Some of my favorite saints are the English martyrs, since they suffered and died for issues not unlike those of our own day; fidelity to the Pope, the Eucharist, the defense of marriage, and so on. In those days the priests faithful to the Church were forced underground to minister to the faithful; risking their lives to say Mass and administer the sacraments - their singular purpose being the sacred exercise of their priesthood for the salvation of souls.
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Today we commemorate the feast of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, a layman.
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Art: St. John Fisher. More images here.
You know, however, if St Thomas More were alive and blogging today, he would be accused of being a communist liberal. Not only would his utopia be used as an example of this, but his association with Erasmus would "seal the deal."
ReplyDeleteLucky for him he was martyred then. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Decline of the Christian West
ReplyDeleteRayond Burke
He quoted St. Thomas Moore:
"My Lord, for every Bishop of your opinion I have a dundred Saints of mine; and for one parliament of yours, and God knows of what kind, I have all the general councils for 1000 years..."
I love this.
Hey Terry: Where is Nazareth priest. I always worry about him when he disappears. I miss him. I hope he is OK...
ReplyDeleteMaria - I don't know what happened to him From now on when a priest falls off the radar screen maybe we should look under the bus? I hear they get thrown there by their bishops.
ReplyDeleteTerry: LOL. The disappeared!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, "A Man for All Seasons" is one of the best movies I've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteRe: Thomas More - "Now, more than ever."
ReplyDeleteRe: Nazareth Priest - I don't worry about him. I assume he's busy with priest stuff. I don't trust a priest who doesn't drop off the radar screen every once in a while. Having said that, I miss him too!
:)