SAINT OF THE DAY (June 22)
On June 22, the Catholic Church honors the life and martyrdom of St. Thomas More, the lawyer, author and statesman who lost his life opposing King Henry VIII's plan to subordinate the Church to the English monarchy.
Thomas More was born on 7 February 1478, son of the lawyer and judge John More and his wife Agnes.
He received a classical education from the age of six.
At age 13, he became the protege of Archbishop John Morton, who also served an important civic role as the Lord Chancellor.
Although Thomas never joined the clergy, he would eventually come to assume the position of Lord Chancellor himself.
More received a well-rounded college education at Oxford, becoming a “renaissance man” who knew several ancient and modern languages. He was also well-versed in mathematics, music and literature.
His father, however, determined that Thomas should become a lawyer, so he withdrew his son from Oxford after two years to focus him on that career.
Despite his legal and political orientation, Thomas was confused in regard to his vocation as a young man.
He seriously considered joining either the Carthusian monastic order or the Franciscans.
He followed a number of ascetic and spiritual practices throughout his life – such as fasting, corporal mortification, and a regular rule of prayer – as means of growing in holiness.
In 1504, however, More was elected to Parliament.
He gave up his monastic ambitions, though not his disciplined spiritual life, and married Jane Colt of Essex.
They were happily married for several years and had four children together, though Jane tragically died in childbirth in 1511.
Shortly after her death, More married a widow named Alice Middleton, who proved to be a devoted wife and mother.
Two years earlier, in 1509, King Henry VIII had acceded to the throne.
For years, the king showed fondness for Thomas, working to further his career as a public servant.
He became a part of the king's inner circle, eventually overseeing the English court system as Lord Chancellor.
More even authored a book published in Henry's name, defending Catholic doctrine against Martin Luther.
More's eventual martyrdom would come as a consequence of Henry VIII's own tragic downfall.
The king wanted an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, a marriage that Pope Clement VII declared to be valid and indissoluble.
By 1532, More had resigned as Lord Chancellor, refusing to support the king's efforts to defy the Pope and control the Church.
In 1534, Henry VIII declared that every subject of the British crown would have to swear an oath affirming the validity of his new marriage to Anne Boleyn.
Refusal of these demands would be regarded as treason against the state.
In April of that year, a royal commission summoned Thomas to force him to take the oath affirming the King's new marriage as valid.
While accepting certain portions of the act which pertained to Henry's royal line of succession, he could not accept the king's defiance of papal authority on the marriage question.
More was taken from his wife and children, and imprisoned in the Tower of London.
For 15 months, More's wife and several friends tried to convince him to take the oath and save his life, but he refused.
In 1535, while More was imprisoned, an act of Parliament came into effect declaring Henry VIII to be “the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England,” once again under penalty of treason.
Members of the clergy who would not take the oath began to be executed.
In June 1535, More was finally indicted and formally tried for the crime of treason in Westminster Hall.
He was charged with opposing the king's “Act of Supremacy” in private conversations, which he insisted had never occurred.
But after his defense failed, and he was sentenced to death, he finally spoke out in open opposition to what he had previously opposed through silence and refusal.
More explained that Henry's Act of Supremacy was contrary “to the laws of God and his holy Church.”
He explained that “no temporal prince” could take away the prerogatives that belonged to St. Peter and his successors according to the words of Christ.
When he was told that most of the English bishops had accepted the king's order, More replied that the saints in heaven did not accept it.
On 6 July 1535, the 57-year-old More came before the executioner to be beheaded.
“I die the king's good servant,” he told the onlookers, “but God's first.”
His head was displayed on London Bridge but later returned to his daughter Margaret who preserved it as a holy relic of her father.
Thomas More was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on 29 December 1886. He was canonized by Pope Piux XI on 19 May 1935.
The Academy Award-winning film “A Man For All Seasons” portrayed the events that led to his martyrdom.
A Man for All Seasons (1966 film)
A Man for All Seasons (1988 television film)
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Saint Thomas More
1478-1535
Feast day: June 22 (New), July 9 (Trad)
Patronage: adopted children, civil servants, court clerks, difficult marriages, large families, politicians, lawyers, and statesmen
St. Thomas More was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He was also a counselor to Henry VIII and Lord Chancellor from October 1529 to 16 May 1532. More opposed the Protestant Reformation, in particular, the theology of Martin Luther and William Tyndale. He also wrote Utopia, published in 1516, about the political system of an ideal and imaginary island nation. More opposed the King's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to accept him as Supreme Head of the Church of England, and what he saw as Henry's bigamous marriage to Anne Boleyn. Tried for treason, More was convicted and beheaded.
Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)
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A Master’s Thesis for a university no less
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Yep, I’ve seen that!
at least that people got some dedication, I nearly died when I wrote mine but it wasn’t for shitposting so maybe that made it even more tedious lol
But I’d say, how can you even write a Thesis about something as empty as Fodlan? I think the writer mentionned how Supreme Leader didn’t attack civilians but... while we don’t see her do it, Ashe mentions they’re starving, Baldo’n’Waldi must come from somewhere (the experiments started in Remire, before the War, but obviously to be used for said war in, basically, Supreme Leader’s maternal territories!) and I guess the religious people fleeing the Empire or not bothering to send letters to their friends who don’t hear about them anymore since the war started must have been busy Zumba’ing with Rhea in the 5 stars Enbarr resort.
As someone from SPE (!) mentionned, the Fodlan games take explicit care not to have anyone seriously challenge her beliefs of criticise her, or give spotlight to her main, self-perceived, nemesis who... well, is either fridged, exists off-screen or gives infodumps before dying.
Which makes any discussion about a “Just War” completely moot - Watsonian wise, especially if you take Fodlan as this entity functionning under the Crust System - same, Doylist wise, with any comparisons with real world Conventions (iirc OP mentionned that one of they juries asked if taking a dragon prisoner could be considered a war crime or something like that lol) because, hey, it’s a video game basically centered around a gameplay mechanic of depleting a red unit’s HP bar by hitting them with a weapon.
This is basically a really good shitpost which shows a lot of dedication - and that’s the kind of stuff fandom thrives for (remember zigludo chan sama senpai’s wiki page?) !
but as a serious/discourse/meta piece...
It’s basically the same redshit 10k words, with a bit more formatting and no word limit.
I mean, I used the search engine for “nabatean” and found nothing, and I think you can’t valably discuss Supreme Leader’s motives, ignoring this
“You are a child of the goddess. You must not be allowed power over the people!“
part of her reasoning to fight against the Church.
Not wanting to give that chamber pot any credit, but if they sprout heinous arguments to support their fave, imo, it’s basically because even the members of that hellpit noticed Supreme Leader’s, uh, fondness for Nabateans as a species, and since she can’t do anything BaD or be wrong, it means the species are BaD.
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