“The Scottish Church, then, when Malcolm wedded the saintly English Margaret, was Celtic, and presented peculiarities odious to an English lady, strongly attached to the Establishment as she knew it at home....

“They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a sabbatical manner.... These things Margaret abolished.” — “A History of Scotland from the Roman Occupation,” Vol. I, p. 96. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1900.FAFA 141.4

The Catholic historian, Bellesheim, says of Margaret..FAFA 141.5

“The queen further protested against the prevailing abuse of Sunday desecration. ‘Let us,’ she said, ‘venerate the Lord’s day, inasmuch as upon it our Saviour rose from the dead: let us do no servile work on that day.’ The Scots in this matter had no doubt kept up the traditional practice of the ancient monastic Church of Ireland which observed Saturday, rather than Sunday, as a day of rest.” — “History of the Catholic Church in Scotland,” Vol. I, pp. 249, 250.

Finally the queen, the king, and three Roman Catholic dignitaries held a three-day council with the leaders of the Celtic church. Turgot, the queen’s confessor, says:FAFA 141.6

It was another custom of theirs to neglect the reverence due to the Lord’s day, by devoting themselves to every kind of worldly business upon it, just as they did upon other days. That this was contrary to the law, she proved to them as well by reason as by authority. ‘Let us venerate the Lord’s day,’ said she, ‘because of the resurrection of our Lord, which happened upon that day, and let us no longer do servile works upon it; bearing in mind that upon this day we were redeemed from the slavery of the devil. The blessed Pope Gregory affirms the same, saying: “We must cease from earthly labour upon the Lord’s day.` ... From that time forward ... no one dared on these days either to carry any burdens himself or to compel another to do so. “Life of Queen Margaret” Turgot, Section 20; cited in “Source Book,” p. 506, ed. 1922.

Thus Rome triumphed at last in Scotland. In Ireland also the Sabbath-keeping church established by Patrick was not long left in peace:FAFA 142.1

“Giraldus Cambrensis informs us that in the year 1155 [Henry II, King of England, was entrusted by Pope Adrian IV with the mission of] invading Ireland [with devastating war] to extend the boundaries of the church, [so that even the Irish would become] faithful to the Church of Rome.” The pope wrote Henry:FAFA 142.2

“‘You, our beloved son in Christ, have signified to us your desire of invading Ireland.... and that you are also willing to pay to St. Peter the annual sum of one penny for every house. We therefore grant a willing assent to your petition, and that the boundaries of the Church may be extended, ... permit you to enter the island.”’ - “Ecclesiastical Records of England, Ireland, and Scotland,” Rev. Richard Hart, B. A., pp. xv, xvi.FAFA 142.3

Thus we see, that in Scotland an English queen “introduced changes which, in Ireland, came in the wake of conquest and the sword. For example, the ecclesiastical novelties which St. Margaret’s influence gently thrust upon Scotland, were accepted in Ireland by the Synod of Cashel (1172) under Henry Il. Yet there remained, in the Irish Church, a Celtic and an Anglo-Norman party, ‘which hated one another with a perfect a hatred as if they rejoiced in the designation of Protestant and Papist.’- “History of Scotland,” Andrew Lang, Vol. I, p. 97.FAFA 142.4

But whether this triumph of Catholicism over the native Celtic faith was accomplished by the devastating wars of Henry II, or by Queen Margaret’s appeal to Pope Gregory, and her threat of the civil law, in either case it lacked an appeal to plain Bible facts, accompanied by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. And, while the leaders of the Celtic church might reluctantly yield to the civil authorities, the people, who had kept the Bible Sabbath for centuries, requested divine authority for Sunday-keeping. For some time the papal missionaries, who preached this strange gospel to the Britons, fabricated all kinds of stories about miraculous punishments that had befallen those who worked on Sunday: Bread baked on Sunday, when it was cut, sent forth a flow of blood; a man plowing on Sunday, when cleaning his plow with an iron, had it grow fast to his hand, so that he had to carry it around to his shame for two years.FAFA 143.1

Columba

Forged Letters From Christ