Gospel in Art: Feast of Saints John Fisher, Bishop, and Thomas More, Martyrs

SS John Fisher & Thomas More, Stained glass window by Andrew Taylor. St Simon & St Jude Catholic Church, Streatham © Andrew Taylor, all rights reserved

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 22 June 2024
Matthew 24:4-13

Jesus said to his disciples: 'Take care that no one deceives you; because many will come using my name and saying, "I am the Christ," and they will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars; do not be alarmed, for this is something that must happen, but the end will not be yet. For nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes here and there. All this is only the beginning of the birth-pangs.

'Then they will hand you over to be tortured and put to death; and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name. And then many will fall away; men will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise; they will deceive many, and with the increase of lawlessness, love in most men will grow cold; but the man who stands firm to the end will be saved.'

Reflection on the stained glass window

Today's joint feast of Saints John Fisher (1469-1535) and Thomas More (1478-1535) serves as a powerful inspiration to uphold one's beliefs in the face of persecution. John Fisher, a priest and bishop, was martyred on 22 June 1535, for opposing King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn and refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as the supreme head of the Church of England. Two weeks later, on 6 July, Thomas More, a husband and father, was martyred in the Tower of London for the same reasons. Both were canonised on 19 May 1935, by Pope Pius XI. Their stories remind all the baptised, both citizens and politicians, that faith cannot remain a private concern but must also influence our public lives with integrity. Saints John Fisher and Thomas More teach us that this can only be achieved through Christians with a courageous conscience. Their legacy continues to inspire and remind the faithful of the importance of standing up for one's beliefs, regardless of the consequences.

Our stained glass window from 1993 is made by Andrew Taylor, an elected Fellow of the British Society of Master Glass Painters, based in Devizes in Wiltshire. When he was working on this stained glass window depicting our two saints, he arranged an appointment to visit the Archives of the National Portrait Gallery where a curator retrieved the very drawings made by Hans Holbein the Younger of Saints Thomas Moore, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester. He also visited the Tower of London where he visited the cells where Thomas Moore and John Fisher had been held captive before their executions. I think we can get a real sense of the last days of the lives of these men depicted in this window. The background panels of the saints are in fact emulating the brickwork of their cells.

"Nothing can come but what God wills. And I am very sure that whatever that be, however bad it may seem, it shall indeed be the best."- St Thomas More (in a letter written from prison to his daughter, Margaret)

Saints John Fisher and Thomas More. Pray for us.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's Reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/matthew-24-4-13-2024/