Our Modern Day Take on the Saints of the Reformation
“Saints and Scholars” is an annual production put on by our homeschool co-op, and was held at the school across from our church last Saturday.
Finding an appropriate costume and writing my kids’ speeches is always well worth the effort, and yet I always—ALWAYS—hesitate before signing the kids up, because one, I am not a seamstress and two, I am not a writer.
Um…
Okay, so I am a writer but I’m a busy writer, okay?
So I had Big Sister Cate write Felicity’s talk and and you know what? She did great. They did great! A sister-sister team, you know? That’s synergy.
Felicity even came up with her own costume, which was not exactly true to the period but was (in this doting momma’s opinion), still quite pretty, regardless.
Can you guess who she is? Probably not.
She is Margaret More, daughter of St. Thomas More, because all the girl saints were taken by the time this momma had stopped dragging her feet.
And anyway, St. Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers and we figure he’s a good one to have on our side.
Angela talked about St. Nicholas Owen because, like I said, all the girl saints were taken! Plus that way we got to include our 4-year-old, George.
St. Nicholas Owen was really short, so that part was appropriate.
I’m also told that he really liked brownies, especially ones made by homeschooling moms.
Do you know the story of St. Nicholas Owen? I hadn’t heard of him before we chose him, but boy, he’s also a good one to have on your side. He was a carpenter from Oxford, England, who became a Jesuit lay brother. During the fierce Catholic persecution of the 16th Century, he built hundreds of hiding places (known as “priest holes”) throughout the country. When he was finally caught and arrested, having surrendered himself because two priests were hiding nearby, a local official said, “We’ve caught a good one.”
He was put in the Tower of London, brutally tortured and killed. Pretty harsh, right? And yet, that’s the way that Catholics were treated…and that’s the main reason I wanted my kids in this year’s show. Yes, they have to memorize their lines and give a speech on stage, and those are valuable skills for a kid to learn.
Most important of all, though, is meeting the courageous heroes who died for our faith. Frankly, I don’t think we’re that far from real persecution, and while there’s a cuteness factor in seeing these pint-sized saints…
We might one day need to really be them.
I luv seeing pint sized peoples in overalls 😀 Have u watched the move "A Man for all seasons" with your kids? I myself did not see this movie until a couple of years ago and it peaked my interested in the reformation.
What a fun way to celebrate the Saints, and I love the adorable St. Nicholas Owen and how you got creative so that your daughter could still participate!
What a great program you get to be involved in!! Love the creative ideas you had!
Never heard of ST Nicholas Owen, I'll have to tell my Nicholas!
What a wonderful program! I'm so glad your family was able to participate. You know you would have hated it if they had missed out.
Looks like your kids did a great job! And yes, what an opportunity for them to learn on so many levels. I had never heard of St. Nicholas Owen, in spite of my kids going through a bit of an English martyrs kick. My kids always talk of getting a priest hole, and as I'm the daughter of a carpenter, methinks I should learn more about him. My kids enjoyed The Autobiography of a Hunted Priest, Tyborne, and Come Rack, Come Rope along with the Vision one on St. Edmund Campion.
And your last line is so true!
"We might need to be them." You're the second momma of many to say that recently. I have a good friend who also has seven kiddos and believes that we are training our kids up to possibly be martyrs for the faith in the very real future. Great job on the costumes btw Margaret. Always love seeing how your kids are growing, growing, growing.
It was wonderful! I'm so happy we participated and I learned so much! Margaret More was fantastic! That mike! Hope they fix it next year. =)
That is wonderful!