Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)
For as long as I can remember I have been moved by the life of Thomas More: Chancellor of England, who, in the end, and because of his refusal to acknowledge King Henry VIII as Head of the Church in England (The Act of Supremacy), or to support him in his wish to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon (in defiance of the Pope), was finally imprisoned in the Tower of London and later beheaded on July 6th 1535. His story came to public prominence in the play, "Man For All Season" by Robert Bolt, and later was made into a film of the same name. For me his story has always seemed timeless, a point borne out by the fact that in 2000, Pope John Paul II declared him "the heavenly patron of Statesmen and politicians" (Wikipedia). And though More was a fierce opponent of the Protestant Reformation, (in the context of the age that we live in), it is interesting to note that since 1980, he is celebrated in the Church of England as a Reformation martyr.
Today the Church celebrates the feasts of both John Fisher and Thomas More, both of whom were executed in the same year. The letter below, written to his daughter Margaret, (Meg), from prison, is taken from the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office), and while it is obviously an expression of his faith, it is clearly intended to give support and strength to his family, who were suffering on his account.
__________
Although I know well, Margaret, that because of my past wickedness I deserve to be abandoned by God, I cannot but trust in his merciful goodness. His great love strengthened me until now and made me content to loose goods, land, and life as well, rather than to swear against my conscience. God's grace has given the King a gracious frame of mind toward me, so that as yet he has taken from me nothing but liberty. In doing this His Majesty has done me such great good with respect to spiritual profit that I trust among all the great benefits he has heaped so abundantly upon me I count my imprisonment the very greatest. I cannot, therefore, mistrust the grace of God. Either he shall keep the king in that gracious frame of mind to continue to do me no harm, or else, if it is his pleasure that for my other sins I suffer in this case as I shall not deserve, then his grace shall give me the strength to bear it patiently, and perhaps even gladly.
By the merits of his bitter passion joined to mine and far surpassing in merit for me all that I can suffer myself, his bounteous goodness shall release me from the pains of purgatory and shall increase my reward in heaven besides.
I will not mistrust him, Meg, though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how Saint Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack of faith, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help. And then I shall trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy sea hold me up from drowning.
And if he permits me to play Saint Peter further and to fall to the ground and swear and forswear, may God our Lord in his tender mercy keep me from this, and let me loose if it so happen, and never win thereby! Still, if this should happen, afterward I trust that in his goodness he will look on me with pity as he did upon Saint Peter, and make me stand up again and confess the truth of my conscience afresh and endure here the shame and harm of my own fault.
And finally, Margaret, I know this well: that without my fault he will not let me be lost. I shall, therefore, with good hope, commit myself wholly to him. And if he permits me to perish for my faults, then I shall serve as praise for his justice. But in good faith, Met, I trust that his tender pity shall keep my poor soul safe and make me commend his mercy.
And, therefore, my own good daughter, do not let your mind be troubled over anything that shall happen to me in this world. Nothing can come but what God wills. And I am very sure that whatever that be, however bad it may seem, it shall indeed be the best.
__________
Man For All Seasons
A play of Sir Thomas More
by Robert Bolt (1960)
ISBN 0 435 22100 0
The Life Of Thomas More
by Peter Ackroyd
Chatto & Windus, London (1998)
ISBN 1 85619711 5
Man For All Seasons
The film: synopsis - here
Post by Cormac E McCloskey
