A New Scots Saint In The Offing?
The parish priest of St Lucy’s in Cumbernauld is starting the new year with an awe-inspiring mission to perform – and he’s asking for help.
Father Joseph McAuley has been officially charged with the task of leading the latest – he hopes final – bid to have the Venerable Margaret Sinclair canonised.
She was a trade unionist and committed Catholic who tragically died of a tubercular illness at a very young age.
But her character, which many would describe as saintly, had a remarkable effect on those who knew her, and came to hear of her work.
Father McAuley said: “This woman lived her live as all of us should aspire to, and before long people were praying to her.
“Having become involved in her story I am struck by the effect she had, and by her importance as a real model for young people.”
Now Father McAuley, who has officially been appointed Archbishop’s Delegate for the cause of the Venerable Margaret Sinclair, is asking people across Cumbernauld and Kilsyth to help what has become virtually an international crusade to see Margaret recogniseds as a saint.
“Pope John II has said to us to ask our people to pray for a miracle,” he said, “and that is exactly what is required.
“It is the situation where somebody suffering from a terminal illness suddenly recovers for no reason that can be explained by normal means.”
Churches and parishioners across the area, for example St Patrick’s in Kilsyth, are already solidly behind the effort.
Born in 1900, Margaret surmounted many difficulties in her short but influential life, for example fighting desperate poverty, and was briefly a nun before dying in London in 1925.
Many cures have been reported over the years by people who have requested her intercession through Christ. Source
Comment
Perhaps the beatification and canonisation of the Venerable Margaret Sinclair, who lived and died before “The New Enlightenment” (Vatican II) will help in the restoration of the Faith in Scotland – what thinkest thou? And it would be interesting to read bloggers’ suggestions on how we might help Father McAuley move her Cause forward. Comments/ideas invited.
Comments (32)
I think a new Scots saint who lived and grew holy in the pre-Vatican II Church is just what Scotland needs right now. Bring it on!
It says in the article, “She was a trade unionist ” but I’ve never read that in any of the pamphlets I’ve read about Margaret Sinclair and I’ve read loads over the years. She worked in a factory and did so quietly and without making a display of her faith but her colleagues knew never to speak with vulgarity or use bad language in her hearing. I would like to know more about the claim that she was a trade unionist because my gut feeling when reading that was that this is how she would be hijacked by the justice and peace people and the whole thing about her sanctity get ignored. Saying she was a trade unionist makes a picture of someone who is belligerent and ready to fight for justice and I have never read anything that showed her in this light.
The phrase she was “fighting desperate poverty” also bothered me. I’ve never read anything about Ven Margaret Sinclair which made her out to be a campaigner of any kind.
Margaret was a member of a trade union when she worked as a French Polisher at the Waverley Cabinet Works. I read this in a biography written over 50 years ago so it is nothing new.
Vianney,
I am amazed at that – does that mean the pamphlets I read about her were painting her as a pious girl and not a fighter as she must have been to be a union leader? I’m feeling a bit disillusioned, I must confess.
I have just realised I may be misinterpreting – was she just a member of a trade union for protection or was she a union leader? I tend to think you need to be a bit belligerent to be a union leader.
MM,
You kidding me? I was a union leader for a while. You saying I’m not, er I mean, cannot become a saint? Belligerent? Me? A fighter? Moi? Gerrourahere!
I see others have gone into more detail about the legitimacy (necessity) of trade unionism, so I’ll leave it there.
Margaret, there are many folk out there who are prejudiced against anyone who has been involved in Trade Unions. I was a Union ‘Leader’ in my workplace for years but was in reality a reluctant defender of those who let their rights be walked over in legally binding agreements that were constantly undermined by management.
Read Leo XIII for the basis for honest Trade Unionism.
So many people have been brainwashed against collective bargaining and strength in numbers that the rich and powerful have reduced the population into believing that such monstrosities as ‘zero-hour contracts’ are efficient flexible working arrangements (rather than diabolical exploitation)
You should never associate trade unionists with Marxists or Communists, though many have been both: simply put, a Trade Union member is someone who wishes a professional organisation to promote their interests in the workplace, offering both legal protections and collective bargaining power.
Summa,
Great post – thanks for that. You are so correct about the brainwashing. It’s the posh thing to do these days, be “anti-union” and it is such an unthinking attitude.
Margaret Sinclair’s life is wonderful to read. I grew up learning about her and having her put before us at school as a role model, because of her humility and good Catholic example at work. I was fascinated by her, struck by her faith which caused her to break off her engagement and go to be a nun instead of marrying. Well seen she was a Catholic before Vatican II – since then it’s been the opposite way round! LOL!
I think I was a bit premature thinking she must be a belligerent type, as I know not all union members are like that. What I like the most about Margaret Sinclair is that she was an ordinary Catholic girl so I suppose being a member of her trade union should only add to that ordinariness.
It is only to be expected that modernist clergy and laity will try to distort the lives of those proposed for beatification/canonisation who died before Vatican II. Instead of highlighting what the Church would have always traditionally highlighted, they have to ‘re-package’ them in order to be acceptable to the revolution. I heard a complaint recently from an author who has written about the stigmatist Marthe Robin. He claimed that certain people were attempting to play down or hide supernatural events in her life.
You are correct about distortion Fly; This year is a big anniversary of the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie SJ, but according to Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, Ogilvie was not a martyr for the Catholic faith, but for “religious freedom”.
You can see how poor our modern clergy are, compared to Ogilvie. Here was a man prepared to go to his death for the truth faith; yet ++Tartaglia lacks the spine to clearly state this. Ogilvie would be disgusted.
Gabriel Syme,
This fashion of attributing politically correct motives to the martyrs drives me crazy. Just think – these clowns claim that St Thomas More went to his death for nothing more important than “freedom of conscience”. He was ready to go his death, leaving his wife and large family, merely to make a point about freedom of conscience, as if he couldn’t have done that in a letter to the king or a book.
I’d say we really do have some numpties ascending pulpits these days if we had any pulpits to ascend, but you’ll get my drift 😀
Jimmy Saville`s mother credited Margaret Sinclair`s intercession for his cure from a serious childhood illness.
Can you imagine the field day the SMSM would have had if she had been beatified on that event which was considered a miracle by Mrs Saville?
Frankier,
Phew!
What does SMSM meanplese?
Eileenanne
Scottish mainstream media
Frankier,
Thank you for that – I didn’t know what SMSM meant either so thanks for the explanation. I’ve only just caught up with LOL!
LOL!
Jimmy Saville’s recovery is recorded in the documents about Margaret’s cause kept at the Vatican Archives.
Vianney,
Who knows, perhaps in God’s infinite merciful plan, the Venerable Margaret has played some part in his salvation.
Frankier
And Phew again.
I`m wiping the sweat from my brow just thinking about it.
That`s me talking to myself again.
Of course, who knows, we may find out (when the time – i.e. eternity! – comes) that this was one of many graces bestowed on JS, with which he refused to co-operate.
We may also find out whether he is guilty of some of the crimes that have been attributed to him since his death,
Eileenanne,
There isn’t really any doubt that Saville was guilty of the crimes that he’s been accused of. The evidence is incontrovertible, according to the police. This discussion covers the main points – I found it convincing.
http://www.mediauk.com/radio/discussions/radio-chatter/news
Someone told me that after his mother died he was being interviewed for some newspaper and the reporter asked him if he believed he would see his mother again to which he replied “no.” The reporter asked “do you not believe in life after death” and he said he did. When asked that if that was the case why did he not believe he would see his mother again he replied “because my mother is in heaven and I’m going to hell.” He obviously knew that his sins would lead to damnation so why he failed to repent is a mystery. The devil must have had some hold on him.
Vianney,
Someone said on one of the TV reports about him that he finished his autobiography (or maybe it was a biography, I can’t be sure) by saying that he expected to end up in prison. I suppose we can hope that his conscience bothered him enough for him to repent in his heart.
MM,
Yes, let’s hope that he did, indeed, repent in his heart before his death. We should all desire the salvation of every soul.
I haven’t kept up to date with the cause of Margaret Sinclair so if there are any other alleged miracles, I’d love to hear of them.
I just googled just now and found this report about a possible miracle back in 2006 but not heard anything since about it.
http://acatholiclife.blogspot.co.uk/2006/07/miracle-attributed-to-venerable.html
Frankier,
That`s me talking to myself again.
Reminds me of a joke one of our former bloggers made on one of our jokes threads. I think it’s one of the funniest I’ve ever heard. A couple sitting out in the evening enjoying a glass of wine, when the husband suddenly says “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I always will love you. I just couldn’t live without you…” His wife looks suspiciously at him and asks: “Is that you talking or the wine talking? Husband replies: “It’s me… talking to the wine”!
Priceless!
Ed
My mother, God rest her, used to say that if you talk to yourself you can at least have a sensible conversation.
I also went Googling to see what I could learn about Margaret Sinclair, since I don’t really know much about her but the first sentence of this Scotsman report shows the nasty anti-Catholicism which is still part of Scottish life – to write about the jilted boyfriend of a city nun gives the impression she had a boyfriend while she was a nun. I can’t help thinking that was deliberately misleading.
http://www.scotsman.com/news/secret-evidence-of-nun-s-jilted-ex-to-go-public-1-962508
I think we can presume that everyone interviewed gave her a good press or the cause wouldn’t be proceeding. I can foresee problems ahead though if we end up with two Saint Margarets of Scotland!
Nicky,
I completely agree; to write about “the jilted boyfriend of a city nun” seems designed to give the wrong impression. Some editors are just not very good at the job, of course, so we can’t be sure that it was a deliberate attempt to mislead readers. Perhaps we should give him the benefit of the doubt – although there’s no doubt that he could use some clearly delivered lessons in the use of written English. If he’s reading this, consider this an offer… 😀
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