Heretic Bishops Defy the Pope and Push Forward With Apostasy

It's always the German Bishops.

26 Banned Medieval Preservation Methods That Scientists Now Say Were Genius

From Medieval Way

Medieval Way explores historical food regulations and safety practices from across Europe, examining how pre-scientific societies intuitively implemented preservation methods. By analyzing ancient trade laws and guild ordinances alongside modern microbiology, this investigation uncovers the practical logic behind centuries-old prohibitions on selling certain meat, fish, and drink products.

A Byzantine emperor once made blood sausage illegal. Leo the Sixth wrote the rule around the year nine hundred, and his reason had nothing to do with health. In his law, blood was not food, so blood went into no casing. Nobody at his court was thinking about germs. Nobody could. But in eighteen ninety-seven, a Belgian scientist named the germ that poisons people through badly kept meat, and he named it after a sausage. Botulus is Latin for sausage. Botulism is, quite literally, the sausage disease. The emperor had banned the right food for the wrong reason, nine centuries early. Today we go through twenty-six rules like his. Some banned a method because it failed, and the ban was the smart part. Some locked a method up to protect somebody's money. Each one has a date, a place, and a modern study. And one sausage rule leads to a poison a doctor wanted to turn into medicine.

Traditional Catholic Morning Prayers in English | November

Traditional Catholic morning prayers to lay a strong foundation for the rest of your day! The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. I hope these prayers increase your devotion to Our Lord and draw us closer to Him, Jesus Christ. Begin each day with morning prayer! This video is a compilation of many traditional evening prayers Catholics say, and should not be considered a replacement for those who have an obligation to pray the Divine Office morning prayers.

Exposing the Truth Behind the 2,000-Year-Old Jesus Manuscript

From Totus Catholica

A 2,000-year-old account of Jesus offers a new look at the historical crucifixion and the claims made by his earliest followers. Scholars are re-examining this ancient text to determine how much of the narrative reflects original language versus later Christian alterations. By analyzing these records alongside historical illustrations of Jerusalem's power structures, we can better understand the context of the trial and the concept of Jesus before Annas. This research bridges the gap between early Christian writings and secular historical records. We walk through the evidence to see what these specific documents reveal about the life of Christ and the reality of his execution, providing a clearer picture of the events that shaped the first century. Subscribe for source-grounded historical breakdowns, and tell me in the comments what you think of this 2,000 year old account. 0:00 A 2,000-Year-Old Historical Mystery 1:03 The Life and Times of Flavius Josephus 2:59 The Explosive Paragraph in Antiquities 4:33 Why Scholars Doubted the Passage 6:12 Following the Trail of Early Witnesses 7:32 Eusebius and the Full Christian Form 10:16 Forensic Linguistics and the Ancient Puzzle 13:02 The Hurdles of Manuscript Evidence 15:29 Connecting Josephus to Eyewitnesses 18:50 Interpreting the Resurrection Claims 22:13 The Execution of James the Brother of Jesus 25:58 Where Faith and History Meet

Bishops Rebuke Governor Who Cited Faith To Expand Abortion

Rebuked? What's the matter with the Bishops of Massachusetts? She should be excommunicated for her offence of supporting abortion and having the gall to invoke her Catholicism in support of her position.

From Aleteia

By Theresa Civantos Barber

When the governor of Massachusetts invoked her Catholic faith as a reason to expand abortion law, her state's bishops responded.

Maura Healey, governor of Massachusetts, has spoken publicly about her Catholic faith on several occasions. But when she invoked her faith as a reason for her controversial decision to enact immediately one of the most sweeping abortion laws in the U.S. — in the face of public opposition — the bishops of Massachusetts could not let that go without a response.

Aleteia previously reported that, on August 10, 2026, Governor Healey signed into law the Prioritizing Patient Access to Care Act, removing all restrictions on abortion access other than “the professional judgment of the physician.” Previously, abortion in the state was limited to specific exceptions after 24 weeks. 

The new abortion law is considered extreme even by pro-choice standards, and Massachusetts’ citizens fought it. More than 113,000 Massachusetts voters signed a petition that would suspend the abortion law until it could be put to a statewide vote in November 2028 — more than double the amount of signatures needed to suspend the bill. 

Yet on Friday, November 6, Healey filed an emergency preamble to the abortion bill. While the law was already set to take effect on November 8, her preamble will block any suspension attempt over the next two years.

In a Substack post published that same day, Healey cited her Catholic faith to justify that decision, writing:

I am Catholic, and my faith is an important part of who I am. It has shaped my understanding of service, responsibility and our obligation to care for others. My faith teaches me to meet people with compassion, respect their dignity, and approach suffering with humility.

I am also Governor for people of every faith and belief. My responsibility is to ensure that every family can make deeply personal medical decisions according to their own circumstances, values and the guidance of their doctors.

The following day, Massachusetts’ four bishops published a response to Healey’s statement. Archbishop Henning of Boston, Bishop McManus of Worcester, Bishop da Cunha of Fall River, and Bishop Byrne of Springfield signed their names to a message that quoted Pope Leo XIV, who on his trip to Uruguay told its president, public officials and diplomats, “the unborn already belong to the human family.”

Their response read in part:

[Pope Leo's] words equally apply to Massachusetts. Having read the Governor’s editorial defending her decision to override the results of the Repeal188 efforts, we respectfully and passionately disagree that abortion, the taking of human life, may be considered health care. We also disagree that there is an emergency requiring the further expansion of the existing and already radically permissive law.

We call upon the legislators who crafted and passed this bill, and all men and women of good will, to reconsider the troubling state of our culture and its utilitarian and merciless approach to the elderly, the sick, the vulnerable, and the unborn. As Pope Leo put it: “The right to life is the indispensable foundation of every other human right.”

We are grateful to the coalition partners and volunteers who worked against time and many other obstacles in the Repeal188 effort, and we are grateful to the many voters who participated and raised their voices in the defense of the dignity of every person, no matter how small.

We continue to ask the Catholic communities in this state to promote life and to assist and accompany expectant mothers and fathers in distress or in crisis. We long to see a culture where both mother and child receive the best medical care and the loving support of the family and the community. We long to see the Lord’s own command “Choose life!” embraced and lived (cf. Deut. 30:19-20).

Our work continues as we heed the call of the Gospel to defend life at all stages. We pray for our Governor and legislators that the Lord may inspire wise and compassionate leadership. We call upon all to support families, especially those in crisis, and to build a culture that supports and loves every member of the human family.

Myrna Maloney Flynn, president of Massachusetts Citizens for Life, also issued the following statement in response to the governor’s decision:

Governor Healey's preamble reflects an utter disregard for the men and women she was elected to represent. In a matter of a few weeks, more than 113,000 of her constituents went out of their way to oppose a highly controversial, deeply consequential, law that blindsided legislators and voters alike. Healey ignored their questions and concerns ...

Despite Healey’s actions, the new abortion law is on track to go before the state’s voters in November 2028. 

Archdiocese of Portland Cracks Down on the Orans Posture for Laity

From AdVaticanum

When the congregation prays the Our Father, half the church raises their hands in the ancient orans posture…while the other half stays folded in quiet reverence. But after a recent, blunt post from the Archdiocese of Portland declaring the gesture "not rubrically appropriate" for the laity, a long-standing liturgical debate has erupted back into the spotlight.

The Call to Become Co-Redeemers: The Real Issue Behind the Co-Redemptrix

I "rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church: ..." St Paul in 1 Colossians 1:4.

From Crisis

By R. Jared Staudt, PhD

Mary’s unique cooperation in salvation is paradigmatic for every believer. The real issue behind Co-Redemptrix is whether we will answer the call to become co-redeemers with Christ.

A year ago, “Mater Populi Fidelis,” produced under the direction of Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández at the DDF, sought to put an end to the controversy of the Marian title, “Co-Redemptrix,” by calling it “inappropriate.” Last December, however, the International Marian Association issued a 23-page response to the document, asking for clarification and even modification of its assertions. More recently, Cardinal Raymond Burke spoke on October 7 at an international Marian conference in Rome, De Maria numquam satis, on the topic, “Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Reign of Christ the King: The Mission of Co-Redemptrix and of Co-Redeemers.” He is also scheduled to deliver an online lecture on December 2 for the Institute of Catholic Culture, titled “Mary’s Maternal Mission: Our Lady of Guadalupe as Co-Redemptrix.” The debate doesn’t seem to be fading away.

This is how the DDF document itself, issued with Pope Leo’s approval, explains its position on the title of Co-Redemptrix:

Given the necessity of explaining Mary’s subordinate role to Christ in the work of Redemption, it is always inappropriate to use the title “Co-redemptrix” to define Mary’s cooperation. This title risks obscuring Christ’s unique salvific mediation and can therefore create confusion and an imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith, for “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

I think that there is much more at stake than a controversial Marian title. This is why I was happy to see Cardinal Burke extend the discussion to “co-redeemers” (which the DDF document also criticizes, citing Pope Francis), because Mary’s unique cooperation in the work of salvation is paradigmatic for the cooperation of all believers. Here is Burke’s claim: “The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, participated in an altogether unique way in the Mystery of Faith, the Mystery of the Redemptive Incarnation, and is rightly called Co-Redemptrix. So, too, to the degree that we unite our hearts, one with her Immaculate Heart, to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we participate in the saving mission of Christ. We can rightly be called co-redeemers.” I’d like to reflect on this extension to co-redeemers more than on the Marian title itself.

The real problem, in my opinion, is not that Mary’s role in Christ’s work of redemption might be misunderstood but that redemption is already misunderstood, and this is why the place of any cooperation seems objectionable to many, especially Protestants. Cardinal Fernández pointed to the classic text used to object to the title “Co-Redemptrix” within his doctrinal note from Acts 4, noting that salvation is from no one else and no name other than Jesus Christ. To place someone alongside Christ as a seeming source of redemption would be to obscure the clear theological fact that Christ alone is redeemer.

All fine and good, but we must also understand how Christ relates to his Church. When pressed on the point, St. Joan of Arc responded to her judges: “About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they’re just one thing, and we shouldn’t complicate the matter.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes this statement in paragraph 795 in explaining how “Christ and his Church thus together make up the ‘whole Christ’ (Christus totus). The Church is one with Christ.” It also cites Aquinas, “Head and members form as it were one and the same mystical person” (STh III, 48, 2).

The connection of the mystical identity of Christ and the Church to the title of Co-Redemptrix may not yet be clear, but let’s ponder the objection a little further. Protestant theology often fears that Catholics seek to take things away from God and Christ by ascribing them to the saints. Does honor belong only to God, who alone is sovereign, and who alone answers prayers, or does God work through many mediators? Even considering the second option seems to contradict the theological truth of Christ as the sole mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), which is akin to the doctrine of the sole redeemer. When we think of the close mystical association of Christ and his own Body, however, the difficulty begins to dissolve.

When we read the Gospels carefully, we see that there is literally nothing that Christ seeks to keep for himself apart from his Bride, the Church, to whom he gives his all. He offers her his Body and Blood, he pours out his Spirit upon her, and even his utterly unique relationship with the Father as the only Begotten is shared in the gift of adoption. The way in which he saves and redeems us is to draw us to himself so that there is no longer a stark separation between us, but we become one flesh and Spirit with him.

Let’s think, therefore, about the whole language of “co” affixed to particular titles. The one place you can find this explicitly in New Testament translations is Romans 8:15-17:

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of sonship. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs [or fellow or joint heirs] with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

There is a lot to be taken out of these three dense verses. The Spirit of God does not belong properly to human beings. He must be received, and, when received, he imparts a spirit of sonship. There is a general sense in which God’s creatures could be considered his children, but Paul is speaking of an adoption that enables us to share in what belongs most particularly to Christ—his divine sonship, which draws us into the inner life of God. Yet, when we become sons in the Son, mystically embracing Jesus’s identity, we must also embrace his mission. This mission is not just to teach, sharing the message he gave us, but to enter into the very work of redemption, to suffer with him so that we may also receive his same glorification.

Being a co-heir, therefore, also means being co-crucified with Christ. St. Paul makes this clear to the Galatians: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (2:20). To be “crucified with” is the linguistic equivalent of being co-crucified, a reality Jesus makes abundantly clear in the Gospels. “And he said to all, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’” (Luke 9:23). Now “following after” might seem to imply a simple imitation. Jesus suffers on the Cross and I too must take up my separate cross every day. But Jesus reveals that his Cross is actually a yoke, which needs to be taken up in tandem: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29). This is why Jesus desired Simon of Cyrene to assist him (which need not have happened), because he wanted to reveal the Cross as something that required our cooperation.

St. Paul continues to unpack the layers of our cooperation in the work of redemption. We receive the Spirit of adoption, we suffer with Christ in his crucifixion, and this cooperation is redemptive for others. In Colossians 1, he explains:

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the divine office which was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now made manifest to his saints (24-26).

The Mystical Body, conformed to Christ in Baptism, still needs a further conformity as the work of redemption is brought to bear in its life through the cooperation of her ministers and holy ones. The sacraments come to us through the ministry of priests, and the prayers and sacrifices of all the faithful are efficacious to draw us into Christ’s redemption. It’s completely obvious in the New Testament that the one redemption of Christ would need the cooperation of apostles, ministers, and teachers, etc. to spread into the world. Paul literally calls himself a mother in labor in relation to the Galatians, “My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!” (Galatians 4:19). In 2 Corinthians 11, he offers a litany of what these labor pains entailed in guiding the nascent churches. He suffered for them in Christ so that through his ministry they might come to accept the Gospel and allow it to bear fruit in their lives.

The entire point here is that we gain nothing by separating our identity and actions from the work of Christ the sole redeemer, who invites us all to become co-redeemers. This is even God’s logic first in the work of creation. He made us as rational beings who intentionally share in his creative work in bringing forth human life (CCC 372) and in shaping the natural world creatively, which has been described by Pope St. John Paul II as acting as co-creators with God. On a supernatural level, the saints have been drawn in more and more into his redemptive work. Not that they add to it or stand alongside it; rather, they enter into it, participate in it, cooperate with it. This mysteriously becomes a means of spreading the one redemption throughout time and space. This is the same logic as the celebration of the Mass, which does not add to the one sacrifice but makes it present in our lives so that we may share in its grace.

All Christian doctrine is mysterious, and therefore, difficult to understand. In putting forward the title Co-Redemptrix, it is true that it can easily be misconstrued as positing the role of Mary as one that stands alongside rather than within the role of Christ as the only Redeemer. This difficulty, however, is truly an opportunity to correct a much deeper misunderstanding on the necessity for all the faithful to cooperate in Christ’s work of redemption by being co-crucified with Christ. The harder the doctrine, such as the Eucharist itself, the more we can witness to the faith through the power of the Spirit, who moves minds and hearts through his truth.

Note: If you would like to hear Cardinal Burke explain the proper understanding of Mary’s title of “Co-Redemptrix,” the Institute of Catholic Culture will be hosting a free, online lecture on December 2 at 8 p.m. ET, entitled “Mary’s Maternal Mission: Our Lady of Guadalupe as Co-Redemptrix.”

St Martin I, Pope & Martyr

Today's Holy Mass from SSPX ANZ-District. You may follow the Mass at Divinum Officium.

St Martin I, Pope and Martyr ~ Dom Prosper Guéranger

St Martin I, Pope & Martyr

From Dom Prosper Guéranger's Liturgical Year:

While the concourse of pilgrims to the sepulcher of the Bishop of Tours induced his third successor Perpetuus to raise over his precious remains the basilicas, in which so many prodigies were to be wrought all through the Middle Ages, Rome herself was dedicating to St. Martin one of her noblest churches, uniting with him as joint titular her own illustrious Pontiff and Confessor Sylvester. Adorned with this twofold glory, St. Martin-on-the-hill worthily inaugurated in the eternal City the cultus of Confessors side by side with that of the Martyrs. But another honor awaited the venerable sanctuary. Beside the wonder-working apostle and the pontiff of peace, both vanquishers of idolatry, who had escaped the sword only through the conversion of the persecutors, the last of the martyr-popes, also Martin by name, came to seek a resting place, long after the pagan persecutions had ceased. “Martin I,” says Baronius, “fared better than any of his predecessors since the time of Constantine. Found worthy to suffer more than all of them for the Name of Jesus Christ, he had the good fortune to find a Decius and a Diocletian in a baptized prince.” (Baron, ad Ann 651)

The emperor thus stigmatized by the great annalist was Constans II. From his grandfather Heraclius, who at least had given the world a few years of glory, he inherited nothing but the Byzantine pretension of imposing his dogmatic edicts upon the Church. Like the Ecthesis of Heraclius, the Type of Constans aimed at silencing the Catholics in their struggle with the Monothelites. St. Leo II, on the 28th of June, has already initiated us into these contests concerning the integrity of the two natures, divine and human, in the Man-God. Could the Church, without protesting, allow it to be said that her Spouse had taken from Adam a mere appearance of humanity, a half-formed nature without a will, such as the new sectaries imagined?

More clear-sighted than Honorius, Martin I understood the danger, and knew how to repair the past while securing the future. Scarcely had he ascended the apostolic throne when he gathered, in the Church of our Savior, one of the most beautiful assemblies ever held there. “Sound the trumpet, cry out upon the mountain; soldiers of God, awake!” (Conclusion of the Opening Discourse) Thus from its very opening did the Lateran Council of 649 repair the fatal silence and avenge the Church’s honor. On reading its splendid and ample definitions, which present to the world the Son of the Virgin Mother in all his adorable integrity, we are reminded of the solemn declaration in the pretorium on the great Friday: “Behold the Man!” only that this time it was proclaimed in triumph and by those who loved him. Truly, O God our Savior, thou art the most complete, the most perfect, the most beautiful of the sons of men.

What a solace to the mind, to see the imperial lucubrations returned, with the qualification of wicked and impious (Impissimam ecthesim, scelerosum typum, Canon XVIII), to the Byzantine Caesar, who held the defenseless Pontiff at his mercy in still dependent Rome! Martin I, like St. Paul, could take the Church of God to witness (Epist. Encyclia promulgationis concili, 1178) that he had not neglected his duty of enlightening the flock; he could remind the pastors of the price at which Christ had purchased the sheep committed to their care: he himself was ready for everything. His martyrdom was to secure the final triumph, of which the sixth general Council and St. Leo II were destined to gather the fruits.

The Greeks celebrate on the 13th of April the feast of this glorious Pope, whom they call a “corypheus of divine dogmas, the honor of Peter’s See, the pontiff who maintained the Church unshaken on the divine Rock.” (Manaea. 13 Aprilla)

Rome gives the following brief notice of him in her Liturgy.

Martin was born at Todi in Umbria. Upon ascending the pontifical throne, he strove by letters and embassies to recall Paul, Patriarch of Constantinople from his wicked heresy to the true Catholic faith. But, supported by the heretical emperor Constans, Paul was so carried away as to exile the legates of the Apostolic See to various islands. The Pope, indignant at this outrage, summoned a council of one hundred and five bishops at Rome, in which he condemned Paul.

Upon this Constans sent the exarch Olympius into Italy, with orders either to kill Pope Martin or else to bring him to the emperor. Olympius, on reaching Rome, charged a lictor to assassinate the Pope as he was celebrating Mass in St. Mary’s at the Crib. But the man, attempting to do so, was suddenly struck blind.

From that time many calamities befell the emperor Constans, which however made him no better; and he sent Theodore Calliopus to Rome to seize the Pope. By his deceitful dealing Martin was arrested and led prisoner to Constantinople. Thence he was banished into the Chersonesus; where, on the eve of the Ides of November, he died worn out by his sufferings for the Catholic faith, and not without the glory of miracles. His body was afterwards translated to Rome, and placed in the church dedicated to Saints Sylvester and Martin. He governed the church six years, one month, and twenty-six days. He held two ordinations in the month of December, and ordained eleven priests, five deacons, and thirty-three bishops for diverse places.

If it is just that the human race should honor its members in proportion as it has been honored by them, thou, O holy Pontiff, deservest a glorious memory. For not only were thy wonderful virtues such as cause the very powers of heaven to admire our earth, but thou didst likewise compel Satan to humble himself before our human nature. Deified entirely in the Person of God the Son, it is through thee that it was fully recognized as such, in spite of contradictions, in spite of the powerful ones of this world leaguing with the spirits of wickedness to overcloud this incomparable nobility of the sons of Adam.

How comes it that man is ever ready to join hands with Satan for his own destruction? But Lucifer himself was at first his own only enemy; and surely his folly is more difficult to explain than that of the frail creature he strives to draw after him along the path of pride, which led him to perdition. It is pride that made him the prince of folly and the father of lies. His intellect, through the loftiest in heaven, was not proof against self-love, which induced him to take complacency in his created nothingness, to detain the truth of God in injustice, (Romans 1:18) and to prefer darkness to the light. Thus it is that man, following Satan’s example and dishonoring God to exalt themselves, become vain in their thoughts, (Romans 1:21) till such a darkness comes over their mind and heart and senses, as strikes with astonishment the soul that remains simple and upright in its humility.

Protect us then, O holy Pontiff! keep up in us the understanding of God’s gift. May we never deserve the reproach of the Psalmist: Man when he was in honor, did not understand; he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them. (Psalms 48:13) May eternal Wisdom, to whose alliance we are called, never have the grief of seeing us prefer death. At the same time, teach us that, for the honor of God, as well as of man, the integrity of Our Lord’s Incarnation does not require the authentication of politicians, nor the approbation of the would-be wise; for it is of this mystery the Apostle says that we must believe it with the heart in order to become just, and confess it with the mouth in order to be saved. (Romans 10:10) Spare the Church the sorrow of ever again finding herself in such a situation as that from which thy heroic martyrdom was alone able to deliver her.

Pope St Martin I & the Dogma of Mary’s Perpetual Virginity | On Faith and Truth

A sermon for today. Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the Priest.

St Lebwin, Patron of Daventer: Butler's Lives of the Saints

St Martin, Pope & Martyr: Butler's Lives of the Saints

St Lebwin, Patron of Daventer

From Fr Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints:

THIS saint was by birth an English Saxon, and in his own language was called Liafwin. From his infancy he was a child of grace, a lover of retirement, an enemy to the pleasures of the world, and much given to prayer, watching, the mortification of the senses, and to all works of mercy. By praying fervently for the divine wisdom he deserved to be abundantly replenished with it. And having once been at the expense of laying the foundation of solid virtue, which always costs dear to flesh and blood, in the destruction of the old man, he saw the spiritual edifice rise in his heart with joy; yet always labored to perfect it with fear and trembling. He was amiable and venerable to all, and something divine seemed to shine in his countenance. Being promoted to priest’s orders, that he might employ his talent for the salvation of souls, he went over into Lower Germany, where several apostolic missionaries were employed in planting the gospel. He addressed himself to St. Gregory, whom St. Boniface had appointed his vicar at Utrecht, for the administration of that diocese. This holy man received him with great joy, and sent him with Marcellin, or Marchlem, who had been from his childhood a disciple of St. Willibrord, to carry the light of the gospel into the country which is now called Over-Yssel. St. Lebwin was received as an angel from heaven by a lady named Abachilde, and many being converted, the man of God built a chapel on the west bank of the river at Hiulpe, now called Wulpe, about a league from Daventer, about the year 772. But many shut their ears to the truth, from whom the sain had much to suffer; but he seemed to gather greater courage from persecutions, and feared no danger in so great a cause. The Saxons who inhabited the neighboring country, held a yearly assembly at Marklo, upon the river Weser, to deliberate on the public affairs of their nation. They were divided into three ranks or classes; the Edlinges or noblemen, the Frilinges or yeomen, and the servile tribe. Out of every rank twelve men were chosen from each village to meet at this great council. St. Lebwin repaired thither, and, clothed in his priestly ornaments, entered the assembly, holding a cross before his breast in his right hand, and having a book of the gospels under his other arm. While the multitude were intent upon their superstitious sacrifices, with a countenance full of dignity and majesty, he cried out to them with a loud voice, saying: “Hear me, all of you. Listen to me, or rather to God who speaks to you by my mouth. Know that the Lord, the Maker of the heavens, the earth, and all things, is one only true God.” He went on affirming that he came an ambassador from God, to make him known to them, foretelling that if they refused to hear his voice, they should be speedily destroyed by a prince, whom God in his indignation would raise up against them. While he spoke, many of the Saxons ran to the hedges, plucked up stakes and sharpened them in order to murder him; but the saint, protected by God, passed through the midst of them, and escaped. Then an honorable person among them stood up, and said, they had often received with humanity and respect ambassadors from men; much more ought they to honor an ambassador from God, who will punish an affront offered to him. Whereupon, it was agreed that the messenger of God should be permitted to travel and preach where he pleased; of which liberty he made good use. But afterwards, when the Saxons waged war against Charlemagne, they persecuted the Christians; and a troop, making an inroad as far as Daventer, burned the church which our saint had erected there. After their departure he rebuilt it, and, being denied the more compendious sacrifice of himself, finished his martyrdom by labors and austerities before the close of the eighth century, and was buried in his church at Daventer, where his relics have been famous for miracles. Bertulf, the twentieth bishop of Utrecht, founded there a collegiate church of canons, of which St. Lebwin is titular saint. See his life authentically written by Hucbald, monk of Elnon or St. Amand’s, in the reign of Charles the Bald, also St. Radbod’s, bishop of Utrecht, Eclogue in his praise, and Altfrid in the life of St. Ludger; Pagi, Crit., t. 3, p. 336; Mabill. Annal. Ben., t. 2, and Batavia Sacra, p. 93.