Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.
Celebrating Our Patroness
by Ruth Pera, Faith Formation Coordinator
Happy Feast, parish family! Celebrating the feast of our patroness each year always fills my heart with pride and gratitude for the parish we have. And when I use the word parish here, I mean it in the way we say Church: a word which refers to the institution but more importantly, the people who comprise it. I am endlessly grateful for you.
In preparation for St. Margaret’s feast day this year, I wanted to take some time to learn more about her. During the time my family has been parishioners at St. Margarets, I have learned about St. Margaret’s gracious and pious nature, and her faithfulness that was expressed regularly in personal prayer but also through works of mercy throughout her kingdom. Stories are told of how she never sat to eat without first serving orphans and others who were without food. It is said that she would often – even daily, during Advent and Lent – wash the feet of her poorer subjects. She was an educated woman who read the Bible often and supervised the education of her eight children, including the two girls among them. Also notable about her life was the reverence shown to her by her husband, King Malcolm. Though he was known as a rough, uncouth man (who was quite a bit older than her), he often attended Mass with her and allowed her to use the wealth of the family to tend to their subjects. He involved Margaret in matters of the state, consulting her often. This, to me, is uncharacteristic of a marriage or royalty in the 1000s and speaks to the holiness that abided in their home.
While reading about St. Margaret this year, though, I learned some new things about her:
- St. Margaret is remembered not just for personal piety, but also for her leadership in the work of reforming the Church in Scotland. At that time, the practices of the Celtic Catholic Church were not in step with the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Margaret, having been raised in Hungary, was closer to the practices of the Roman Church, and actually participated in Church councils, encouraging the local Church to reform their practices closer to those of Rome.
- One of St. Margaret’s reforms included encouraging clergy to recognize that receiving the Eucharist is central to the lives of all Christians. In dramatic fashion, the biography of St. Margaret (written by her confessor) describes Margaret as confronting priests who felt themselves unworthy to receive the Eucharist at times:
“What!’ said the queen, ‘Shall all who are sinners not taste that holy mystery? No one therefore ought to receive it, for there is not one who is not stained with sin; not even the infant whose life is but one day on earth. And if no one ought to receive it, why did the Lord when he proclaimed the Gospel say, except ye shall eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his blood, ye shall not have life in you.’ ” (from Life of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland by Turgot of Durham)
I love this vision of St. Margaret: a member of the Catholic Church she loved so much, working to bring it closer to the full vision of Christ’s kingdom here on earth, all the while ruling as a servant leader to her community. It fits so well with the mission of our parish, and the community I know us to be. As we celebrate another year of life and faith under her patronage, may the strength and generosity of St. Margaret fill our hearts, families, and ministries. ✠ St. Margaret of Scotland, pray for us. ✠