St. Thomas More - unhappy marriage?

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struggling4him

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Is there any place to find out WHY some saints are considered patrons of the things they are patrons of? From everything I have read of this great saint, he had very loving relationships with both of his wives, even once quipping that if fate and Church had allowed, how he would have loved to have spent his whole life married to both of them, and yet he is considered patron saint of unhappy marriages? anyone know why?
 
Perhaps because he defended Christian marriage against Henry VIII, at the cost of his life?
 
PaulfromIowa said:
Perhaps because he defended Christian marriage against Henry VIII, at the cost of his life?
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Yes, it was because he defended the unhappy and cheated-on Catherine of Aragon, who was in a marriage that More had to presume was valid in spite of his sovereign’s assertion to the contrary. Let us face it: had that marriage produced a surviving male heir, Henry VIII would not have sought a decree of nullity nor given himself the right to divorce and probably would not have taken it upon himself to declare himself head of the Church in England, in spite of how much he coveted the material wealth that the faithful had given to the Church and the monasteries. More was put to death because he would not swear allegiance to Henry VIII in his usurped office of head of the Church in England.
 
Ironic isn’t it that most Catholics are quick to defend marriage from same sex unions but won’t defend marriage, the Catechism and Canon Law teachings when their “fellow Catholics” divorce for irreconcilable differences… and still receive the Eucharist. Divorce in and of itself is a “Grave Offense” Reconciliation is ALWAYS expected, after the danger has passed in the tiny % of Catholic marriages that separate due to abuse). Only a bishop can approve a separation… Priest can’t change that…Filing for divorce for reasons outside Canon Law and the Catechism, with the approval of the Bishop is Mortal Sin. Read and learn…
Catechism:

Divorce

2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.173 He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law.174
Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death."175

2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law.176
If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense.

2384 Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign.

2385 Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society.

2386 It can happen that one of the spouses is the **innocent victim **of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.178 (the filing party is guilty )
Code: 
Canon 1153.2 In all cases, when the reason for separation ceases, the common conjugal life is to be restored, unless otherwise provided by ecclesiastical authority.
To stay silent now that you know or should know also puts this in play…
1868 Sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate in them: (1736)

—by participating directly and voluntarily in them;

—by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them;

—by not disclosing or not hindering them when we have an obligation to do so;

—by protecting evil-doers.

1869 Thus sin makes men accomplices of one another and causes concupiscence, violence, and injustice to reign among them. Sins give rise to social situations and institutions that are contrary to the divine goodness. “Structures of sin” are the expression and effect of personal sins. They lead their victims to do evil in their turn. In an analogous sense, they constitute a “social sin.”144 (408, 1887)
 
hydin said:
Ironic isn’t it that most Catholics are quick to defend marriage from same sex unions but won’t defend marriage, the Catechism and Canon Law teachings when their “fellow Catholics” divorce for irreconcilable differences… and still receive the Eucharist. Divorce in and of itself is a “Grave Offense” Reconciliation is ALWAYS expected, after the danger has passed in the tiny % of Catholic marriages that separate due to abuse). Only a bishop can approve a separation… Priest can’t change that…Filing for divorce for reasons outside Canon Law and the Catechism, with the approval of the Bishop is Mortal Sin. Read and learn…
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I think most Catholics encourage couples to stay together when they have the opportunity, except in cases of abuse.

We are defending marriage from same sex unions because this proposition is a fundamental change in social structure.
We cannot stand in the front of the church and forbid people from receiving the Eucharist when we suspect they may be sinning. We are not privy to most people’s private lives.
 
Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I think another reason was that he had a daughter that was married to a Protestant husband. :confused:
 
Convert_in_99 said:
Correct me if I’m mistaken, but I think another reason was that he had a daughter that was married to a Protestant husband. :confused:
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Just looked it up again. He had a son-in-law who was a fallen away Catholic who lived in heresy for a time, but through St Thomas’s prayers repented of his heresy and became a devout Catholic once again! 👍
 
The trailer for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it–a super play, a superb film.** youtube.com/watch?v=zbZfh-5QsAw**

**Quotes *― Robert Bolt, * A Man for All Seasons
Code: 
       “Thomas More: ...And when the last law was down, and the Devil  turned around on you--where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being  flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast--man's  laws, not God's--and if you cut them down...d'you really think you could  stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the  Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.”
“If we lived in a State where virtue was profitable, common sense would make us good, and greed would make us saintly. And we’d live like animals or angels in the happy land that /needs/ no heroes. But since in fact we see that avarice, anger, envy, pride, sloth, lust and stupidity commonly profit far beyond humility, chastity, fortitude, justice and thought, and have to choose, to be human at all… why then perhaps we /must/ stand fast a little --even at the risk of being heroes.”
Code: 
        “Thomas More: Will, I'd trust you with my life. But not your  principles. You see, we speak of being anchored to our principles. But  if the weather turns nasty you up with an anchor and let it down where  there's less wind, and the fishing's better. And "Look," we say, "look,  I'm anchored! To my principles!”
“The law is not a “light” for you or any man to see by; the law is not an instrument of any kind. …The law is a causeway upon which, so long as he keeps to it, a citizen may walk safely.”
Code: 
        “I'm breathing . . . are you breathing too? It's nice, isn't it?”   
         
        “I am used to hear bad men misuse the name of God, yet God exists.”
“Your taste in music is excellent. It exactly coinsides with my own!” “Lord, grant us rest tonight, and if we must be wakeful, cheerful.”
Code: 
        “**RICH:** I’m lamenting.  I’ve lost my innocence.
CROMWELL: You lost that some time ago. If you’ve only just noticed, it can’t have been very important to you.”

“For Wales? Why Richard, it profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. . . but for Wales!”

“When statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.”

“This account of him [Thomas More] developed as I wrote: what first attracted me was a person who could not be accused of any incapacity for life, who indeed seized life in great variety and almost greedy quantities, who nevertheless found something in himself without which life was valueless and when that was denied him was able to grasp his death.”

“The nobility of England would have snored through the Sermon on the Mount. But you’ll labor like scholars over a bulldogs pedigree.”
Code: 
        “My master Thomas More would give anything to anyone. Some say  that’s good and some say that’s bad, but I say he can’t help it—and  that’s bad…because some day someone’s going to ask him for something  that he wants to keep; and he’ll be out of practice.”
“The currents and eddies of right and wrong, which you find such plain sailing, I can’t navigate. I’m no voyager. But in the thickets of the law, oh, there I’m a forester. I doubt if there’s a man alive who could follow me there …
…when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you–where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country’s planted thick with laws from coast to coast-man’s laws, not God’s–and if you cut them down–and you’re just the man to do it–d’you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake.” *

goodreads.com/work/quotes/1358325-a-man-for-all-seasons
*
 
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