On this day in 1549 a woman we know only as Elizabeth was arrested for possessing a Latin New Testament. For some reason, her trial was recorded and preserved. Many questions related to Catholicism were asked, such as, “What do you think of the most holy sacrament? The former nun replied, “I have never in my life read in holy Scripture of a holy sacrament.” To another question she answered: “Whatever agrees with God’s word, that I highly esteem.” The council asked: “Have the priests power to forgive sins?” She said, “No, my lords, how should I believe this? I saw that Christ is the only Priest through whom sins are forgiven.”
After several other similar questions were asked and scripturally answered, Elizabeth was sent back to her cell, where she was tortured with thumb screws until blood began to gush out from under her finger nails. When she cried out to the Lord for help, her pain disappeared. After the council tried unsuccessfully to break the lady, she was condemned to death. She was placed in a sack and thrown into a nearby river.
What a joy it will be to meet this Christian lady in Heaven some day. I hope she will overlook our shame in the little that we have suffered for the Name of the Lord.