St. Thomas More: Why is he important for me?

By Tony Kerigan

St. Thomas More is for me the “Man for all Seasons”. He was born and lived in a time of dramatic changes when the Middle Ages, the Age of Faith, was being challenged by the new ideas of the Renaissance. St. Thomas was a man with his feet firmly grounded in both but most importantly with a firm grasp of the truth and a resolute unwillingness to let himself be compromised.

He was very much in the world as a highly respected lawyer and King’s counsellor… but not of the world. He refused to let his ideals and commitment to the truth be affected by any wish for power or wealth or the praise of others. He lived according to his conscience and ultimately died for it. He died “The King’s good servant but God’s first.”

So why is St. Thomas so important to me? At a time when the ideals which one derives from one’s faith are threatened, ideals such as the sanctity of all life and the God given dignity of every human person ; when one is asked to go along with the majority ( as St Thomas was told ) ; to be told to put one’s conscience in one’s back pocket and not to press one’s moral convictions in the public sphere; St. Thomas stands out as a shining example of a man of faith who is not afraid to give witness to the truth even at the expense of reputation, wealth, position or even life.

St. Thomas pray for us and all who suffer because of their conscience.

Amen