Nuns in Persecution Part Two

I have been researching the number of women who left England in order to become nuns on the continent, owing to the persecution of the Catholic Church in Great Britain.

Between 1600 and 1800, at least 4,000 women left England to be nuns in France and Belgium and Flanders, mostly. What was England's loss was France's gain. I am trying to trace some of these nuns.

As seen in another post, the More Family produced several nuns.

Two other women from a famous family also became nuns on the continent.

Here is a short article from the blog Idle Speculations.

http://idlespeculations-terryprest.blogspot.com/2009/05/throckmorton-nuns.html

Throckmorton Nuns

Nicolas de Largillierre French, 1656 - 1746
Elizabeth Throckmorton, 1729
oil on canvas
Overall: 81.5 x 65.7 cm (32 1/16 x 25 7/8 in.) framed: 115.6 x 89.5 cm (45 1/2 x 35 1/4 in.)
The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Nicolas de Largillière (1656 - 1746)
Portrait of Anne Throckmorton as a Nun 1729
Oil on canvas 80 x 63.5cm
Coughton Court, Alchester

The Coughton estate in Warwickshire has been in the Throckmorton family since 1409

The Throckmortons and Coughton Court have since the Reformation been notable in their deep and continuous adherence to the Catholic faith, in spite of the costs.

The above two paintings were part of a group of three portraits of English Augustinian nuns from the Paris convent painted by de Largillière which once hung together at Coughton Court.

Elizabeth Throckmorton was the daughter of Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton Court.

She joined the convent where her Aunt was a member as a schoolgirl aged 14. In 1714 she took her vows with her sister Mary. Although not always in good health, Elizabeth Throckmorton was twice elected Abbess and her death was recorded as a great loss to the community. Her interest in reading and study is emphasised by the book in her hand. She died in 1760.

Anne Throckmorton (1664 - 1734) was Abbess of the Augustinian Convents of 'Filles Anglaises' in Paris from 1720 to 1728. She was the daughter of Sir Francis Throckmorton, 2nd Baron and sister of the 3rd Baronet.

See also http://www.coughtoncourt.co.uk/

The More Family Nuns-Nuns in Persecution Part One

Will there be any place for nuns to go in the upcoming persecution?

This is the first in a mini-series of Nuns in Persecution.

I shall do a little series on the recusant nuns. Many daughters and nieces of saints, including the daughter of St. Margaret Clitherow and women from the Garnet family went to France and became nuns. So, too, did descendants of St. Thomas More and women of the Throckmorton family, the Catholic side. Here is the first of a smattering of fascinating information from times of persecution.

Thomas More's adopted daughter, Margaret Clement, became a nun. 

I have written on the More women who became nuns. Helen More, daughter of Cresacre More, one of Thomas More's sons, became a Benedictine nun in France. Her journey through the spiritual life provides us with one of the more interesting tales of a person struggling with the life of perfection. Sadly, all my notes on her are in a suitcase in Guildford, in an attic somewhere, so I cannot make detailed comments.

Here is a snippet from the Catholic Encyclopedia on Sr. Gertrude. 

https://ia700309.us.archive.org/16/items/miscellaneaviii08cathuoft/miscellaneaviii08cathuoft.pdf

DAME GERTRUDE.
Benedictine nun of the English Congregation; b. at Low Leyton, Essex, England, 25 March, 1606; d. atCambrai, France, 17 August, 1633. Her father, Cresacre More, was great-grandson of Blessed Thomas More; her mother, Elizabeth Gage, was sister of Sir John Gage, Baronet, of Firle, Sussex, lord chamberlain to Queen Mary. Her mother dying at an early age, Helen's care and education now devolved upon her father. By persuasion of Dom Benet Jones, O.S.B., she joined his projected foundation at Cambrai, and was first among nine postulants admitted to the order, 31 Dec., 1623, but vacillation of mind so disquieted her novitiate, that only with the greatest hesitation she pronounced her vows on 1 January, 1625; nor was she even then quite free from scruples and temptations, until she had availed herself of Dom Augustine Baker's prudent guidance. A year or two later, having now become Dame Gertrude, learning from him the use of affective prayer, a complete change was wrought in her; rapidly advancing in the interior life, she became a source of edification to the infant community, and, in 1629, when a choice of abbess must be made, her name, conjointly with that of Catharine Gascoigne, was sent to Rome for a dispensation on point of age. Catharine was eventually chosen, but Gertrude was always honoured as chief foundress. Supporting her abbess by lifelong devotion, promoting peace and good observance, she was universally beloved. None suffered more nor with edifying fortitude than Dame Gertrude, under a heavy trial to which the community was subjected through interference of the vicar, Dom F. Hull, with Father Baker's teachings. Later, doubts arising as to her mode of prayer, formal inquiry was made, resulting in approval at the General Chapter in 1633, during the sessions of which, however, Gertrude was attacked by small-pox and died a peaceful death.Some papers found after her death and arranged by Father Baker, were afterwards published in two separate works: one entitled "The Holy Practices of a Divine Lover, or the Sainctly Ideot's Devotions" (Paris, 1657); the other, "Confessiones Amantis", or "Spirtual Exercises", or "Ideot's Devotions", to which was prefixed her "Apology", for herself and for her spiritual guide (Paris, 1658), both recently republished.

I have already written about St. Thomas More's granddaughter and great granddaughter on this blog. See links. I have read the biography of one, which is no longer in print, Dame Gertrude More by  Dame  Frideswide Sandeman. Sister Gertrude was influenced by the spiritual writings and guidance of Father  Baker. Also, I have seen some of the books mentioned in the article above.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10564b.htm

Also, I am reading the archives of such monasteries found here: 

https://ia700309.us.archive.org/16/items/miscellaneaviii08cathuoft/miscellaneaviii08cathuoft.pdf

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanbrook_Abbey  She is the chief foundress of Stanbrook Abbey.

Two other "Mores" were abbesses in that monastery. 

One may also see this site for the entire list of St. Thomas More's descendants.

http://www.thomasmorestudies.org/docs/Descendants_John.pdf

Cresacre had two daughters who became nuns. 

1. Helen: Born 1606. Became a Benedictine Nun at the Monastery of Our Lady of Consolation at Cambrai,  Flanders. Known in religion as Dame Gertrude More. Died at Cambrai on 17th
 August 1633. 

3. Bridget: Born 1609. Became a Benedictine Nun at the Monastery of Our Lady of Consolation, Cambrai. Known in religion as Dame Bridget More. Elected Prioress at the new foundation of the Order at Paris –  Monastery of Our Lady of Good Hope. Died there on 12th October 1692. 
Elizabeth More died 15th

Another nun who was a descendant of St. Thomas More died as the result of imprisonment. She was the daughter of Thomas More V.

5. Mary: Born 1638. Became a Nun in the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Committed to York Prison in  1678 for refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance and Supremacy. Released in 1685. Died at one of the  Institute‟s houses in Bavaria. Date not known.

More nuns in the More Family follow. This one was the daughter of Basil More.

8. Anne: Born at Gobions, and birth entered in the Register of St. Mary‟s Church on 5th
 December 1662 
 Became a Nun with the Canonesses Regular of the Lateran, at St. Monica‟s, Louvain. Took the name Sister  Theodora. Died on 6th June 1699. 

Yet another is the daughter of Thomas More VIII. After the death of his last child, the line of St. Thomas More ended in the early 19th century.

4. Mary: Born at York on 1st April 1732. Known in the family as "Mally‟. Joined the Augustinian Canonesses  Regular of the Lateran at Bruges, becoming „Dame Mary Augustina.‟ Elected Prioress. 
 The community fled to England (to Hengrave Hall, Suffolk) in 1794 when they were expelled from France  at the beginning of the French Revolution. The Nuns returned to Bruges in 1802. Dame Mary died there  on 23 March 1807, and was buried in the Convent Chapel. 

http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/specialcollections/exhibits/past/Gloriana.htm

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/2013/06/repost-on-thomas-more-and-john-fisher.html

Information on Stanbrook Abbey today may be found here.
http://www.stanbrookabbey.org.uk/page-ourroots.html

Happy St. David's Day

To all my readers in Wales...

Readers, Need Prayers

One, first eye operation coming up next week, so please pray.

Second, after the second one towards the end of the month, (and pray for that one as well), pray I can get to Europe.

Thanks.

STM

France 24 and I suggest you watch European news

• Note that Ukrainian banks have stopped all taking of money out of accounts up to 1,000 Euros per day...to stop runs on the banks...news from France 24
• 
  Moscow troops on alert. 

Pro-Russian gunmen in control still of two airports.

Reason One Why Catholicism Is The One, True Faith

The Catholic Sun

Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,
There’s always laughter and good red wine.
At least I’ve always found it so.
Benedicamus Domino! 

Hilaire Belloc

Beavers in England

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-26365127

We shall see

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10666893/Ukraine-crisis-live-President-Barack-Obama-warns-of-costs-for-any-violation-of-Ukraine.html

Exciting News! WOW! School of the Annunciation

http://www.schooloftheannunciation.com/

And, the methodology is Benedictine

A Benedictine Initiative

Buckfast is well-known for its uniting of spirituality and education, rooted in the Benedictine tradition. Since the Rule of St Benedict first proposed that a monastery be seen as a ‘school for the Lord’s service’, dominici schola servitii, monasteries have responded to the desire for learning - both among members of their own communities and also more widely - by supporting opportunities for a deeper appreciation of the faith in the light of the Lord’s own divine teaching of his people. The School of the Annunciation is the latest in a series of initiatives reaching back to the foundation of the Abbey in 1018.

In his Historical Sketches, Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman writes of the Benedictine educational tradition at some length. He draws attention to the Benedictine characteristic of balance and harmony, and in one striking passage evokes the gradual growth of institutions rooted in patterns of prayer and scholarship and in the development of quiet friendships, together with a humble willingness to begin again without complaint, that can still inspire us today.

“St. Benedict…found the world, physical and social, in ruins, and his mission was to restore it in the way, not of science, but of nature,… not professing to do it by any set time or by any rare specific or by any series of strokes, but so quietly, patiently, gradually… Silent men were observed about the country, or discovered in the forest, digging, clearing, and building; and other silent men, not seen, were sitting in the cold cloister, tiring their eyes, and keeping their attention on the stretch, while they painfully deciphered and copied and re-copied the manuscripts which they had saved. There was no one that "contended, or cried out," or drew attention to what was going on; but by degrees the woody swamp became a hermitage, a religious house, a farm, an abbey, a village, a seminary, a school of learning, and a city…

And then, when they had in the course of many years gained their peaceful victories, perhaps some new invader came, and with fire and sword undid their slow and persevering toil in an hour…and nothing was left to them but to begin all over again; but this they did without grudging, so promptly, cheerfully, and tranquilly, as if it were by some law of nature that the restoration came, and they were like the flowers and shrubs and fruit trees which they reared, and which, when ill-treated, do not take vengeance, or remember evil, but give forth fresh branches, leaves, or blossoms, perhaps in greater profusion, and with richer quality, for the very reason that the old were rudely broken off.”

The School of the Annunciation is delighted to be able to participate in the Benedictine charism of education, with its faculty and students sharing in the rhythms of the prayer, life and study of the community.

We knew this......hard hearts

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/372236/planned-parenthood-president-when-life-begins-not-really-relevant-abortion-debate

Secret Censorship

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/google-warns-muslims-ruling-will-684425

The Glory of God in Nature

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/gallery/2014/feb/28/northern-lights-illuminate-the-uk-in-pictures-aurora-borealis?CMP=twt_gu

What?

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/372240/tenn-state-university-requires-students-wear-trackable-ids-alec-torres

Why A Catholic Cannot Discern

As many of my readers have noted, and as I have tried to put on this blog, things such as court decisions, laws passed in the States and in the EU and financial changes are snowballing rapidly. The remnant Church must be prepared for great changes. My pastor in England warned his congregation of this for the two weeks running up to the acceptance of ssm in Great Britain. Rightly so, he said our lives would never be the same if that bill passed. It did. 

If you cannot see this, you need to pray for discernment.

Discernment is a gift from God to all Catholics, connected to the virtues of Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude, which we all have.

Discernment is an absolute necessity now, in these times.

If you cannot discern the signs of the times, peaceful or dangerous situations, good or evil, you must ask yourself why you cannot discern.

Here are some reasons why a Catholic may lack discernment.

1) The person is not praying daily and enough. Discernment is honed in prayer.

2) A person is too caught up in materialism and/or consumerism. One must be honest as to whether one is pursuing God and His Ways, or comfort.

3) One may be sinning in a certain area, in a habitual sin which stops discernment. Habitual sin may be serious venial sin.

4) One is not reading spiritual books daily, such as the Doctors of the Church or the daily readings from Mass.

5) One is following a certain false teaching, such as Liberation Theology, the Gospel of Success.

6) One is following false seers and false apparitions, which is a sinful position, by the way, especially if Rome has decided on such.

http://sersaldelatierra.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html

7) One is not going to Confession weekly or at least every two weeks.

8) One is living in mortal sin, which kills the life of the soul and, therefore, discernment.

9) One is a heretic in some way, perhaps not even knowing that one is not completely orthodox, If one chooses not to be orthodox, such as maintaining a position of "informed dissent", one will lose discernment quickly.

10) One is choosing friends and companions who do not have discernment and one is following bad advice, instead of looking towards the Teaching Magisterium or seeking out wise friends.

11) One thinks that there is neutral territory in the spiritual world. There is NO neutral territory. One is either in the land of God or the land of the devil.

12) One turns against discernment again and again, and finally, the Holy Spirit leaves one to one's devices. Grace must  be followed.


Do you have discernment? If not, why not? We all must be in the position to hear God and react quickly.

Very quickly.

http://sersaldelatierra.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html

Then he saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Peter answering said to him: Thou art the Christ. Mark 8:29 DR



To be continued....

Hello, Europe

I was out all day in frigid temps and just got back. I shall post for you all tomorrow my time. God bless, and good night or good morning.....

Trending fourth in the world on twitter-millions of comments

https://twitter.com/search?q=%23londonpoo&src=hash

The Brits are SO Medieval.

Polar Vortex Day

The Polar Vortex, first identified in the 1850s, blew in last night. The wind howled for hours and hours. Today, of all days, I must go out and it is 2 above F. Not a good temperature for asthmatics.

Pray for me, as I must be out all day.

Thank you.

STM

From LifeSiteNews...Ireland has gone nutsy

DUBLIN, February 26, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Ireland’s Parliament has proposed a bill that would allow 16 year-olds to have their “gender” changed on their birth certificates and passports. The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, said she would bring the proposal to Parliament on Tuesday.

The Gender Recognition Bill proposes to have the state recognize a person’s “acquired gender” for all purposes, including birth certificates, marriage and civil partnership registries.

The draft bill, brought forward in the summer, proposed setting the age limit at 18. But the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection criticized this, saying that 16 year-olds can consent to surgery. The government has responded with a revision that allows 16-year-olds to have their new “gender” recognized by the state with parental consent.

more here

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/irelands-trans-bill-will-grant-state-recognition-to-teens-chosen-gender

Purgatory on Earth Part Two

The consequences of sin reach out of our own souls and touch others in negative ways.  One of the main things which happens in the Dark Night is that one cannot perceive or see God as one would like.

One has had a glimpse of Love, but Love has pulled away. The reason for this is similar to the particular judgement which happens immediately when we die.

Christ reveals Himself to us and we see our sins in the face of His Purity and Goodness.

Then, if one goes to purgatory, one is deprived of the Beloved until one has paid the price of sin.

One must be totally in agony and bereft of love, after having seen Christ and then being removed from His Presence.

These words in the Song of Songs reflect the agony of those who have seen the Bridegroom and have lost Him.

Verses 6 and 7 of Chapter One:

O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou liest in the midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions. If thou know not thyself, O fairest among women, go forth, and follow after the steps of the flocks, and feed thy kids beside the tents of the shepherds

St. Bernard of Clairvaux notes that the Bridegroom tells the the Bride that she must find out her true self, she must seek self-knowledge, and is this not what happens in purgatory?

We come to know our true selves. Purgatory gives us the opportunity to see ourselves and our sins so that we can become pure.

To be continued....

Egotism-The Enemy Within

Two posh "dos", (well, one was semi-posh), I was invited to attend ended up with me ruminating on the same phenomenon.

Both gatherings were made up of Catholic journalists, theologians, priests, and even a smattering of Anglican clergy (low church).

These gatherings centered on the work of such illustrious men and women (few of us women were at these gatherings) in either pro-life work, campus ministries, or publishing in the Catholic world.

From both meetings, I walked away sad, knowing that the enemy was within the Church. But, these meetings were not just a grouping of liberals, but also of very traditional, Latin Mass Catholics.

Therefore, the enemy within proved not to be heresy alone, or modernism.

The great evil among so many of these people were their enormous egos. That they were more concerned with building their own kingdoms, rather than the Kingdom of God, became obvious over the time I engaged in conversation with some of the invitees.

Four indications of the specter of egotism were these. One, the illustrious people mostly talked about themselves and not the Church. Little love for the one, true, holy and apostolic Church shown in conversation.

Two, the talk centered on what so-and-so was doing for the Church rather than what the Church was giving to so-and-so. Men and women seemed to think themselves absolutely necessary for the growth of Catholicism.

Egotism creates hothouse plants not apostles.

Egotism wants adulation not service.

Three, few wanted to meet new people. The comfort of the clique even came down to one famous person exclaiming out-loud, "Who is .....? Why would I want to meet him?"

Four, the status quo of the various situations in which these people were engaged proved to be more important than brainstorming about new ways to evangelize or reach more people. In other words, the continuance of their communities or kingdoms was more important than God's plans. The reason for both of the meetings should have been furthering the Kingdom of God. In reality, the meetings were a gathering of individuals who only wanted to ensure their own positions of influence and power.

Such is the problem when people choose to serve the Church without allowing God to purify them first. The saints knew this secret of success in ministry.

Service must be centered on the love of God, not the love of men, or the love of one's self.

Love defines who we are and sets us on the path of service, for God alone.

Humility is the only way to serve God and the pursuit of humility is painful. There is no getting around being humiliated.

None.

(A few days after I wrote this piece, I had a sinking feeling that egotism is also the sin keeping people from forming communities. I had written several posts on community formation, which one can find under that label. Sadly, being in several gatherings recently and attempting to speak of community, I realized that the past two generations of Gen-Xers and Millennials may be too individualistic in their own ideas and set in their own materialistic ways to sacrifice for a community. I shall come back to this later.)

To be continued....