Maeyken Boosers Burnt to Ashes for the Testimony of Jesus Christ, in the Year 1564

A confession and letter of consolation of Maeyken Boosers, imprisoned at Doornich, where she sealed her faith with her death

The eternal, unfathomable grace of God, and the power of the Holy Ghost, be with you all, my beloved friends and brothers. I let you know that I am well according to the flesh; but according to the spirit I might be better, for I find weakness in me; but my hope is fixed on God, who strengthens the feeble, and comforts the afflicted. My heart constantly longs to be fit in His sight, so that I might finish to His praise what He has begun in me. Therefore I ask you, my beloved brothers, not to forget me, even as I well see that you do not, for which I thank you very much, and I hope that the Lord will keep you in His holy truth. I further inform you that the lords wanted to know from me who were baptized with me, and whether none were in the city, and what their names and surnames were. I said: "What I do not know I cannot tell." But it was all to no purpose. They ordered the executioner to strip me. I felt very much ashamed, and I kindly begged them to believe me; but it was of no use. I then said: "Your will be done," and undressed myself. They led me to the rack and bound me to draw and rack me. The commissary said that I should name them. I told him that I could not do it; whereupon they loosed me, without my having named anyone, for which God on high be praised. However, they already knew of Pieter and George; so I had to name them too, but their surnames I did not know. With this I will commend you to the Lord, and to the Word of His grace. May the Lord keep us all in one faith to the end of our lives. Amen.

Another letter from Maeyken Boosers to her parents

I greet you from my inmost heart, my beloved father and my much beloved mother, with all who are in your house. Please know that I am well and unchanged in purpose, the Lord be praised forever, as I trust through the goodness of God it is also with you. Further, I thank you heartily for the kind greeting you wrote me, over which I greatly rejoiced, learning your feelings and affection for me; and for remembrance' sake I will write you something about my imprisonment.

In the first place the commissary asked me how old I was when I was baptized. I replied: "About twenty-three or four years." They asked me why I had it done. I said: "Because God had commanded it." They asked me whether I did not know that I had been baptized before. I said

"I know nothing of it; neither has God commanded it." They asked me whether I did not have sponsors. I replied: "It may be; they may have died." They then said that they would send me learned men. I said: "You ought to be wise enough to talk with me;" but no, they would send learned men. They then sent the parish priest of Our Lady's church, who came and asked me why I had not been in his church for so long, and that he had not known of me. I told him that I had quietly kept at home. They asked me where my church was. I answered: "My church is not known to you; for if you knew her, you would not let her be in peace very long."

We had many words about baptism. I said that Christ sent out His apostles into all the world, and that they first taught all nations to observe all things that He had commanded them, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Infants cannot learn; but he who believes and is baptized shall be saved. Then they said that the apostles had baptized whole households. I said: "Yes, then they rejoiced that they had become believers in God; this children cannot do. Acts 16, verse 34. Christ called the children to Him and said that to such belonged the kingdom of heaven, but He did not command that they should be baptized." They then brought forward Adam's sin, saying that they were born in it. I replied that Christ had died for them. I asked them whether they meant to remove sin by baptism; since infants can have no sin, therefore they cannot die to sin, and rise through baptism into a new life. Then the lords said: "Your doctrine is: 'He who believes and is baptized shall be saved,' is it not?" I said: "Yes." They then asked whether Christ was not of Mary's flesh. I said that Mary had conceived Him of the Holy Ghost, even as the angel said to her. "The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1, verse 35. They asked once more whether He did not take flesh from her, since He had not brought it from above. I replied that I believed the testimony of John, where he says: "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1, verse 14. They asked whether I did not believe that He is Mary's son according to the flesh, and the Son of God according to the spirit. I replied that He was God's own begotten and only begotten Son, without beginning of days, nor end of life, and was now at the last born of Mary, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Hebrews 7, verse 3. So He is not of the earth, earthy, like Adam, nor will He return to earth [dust]; for He is the Lord from heaven. First Corinthians 15, verse 47. Now if He had flesh of our flesh, He would have to see corruption, for God said: "You are dust, and to dust you shall return;" but this was not spoken of Adam alone, but of all his descendants. Genesis 3, verse 19.

They then asked me whether I did not believe that in the sacrament there were Christ's flesh and blood. I said: "No; He has ascended, and sits at the right hand of God His Father." They then asked me whether I would not believe that all the saints are in heaven. I said: "What I have not read I cannot answer; but this much I have read: 'The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.'"

Wisdom 3, verse 1. To this they did not say much, but asked what I held with regard to Mary. I replied that she was a pure and holy vessel, and blessed above all women, since she was worthy to conceive and give birth to the Son of God.

They asked whether I did not confess that there is a purgatory. I said: "I find two ways on record, the one very broad and leading to damnation, the other very narrow and leading to eternal life." They also asked what I held with regard to the pope. I said: "The pope I do not know; but if this is his doctrine, which is observed here, I hold him to be like his doctrine." Much more was spoken, but I write only this to while away the time. Farewell.

Another letter from Maeyken Boosers, to the brothers

My dearest and much beloved brothers in the Lord, I let you know that my heart is of good cheer and courage, the Lord be forever praised, for He keeps us by His right hand, and delivers us out of the midst of our enemies, for without Him I would be lost, since they, both spirituals and seculars, come to assail me in many ways, as could be seen this Sunday, when Mr. Massaert, with a judge and a secular, a learned man, held me to be the vilest sect that ever was under heaven. But when I told them my faith, I moved them all to tears, so that they could scarcely speak, and in the end they left me in a friendly manner.

No more for the present, except that I commend you to the Lord; may He constantly keep and preserve you in His holy truth. I hope it will soon be over with me; for I desire nothing so much as that I might please the Lord, and die a blessed death. Amen.

A testament from Maeyken Boosers to her children

A heartfelt and affectionate greeting to you, my beloved children. Listen to your mother, who is now in bonds for the truth; for it has pleased God that all who will live godly must suffer persecution. So I am well satisfied and of good cheer, that the servant must follow his lord. His blessed will be done with me; if it had been His pleasure, He would have prevented these bonds. My dear children, it has been so from the beginning, that the righteous must suffer, and that the unrighteous always prevail. But their day shall soon come, when they will lament and cry out in their distress: "Mountains, fall on us, and hills, cover us from the face of the Lord." Luke 23, verse 30. Alas, when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun, and the ungodly shall go into eternal fire. O beloved children, search the Scriptures, and conform to them, that you may hear the blessed words:

"Come, you blessed, inherit the kingdom of my Father." Pray the Lord for wisdom, and learn to fear God, and you will get true understanding. Do not conform to the world, in pride, dancing, running, and idle gossip; but show by your walk a godly life, adorn yourselves like the holy women, accept the Scriptures and live according to them, that your souls may be saved, and that we may meet hereafter. May the Almighty God, the King of kings, grant you His grace according to the riches of His goodness, to be strengthened in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts; and may He guide you into all truth. I ask you, my dear children, be peaceable among yourselves, for this is a fruit of the Spirit. Willingly help one another, without objecting, and always remember the poor; share willingly of all that you have; make yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; love what is eternal, and not what is temporal; seek the heavenly, and not the earthly, for all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; the glory of man perishes, but the Word of the Lord abides forever. Isaiah 40, verse 6. Do not love the world, nor the things that are in it, namely, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which are not of God, but of the world; and the world shall perish, with all that is in it; but he who does the will of the Father abides forever. First John 2, verse 15; First Corinthians 7, verse 31.

My children, do according to the will of the Lord; I, your mother, hope to walk the way before you. Mark in what and how I go before you, and do not regard the honor of the world, but count it an honor to suffer for the name of our God. For He who was King over all was not ashamed to leave His glory, and came into the world, and suffered the most shameful death for us, and, though He was innocent, was beaten and marred, so that there remained not one sound spot on His blessed body. Thus did He love us, thereby leaving us an example that we should follow His steps. He is the light that came into the world, so that all who follow Him should not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. John 8, verse 12. The Lord grant that that light shine around you also, and that you walk in it. Amen.

Another short letter from the same mother to her children

My children, I greet you most warmly, and send you back your letters, so that you may fulfill the promises you made to me in them. Always be subject to those who instruct you in righteousness, and reprove you when you do wrong. Farewell, and with this, adieu to you in this world. My dear children, fear God, and turn away from all evil.

Another letter from Maeyken Boosers, to her father and mother

My most beloved father and mother, I commend myself to you from my inmost heart, praying the Lord that He will comfort you and me with the consolation of the Holy Ghost, the promise of the Lord, whom He promised to send to His disciples, saying: "I go to the Father, and shall send you another Comforter, whom the world cannot receive, for it does not know him." John 14, verses 16 and 17. So, my dear father and mother, be of good cheer and wait with patience for what the Lord wills to do with me. I, too, wait patiently for His comfort. What has passed I count no more than a breath of air, and it gives me no trouble, the Lord, in whom I hope, be praised; for He it is who comforts the humble, and puts down the proud from their seats. Luke 1, verse 52. Though there is now tribulation before us, yet we know full well that the day of the Lord will soon come, and that all ungodliness will be brought to nothing. And God shall judge them without respect of persons, and reward everyone according to his works. Therefore, my dear and much beloved father and mother, do not worry on my account; let the Lord finish His work. I hope that He has predestined me, poor unworthy one, for an offering acceptable to Him, for I have hoped in His mercy; and that He will not enter into judgment with me, for if He should judge me according to what I deserve, I should be worthy of eternal death; but the Lord, I hope, will have mercy on me.

I further let you know that I was brought before the dean once more, but neither of us yielded, and as he was leaving he said to me: "If you persist in this belief, you are eternally damned." I said: "How can you speak so? For God shall judge." "Yes," he said, "I dare indeed say it, for it will be so." Then Master Klaes followed me and asked: "Where have you kept yourself so long? I have long looked for you." I replied: "You have me now, surely." "I have not," he said; "If you were in our hands, we should keep you longer than these will, I think." With this, my dear father and mother, I will commend you to the Lord; may He preserve you and me to the end. Do not grieve for me, but rejoice that the Lord counts me worthy; for I will cheerfully give up for His sake these my members, which He has given me. Farewell always.

Another letter from Maeyken Boosers to her brothers and sisters

O my dearest and much beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, I greet you once more with the peace of the Lord, that the same may remain with you forever. Amen.

I let you know that these my enemies still keep tormenting me about baptism; but of the incarnation of Christ they say nothing to me. The dean told them my faith, and they asked me nothing except whether I believed that Christ was David's son. I replied that He was the Son of the living God. "Oh! Oh!" said the dean. The lords asked: "Is it not written: 'Out of the seed of David according to the flesh'?" Acts 13, verse 23. The dean answered them, for there was no hearing; he frequently told me I lied, because I withstood him, that he could not show me that the apostles had baptized children. They all fell upon me at once, and said that no one could enter the kingdom of heaven, unless he was born of water and of the Spirit. They hastily asked me whether I did not confess this too. I said: "This Scripture does not belong to children, but to grown people, who have ears to hear." Then they arose and said: "You labor under an opinion."

So, my dear friends, I expect to be brought before them once more tomorrow. Therefore I ask you to entreat the Lord for me, that He would direct my mouth to His praise and glory. With this I will commend you forever into the hands of God, and kindly ask you to receive my simple writing in good part, for I seek nothing but to please God, from the simplicity of my heart; and I wish nothing, alas, except that I might please the King of kings and Lord of lords in my calling; then I should indeed have been born at a blessed time. With this, peace; farewell; nothing more after this. Take this for an eternal adieu.

After this, Maeyken Boosers was burnt to ashes, at Doornick, having commended her soul into the hands of the Lord.