I just finished a biography of my patron, Saint Thomas More. There is a great deal of interest in St. Thomas as a humanist scholar and political figure, so many biographies are written by secular scholars. The book I read was by Peter Ackroyd. While I had to take some things with a grain of salt–Ackroyd, for instance, constanty refers to belief in the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist as a
past belief, and he’ll never quite understand that the reason medieval society persecuted heretics was not merely because they disrupted order but because they dragged their neighbors’ souls to hell–it is amazing how much his sanctity comes through.
I learned two things, primarily. First, I learned more of the meaning of spiritual poverty St. Thomas More was wealthy and accumulated more wealth–but still lived more like a monk than a Knight (which he was). He saw it as his duty to provide not only for his immediate family, but also his future descendents (an idea that was paramount in the Medieval mindset, though it has been all but lost today). Thus while having strong ascetic habits, he did his best to provide security for those descended from him.
Secondly, I learned that the greatest trial of his life was not the trial he endured before Thomas Cromwell, destroyer of the Monasteries, but the trial of opposing his loved ones. His wife and daughter begged him to take the Oath of Supremacy to preserve his life. He had to refuse them. This is a lesson in what is truly merciful and what is not–supporting his path to martyrdom would have been much more merciful than begging him to compromise–and also a lesson in what we should all be willing to do for Christ.
Now I’m working on the Little Flowers of Saint Francis
