English Martyrs, Universal Witness
Today, on the first official day of summer, we celebrate two martyrs, John Cardinal Fisher and Thomas More, as well as a bishop, Paulinus of Nola, a poet, senator, and former married man, who, after his wife’s death, became a priest, and was elevated to oversee the diocese of Bordeaux in southern France in the fourth century.
More’s story is well known due to Robert Bolt’s 1960 play, A Man for All Seasons, and subsequent marvellous film adaptation (well, there were actually two, the first in 1966 with Paul Scofeld’s More being the definitive version).
More was Chancellor of England, while Fisher was bishop of Rochester, both high-ranking Englishmen who, in the gimlet eyes of Henry VIII, defied his authority and were guilty of treason. It was not about his attempted marriage to Anne Boleyn (I say attempted, since his legitimate wife, Catherine of Aragon, was still alive), but rather the fact that Henry, to an gain his coveted annulment, declared himself head of the Church of England, with his spiritual authority within his own lands superseding that of the Pope. Of course, neither More nor Fisher could countenance such a usurpation, and could not in good conscience sign the Oath of Supremacy. Every other bishop did so (but redeemed themselves under the reign of Henry’s daughter Elizabeth); most of the other ‘noble’ laymen also signed away the universal authority of the Church. First Things recently published a tendentious piece by the otherwise-insightful mind of Peter Hitchens, an avowed Anglican, who, in the midst of much muddling, but with his usual verve, tries to justify the execution of More and Fisher on political grounds. I am not sure Hitchens realizes to what lengths More went to avoid execution on ‘political grounds’, and only resigned himself to the chopping block when it was a choice between Christ and the king, between his soul and his body, his conscience or expediency.
They make very good patrons and examples in our day, as we will face similar choices: I have an article published this morning in Crisis on the Trinity Western debacle, with the Supreme Court denying them the right to grant law degrees due to their ‘covenant policy’, requiring students to keep sexual activity only within a lawful marriage. This was seen as discriminatory to homosexuals (as well as fornicators and adulterers, one might think, but they are not so vocal). TWU now has to decide whether to capitulate, or forego its law program.
What this means, ultimately, is that fully Christian schools are no longer permitted, and what is happening to TWU will, eventually, happen to all. They are first on the chopping block since an LL.B. is still a coveted degree, and hence the alleged ‘discrimination’ more tangible and visceral. We should continue the fight, but hope in the meantime that less worldly-and-coveted programs and degrees, from history to theology to literature, will remain, like the humble hobbits, hidden. For how long, no one knows, but trust in God, and do good while we can.
And the trade wars continue, with Trump standing firm on his tariffs. The exposed open market is not all that pleasant a place, but perhaps it is time to inject some reality into the economy, which has become so unhinged from what things are actually ‘worth’, from people’s work (how much should lawyers, politicians, police officers, physicians and vets get paid?), to goods and services (beer, haircuts, Macbooks and BMW’s). Value is a volatile thing, and we may soon see what people really hold dear.
Saints Thomas More, John Fisher and Paulinus of Nola, orate pro nobis!
Carney’s Amoral Majority
After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
A Tale of Two Benedicts
A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully
Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→
The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus
As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→