SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, MY 29TH GREAT GRANDMOTHER

 

Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland

"THE PEARL OF SCOTLAND"

Wife Of King Malcolm III

(1045-1093)

FEAST DAY: NOVEMBER 16

I began researching my genealogy in 1978, long before the internet or Ancestry's famous website, and before the current situation in which many people tell me, "genealogy is easy, it is all online!" They don't realize that it is the expert handful who "connected the dots" between families, years ago, and who were the people whose research is responsible for all of it being "online." Without the genealogy experts connecting the dots, the Ancestry website is just a big bucket of random facts and copies of documents.

At some point, however, our work became easy when we researched back far enough for the historians to take over for us and bring us back practically to the beginning of Christianity itself. Thanks to the members of the nobility that came to this continent in the 1600s and 1700s, our grandfathers and grandmothers can be traced very far back.

SAINT MARGARET AND KING MALCOLM III

Having converted to Catholicism late in life, I was thrilled to discover, at about the same time, that I am descended from and related to a number of saints who were also nobility, which is what accounts for the remarkably extensive family trees we are able to create for each of our families. 

As a Catholic, the thing that really thrilled me is when I reckoned that my family in Heaven is no doubt praying for their descendants, me among them, and since I am the only Catholic remaining in my family line, I can sure use the support!

Ever since making this discovery, there are some mysteries about the course of my life that have become revealed to me. I was raised by religion-hating people who particularly disliked Catholics. My father and I were somewhat close, as I lived with him on and off when I was a child and then worked with him writing television scripts together when I was in my 20's. But I can't pretend that he and my mother were not complete narcissists.

My mother, in addition, was terribly abusive toward me, and she particularly disliked my religion-loving, God searching nature. Things were always difficult for me when she and my sibling ganged up on me.  It was horrible until I was able to leave home shortly after I turned 17, and never looked back.

Knowing what I know now about the Masonic orders and how antagonistic they are to Catholicism, I am intuiting that some of my mother's antipathy toward me can be traced to her involvement with the Masonic groups of which she was a part when she was a child and a young woman. Her mother and father were both involved with the Masons. When I developed a correspondence with some Carmelite nuns when I was 11, my mother became extremely upset and put an end to it. It was at this time that her hostility toward me became markedly elevated. This dislike never made sense, seeming to come from nowhere, but there is a spiritual reality that is hidden from the banal daily view of human life, and I credit that spiritual reality with inspiring her dislike of me.

Satan has a way of using humans against one another, it seems to me. He didn't want me anywhere near the Carmelite order and its emphasis on silence and contemplation. I am not a Carmelite, but I might as well be, living as a hermit, as I do, and living a life of contemplation on my own.

Long story short: Satan also was not thrilled that I brought the family line back to Catholicism, at least with my own self. I think I am the only one. He had counted on this family line, descendants of saints, to have been utterly lost, thanks to the intrusion of the Masonic orders, and similar distractions. But no. When The Lord made me, he made me wildly curious about and yearning for Him, for whom I have searched my entire life. There were many detours, but here I am, 70 years old, firmly ensconced in my Catholic faith, loving it SO much, thanks be to God.

Thus, today is one of my favorite feast days - the feast day of my 29th great grandmother, Saint Margaret of Scotland. I love Saint Margaret and her story. 

Saint Margaret is one of those Plantagenets that sit on so many branches of our genealogical trees. She was the daughter of King Edward the Exile and the granddaughter of King Edmund Ironsides.

Internet sources do a pretty good job of describing her life and her affiliations. The thing that appeals to me very much is how well-rounded she was as a human being. She was legitimately religious and is credited with civilizing her husband more than a little, though he was never as devoted to the faith as she was.

Always attentive to the needs of the faithful, she did things such as establish a ferry across the Firth of Forth so that pilgrims might access holy sites, she invited the Benedictines to establish a monastery at Dunfermline and also oversaw the restoration of Iona Abbey.

STAINED GLASS WINDOW 

DEPICTING MARGARET FEEDING THE POOR

As queen, Margaret was very attentive to Christian charitable work and served the orphans and the poor before she herself would eat. For herself, personally, she is reputed to have been somewhat contemplative, given to much time in private prayer and in reading. She also practiced "ecclesiastical embroidery," which I am assuming has something to do with making the priests vestments or coverings for the altar. All of this feels very familiar to me, as it sounds very much like what I would be attracted to doing if I was in her shoes.

BEST OF ALL, and something almost makes me giggle with glee is that she was really into fashion. She engaged merchants from around the world to bring her a variety of fabrics and accoutrements, introducing the Scottish people to a mode of dress that was reputed to be more refined and elegant. It certainly sounds as if this grandmother of mine had a beautifully artistic soul.  I love that.

She is the patron saint of large families and had at least 8 children, one of whom was King David I of Scotland, who was my 28th great grandfather and is ALSO a saint! Interestingly enough, I am also descended from another child of Margaret: Matilda (Editha) who married King Henry I of England.

It pleases me that Margaret is the patron saint of large families because I often call upon her to help me associate myself with my wider family in Heaven, i.e., all those saints from whom I descend! My own natal family on earth was very small and terribly dysfunctional. There was NO love whatsoever, except from my grandmother, who lived in San Francisco and I rarely got to see. Knowing that I have relatives in Heaven makes me feel more complete and supported.

EMZAELLA MABEL CHANNING LAIRD

MY GRANDMOTHER

27TH GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF

SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND

If you come from a small natal family and there does not seem to be enough love to spare for you, I highly recommend getting to know your relatives in Heaven, if you can. It has certainly helped me a lot in my struggle with a dearth of familial love.

"For my father and my mother have forsaken me

but the Lord will take me in."

Psalm 27:10

If Saint Margaret sounds interesting to you and you would like to get to know her a bit, there are several books available about her. I am betting they are on Amazon. There are also many websites that have some things to say about her. 

Silver Rose

Post Script: Please do not forget my GO FUND ME campaign for a car and wheelchair lift. If I were to tell the stories of all the ways in which my lack of transportation has affected my life, you would cry.

The GOFUNDME link is on this blog's page, top right - underneath my Author photo.

PLEASE NOTE:  I have decided to GIVE A GIFT for every donation to my GO FUND ME campaign over $50. There will be a selection of gift for each level of donation, with photographs that will enable you to pick which gift you want.

Gifts will vary between hand-made silver-wrapped earrings with real gemstones, pearls and artisanal dichroic glass, or personalized, hand-stamped primitive Southwest designed book markers with jeweled tassels or a variety of hand wrapped personalized, unique rosaries.

Personalized rosaries and book markers will include small pouches in which to store/carry them.

Photographs and gift levels will appear in future blog posts, as I make the items over the next week. 

Each of these gifts is a unique piece of art. Because of my physical disabilities and my visual issues with very small things, Rosaries take about 6 to 8 hours to make, as do most of the book markers. These are hand-made items that I have personally designed and which have personalized, unique details. No two items are exactly the same.

Send me a message on Facebook if you have any questions:

MY FACEBOOK PAGE

COLD FISH IN A HOT CLIMATE

 

I have noticed lately that, here in New Mexico, fewer people exhibit warmth or smile at you. I believe it may be a cultural thing.

It can be very offputting, especially when dealing with the medical profession. I have run into this at the "Senior Health Center" of the local university, where the staff is cold and lacks empathy. It makes me wonder why these people entered this profession, but there are pockets of this coldness in other areas, so it could just be a local trait.

This clinic is attached to a teaching hospital, and you could imagine that their attention is more focused on their personal educational goals, except that, in the 25 years I have been getting my medical care through various clinics of the university hospital, I have had a couple very kind and compassionate doctors, but ever since the last one retired, I have had a awful time getting comfortable with a doctor.

The people at the Senior Health Clinic seem particularly hard and unfeeling, which is sad when you remind yourself that they are dealing with a most vulnerable population.

Coming from California originally, I have also had some wonderful medical care and was accustomed to staff and doctors having a lot of personality and exhibiting great personal warmth.

Perhaps this hard bitten attitude toward seniors is just a reflection of the direction of American culture at this time. It does not help to have authority figures in the news denigrate various groups of vulnerable people. It is only a matter of time before they start advocating for old people and the disabled to be eliminated through euthanasia.

The greatest offense, according to people in some areas of government, seems to be uselessness or vulnerability. It makes me wonder how our seniors and the disabled will end up, when everything is said and done. I have the comfort of the familiarity with The Lord, and of course I will endure through the strength that God gives me - but I often wonder what life would be like if the people who were being paid to care for me at least pretended to actually CARE.

Of course, when hiring staff for any hospital clinic, you can't mandate compassion, caring or warmth. It's just unfortunate that the culture of that particular clinic, which is a fairly new one, has developed into one that is hostile toward their chosen demographic.

I recently had a really horrible experience with them. There was a hugely incompetent thing that happened, and the staff was clearly not interested in fixing it. I went through weeks of phone calls trying to get the situation normalized, and then my doctor and the clinic director ambushed me at my appointment and harassed me about it.

They were trying to mask the ineptitude of their staff, but I am not buying it. I am even having a hard time getting switched to a different clinic. They say that, even though I do not feel safe at that clinic, they have decided I will remain there.

Apparently, I have reached the age where people are starting to try to exert their will over me - for things that are within my freedom to choose for myself. Since I am nowhere near losing my marbles, I will keep a grasp on my freedoms, thank you very much.

You read about such things happening to seniors, but it is still a surprise when it occurs to oneself.

Unfortunately, I will have to look outside this rabbit warren of clinics and hospitals where I have gotten my care for the last 25 years. Apparently, in those decades, UNM has reached a size where it is unwieldy and a corporate mindset has settled in.

There are never enough doctors in this town, it has grown so big so fast, and it may be a while before I can find something that suits me, but I ask that you all pray for me so that I can find some facility where smiles are not so rare.

I also ask that you pray for my ministry for ELDER ORPHANS to be taken up by my parish. I keep hearing that it is a good idea. There are meetings and memos and all those things, yet no one calls me to discuss it with me. I know how to organize it without costing us anything at all, and yet weeks go by and nothing happens.

Things move VERY slowly in this arena, and now that the Christmas season is upon us, no one seems able to do anything "new" until Christmas and New Years are well behind us. I come from a very small, very secular and anti-religious family - and now I am a hermit - so the holidays have never occupied much more of my consciousness than any other feast day.

I have already had discussions with the manager of the elder care organization of which I am a client. They are ready for me to direct Catholic caregivers through their system. All that has to be done is to advertise on the back of the church bulletin for volunteers, but the parish drags its feet like a very old and very tired woman.

I suppose this is common with religious organizations. I encountered the exact same thing when I was in the Hindu convent. It took forever to get anything done, and when it came to individuals cooperating with one another, it was like pulling teeth!

Please pray for me that this thing does not "die in committee" for lack of interest in my demographic or by others less familiar with this area squashing it in favor of other things they find more interesting.

In the meantime, I pray for you, as you pray for me.

God bless you all!

Silver Rose

DAILY MIRACLES

 

Sometimes, when you ask The Lord for clarity, He gives it to you right away, ESPECIALLY when you are in real need of emotional support when it comes to your faith. And I was REALLY in need of a little propping up today. Within MINUTES of asking for help, I was given it in a remarkable way.

First, I will give a little background.

Most of you know that I live as a hermit. I do try to be as helpful as I can be to neighbors, despite my limited abilities, but I essentially stay in my own little bubble, where I pray and meditate and do the best I can to deal with painful handicaps.

Over the last year or two, as my disabilities have become much more obvious and visible, by virtue of my having to use an electric wheelchair on the property, I have been struggling with attacks from young neighbors who have bullied me in surprising ways. Sometimes they are trying to force me to give them something. At other times, they seem to be doing it for recreation. 

I even had one new neighbor lobby the managers to take from me a piece of equipment that had been installed for me to assist me in caring for my garden. That neighbor concocted an elaborate lie about it, even though I have written documentation on my phone between the two of us. The new manager was unfamiliar with how the installation of the equipment had occurred and it took 3 months to get it straightened out. It is surprising when things like this happen after I have gone out of my way to welcome them to the property with home-made bread and desserts, but I am not a psychiatrist.

When I was a young woman, I volunteered at nursing homes, and this was a relatively common thing for someone in my generation to do. But now, instead of helping people with fragile health, there are many who attempt to abuse the vulnerable and steal from them instead.

It is as if society has made a radical turn to a more primitive time. Like something out of a science fiction film, the mask of civilization has fallen from the faces of many, to reveal a face similar to what we might have seen in the middle ages, when you could be burnt as a witch, simply for being a woman living alone.

Bullies torment vulnerable people when they think they can get away with it. They usually don't do it publicly, so it is difficult to make it stop. Bullies are usually cowards.

How do we love our neighbor and pray for the enemy in the midst of all this?

As our good Jimmy Akin says, loving your neighbor means wishing the good for that person.  Praying for them is the Christian method of wishing good for them. (Jimmy Akin is a researcher, podcaster and author. He regularly appears on CATHOLIC ANSWERS.) This does not stop them from harassing the lady in the wheelchair, though. At least, not immediately.

A neighbor has recently started throwing bags of dog poop at my back door, where they land on the cement and sometimes open up and spill excrement.  I have seen them do this twice myself. 

That neighbor is taking the dog bags from where I have left them in a big pot in my garden when I have to potty my dog after the sun goes down and I can't see well enough to throw them in the trash can meant for this purpose. The parking lot is way too dark for me to do this and puts me in the way of traffic.

I see this neighbor walking back and forth to my garden, bending over to pick up the bags, then going to my patio and throwing them at the doorstep. 

I have experienced several instances of bullying and harassment from neighbors, since having to start using a wheelchair, so when I found my patio littered with dog poop this morning, it felt like the final nail in my neighborly coffin.  All I need is for someone to give me more work to do.

I had a distraught, out-loud conversation with God and asked him, PLEASE, how am I to continue when so many people are so vulgar and childishly abusive?  It had been a really bad week for me, one in which I have encountered one example after another of disability discrimination and harassment, as well as being abandoned by those who are being paid to help me.

I was having some real disappointments, not only from this neighbor, but from the world, in general, from uncaring telephone companies, merchants and caregivers to our government, where we have just elected a felon/rapist/fascist/white supremacist to the highest office of the land who has already promised to be a "dictator on day one" and who has vowed to eliminate the Medicaid program that helps me survive.  It is a depressing prospect.

It is also difficult to endure abuse while others stand by and blame the  vulnerable for the vulgarity that thugs dish out. Any police officer will tell you that the more vulnerable you are, the more you are liable to be a TARGET.  There is no "reason" that justifies it. The vulnerability IS the reason. I had an entitled Facebook snob recently tell me that no one will do something bad to you unless you deserve it by having done something to them first. It isn't true and makes no sense, when you think about it. The disabled old lady in the wheelchair has no interest or ability, frankly. We are just struggling to get through our day, despite chronic pain and disfunction. Blaming us for the actions of evil people and criminal types is pure gaslighting.

I felt like the entire world has turned ugly. I prayed fervently, out loud, with tears.  "How can I continue?" I asked Him. I had a real "lament" going on for myself. 

This isn't what I imagined when I became a hermit, and part of these problems I have been having with these people is that my mode of life is so radically different than theirs that it probably irritates the soul of those who have no real religious or spiritual life. People who try to torment disabled elderly ladies are not in tune with God. They are in thrall to dark forces, and anyone who is thus situated is going to be infuriated when they come up against the vibe of a  religious hermit who loves God.

The only way to avoid these sort of people is to live more authentically as a hermit - away from the crowd - something that I cannot afford to do at present, especially since I am unable to endure the physicality of it. I have it in mind for future, however, but I need to generate some income in order to do it so that I can pay for the new residence and the means to get moved into it. That's something for the next step.

Shortly after finding my patio littered with dog poop bags, my dog was urging me to take him out for a walk. I had just woke up, but his need seemed urgent, so I took him out and, while I was struggling to get my wheelchair over a speed bump in order to avoid a moving car, a young man approached me and asked me, "May I help you?"

Here was this young man, dressed in a neatly pressed white shirt and nice jeans, reaching for the doggie bag in my hand. I was so surprised!  I had not met him before and hesitated.

He said to me, "Please, let me help you. Every day I see you walking your little dog, and it makes me so happy to see you."

His accent was heavy, but his English was very good.

We had a sweet conversation. He was a relatively new neighbor. He introduced me to his fiance, who was sitting in the car.  They were from Columbia. His manner and his demeanor were miles above and beyond the manners and consideration of my other (American) neighbors who have been harassing me.

I learned a lot from this exchange, and I have "taken it on-board" as an answer to my prayers. It is also a retort to those who claim that immigrants are what is wrong with our country, and who impugn their character in such vulgar fashion. Statistically speaking, immigrants are FAR LESS LIKELY to commit crimes than our American people, and I find that very easy to believe, based on my personal experience of toxic, free-floating hostility from people to whom I have been kind.

When I returned home, I thanked God for the encouragement, and the perspective. I remembered, once more, Jesus telling the parable of the tares and the wheat.

"24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matthew 13:24-30

God is bringing "all things to the good for those that believe" by facilitating that the mean people drop their social masks so that I can see who is wheat and who are the weeds. In this way, I can remain with the wheat. In order for this to happen, a certain amount of evil has to be allowed to appear in the world so that I can pinpoint who is of God and who is not.

I really needed this guidance today. It is extremely difficult to raise the consciousness of our culture when it comes to the disabled and the elderly - especially the ELDER ORPHANS, for whom I am working on establishing a ministry through my local parish. Some people will simply NOT be receptive. They have chosen to be weeds.

Fortunately, God has allowed me to see a bit of His method and, as a result, my faith is intact, thanks to those little daily miracles of good being revealed by the bad. I am so grateful for that.

Keep the faith, people! If you love God, He has you in his hand, whether you can see it or not.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose