From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   June 22nd - Saint John Fisher, Bishop   
      
    (1469-1535   
   He was chaplain to the mother of Henry VIII and chancellor of Cambridge   
   University before being elevated to the bishopric of Rochester in 1504. He   
   counted Thomas More among his friends. John Fisher opposed the divorce   
   between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and the constitution of the   
   so-called Anglican Church.   
      
   Because he refused to swear an oath affirming the supremacy of the king as   
   Supreme Head of the church of England, he was imprisoned in the Tower of   
   London. There, on May 20, 1535, he received the title of Cardinal granted   
   him by Pope Paul III. The following day, he was condemned to death by   
   torture, but this penalty was changed to beheading because the 66-year-old   
   Cardinal was ill and too weak to endure torture. On the early morning of   
   June 22, he was awakened by the Tower commander, who told him that the King   
   had decreed his death sentence. St. John Fisher responded:   
      
   "Very well, this is no news. I was expecting it. What time is it now?"   
   "Around 5 a.m."   
   "What time will the execution be?"   
   "At 10 a.m."   
   "Then I would be grateful if you would let me sleep a few more hours, since   
   I did not sleep well - not because of fear, but due to my illness and   
   weakness."   
      
   When the officer returned around 9 a.m., he found Fisher standing and   
   dressed. The holy Prelate took the New Testament and read aloud the words of   
   St. John:   
      
   "Now this is eternal life: That they may know Thee, the only true God, and   
   Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on earth; I have   
   finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. And now glorify Thou me, O   
   Father, with Thyself, with the glory which, before the world was, was with   
   Thee" (John 17:3-5)   
   Afterward, St. John Fisher asked to be given his mantle. The officer said:   
      
   "My lord: why do you show concern over your health when your time is already   
   counted and you have only one hour of life?   
      
   The Prelate responded:   
   "I requested my mantle to keep myself warm until the moment of my execution   
   so that I do not harm my health by my own doing in any way."   
   He was taken out for the public execution, and walked resolutely to the   
   scaffold. Raising his emaciated body erect, he asked in an audible voice for   
   the onlookers to pray for him:   
   "Until now I have not feared death. I am, however, made of flesh, and   
   because of the flesh, St. Peter denied Our Lord three times. I ask you to   
   assist me with your prayers so that at the very point and instant of the   
   death stroke, I may in that very moment stand steadfast without forsaking   
   any one point of the Catholic Faith."   
      
   On the scaffold, he was offered pardon repeatedly if he would renounce his   
   position, but he remained inflexible. After he was beheaded, his naked   
   corpse was displayed to the public for an entire day. His head was set on a   
   lance and placed on London Bridge. Fifteen days after his martyrdom, his   
   head still appeared alive and fresh. When the people started to acclaim this   
   as a miracle, it was thrown into the Thames.   
      
   John Fisher and Thomas More were beatified in 1886 and canonized in 1935.   
   Their feast is commemorated jointly.   
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)   
      
   You see the reactions of the soul of a great Prelate who would soon be   
   murdered, the reactions of a saint before the terrible fact of death.   
   Someone who says that he does not fear death - unless he has a special   
   supernatural grace - is lying, because, death is per se a chastisement   
   instituted by God to punish mankind for original sin. Therefore, it is   
   proper for man to fear death.   
      
   Death is the rupture of the most fundamental unity of the human being, which   
   is the unity of body and soul. This separation is a fact that implies an   
   unimaginable suffering and pain. If twisting a muscle or dislocating a bone   
   can cause an enormous pain, you can imagine the pain the body suffers when   
   the soul leaves the body. Such a separation is a terrible thing. So, it is   
   normal for a person who faces reality to have fear of this singular moment.   
      
   Another terrible aspect of death is that in his death agony, depending upon   
   the sickness, the person can fall into a kind of torpor where he is no   
   longer aware of the external reality. He can lose consciousness of almost   
   everything. In such a state, who knows what things he is thinking about?   
   What kinds of trials, temptations and fears might he be subject to?   
      
   You understand that it is natural, therefore, for a person to fear death.   
      
   Now, consider the admirable degree of vigilance of St. John Fisher in his   
   last hours. He received the news of his approaching death with a supreme   
   calmness, then went back to sleep. This reflects a superb tranquility of   
   conscience. It reminds me of an incident that occurred when St. Aloysius   
   Gonzaga was a child playing ball. When someone asked him what he would do if   
   he knew that the world would end in 15 minutes, he answered: "I would   
   continue playing ball."   
      
   Likewise, when St. John Fisher received the news of his approaching   
   execution, he said: "Very well, but I am tired, let me return to my sleep."   
   His response was quite different from those who think a man should enter   
   into frenetic prayer when he knows that he will die soon. St. John Fisher   
   did something quite different. By his action, he taught: "I am at peace with   
   God. I have already said all my prayers. So, let me sleep tranquilly,   
   because my soul is already prepared to be in the presence of God." It is an   
   admirable manifestation of tranquility of conscience. But it is also a   
   manifestation of an extraordinary supernatural assistance that spared him   
   the fear of death.   
      
   He slept, awoke, dressed, and presented himself serenely before the officer   
   who came to lead him to death. He asked for his mantle, and the officer   
   asked him why he should be concerned about catching a cold. In St. John   
   Fisher's reply, you see a bit of the famous English humor, a quick rejoinder   
   to the sarcasm of the officer. The real reason he asked for his mantle was   
   that when a person is cold and hungry, his body can easily tremble, and this   
   could give the impression at the execution that he was afraid. So, St. John   
   Fisher wanted to be warm so as not to shiver and give this impression.   
      
   Then he went to the place of torment and asked the people to pray for him -   
   that he should not have fear. He was not afraid, but because he was aware of   
   his human weakness, his vigilance prompted apprehension of a possible future   
   fear. He feared losing that magnificent state of soul that he possessed at   
   that moment. He suspected himself and solicited the prayers of the   
   onlookers.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)