12th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2026 - St. John Fisher, St. Thomas More & Public Witness

 

Tomorrow, June 22, on the liturgical calendar is the feast day of two of my favorite saints, two English saints, the martyrs St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More.

You may be familiar with the story which brought these two holy men to their martyrdom. King Henry VIII desired to divorce his wife because she was not bearing him a son.  At the time Henry was a Catholic; in fact, Catholicism had flourished in England for over a thousand years. Henry had himself written theological texts defending Catholicism against the Protestant Errors of Martin Luther.

But, the desire for an heir, a male son, became an all-encompassing pursuit for the King. Wanting to marry another woman who might bear a son, the King asked the Pope for an annulment. But, after a thorough examination, the Pope decreed that marriage was valid, there were no grounds for an annulment.

The King didn’t like being told what he could and couldn’t do, so King Henry made a bold claim. He claimed that it was not the Pope, but himself who was the head of the Church in England, and then granted himself the annulment.

In order to substantiate his authority, the King then forced all of the bishops and all of the government to swear publicly that the King was the head of the Church in England.

Now, you’d think that this heretical, schismatic claim would be met with clear denunciation on the part of England’s bishops; but no. And even though, it is clear from Scripture and the uninterrupted teaching of the Church, that our Blessed Lord while he still walked the earth made St. Peter and his successors the head of the Church, all save one of the Bishops folded to political pressure, and spoke the words the king wished to hear. One lone bishop witnessed to the true faith with his life, that bishop was St. John Fisher, a truly courageous man.

Thomas More had been chancellor of the kingdom, the highest office in the land next to the throne. Thomas, in fact, was a very good friend of the King and a close confidant. As a high ranking official, he too was being pressured to acknowledge the king’s claim to have this authority to redefine Christianity. But Thomas was a man of true faith. He resigned his office and stood up to the king. For this, like the bishop John Fisher, Thomas More was imprisoned and eventually beheaded.

Bishop John Fisher and the statesman Thomas More were faithful even when numerous bishops, priests, and government officials pressured them to contradict their faith. In fact, Thomas had been pressured by members of his own family. They were Catholic, they knew the faith, they tried to convince Thomas just take the oath publicly, while keeping the true faith in your heart. But he said, no, what is an oath but words of the heart spoken publicly, words spoken to God.

These two holy martyrs exemplify the teaching of Our Lord in the Gospel today, “The words that I’ve spoken in private, speak in the light, those words that you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”

Our faith, what we have been taught in our catechetical formation, is to be lived out publicly in the world. The martyrs, St. John Fisher, St. Thomas More, and so many martyrs and saints show us this. Christianity is not just about believing a set of principles in here—in the private recesses of our minds and hearts. The teachings of Christ are to be lived out, proclaimed, and shared in the world.

 We live in a very strange age. In some parts of the world, Christians courageously die for the faith, and in many parts of our own diocese, many would rather die than practice it!

Now, many of us will not likely be in a position where we face public martyrdom, but for all of us, what we do publicly, how we act, how we treat people in public, these things matter. Someone once said, you can tell a lot about what is in a person’s heart by how they treat a waitress, a cashier, a salesperson. We are to reflect the goodness of God, and the love of God, in public, to strangers, to our spouses, to our parents, to our children.  How we act at a restaurant, at the supermarket, in the parking lot, these things matter.

Also, though, we must be faithful in those opportunities the Lord gives us to share our Catholic faith. A St. Clare parishioner once shared how a pair of Jehovah’s Witnesses once came to his door. He told them that he didn’t have time to talk with them, and that they aren’t going to convert him anyway, since he was solid in his Catholic Faith. I told him, of course they aren’t going to convert you, but your job is to convert them! That was an opportunity God was giving you to share your faith. He said, well, they gave me some reading material. And I said, that’s fine, but what did you give them? A Catechism, a holy card, a pamphlet on our Faith, anything? No, Father, I don’t have that, I didn’t have anything to give them, I just wanted to get back to my yardwork.

I know people who will not attend bible study or adult faith formation, they won’t volunteer at parish events or even pray the rosary on an airplane, because they don’t want to give off the impression that they are ”too religious”…” “one of those Catholics”.

Saints like John Fisher and Thomas More believed that there is nothing more valuable, nothing more important than our Catholic faith, and that’s our call as well. Why? Because without Catholic faith, our world falls into error, souls will live at a distance from God, without the divine assistance of sacramental grace, the knowledge of the love of God and closeness of God in their trials. We share the faith because we love, we would want the truth shared with us, if we were in error.

Now, some, when presented with the truth of the Christian faith might close their hearts, like Henry VIII, who died having beheaded God’s holy ones, not to mention a number of women who he counted as his wives.

But some, some will respond with faith, and they will be grateful because we helped them to know God. Each one of us here have benefited from someone loving us enough to share the Christian faith with us. May we do the same.

“What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops” for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

June 22 2020 - Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More - Highest Expression of True Faith

In the course of his ministry, our Lord took up the task of forming his disciples to continue the Gospel mission—sending them out through Galilee to heal and preach. And he was very clear that just as he would be rejected, his truth would be rejected, so they would be rejected. While he came to gather the divided peoples of the earth into one kingdom, through one faith and one baptism, that unity would be rejected. Responses to the Gospel would range from full reception to hostile rejection—so much so that in our passage from Matthew today, we hear how the Gospel’s rejection would cause discord, even hostility, within families.

The stories of the thousands of Christian martyrs throughout the centuries has been a repetition of that dynamic—though the Gospel is meant to unify—the prideful, those unwilling to bend the knee and to change their hearts—will lash out against Christ and seek to silence him.

Such was the case of the two martyrs we honor today, the bishop St. John Fisher, and the statesman, St. Thomas More. When King Henry VIII claimed headship over the Church in England and sought to rewrite the doctrines passed on by Christ to the apostles, he enacted law forcing all bishops and government officials to sign their names to his lies.

Bishop John Fisher was the only bishop in England who had the courage to oppose the king’s lies and usurpation of religious authority, and Sir Thomas More, former chancellor of England and close friend of the King’s was the highest-ranking layman to not take this oath acknowledging the king’s claims. Both were imprisoned in the Tower of London and eventually beheaded.

Yes, there will be pressure, worldly pressure, pressure from coworkers, neighbors, political groups, even members of our families, the Lord warns. You will be tempted to give in, to compromise the Gospel, to become silent when we should speak.

John Fisher and Thomas More experienced tremendous pressure from other bishops, statesman, and family, not to mention the threat of death. But they allowed the courage of Christ to flow within them. Their lives of holiness prepared them, as the Collect says, “to bring the true faith to its highest expression.”

These men are our great heroes, and we do well to honor them, emulate them, and invoke their heavenly intercession, that we like them might have the courage to remain faithful to Christ, to preach and live His Gospel, despite all temptations and pressures, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel, and that our future bishop of the diocese of Cleveland may be a man of true faith and the Holy Spirit.

That through the intercession of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, people of faith may remain vigilant in defending religious liberty and preaching the Gospel courageously.

That our young people on summer vacation may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and for Paul Becker for whom this Mass is offered.
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.

12th Sunday of OT 2017 - "What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops"

This week we celebrated the feast of two of my favorite saints, saints who truly exemplify this Sunday’s Gospel: two English saints, the martyrs St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More.

You may be familiar with the story which brought these two holy men to their martyrdom. King Henry VIII desired to divorce his wife because she was not bearing him a son.  At the time Henry was a Catholic; in fact, Catholicism had flourished in England for over a thousand years. Henry had himself written theological texts defending Catholicism against the Protestant Errors of Martin Luther.

But, the desire for an heir, a male son, became an all-encompassing pursuit for the King. Wanting to marry another woman who might bear a son, the King asked the Pope for an annulment. But, after a thorough examination, the Pope decreed that marriage was valid, there were no grounds for an annulment.

The King didn’t like being told what he could and couldn’t do, so King Henry claimed that he was head of the Church in England, and granted himself the annulment.

He then forced all the bishops and all government officials to sign and swear an oath to these claims: they had to swear publicly, that the King was head of the Church, which contradicts the Catholic Faith.

You’d think that this claim would be met with clear denunciation on the part of the England’s bishops; but no. And even though, it is clear from Scripture and the uninterrupted teaching of the Church, that our Blessed Lord while he still walked the earth made St. Peter and his successors the head of the Church, all save one of the Bishops folded to political pressure, and spoke the words the king wished to hear. One lone bishop witnessed to the true faith with his life, that bishop was St. John Fisher.

Thomas More had been chancellor of the kingdom, the highest office in the land, next to the throne. Thomas, in fact, was a very good friend of the King’s and a close confidant. As a high ranking official, te too was being pressured to acknowledge the king’s claim to have this authority to redefine Christianity, to redefine marriage. But Thomas was a man of true faith. He resigned his office, and stood up to the king, who was his friend. For this he was imprisoned, and eventually beheaded.
Henry VIII ended up marrying not just one wife, but six; he beheaded two of them, and simply dismissed two others.  And he is responsible, at least partially, for this grave wound within the Church, a wound which continues to weaken Christianity’s witness.

Bishop John Fisher and the statesman Thomas More were faithful even when numerous bishops, priests, and government officials pressured them to contradict their faith. In fact, Thomas was pressured by members of his own family. They were Catholic, they knew the faith, they tried to convince Thomas just take the oath publicly, while keeping the true faith in your heart. But he said, no, what is oath but words of the heart spoken publicly, words spoken to God.

Our Lord in the Gospel today urges us to be faithful, and to be bold in proclaiming our faith publicly: “The words that I’ve spoken in private, speak in the light, those words that you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” Our faith is to be shared, shouted from the rooftops. What we do publicly, how we act, how we treat people in public, these things matter. Someone once said, you can tell a lot about what is in a person’s heart by how they treat a waitress, a cashier, a salesperson. We are to reflect the goodness of God, and the love of God, in public, to strangers, to our spouses, to our parents, to our children.  How we act at a restaurant, at the supermarket, in the parking lot, these things matter.

We should also not be afraid to share our faith. I was talking to a parishioner this week. He was…well..complaining about a pair of Jehovah’s Witnesses who came to his door. He told them that he didn’t have time to talk with them, and that they aren’t going to convert him anyway, since he was solid in his Catholic Faith. I told him, of course they aren’t going to convert you, but your job is to convert them! That was an opportunity God was giving you to share your faith. He said, well, they gave me some reading material. And I said, that’s fine, but what did you give them? A Catechism, a holy card, a pamphlet on our Faith, anything? No, Father, I don’t have that, I didn’t have anything to give them, I just wanted to get back to my yardwork.

Saints like John Fisher and Thomas More believed that there is nothing more valuable, nothing more important than our Catholic faith. And if we really believed that, we should never be afraid to share it, to practice it openly, to pray publicly, in the workplace, at the restaurant. I tell the kids at school, that I hope I never see them eat at a restaurant without praying before their meal.

I know people who will not attend bible study or adult faith formation, they won’t volunteer at summer bible camp, or go to daily mass, or even pray the rosary on an airplane, because they don’t want to give off the impression that they are “one of those Catholics”…”too religious”…”too serious about religion”…

We live in such a strange age. In some parts of the world, Christians die for the faith, and in many parts of our own neighborhood, many would rather die than practice it!

Don’t be afraid to shout your faith from the rooftops. That’s certainly part of the Gospel today.
The other part, is a great warning: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” If faced with the choice between dying for the sake of Christ or denying him to save one’s life, we must remember that the worst thing our enemies can do is kill our body; but they cannot kill the soul. Better to save one’s soul than to preserve one’s physical life. Therefore we should revere God much more than we fear our persecutors, for only God can determine our eternal destination.

As he climbed the steps of his place of martyrdom, St.Thomas More was asked if he had any last words. He said, “I die the King’s true servant, but God’s first.”

May our faith take precedence over all of our earthly duties and relationships. May this Eucharist deepen our conviction of the Truth that we possess in our Catholic faith, and deepen our commitment to proclaiming it from the rooftops, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

June 22, 2017 - Sts. John Fisher and Thomas More - "The highest expression of faith"

Saint Paul wrote to Timothy: “For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires.”
Many such times arose throughout Church history; many, not long after Paul penned those words from prison, himself arrested for preaching the Gospel.

St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More lived in such a time. Catholicism had flourished in England for nearly over thousand years, when the king sought to make himself head of the Church. You’d think that this claim would be met with clear denunciation on the part of the country’s bishops; but no. And even though our Blessed Lord made St. Peter and his successors the head of the Church while he still walked the earth, all save one of the Bishops folded to political pressure, and spoke the words the king wished to hear.

One lone bishop witnessed to the true faith with his life, that bishop was St. John Fisher.

St. Thomas More had been chancellor of the kingdom, the highest office in the land, next to the throne. He too was being pressured to acknowledge the king’s authority to redefine marriage. He resigned his office, and stood up to the king, who was his friend. For this he was imprisoned, and eventually beheaded.

Listen again to the collect prayer for today’s feast: “O God, who in martyrdom have brought true faith to its highest expression.” Faith is brought to highest expression when we stand up for the faith amidst worldly pressures. When we teach true doctrine, even when the world longs to hear with itching ears, teachings which will suit their own desires.

Each of us is called witness to the truth of the true faith in our own lives: it is a matter both of professing that faith with our lips—with our words—and with our actions.  We each face difficult moral choices, and the faith must be our guiding light, even when we know that the difficult decision will involve hardship or suffering.

The eve of John Fisher and Thomas More each year begins a fortnight of prayer for religious freedom in our country. During this fortnight of prayer for freedom, we do well to invoke the intercession of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More for freedom from government interference in the practice of the faith, and for our ability to stand courageously for the truth of the faith, even to suffer for it if necessary, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel, and that our future bishop of the diocese of Cleveland may be a man of true faith and the Holy Spirit.

That through the intercession of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, this fortnight of prayer for religious freedom may help people of faith may remain vigilant in defending their religious liberty and united in making their voice heard on behalf of the rights of the Church.

That our young people on summer vacation may be kept safe from the poisonous errors of our culture, and that their families may be places where the faith is practiced and cherished.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, especially Fr. John Jenkins, who died this week, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ our Lord.