JUNE 22D, ST. PAULINUS, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR
Month in honor of the Most Sacred Heart of OLJC.
In the Roman Martyrology, today is also the feast day of Saint John Fisher and Saint Thomas More. But first, bit about Saint Paulinus.
At Nola, a city of Campania, the blessed Confessor Paulinus, Bishop of that city, [in the year 431,] who, whereas he was a very noble and wealthy person, became for Christ's sake poor and lowly, and then in addition gave himself up for a slave in order to redeem a widow's son whom the Vandals had carried off as a prisoner to Africa when they wasted Campania. He was illustrious, not only on account of his learning and of the abounding holiness of his life, but also on account of his power against evil spirits. His praises have been set forth in their writings with great force by holy Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory [the Great.] His body has been brought to Rome, and lieth in honour along with the body of the holy Apostle Bartholomew in the church of that Apostle in the island in the Tiber. Yet, it was returned to Nola by Pope St. Pius X.
As for Saints John Fisher and Thomas More,
Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher were Renaissance men. Talented and energetic, they contributed to the scholarship of early modern England. More wrote theological and philosophical treatises, while making a career as a lawyer and government official. Bishop John Fisher worked as an administrator at Cambridge, confronted the challenge Martin Luther presented to Christian Europe, and most importantly served as Bishop of Rochester. As a Bishop, he is notable for his dedication to preaching at a time when Bishops tended to focus on politics. These men were brilliant. They both corresponded with the proto-Protestant Erasmus, who helped Bishop Fisher learn Greek and Hebrew, and who also famously referred to More as "a man for all seasons."
Above all their accomplishments, these men bore witness to a deep faith in Christ and His Church. More considered joining religious life and was assiduous in his devotional practices, but once he settled on marriage , he committed himself wholly to his vocation as a husband and father. At the time, disciplinary practices with children tended to be severe, but More’s children testify to his warmth, patience, and generosity.
St. John Fisher was a model shepherd and demonstrated remarkable humility. He remained in the small Diocese of Rochester his entire episcopal ministry, devoting himself to his local church rather than seeking promotion to a larger, more powerful diocese.
More and Fisher are well-known for opposing King Henry’s divorce and pretended remarriage to Anne Boleyn. However, ultimately it was their refusal to sign an oath of supremacy that led to their execution. King Henry VIII. claimed to be the supreme head of the Church in England, asserting sovereign power over English Christians. Neither Fisher nor More could abide this claim, and their steadfastness to the witness of their consciences to the truth of the Catholic Faith put them in conflict with the king. They were convicted of treason.
It is good to love one’s country, but ultimate loyalty is due only to Christ and his kingdom. Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher show us what faithful citizenship looks like. They loved and served their country. In the moments just before his execution, More is said to have stated, “I die the King’s good servant, and God’s first.” But when the law of the king came into conflict with the law of Christ, they submitted to Christ.