On the 22nd of June, the Church celebrated the feast day of St Thomas More and St. John Fisher.
These two Saints are known for their opposition to the plan of King Henry VIII, to marry a second wife and to secede from the Catholic Church. While their contemporaries followed the King and compromised the truth of marriage that was taught by Jesus, these two were not ready to fall prey to worldly power, rather they chose to become martyrs for the truth.
Thomas More, although a Lord Chancellor, defied the rule that power corrupts by stating clearly and incorruptibly that the truth cannot be compromised for whatever reason. He understood clearly that though a servant of the King, he was the servant of God first.
He knew that being a Catholic wasn’t restricted alone to his parish activities, but he created room for it to affect his whole life. Indeed he lived unity of life.
In our contemporary society, we face a similar problem; the institution of marriage is also under attack. Many have forgotten or better still, are misconstruing the identity of marriage and invariably are destroying the mission and vocation of the family in the Church and in the world.
As we see more countries cause more harm to the institution of marriage by legalising gay marriage, and as we have seen the judgement of the American Supreme Court on the constitutionality of gay marriage, many of us are awed as to what the future holds.
We have predecessors and models in the fight for truth in the persons of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher.
J.K Chesterton said in 1929, Thomas More is more important at this moment than at any moment since his death, even perhaps the great moment of his dying; but he is not quite so important as he will be in about a hundred years’ time.
These words are very true today.
Our current civilisation which is plagued with the tyranny of relativism and the dictatorship of homosexuality really needs the help of St. Thomas More to combat.
St. Thomas More believes that tyranny succeeds not through war but through law which comes about through the negligence, greed, cowardice of respectable people in respectable positions.
As patron for lawyers, he teaches lawyers to be co-workers of the truth; that is lawyers should want to find, love and defend the truth no matter the cost.
As patron for politicians, he teaches that they have to be on guard against “heavy-hearted sleep” that can lead one to “neglect to do what the duty of his office requires” and should realise that their office is a service to the truth and the common good.
To the clergy, he said that many religious leaders are asleep/ somnolence and apathetic in sowing virtues among the people and maintaining the truth, while the enemies of Christ, in order to sow vices and uproot the faith……., are wide awake.
As such we have to be wide awake and pray.
St Thomas More, St John Fisher pray for us, pray for the family.
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