St. John Ogilvie

St. John Ogilvie was born on July 4, 1579 in the United Kingdom to a Scottish noble family. His noble family was split in their beliefs, one half was Presbyterian and the other half Catholic. However, throughout his childhood he was raised as a Calvinist, and studied elsewhere. When St. John was young he became very fascinated in the debates that had been occurring between Catholics and Calvinist believers. Due to the fact that St. John had heard so little about the Catholic faith, he would become easily lost by the arguments and points that the Catholics stated. St. John felt eager to read the Holy Scriptures to get more information about the faith. After, a bit of research St. John started to fall in love with the Catholic faith and he liked how the church embraced all types of people. When he turned 17 years old he made the decision to join the Catholic faith and was baptized in a church in Louvain, Belgium.

St. John continued to study extremely hard and he eventually joined the Jesuits and he underwent 10 years of their strict spiritual training. When his ordination arrived in 1610, St. John met two Jesuits that had just left Scotland after suffering greatly from being imprisoned, and after St. John heard their story he had felt a calling to go to Scotland and make a difference.

St. John spent over 2 years asking his superiors to send him to Scotland, until they finally decided to send him. While in Scotland, St. John had a hard time being successful in his work, so he decided to leave and he returned to Paris, France hoping that his superiors would talk to him. However, St. John was sent back almost immediately after his return to Paris, France. St. John was prepared when he returned to Scotland to accomplish the task that he had ahead of him regardless of how hard the task could be. St. John was able to find much success during his second trip to Scotland. St. John was able to convert many people and he would serve the Scottish Catholics in secret assuring that they were able to receive God’s graces and love. St. John was eventually betrayed which lead to him getting arrested and brought to court. His trial was so long that he went without food for over 24 hours. When imprisoned, he was deprived of sleep and he was mistreated. For eight days and nights they would drag him around, hit him with sharp weapons and abuse him in many other ways. Through all the torture St. John endured, he still stayed strong to his beliefs and refused to expose the names of the other Catholic believers. St. John eventually underwent more trials but he kept firm to his beliefs and stood strong for his faith.

During his final trial he told the court; "In all that concerns the king, I will be slavishly obedient; if any attack his temporal power, I will shed my last drop of blood for him. But in the things of spiritual jurisdiction which a king unjustly seizes I cannot and must not obey.” St. John showed that he was willing to sacrifice his life to obey God’s will and keep strong to his beliefs and keep other believers safe. St. John demonstrated the importance of trusting in Christ through moments of trials. He showed how we can find through Christ the true strength we need to accomplish his will and do good.

St. John was eventually convicted of treason because he converted many people to the Catholic faith. He kept his relationship with Christ through out all of his trials which helped him find the courage to spread God's love and helped him to stay faithful to God. He died at the age of 36 by being hung in Glasgow, Scotland. St. John’s feast day is celebrated on March 10.

Pray to St. John Ogilvie:

St. John Ogilvie you showed us the importance of doing God’s will regardless of the challenges we may have face. Intercede for us that we may gain the courage and strength needed through prayer, to accomplish God’s will and win more souls for his kingdom even through moments of persecution. We ask that you may guide us to live a deeper life of devotion to God so that we may accomplish his will.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord and Mary Our Mother Heaven.

Amen

Works cited

Information (read from, not taken):

Catholic Online. “St. John Ogilvie.” Saints and Angels. 2021. St. John Ogilvie - Saints & Angels - Catholic Online. Accessed 10 March 2021.

Images:

Livingwithchrist.africa. St. John Ogilvie. March 9, 2021. st john ogilvie - Google Search

Jesuits in Britain. St. John Ogilvie SJ. March 9, 2021. st john ogilvie - Google Search