIEF, AND SAINT MARGARET CLITHEROW, MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 25TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Dismas, the Good Thief (Patron of prisoners, condemned criminals, and repentant thieves) who was crucified alongside Jesus and received the promise of Paradise through his profound act of repentance. We also honor Saint Margaret Clitherow, Martyr (Patroness of businesswomen, converts, and the Catholic Women’s League) an English martyr known for her unwavering defense of the Catholic faith during a time of severe persecution. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and these holy Saints, may we receive the grace of true repentance, unwavering faith, and the courage to stand firm in our devotion to Christ.

Saint Dismas and Saint Margaret Clitherow ~ Pray for us. 🙏

SAINT DISMAS, THE GOOD THIEF: St. Dismas (1st c.), sometimes spelled Dysmas Dimas or Dumas, also known as the “Good Thief” or the Penitent Thief, is the apocryphal name given to one of the thieves who was crucified alongside Jesus Christ on Good Friday according to the Gospel of Luke 23:39-43:

All we know about St. Dismas is what is mentioned of him in the Gospels: “Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.’ The other [St. Dismas] however, rebuking him, said in reply, ‘Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.'” Then St. Dismas, as an expression of his faith in Christ as the Messiah, said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied to St. Dismas, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-42). The feast day of St. Dismas is March 25 and he’s the Patron Saint of those condemned to death; Funeral directors, prisoners and repentent thieves.

GOOD THIEF PRAYER: My Crucified Jesus, wash me with your most Precious Blood. Look upon me as the good thief, who hung on the cross next to You at Calvary. A sinner, paying for his crimes but recognizes your divinity and begs for mercy and forgiveness and asks: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” Dear Lord, look upon me like the Good Thief and I should be so lucky, full of Peace. Amen🙏

SAINT MARGARET CLITHEROW, MARTYR: St. Margaret Clitherow was an English lay woman saint and martyr of the Roman Catholic Church, known as “the Pearl of York”. She lived in the 1500s and was a convert to the Catholic Faith. During St. Margaret’s lifetime, English Catholics were being persecuted under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. Margaret was eventually martyred for her Catholic Faith. She was pressed to death for refusing to enter a plea to the charge of harbouring Catholic priests. St. Margaret is considered the first woman martyred under Queen Elizabeth’s religious suppression. St. Margaret Clitherow was born in 1556 in York, England. She had four siblings, and her parents were Protestants. Her father, Thomas Middleton, was a candle maker, he died when she was fourteen years old. In 1571, Margaret married a well-to-do butcher named John Clitherow. John was an Anglican, but his brother was a Catholic priest. St. Margaret decided to convert to Catholicism in 1574. According to her confessor, Fr. Mush, St. Margaret became a Catholic because she “found no substance, truth nor Christian comfort in the ministers of the new church, nor in their doctrine itself, and hearing also many priests and lay people to suffer for the defense of the ancient Catholic Faith.” St. Margaret’s husband, John Clitherow, remained a Protestant but  supported his wife’s decision to convert. They were happily married and raised three children: Henry, William, and Anne. She was a business woman who helped run her husband’s butcher shop business. She was loved by many people even her Protestant neighbors. St. Margaret practiced her faith and helped many people reconcile themselves back into the Catholic Church. She prayed one and a half hours every day and fasted four times a week. She regularly participated in mass and frequently went to confession. When laws were passed against Catholics, St. Margaret was imprisoned several times because she did not attend Protestant (Anglican) church services. In 1577, she was imprisoned for her lack of attendance at Anglican services. She was also arrested two more times for this charge. She gave birth to her third child while she was in prison. Other laws were passed which included a 1585 law that made it high treason for a priest to live in England and a felony for anyone to harbor or aid a priest. The penalty for breaking such laws was death. Despite the risk, St. Margaret was not deterred by threat of death, she helped and concealed priests. St. Margaret said “by God’s grace all priests shall be more welcome to me than ever they were, and I will do what I can to set forward God’s Catholic service.” Though her house was being watched by authorities, she allowed priests to hide and celebrate Mass in her home. She also rented another house to hide priests in and to have them say Mass in.

St. Margaret wanted her oldest son Henry to receive a Catholic education so she endeavored that her son be sent outside the Kingdom to Douai, France to a seminary to study for the priesthood. Such an act was considered a crime. The seminary had relocated from England to Reims because of the persecution in England. When the authorities discovered their intention, the Common Council had the Clitherow house searched. They initially found nothing but later retrieved religious vessels, books and vestments used for Holy Mass. They also found a secret hiding place, a scared child showed the authorities where the priest hole was but no renegade priests. Still, St. Margaret was arrested for the crime of harboring Catholic priests. She was brought before the court but refused to plead. She refused so that she could not be brought to trial, because she knew her children would be questioned and probably tortured if she were tried. Authorities attempted to make her renounce her Faith, but St. Margaret held fast. St. Margaret refused to plead and to be tried saying, “Having made no offense, I need no trial.” English law decreed that anyone who refused to plead and to be tried should be “pressed to death.” So on the morning of of Good Friday, March 25, 1586, after sewing her own shroud the night before and after praying for the Pope, cardinals, clergy, and the Queen, St. Margaret was executed. She lay sandwiched between a rock and a wooden slab while weights were dropped upon her, crushing her to death. She did not cry out but prayed “Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, have mercy upon me.” She died within fifteen minutes of the start of her crushing. She was pregnant with her fourth child at the time. Her body was left under the weight for six hours. She died at age 30 at York, United Kingdom. Moved by her saintly life, all her children entered the religious life. Anne became a nun. Henry and William both became priests. St. Margaret was Beatified on December 15, 1929 by Pope Pius XI and Canonized and declared a Saint on October 25, 1970, Rome by Pope Paul VI. St. Margaret Clitherow was canonized in 1970 with many others who died during the English persecution of Catholics. These martyrs were known as the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. She’s the Patron Saint of businesswomen, converts, martyrs, Catholic Women’s League, Latin Mass Society. 

PRAYER: St. Margaret, pray for me, that I may always be eager to do all I can to serve God and His Church. Pray that I may never allow difficulties to deter me from serving God. Please persevere in bringing my petitions before God! Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us St. Margaret Clitherow as an example of holiness. Help us to imitate the devotion to You she showed in her courageous service to You and Your Church. Amen🙏