St. Thomas More – A Model for Modern Catholics

Borrowing a phrase from Erasmus, Robert Bolt calls St. Thomas More "a man for all ages" in his work of the same name, and there is good reason for that. In addition to being extraordinarily holy, he was a husband, a father, a highly successful lawyer in England, a shrewd politician, the second most powerful man in the kingdom, and one of the greatest authors of the Renaissance. Faithful to prayer and daily penance from an early age, Thomas was a devout Catholic and a passionate defender of the teachings of the Catholic Church, which were then being refuted by Martin Luther. Known for his wit and sense of humor, he was the kind of person we would all like to have as a friend. His opposition to the annulment of Henry VIII's first marriage and his advocacy for the primacy of the papacy over the Church of England resulted in his ultimate condemnation and execution as a martyr. G.K. Chesterton, visiting More at Chelsea in 1929, said of him that "he is more important now than at any time in history since his death... But he is no more important than he will be in a hundred years' time. He will be recognised as the greatest Englishman, or at least as the greatest figure in English history." This book tells the fascinating and extraordinary story of his life.

JOHN F. FINK VID

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