Today is the Feast of St. Benedict, and it is also the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Irish Saint Oliver Plunkett. He was the last of the great Catholic martyrs to be killed by the Protestants at Tyburn where so many Catholics died for the Holy Faith, dying upon the terrible Tyburn Tree, as it was called.So many horrors happened upon the Triple Gallows at this site ... one cannot help but wonder if one could be so brave and die such a heroic albeit savage martyrdom.
Be sure to visit the Tyburn Convent website for more information on the Catholic Martyrs in England.
Thinking of St. Oliver Plunkett puts me in mind of the Preamble to the Irish Constitution:
In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,
We, the people of Éire,
Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial, Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation, and seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations,Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.
Laus Deo.+
