Letter from the Pastor
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July 18, 2021This Tuesday is the feast day of our Patroness, St. Margret of Antioch. The practice of adopting patron saints dates back to the building of the first public churches in the Roman Empire, most of which were built over the graves of martyrs. The churches were then given the name of the martyr, and the martyr was expected to act as an intercessor for the Christians who worshiped there. Churches are largely dedicated to a patron.
Patron saints are not only advocates for churches, but also they can be the heavenly protector of a nation, profession, class, occupation, family, or a person. This is the reason why a Saint’s name is chosen for a child at their baptism. In the early Church, the Roman or pagan names were changed to a saint’s name, reflecting the name change of Sts. Peter and Paul.
As you may know, when the Catholics gathered together here in Pearl River, first in a private house on Ridge Street (now a vacant lot) in 1893. Then a small chapel was built on South Main Street in 1895 under the patronage of St. Agnes (that is the reason that St. Agnes is depicted in the round Rose Window in the choir loft). Then our first Church was built in 1900, the name was changed to St. Margaret of Antioch. The name Margaret means, “pearl of great beauty.” Someone in the Chancery Office had a nice sense of the meaning of names, humor and history. So who was Saint Margaret of Antioch?
She was a young Virgin-Martyr of the Early Church; she was martyred during the persecutions of Emperor Diocletian (AD 303-305). The fact that she existed, the fact that she was martyred is most probably true, the rest is pious legend and embellishment from the medieval times. Many of the stories were already discounted by Pope Gelasius in AD 496.
She was the daughter of a pagan priest at Antioch in Pisidia. In the East, she is known as St. Marina. Her mother died at her childbirth, or soon thereafter and was raised by a Christian nurse. She was converted to Christianity, whereupon her father disowned her and drove her out of the household. She became a shepherdess and herder. One day as she was tending the herds, a Roman prefect named Olybrius saw her and became infatuated with her beauty. He made advances to her and she declined, she said she was married to Christ, and wanted to remain a virgin. Not taking ‘no’ for an answer, he charged her with being a Christian. He had her tortured and then imprisoned, and while she was in prison she had an encounter with the devil in the form of a dragon.
According to the legend, the dragon swallowed her, but the cross she carried in her hand so irritated his throat that he was forced to disgorge her. The next day, attempts were made to execute her by fire and then by drowning, but she was miraculously saved and converted thousands of spectators witnessing her ordeal-all of whom were promptly executed. Finally, she was beheaded. She is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and St. Joan of Arc heard her voice in a religious vision. One of the reasons St. Joan of Arc is depicted in one of our windows.
Saint Margaret became the patroness of childbirth because of the bursting forth unharmed from the belly of the dragon. That story was deemed in late Medieval Western Europe to be analogous to the pains and perils of childbirth. Furthermore, before her death, Margaret intercedes for her executioner and encourages devotees to call upon her in various needs, promising to be especially attentive to the needs of pregnant women. These promises largely account for her widespread popularity. It became common practice to place the story of St. Margaret on the stomach of a woman as she was delivering her child, to protect the mother and child.St. Margaret, Protect our parish, and all our parishioners, past and present,
renew us and our families in the beauty of faith and the worship of our God.
