From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   All Things should be Referred to God as their Last End  [1]   
      
   The Voice of Christ:   
    MY CHILD, I must be your supreme and last end, if you truly desire to   
   be blessed. With this intention your affections, which are too often   
   perversely inclined to self and to creatures, will be purified. For if   
   you seek yourself in anything, you immediately fail interiorly and   
   become dry of heart.   
    Refer all things principally to Me, therefore, for it is I Who have   
   given them all. Consider each thing as flowing from the highest good,   
   and therefore to Me, as to their highest source, must all things be   
   brought back.   
   Imitation of Christ:a Kempis Bk III Ch 9   
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   June 22nd - Saint Thomas More, Martyr   
      
   Saint Thomas More was born in London, the son of a judge. At a young   
   age, Thomas was placed in the home of Cardinal Morton, Archbishop of   
   Canterbury, who, noting the boy’s cheerful disposition and scholastic   
   aptitude, arranged for him to attend Oxford. A serious student, and   
   with few financial means, Thomas applied himself and avoided "vain or   
   hurtful amusements" to the detriment of his studies. He quickly   
   demonstrated considerable academic skills, mastering both Greek and   
   Latin, becoming expert in French, mathematics, and history, and   
   learning to play both the flute and viola. His gifts quickly attracted   
   attention, and he was admitted to law school, becoming a barrister   
   several years later.   
      
   His friend and pupil, Erasmus, described him in a letter: “He seems   
   born and framed for friendship, and is a most faithful and enduring   
   friend. He is easy of access to all; but if he chances to get familiar   
   with one whose vices admit no correction, he manages to loosen and let   
   go the intimacy rather than to break it off suddenly. When he finds   
   any sincere and according to his heart, he so delights in their   
   society and conversation as to place in it the principal charm of   
   life… Though he is rather too negligent of his own interests, no one   
   is more diligent in those of his friends. In a word, if you want a   
   perfect model of friendship, you will find it in no one better than in   
   More. In society he is so polite, so sweet-mannered, that no one is of   
   so melancholy a disposition as not to be cheered by him, and there is   
   no misfortune that he does not alleviate. Since his boyhood he has so   
   delighted in merriment, that it seems to be part of his nature; yet he   
   does not carry it to buffoonery, nor did he ever like biting   
   pleasantries.”   
      
   It quickly became clear that Thomas excelled at law, but it was not   
   where his primary interests lay. He was deeply drawn to the idea of   
   the religious life, spending considerable time in prayer and   
   contemplation, delivering lectures on the writings of Saint Augustine,   
   and engaging in penance and mortification similar to those enacted by   
   local monks. For example, Thomas wore a hair shirt each day and   
   fasted. He eventually moved into the monastery, but could not ignore   
   the injustices of English society, and eventually left to enter into a   
   career in politics. He was married shortly thereafter.   
      
   Erasmus wrote: “Meanwhile he applied his whole mind to exercises of   
   piety, looking to and pondering on the priesthood in vigils, fasts and   
   prayers and similar austerities. In which matter he proved himself far   
   more prudent than most candidates who thrust themselves rashly into   
   that arduous profession without any previous trial of their powers.   
   The one thing that prevented him from giving himself to that kind of   
   life was that he could not shake off the desire of the married state.   
   He chose, therefore, to be a chaste husband rather than an impure   
   priest.”   
      
   Thomas entered Parliament, and tirelessly defended the rights of the   
   poor, much to the annoyance of King Henry VII. In revenge, the King   
   imprisoned Saint Thomas’ father and would not release him until Thomas   
   agreed to withdraw from public life. After the death of the King in   
   1509, Thomas became active once more. In 1510, he was appointed one of   
   the two undersheriffs of London. In this capacity, he gained a   
   reputation for being impartial, and a patron to the poor.   
      
   More’s political career became increasingly at odds with King Henry   
   VIII, who, himself was looking to break from the Catholic Church so   
   that he might remarry. Despite his opposition to the plans of the king   
   to divorce, he was elected Lord Chancellor.   
      
   While his work in the law courts was exemplary, following his vocal   
   disapproval of the king’s plans, his career quickly came to a halt. He   
   resigned in 1532, citing ill health. After failing to attend the   
   coronation of the king’s new wife, Anne Boleyn, he was one of the   
   people accused of complicity with Elizabeth Barton, the nun of Kent   
   who opposed Henry's break with Rome. Subsequently, Thomas refused to   
   acknowledge the king as the head of the Church of England, defending   
   the papacy. He was committed to the Tower of London, tried in a   
   one-sided trial, and found guilty of treason.   
      
   Upon sentencing—death by beheading—the constable of the Tower of   
   London visited More, respecting him, and seeking his forgiveness. More   
   spoke to him, saying, “Good Master Kingston, trouble not yourself but   
   be of good cheer; for I will pray for you, and my good Lady your wife,   
   that we may meet in heaven together, where we shall be merry forever   
   and ever." His last words, prior to the axe falling were: "I die - the   
   King's good servant but God's first."   
      
   Saint Thomas’ body was buried the Church of Saint Peter. His parboiled   
   head was placed on display on the Tower Bridge for one month prior to   
   the local faithful rescuing it. During his lifetime, Saint Thomas   
   wrote extensively—poems, fiction, scholarly works, legal reviews,   
   translations, contemplations of scripture, and prayers.   
   --by Jacob   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   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.   
   --Saint Thomas More   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see.  And ask for the   
   old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it, and you shall   
   find refreshment for your souls.  (Jeremias 6:16)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   The "Bookmark" prayer of St. Theresa:   
      
   Let nothing disturb thee, Let nothing affright thee. All things   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)