Feast of St. Edmund Campion

“I am a Catholic man and a priest. In that faith have I lived and in that faith do I intend to die, and if you esteem my religion treason, then I am guilty. As for any other treason, I never committed. I stand condemned for nothing but the saying of Mass, hearing confessions, preaching and such like duties and functions of priesthood.” 

These were the words uttered by St. Edmund Campion just before he was hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn on this day in 1581. The charge that the state laid against him was treason; he was held up as a threat to the security of the nation. Of course, he was no such thing. For his Catholic faith, however, the Elizabethan government made him a martyr.

The facts of St. Edmund Campion’s life and death are etched in my memory. Every year on his feast, the Jesuit School that I attended would place the ropes that hanged him on the altar. Needless to say, looking up at the piece of old rope made a powerful impression on me. And each time I competed at in-house sports competitions at school and represented ‘Campion line’, I was subtly reminded of the blood shed for the faith. The witness of the martyrs such as Campion move us to contemplate our own commitments. Would we make the ultimate sacrifice for Christ as he made for us?

During Advent, as we prepare for Christ’s coming, reflection on the life of St. Edmund Campion is a fitting way to prepare for Christ’s entry into our world by considering what follows. Christ’s entry into the world at Christmas was marked by humility, and the unparalleled horror of His exit, faintly followed by Campion, was stained in blood. But we know that in His return Christ blazed in glory, and it is that glory in all its fullness that St. Edmund Campion now gazes upon as his reward. Let it be ours also.