Saint John Fisher
Born : 19 October 1469 (London)
Died : 22 June 1535 (beheaded)
St. John Fisher was an English Catholic bishop (Bishop of Rochester) and theologian. He publicly opposed Henry VIII's mandatory Oath of Allegience, which unlawfully declared King Henry the Supreme head of the Church of England and was executed by order of King Henry VIII of England during the English Reformation, and for upholding the Catholic Church's doctrine of papal primacy. The Catholic Church honoured him as a martyr and saint. He was canonized at the same with Saint Thomas More in 1935 by Pope Pius XI. Saint John Fisher is the paton of the diocese of Rochester, New York.
"Christian people, I am come hither to die for the faith of Christ's Holy Catholic Church, and I thank God hitherto my stomach hath served me very well thereunto, so that yet I have not feared death.
Wheefore I do desire you all to help and assist me with your prayers, that at the very point and instant of death's stroke, I may in that very moment stand steadfast without fainting in any one point of the Catholic faith free from any fear; and I beseech Almighty God of His infinite goodness to save the king and this Realm, and that it may please Him to hold His holy hand over it, and send the king good Counsel."
~ St. John Fisher before he submitted to the axe at the Tower of London ~
Saint Thomas More
Born : 1478 (London)
Died : 1535 (beheaded)
Saint Thomas More studied law in at Oxford university and upon graduating embarked on a legal career which took him to Parliament. Henry VIII who appointed him to a succession of high posts and missions, and finally made him Lord Chancellor in 1529. Saint Thomas More resigned in 1532, at the height of his career and reputation, when Henry persisted in holding his own opinions regarding marriage and the supremacy of the Pope. In 1534, with his close friend, Saint John Fisher, he refused to render allegiance to the King as the Supreme head of the Church of England and was confined to the Tower. Fifteen months later, and nine days after Saint John Fisher's execution, he was tried and convicted of treason. Before Saint Thomas More submitted to the axe, he said to the crowd "he was dying as "the King's good servant-but God's first." Theologian Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam saluted him as one "whose soul was more pure than any snow, whose genius was such that England never had and never again will have its like". Saint Thomas More is the patron saint for lawyers. Pope John Paul II declared him "the heavenly Patron of Statesmen and Politicians" in 2000. The Church of England also commemorated him as a reformation martyr in 1980.
Both Saint John Fisher and Saint Thomas More gave up their lives in upholding to the unity of the Church and to the indissolubility of marriage. Saint John Fisher, Bishop, Martyr and Saint Thomas More, Martyr feast day is on 22 June.
O God, who in martyrdom
have brought true faith to its highest expression,
graciously grant
that, strengthened through the intercession
of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More,
we may confirm by the witness of our life
the faith we profess with our lips.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
St. John Fisher, Bishop, Martyr and St. Thomas More, Martyr (Optional Memorial)
Reading 1
| 2 Corinthians 12: 1 - 10 | |
| 1 | I must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. |
| 2 | I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven -- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. |
| 3 | And I know that this man was caught up into Paradise -- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows -- |
| 4 | and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. |
| 5 | On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. |
| 6 | Though if I wish to boast, I shall not be a fool, for I shall be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. |
| 7 | And to keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. |
| 8 | Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me; |
| 9 | but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. |
| 10 | For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong. |
Psalm
| Psalms 34: 8 - 13 | |
| 8 | O taste and see that the LORD is good! Happy is the man who takes refuge in him! |
| 9 | O fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no want! |
| 10 | The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. |
| 11 | Come, O sons, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the LORD. |
| 12 | What man is there who desires life, and covets many days, that he may enjoy good? |
| 13 | Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. |
Gospel
| Matthew 6: 24 - 34 | |
| 24 | "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. |
| 25 | "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? |
| 26 | Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? |
| 27 | And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? |
| 28 | And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; |
| 29 | yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. |
| 30 | But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? |
| 31 | Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' |
| 32 | For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. |
| 33 | But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. |
| 34 | "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. |
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