Feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Cardinal Fisher

If for some reason you happen to be looking for a lawyer, today would be an excellent day to choose one as we celebrate the patron of lawyers, St. Thomas More.  We also celebrate St. John Cardinal Fisher today.  Thomas was a layman in England who served as chancellor for King Henry XIII and was a devout and faithful Catholic.  When Henry wanted to divorce his wife to marry another woman, the Pope upheld the teaching of Christ that a valid marriage is binding until the death of one of the spouses.  This obviously didn't sit well with Henry, but Thomas defended the teaching of Christ and the Church, the papacy and marriage, which of course dissatisfied Henry even more so he had him beheaded.  And Henry actually liked Thomas, so I bet all of Henry's friends were gettin' nervous.
Here is an excerpt of a letter that Thomas had written to his daughter, Meg, before his beheading:

 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 trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning.

Read the rest of the letter here.

If you're looking for a good movie to watch tonight, may I suggest A Man for All Seasons which portrays the story of St. Thomas More?

St. John Fisher was the bishop of Rochester, England and also defended the validity of Henry's marriage which, again, Henry wasn't so happy about, so he had him beheaded too - actually Cardinal Fisher was beheaded prior to Thomas and both were beheaded at London Tower. Henry proceeded to start his own church. 

Read a little more about Cardinal Fisher here.

On a related note, being the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher, who were such heroic defenders of marriage, please pray for the state of New York today as the state legislature is deciding whether to legalize same-sex "marriage" or not.  As the family goes, so goes the nation as Bl. John Paul the Great would often remind us, so it is important for us to recognize, uphold and witness to the great sanctity and dignity of marriage between one man and one woman, for in this relationship we see a grand reflection of the love of God that is uniquely expressed between spouses and cannot be duplicated in the same way in other relationships.  As Archbishop Dolan has stated time and time again in his efforts to defend marriage in his state, marriage is a public and common good.  Study after study shows how detrimental it is for children to be deprived of a father and a mother and same-sex "marriage" would have dire consequences in this area.   The National Organization for Marriage, who have suggested praying through the intercession of today's saints, has been working hard with many people to uphold marriage in New York.  Prayer is powerful and effective, so let us pray with the archbishop today through the intercession of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher that marriage will once again be defended for the common good of the family and the nation.