“Thomas More was a brilliant lawyer, humanist and devout Catholic. He held positions of great rank and import, authored numerous books, and counted the celebrated European humanist, Erasmus and the charismatic King of England, Henry VIII among his friends. More would rise quickly to various judicial and political posts due, in equal part, to his scintillating intellect and his unimpeachable integrity. In time, he would accede to the post of Lord Chancellor to aid his friend and Sovereign, King Henry VIII, in the wise and judicious administration of the state. However, the timing would prove inauspicious as the deeply Catholic Thomas More found himself struggling against the currents of a Europe afire with the Protestant Reformation and a King adrift from the Catholic Church. The King sought spiritually convenient arguments to circumvent his marriage to Queen Catherine of Aragon in favor of an illicit relationship with the young Anne Boleyn. But that is not all the King wanted. He wanted Thomas More to agree with him. It was something Thomas More simply could not do.
“And so would begin Thomas More’s Lenten journey of suffering in the wilderness.”
In a recent commentary, writer Tod Worner reflected on Robert Bolt’s play about Saint Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons, with its suffering and sacrifice in the name of uncompromising principles of faith, as a story of Lent.
To access Mr. Worner’s complete post, please visit:
A Catholic Thinker: “Stripping for Lent”: St. Thomas More & the Way of Sacrifice (5 MAR 14)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment