June 22 2022 - St. Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

 One of my favorite films of all times is “A Man for All Seasons” the historical drama about St. Thomas More who is honored today along with the English martyr, bishop John Fisher. The film does an amazing job presenting the political and religious tension in England when King Henry VIII declared himself head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and amazingly captures the wit, intelligence, courage, and holiness of St. Thomas More, played by Paul Scolfield, who also portrayed the saint in the original stage version by Robert Bolt.

If you have a few free hours, check out “A Man for All Seasons”. And the title of the film and play raises an interesting question? Why does the author refer to St. Thomas More as “a man for all seasons”? Thomas More despite tremendous pressure from his friends, from his family, probably from a number of clergy, from the king of england, not to mention the threat of torture and martyrdom, remained true to his principals and Catholic religious convictions throughout all the seasons of his life. 

Whenever I watch the film adaptation, I am so deeply impressed by Thomas More’s spiritual leadership in his family and community. He is a loving husband, a provident father, a fair employer, a lawyer who does not bend to corruption and bribes, a sound counselor, a learned man who saw through the empty philosophies of his day, whose convictions informed his decisions. He is depicted as “man fully alive” as Irenaeus would say, a man whose mind has been strengthened by reason and the Gospel, a man whose moral compass is firmly set on Christ, a man who stands for Truth even when bishops and priests cower in fear. And it happened. It’s not just a fiction. He was that great.

But that’s what also makes him a man, not just for 16th century England, but a man for all seasons of history. His virtues are for every age. His stance for Truth is needed in every age. We need Thomas More’s in every season. We need Thomas More’s now. We need Catholics who will remain true to their faith despite the pressures of the world, their families, their peers. Catholics of rightly formed conscience.

And when you watch it, you think, that’s the sort of man I want to be, in every circumstance, making him truly, a man for all seasons.

May St. Thomas More inspire us by his life and assist us with his prayers, especially when it is our time to stand for Truth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel.

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 X 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.

32nd Sunday in OT 2019 - Courage in the face of suffering

I attended a prayer group recently, and the group began with an icebreaker question: what is your favorite inspirational movie? A fun, yet poignant question! The first person his favorite inspirational movie is Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” though he had to admit that some of the graphic violence is hard to watch. The second person mentioned a movie I had never heard of, called “Glory” about the U.S. Civil War’s first all-black volunteer company, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, detailing the prejudices they faced from both their own Union Army and the Confederates, and the sacrifice they made for the cause of freedom and national unity. The third member of our group mentioned the movie “Unplanned”, the story of Abby Johnson, a former director for planned parenthood, who is confronted with the grizzly evil of abortion, joins the ranks of the pro-life movement and the ensuing backlash she experienced.

I have a hard time with the topic of “favorite movies” because I really do enjoy a good film, but I immediately thought of the movie “A Man for All Seasons” the story of St. Thomas More who stood up to King Henry VII when the King rejected the authority of the Catholic Church’s teaching on divorce. Sir Thomas More, as you might know, was Chancellor of England and a good friend of the Kings. The movie wonderfully depicts St. Thomas More’s jovial personality, his cunning mind, strong family life and devout faith. But when the King demanded that Catholics, clergy and laity alike, bow to his claim that he was the head of the Church in England and therefore able to refashion Church doctrine, Thomas More refused to acknowledge the king’s claim. For this he was stripped of his office, arrested, separated from his family, imprisoned in the tower of London, and eventually beheaded. Here’s a man who refused to compromise his faith when faced with the pressures of family, friends, and political authorities. He is certainly an inspiration to Christians of every age.

And reflecting on the four movies shared by members of our prayer group, I don’t think it is a coincidence that all four movies share a common theme: “self-sacrifice”. The self-sacrifice of Christ of course in the passion movie, the self-sacrifice of the black infantrymen willing to fight against prejudice and even to die for those who hated them in “Glory”. The self-sacrifice of Abby Johnson, having her name dragged through the mud, receiving death-threats for exposing the evils of planned parenthood and the abortion industry. Movie Theater owners in fact have received death threats for showing her movie. And the self-sacrifice of Thomas More, a martyr for the truth of the Christian Gospel. Stories of self-sacrifice are most inspirational.

Our first reading from Second Maccabees certainly recounts an inspiring tale of self-sacrifice. Around two-hundred years before the birth of Christ, Greek culture had spread to Israel. Many of Israel’s leaders had allowed Greek cultural values and the promise of political power to replace their faith. The Greek King ruling over the Jews had tried to eradicate Judaism. If you were caught practicing the tenets of Judaism, you would be put to death. And in our reading today, seven brothers with their dear mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges because they refused an order of the Greek King inducing the Jews to eat pork in violation of Jewish law.

This family courageously refused to betray their faith even to the point of physical maiming and death. Why? Why didn’t they just give in?

Well, listen again to what one of the sons says to his executioner: “you accursed fiend,” he says, “you are depriving us of this present life, but the king of the world will raise us up to live again forever.” Yes, you are killing us, but the Lord will raise us up! 

They understood that the choices we make in this life affect our eternity. Our faith matters. The practice of our faith matters. Faith leads to eternal life, disobedience to death.

The next son, holds out his hands to his executioner who is going to cut them off.  He says, “it was from heaven that I received these…from God I hope to receive them again.”  This cruel executioner is going to cut off his hands, and the son says, fine, God gave them to me, and one day, God will give them back to me.  He believes that that even this present body is less important than eternal life.

The last brother, as he dies, says, “it is my choice to die at the hands of men, that God who gives life will raise me up.”

This family of faithful Jews foreshadow the self-sacrifice of Christ; they are certainly proto-martyrs, embodying what the Lord taught a few Sundays ago, “Those who lose their life for my sake, will gain it.” To be faithful to Christ is to do what these young men did, to keep our minds and hearts fixed on God and on his promises especially in the face of trial.

There are moments when our relationship with God will cost us. Depriving ourselves of some bodily pleasure because pursuing it would be sinful costs us something. Depriving ourselves of material gain because pursuing it would be to cheat or to steal costs us something. Deprive ourselves of some position of power because pursuing it would involve lying or exaggerating the faults of others costs us something. Refraining from sinful gossip when it would bolster our social status costs us something.  Going to mass every week, even when my family or my hobbies make demands on my time costs us something. Contributing to your financial needs of the parish, the needs of our neighborhood poor, committing time to prayer, all costs us something. And don’t we gain so much more, when we are generous with God and trust his plan?

When we speak of inspiring movies or inspiring scripture passages or inspiring stories from the lives of the saints, what are they inspiring us for? The inspire us for those moments when we have to make the choice. Will we do what is right, even when it brings us suffering, or not? Will we witness to our belief that God’s promises are real, that there is something beyond this earthly life, or not? The veterans our nation honors on Monday, veterans day, are so inspiring to us because they were willing to put their lives on the line for us, they we might enjoy freedom and peace.

There are many people who dismiss God as a distant cosmic force that has little bearing on every day life. But Christians, by living out our faith when it is costly to us, shows that God is more real than anything else.

Our own parish patron Saint, Ignatius of Antioch, realized this truth. When Bishop Ignatius had to choose between faith and escaping suffering and death, he chose faith. Ignatius wrote: “All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing. It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth. ‘For what shall a man be profited, if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?’ Him I seek, who died for us: Him I desire, who rose again for our sake.”

Ignatius understood, as has every martyr, that if we are only concerned with this prospering in this world something in us is already dead. Rather, the Christian is to witness that the life to come is to be obtained by those who love God more than this present life.

May we witness to that faith in everything we say and do today and all days, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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.