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+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
Greetings to everybody listening to this video-sermon, and to all our friends in the order of Malta who will receive it on the feast day of Blessed David Gunson, Knight of the Order of Malta, naval man and an extraordinary hero, who was martyred under Henry VIII in defence of the rights of the Church. He was a martyr for the Truth - one who was tried for treason by the civil authorities for the admission of the Truth, namely that the King did not have supremacy in spiritual matters in this realm, and that King Henry was no better than a heretic for purporting to do so. As a result, Blessed David suffered the ultimate punishment, which at that time was an extremely cruel death by hanging, drawing and quartering. As a martyr, he is an example of heroism for all of us, alongside others of our holy religion who died at the same time, particularly Blessed Adrian Fortescue and the Venerable Thomas Dingley. But there were so many others - some named, some unnamed - who perished at the time of the Protestant Reformation, who remain examples to us of courage and fortitude, and of ‘speaking truth to Power,’ which is not always an easy thing to do.
As a Norbertine priest based in Chelmsford, I have realised while preparing this homily that a certain Thomas Mildmay of this parish[1], splendidly commemorated in the parish church (now Chelmsford’s Anglican cathedral) had married Blessed David Gunson’s sister, Avis. It is a lovely connection for me, to know that buried in what is now the Anglican cathedral in Chelmsford is a relative of our Blessed confrere. It’s also lovely to ponder the life-story of this magnificent martyr, and to think as we do so of our nation’s maritime history, of which we should be justly proud, since Blessed David came from a great naval family, and of course as a Knight of Malta enjoyed the seafaring life and the adventurous side of his mission, but remained always true to his consecration and to the promise of chivalry: to defend the Faith and to care for Our Lords the Poor and the Sick. These great men, our martyrs, who were cut down in their prime by unjust laws and lawgivers are examples of those who werefaithful- faithful to the engagements and promises that they had made, and as such, they join the rank of the Martyrs and share the Martyrs’ crown.
It is wonderful too for us to think of the Faith which inspired such a sacrifice. On the face of it, a lot of the martyrs went to their deaths cheerfully, or at least without complaint, because they knew it was right: they knew that they had God and the right, the Truth, on their side. And so they were very calm in the face of martyrdom. We see this theme throughout the ages; when, for example, we examine the early Martyrs of Christ’s Church, or when we look at the life of St. Paul, or when we look at those martyred under Diocletian (and so on), we realise that they had the same spirit of faith and a serene, calm attitude, even in the face of dreadful suffering. Blessed David Gunson could say with Saint Paul, “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”[2]He knew that his whole life ought to be spent in the defence of the faith and the care of the sick and the poor, but he also knew that death by martyrdom would mean a union with Christ forever. St Paul even said, “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, but I remain in the flesh on your account.”[3]With these lines from Philippians, Paul encouraged the early Christians, and perhaps Blessed David from heaven also encourages us with these words from Sacred Scripture: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear omen to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict which you saw and now hear to be mine.”[4]
These wonderful words at the end of the first chapter of St Paul's letter to the Philippians remind us that our Christian Faith means that we are not called simply to believebut also to suffer for the sake of Christ, and each of us in different ways. Saint Augustine, when he was writing to his followers, was clear to point out that we shouldn't over-venerate the Martyrs: after all, many of them were fairly ordinary people, who yet were led to make extraordinary sacrifices. And it’s this sacrifice that we are all called to, in a way: for we are all called to the Way of the Cross, to self-denial, and to stand up for the Truth. We wouldn’t lay down our lives for anythinglessthan the Truth.
This commission, which is given to every Christian - to believe and, if necessary, to suffer and die for Christ - is not an easy one, yet it's one that the promise of chivalry makes a little clearer in the mind of a Christian, demanding as it does this very engagement: the Defence of the Faith, even by the sword if necessary, and to die for the Faith, even by the sword if necessary. And it is that honour that Blessed David was called to, and lived by. We should be proud of him, especially in London where he perished, and I know that devotion to him is spreading among our confreres and associates. Let us be inspired by his life and by his sacrifice, and remember that it is a sacrifice and a life to which we also are called, even in some way.
If we go back to Saint Augustine, we find that he had a lot to say about martyrdom. He talked, for example, about the endurance of Saint Vincent the martyr, quoting the lines which I have just cited for you from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, saying that Vincent the Deacon (and we would say Blessed David as well) had received both of these gifts: the gift of faith and the gift of suffering for Christ. Augustine says, “Vincent had received both these gifts; he had received them, and he kept them. After all, if he had not received them, what would he have had? But he did have faithfulness in his words, he did have endurance in his sufferings. So do not any of you be too self-assured when offering a word; do not be too confident in your own powers when suffering trials or temptations; because it is from Him that we have the wisdom to speak good things wisely, from Him the patience to endure bad things bravely.” So this power all comes from God – not from ourselves. It’s not that Blessed David was especially strong in human terms; he was given the divine gift of virtue, or heavenly strength, to speak wisely and to endure bravely.
Augustine continues: “Call to mind the Lord Christ, warning and encouraging His disciples in the gospel; call to mind the King of Martyrs equipping His troops with spiritual weapons, indicating the wars to be fought, lending assistance, promising rewards; first saying to His disciples, In this world you will have distress; then immediately adding the words that would allay their terrors: But have confidence: I myself have vanquished the world.” This is Augustine encouraging his hearers to the same kind of courage, the same valour that the martyrs had. He adds, “So why should we be surprised, dearly beloved, if Vincent was victorious in Him by whom the world was vanquished? In this world, He says, you will have distress; such that, even if it distresses, it cannot oppressyou; even if it knocks you down, it cannot knock you out.”[5]This is a wonderful reminder to us that there are often distressing crosses in this world which “grind us down,” but they can’t knock us out. If we have the courage to endure bravely, we will stand up for the Truth, even to the laying down of our lives.
We therefore shouldn’t be terrified by cruelty, even that of unjust civil authorities. The Church should not be terrified by it either. In very recent times the Church has had to face some of these questions again: how much do we stand up tocivil authority, and how much to we “honour Caesar”[6]and stick bylegitimate law. I am not here to give definitive answers on that question, and perhaps the answers have not yet been found. What is sure is that the Church has rights and freedoms which must be defended; the people of God, consecrated in holy baptism, have rights and freedoms that should be respected - especially when it comes to accessing the Sacraments. But we also have to see to the necessary defence of the realm, and of course, when it is legitimate, we must bow to civil law since it is only there by virtue of Divine Authority… as Our Lord said to Pontius Pilate, “you would not have authority were it not given you from above.”[7]Therefore the Christian always has to negotiate this “tussle” between the rights of God – above all – and the rights of the King.
Blessed David Gunson saw that the King had no right to impose spiritual authority on his subjects apart from - and separated from - the Body of Christ, the Church. The King’s job, of course, was to maintain the realm in union with Christ’s Church, which means in union with Peter. We are therefore reminded of the need to act with Peterand under Peter, and that one cannot be a Christian and simply separate oneself from the usual structures which Christ has given to us in His Church. “Thou art Peter,” He said to the chief apostle, “and upon this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” When Saint Peter makes his profession of faith, Christ gives him the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, saying, “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”[8]In other words, the Church has been given extraordinary authority; what happened at the time of the Reformation was that King Henry VIII had usurped that authority for his own purposes - nefarious purposes at that.
Here in Chelmsford (since I mentioned Blessed David Gunson’s sister and brother-in-law who are buried in our local parish church, now the Anglican Cathedral), I also think of our local martyr, St John Payne, who was martyred here and after whom our local catholic secondary school is named. The motto for that school, taken from St Edmund’s College (Ware), is Avita pro Fide – “For the Faith of our Fathers” or, “For our Ancestral Faith.” This in turn reminds me of another little connection with the martyrs, which is that hymn written by Father Faber, to Holy Faith: “Faith of our Fathers, holy Faith, we will be true to thee ’til death.” Do you remember the lovely verse, which I think is difficult to sing and to believe, since it urges us to the same heroic attitude that the martyrs had: “Our Fathers, chained in prisons dark, were still in heart and conscience free”? Well, so far, so good. But it carries on: “How sweet would be their children’s fate, if they, like them, could die for thee.”[9]In other words, if the children of our fathers could die for the same Holy Faith, how sweet would be their fate. I wonder if we really, truly, believe that. I think we should. But I think it’s hard to see how the fate of those who suffer for Christ is really “sweet” – especially when it hits home, when it seems so local, so parochial almost. The martyrs were indeed “ordinary” in the sense that they were “like us” – so we can be like them. We mustn’t rush to over-venerate them, as Augustine warned us (but he was speaking in the time of the Donatists, who rather overdid it), but we dohonour their memory. Augustine put it this way: “I have erected an altar not to St Stephen, but with St Stephen’s relics have erected an altar to God.”[10]Our veneration of Blessed David Gunson is not simply a celebration of one family, or one hero, or one event; although it is these things too, and we should be justly proud, it is also pointing out that the martyrs, including Blessed David, died for God, and God is victorious in their martyrdom. If their death appeared, in worldly terms, like a defeat, seen with the eyes of the Faith it is an extraordinary victory.
This urges us to think about how we live; how do we defend the Church we love, the Church we belong to as the “Ark of our salvation”? It urges us to think of the commitments we have made to Christ and His Church by belonging to the holy religion of the Order of St. John. We read in the account of Blessed David Gunson’s martyrdom that some others had “left the banner of that religion.” Many of course, at the time of the Reformation, gave in. Indeed, the fact that we remember the memory of those who did notgive in, urges us to the same heroism: that which may be seen in worldly terms as a defeat, is in fact a victory; and those who compromised with the world are the real defeated ones.
Let us pray earnestly for the Church in our own day; for our hierarchy and those who lead the Church, and also for ourselves - brothers and sisters united as Catholics under Peter - praying for the same heroism that led the Martyrs to sacrifice everything for that holy ideal. Let us also urge and encourage each other to real acts of heroism.
In these difficult times of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Order has been has been blessed with so many acts of heroism, some of which we have seen in the Limelight newsletter and in various other notifications that have been sent to us. How inspiring it has been, and how encouraging! It should make us smile to see that our brothers and sisters are still at work, still helping, still defending the Faith, and still serving Our Lords the Poor and the Sick! I think Blessed David Gunson would be pleased to see us carry on. Of course, even when the rest of the country and the rest of the world seems to have come to a halt, the work of Christ goes on… The work of the Church goes on… even while we were not able to attend the Sacraments publicly, the Mass went on. In a sense, nothing can stop the great movement of Christ’s Grace; the power of His Blood is still at work in the Church. God has not deprived us of His grace in this time; on the contrary, where evil has abounded, grace has abounded all the more;[11]and people have not been abandoned… not by Almighty God, anyway. His grace has still been there. I can see this, in our parishes here in Chelmsford, I can see how God has been at work in His people. Seeing them all returning to the Sacraments with joy brought tears to my eyes.
I think Blessed David has something to say to us all. In a sense, all of the martyrs do. The more heroic and the more extraordinary their lives, the louder the message is. Equally, there are martyrs about whom we know precious little, and simply the fact of their martyrdom speaks volumes. In these days I think martyrdom is sometimes seen as “unfashionable”; we don’t want to think about people being “martyrs to something.” Perhaps that is just an indictment on the times we live in. Because of course we know that, in many parts of the world, men, women, and children still daily give their lives for the sake of Christ and the Holy Faith, refusing to abandon Christ, refusing to abandon the Truth, and paying the ultimate sacrifice for It. Who knows how many will be added to the list of the Saints and Blesseds of the Church in future generations?
Most of us lead peaceable lives, and are not threatened with death on a daily basis. But would we be able to make the same sacrifice, if it was called for? Would we be able to lay down our lives for the sake of Christ and the Holy Faith? And would we think that our fate was ‘sweet’ if we were to be invited - honoured - to do so? Yes, Faith of our Fathers, holy Faith, we will be true to thee ’til death! Faith of our Fathers, Mary’s prayers shall bring our country back to thee! And through the Truth that comes from God, England shall then indeed be free![12]
Let us pray earnestly for the intercession of Blessed David Gunson and of all his companion martyrs – Blessed Adrian Fortescue, the Venerable Thomas Dingley, and so many others that we remember – who lived and died in that extraordinary period of hatred and violence but also of great valour and courage. May we inherit something of their spirit; may we inherit something of their valour; and may we remain true to the engagement that we have made for the sake of Christ and for His Church. On the list of Knights kept in Malta, next to Blessed David’s name it simply says: “a good knight.” May we too merit that extraordinary epithet, that our lives – when they are over - may be thought “good,” that our sacrifice was a good one, a worthy one, an honourable one, for the sake of Christ, for the sake of the Truth, for the freedom and the rights and the honour of Holy Mother Church, and for the Faith which inspires us, and must inspire our children and our children’s children.
[1]Thomas Mildmay (1515-1566) was a Justice of the Peace for Essex from 1541 until his death, was appointed High Sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire for 1558–59, and was elected a Member of Parliament for the constituencies of Bodmin, Lostwithiel, and Helston variously. Interestingly for us, he was described as being “indifferent in religion.” He is buried alongside his wife Avis (Blessed David Gunson’s sister) in the parish of Chelmsford, and a memorial stands in the Anglican Cathedral depicting his children at prayer with him. (Source: History of Parliament online)
[2]Philippians 1:21
[3]Philippians 1:23-4
[4]Ibid. 1:27-30
[5]St Augustine, Sermon 276, 1-2
[6]Cf. Matthew 22:21, Luke 23:1-4, Romans 13:1-8, 1Peter 2:17.
[7]Cf. John 19:11
[8]Matthew 16:13-19
[9]Father F. W. Faber, Cong. Orat., Hymns, 1862.
[10]Augustine, Sermon 318, 1
[11]Cf. Romans 5:20
[12]Rev. F. W. Faber, op. cit.
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