The Parishioner - Edition 26|Spring 2016

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St.Edmund Gennings Text and Picture by Charlotte Cassidy During the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, (1558 to 1603), when the Anglican faith became the nation’s state religion by law and Catholics were being persecuted, St. Edmund Gennings was born in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, in 1567. His parents were innkeepers, loyal to the Queen, and raised Edmund and his younger brother, John, in the Anglican faith. As a child, Edmund was a serious, studious boy and excelled in his class at Lichfield Grammar School. At the age of sixteen when his education was complete, Edmund went to work as a page in London in the house of renowned drapers, Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood. The Sherwoods were devout Catholics, their four sons were Catholic priests. The couple had been imprisoned numerous times for their faith and could only attend Mass in secret. The Sherwoods treated Edmund more like another son than an employee. Inspired by Mr. Sherwood’s love and knowledge of the Gospel, Edmund soon became drawn to the catholic faith and decided to convert to Catholicism. He made his confession and was received into the Catholic Church, at the age of sixteen and attended his first Mass in secret in the Sherwood’s house. At that time, the persecution of Catholics was relentless. They were forbidden to attend Mass or even pray the Rosary. Catholic laity were often imprisoned for practising their faith and if Catholic priests were found secretly celebrating Mass in a house, they were immediately arrested, brought to a brief, sham trial and sentenced to a traitor’s death at Tyburn. While attending his first Mass, Edmund felt a deep love for Jesus and a calling to the priesthood. It was illegal for any young man to study for the Catholic priesthood in England so Edmund left the Sherwood’s employment to study abroad at the English Biblical college in Rheims, France. At the college, Edmund befriended fellow Englishman and seminarian, Polydore Plasden. Both young men hoped to return to England after ordination. Despite being diagnosed with tuberculosis shortly after his arrival in France, Edmund managed to complete his studies. Because of his ill-heath a special dispensation was arranged so that he could be ordained earlier that usual and in 1590, at the age of twenty three, Edmund was ordained a Catholic priest. A month later, Father Edmund and Fr. Polydore set sail on their return voyage to England, arriving at Whitby, Yorkshire, late at night. Willing to die for Christ the two priests then parted company. Fr. Edmund returned to London where he stayed at the house of Swithun Wells and his family at Gray’s Inn Lane. Swithun was a kind Catholic layman who had opened his home as a refuge for the persecuted Catholic priests. After a few days Fr. Edmund left the generous hospitality of the Wells family and for several months travelled throughout England in his priestly ministry. He celebrated Mass in secret, heard confessions, anointed the sick and gave spiritual guidance to the persecuted Catholics. In November of 1591, Fr. Edmund decided to return again to the home of Swithun Wells in London. By chance along the road he met his good friend Fr. Polydore Plasden who was also on his way to Swithun’s home and the two priests continued their journey together, arriving at their destination at night. Fr. Edmund rose early the next morning to celebrate Mass in secret with Fr. Polydore in a room in Swithun’s house. Swithun had been called away the previous night on a mission of mercy. His wife and daughter, however, had invited several local Catholics to the Mass. Shortly after Mass had commenced there came a loud thud at the front door. One of Swithun’s servants went to investigate and realized with alarm that the Queen’s chief torturer, Richard Topcliffe, had entered the house with soldiers to arrest Fr. Edmund and Fr. Polydore. Fr. Polydore confronted Topcliffe and asked that the mass be allowed to conclude, after which everyone would surrender. Topcliffe agreed to his request. When the Mass had ended, Fr. Edmund carefully took the Holy Eucharist and the chalice containing the Blood of Christ and hid them in a cabinet in the house so that they would not be desecrated by Topcliffe and his soldiers. 4 8 Fr. Edmund tole the faithful present to remain calm and above all loyal to Christ, then everyone surrendered peacefully to the priest hunters. The two priests were immediately arrested. Fr. Edmund, still in his vestments, was made to wear a fool’s coat (a long coat with gaudy, multi-coloured plumes) and, together with Fr. Polydore, he was escorted by soldiers through the streets to Gatehouse Prison. On arrival at the prison the two priests were put in separate cells. In the solitude of his cell, Fr.Edmund prayed and told Jesus he loved Him and was prepared to lay down his life for Him. Later that evening, Fr. Edmund was moved to the prison dungeon where Topcliffe awaited him. When Fr. Edmund refused to renounce his faith, he was taken to a torture chamber where he was mocked and subjected to agonizing torture for hours on the rack. Six days later, on December 4th 1591, Fr. Edmund and Fr. Polydore were brought to a sham trial at Westminster, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death. Swithun Wells, having been arrested on his return home to Gray’s Inn Lane, was also sentenced to death. The two priests were offered their freedom if they rejected the Papacy and their Catholic faith and conformed to the Anglican religion. Both priests bluntly refused. Fr. Edmund then denounced Anglicanism and the Queen as head of the Church on spiritual matters and declared his undying love for Christ and the Catholic Church. Enraged by this declaration, Topcliffe ordered both priests to be taken to a dungeon in Newgate prison where they were tortured. Fr. Edmund was then dragged from the dungeon and thrown in a pit within the prison known as the ‘Dark Hole’. In this narrow, confined, terrifying space Fr. Edmund could see nothing at all. He passed the days saying the Rosary, meditating on Christ’s passion and uniting his sufferings to Christ on the Cross. On December 10th 1591, Fr. Edmund was at last taken from the ‘Dark Hole’ and reunited with Fr.Polydore. Both priests were then brought outside to the prison courtyard, tied to a hurdle along with Swithun Wells and dragged through the streets of London. Fr. Edmund thought he would die with Fr. Polydore Plasden at Tyburn. Instead, the group of soldiers escorting the three men abruptly changed direction at Holborn, taking both Fr. Edmund and Swithun to Gray’s in Lane. A gallows had been especially erected outside Swithun’s home where Mass had been celebrated only two weeks earlier. Fr. Edmund was to die with Swithun Wells. As a noose was roughly placed around Fr. Edmunds neck, his thoughts and prayers remained with Fr. Polydore who continued on his journey to be hanged drawn and quartered on the infamous gallows at Tyburn. Before the gathered, jeering crowd, Topcliffe demanded that Fr. Edmund confess to treason. Fr. Edmund calmly responded, “If to return to England as a Catholic priest and to celebrate Mass is considered treason, then, yes, I am guilty of treason with the greatest joy!” Furious at his unrepentant reply, Topcliffe instantly devised a particularly cruel death for Fr.Edmund. Topcliffe ordered that Fr. Edmund be hanged and cut down almost immediately. Unsteady and barely stunned from the hanging, Fr. Edmund was then pushed to the ground. He was fully conscious as the executioner began his gruesome task with a knife. Fr. Edmund could hear Swithun’s prayers for him as he felt his chest being split open. The executioner then ripped Fr. Edmund’s heart from his chest and held it up before Fr. Edmund’s eyes. In excruciating pain, Fr. Edmund managed to say these last words, “St. Gregory, pray for me!” Fr.Edmund was only twenty four. There were many conversions among those who had witnessed his barbarous death, including the conversion of his younger brother, John. St.Edmund Gennings was beatified in 1929 by Pope Pius XI and canonized in 1970 by Pope Paul VI. His feast day is 10th of December.
The following e-mail was received last summer, 2015, by the Good Counsel Network: Hello I`ve been searching around on the internet for a while now and have come across this organisation [www.goodcounselnetwork.com] I was hoping to be able to track down the church or group who would have held prayers outside the Marie Stopes [abortion] clinic in January 2003. I realise it`s a lot to ask since it was such a long time ago now. I tried to work out which was the local church but didn`t get very far. The reason for wanting to track them down was to say a massive thank you. If I hadn`t seen them I might not have my son with me today. He turns twelve this July and although he is sometimes a heck of a lot to handle I wouldn`t be without him and I`m so pleased that I saw those people praying that day. Up until that point all I had thought about was myself, and how scared I was, and how I didn`t think I could see a way out of the situation I`d created. I wasn`t thinking straight. All I wanted was to turn back time and for everything to go back to normal. I saw just 2 people, one was kneeling, they never said anything but they had a placard with them. I think it might have been a picture of Mary. I still went ahead and walked into the clinic and was shown to a waiting area. It was as I sat there waiting that I thought of those people out there praying. I started to look around the room and realised that there must have been at least 20 women all looking as downcast and scared as I was. I was really shocked. I never thought that that many women could all be waiting for the same thing. I was so shocked that it just seemed all so clinical, one out, one in. No compassion at all. I felt sick to my stomach that all those lives would be snuffed out. That was the first time it occurred to me that this wasn`t just an inconvenient pregnancy. This was a baby. So I got up and left! Very quickly. I really hope that some of the others did the same. Anyway, I`m not sure how often you get to hear of the happy endings. But this certainly is one. If it wasn`t your group there that day then I can only assume it was another local one. But, thank you anyway. Keep up the good work. Warmest blessings, Tina If you feel that God is calling you to join in the prayer which has been taking place since the year 2000 outside the Maidstone abortion facility in Brewer Street, please look in the newsletter for details of the monthly priest-led prayer vigils. A small group also leaves from the Church porch after the 10am Mass on most Fridays. “ The Barbarian The Barbarian hopes — and that is the mark of him, that he can have his cake and eat it too.He will consume what civilization has slowly produced after generations of selection and effort, but he will not be at pains to replace such goods, nor indeed has he a comprehension of the virtue that has brought them into being. Discipline seems to him irrational, on which account he is ever marvelling that civilization, should have offended him with priests and soldiers.... In a word, the Barbarian is discoverable everywhere in this, that he cannot make: that he can befog and destroy but that he cannot sustain; and of every Barbarian in the decline or peril of every civilization exactly that has been true. We sit by and watch the barbarian. We tolerate him in the long stretches of peace, we are not afraid. We are tickled by his irreverence; his comic inversion of our old certitudes and our fixed creed refreshes us; we laugh. But as we laugh we are watched by large and awful faces from beyond, and on these faces there are no smiles.” Hilaire Belloc Baby Kenneth is baptised. On January 31st 2016, Prince Kenneth Essien Oluwapelumi Bassey, the third son of Godwin and Fumi Bassey, was baptised at St. Francis’ by Rev. Fr. Kenneth Adesina from Rome. His Godparents are Chris and Ehi Peiris, Cecilia Mayne, Julia Whittning and Esther Kwashie. Father Bart’s Farewell Mass Father Bart has left St. Francis’ Church, Maidstone and has taken up his new post at Walderslade but he will come back to St Francis’ to celebrate Mass with us on Friday, 20th May at 7pm followed by a reception at URC Hall, Week Street, Maidstone. If you would like to make a donation towards a presentation to Fr. Bart please put it in an envelope marked ‘Fr. Bart’s Presentation’. Either drop it into the parish office or along with the Sunday Collection. 9
Page 1 and 2: Parishioner ISSUE 26 SPRING 2016 CE
Page 3 and 4: E A S T E R 2 0 1 6 Good Friday mor
Page 5 and 6: Confirmation Programme 2015 At the
Page 7: H o m i l y f o r t h e F e a s t o
Page 11 and 12: Pauline Jacqueline Marie Sexton 20t
Page 13 and 14: Dispassion and Detachment Christine
Page 15: BAPTISMS July 2015 Julia J Bizunowi

The Parishioner - Edition 26|Spring 2016

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