His death aroused a prodigious storm of excitement throughout all Christendom. … Four hundred years hardly obliterated the effect of that violent shock. It is perhaps truer to say that after 400 years the sacrifice which Blessed Thomas More made of his life becomes larger and larger in men’s eyes with every passing decade. I can believe that a hundred years hence he will appear as one of the ten chief men of that great time.
And the picture of Thomas More's cell at the online article does not appear in the print edition.
Belloc's contention on Thomas More's increasing importance is perhaps borne out by the fact of so many books published in this country about him in this century, (another coming out in late fall-God willing.)
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Saturday we worked very hard at getting the chicken coop in shape. We have more work to do, but got a good start. Day-olds should be arriving sometime next week. We cleaned out the old hen house and started putting security measures in place. One thing that would seem to work is putting down old chain link fence flat on the ground around the coop. Dogs (and hopefully other predators) don't like to walk on it, and can't dig where it is at. as long as the borders are anchored, they can't squeeze under it either. We happened to have some lying around, so will make use of it. This time we will also have a double fenced chicken yard, keeping the chickens on the inside fence at night and when we are away from Bethany.
Still have a door to fix, chick houses to rejuvenate, dirt to move, and the second fence to build. But we made good progress Saturday. I think we'll be ready.
We are planning our fall planting also. Our soil is so sandy, (like a beach if you can believe it), that we really need to build it up with alot more manure and peat moss. Our first year here we did this and had a pretty good summer crop. I think we have to do this ever season. This could get expensive, but with our own chickens (granted the manure has to set a year) , and I have a line on some free horse manure, we might start to do things right.
Saturday night we let boys stay up to watch Fort Apache (library video borrow) with John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple, and the indispensable Ward Bond. We were almost at the end-when the cavalry was entering the canyon in pursuit of the Apache-when the tape automatically rewinds. I try it again-and it rewinds. The tape must have broken at some time and the end cut off. I think I remember the ending, but the boys have never scene it. Will have to secure another copy somewhere.
After Mass on Sunday, Mrs. Curley and I had a good chance to do some talking over things and plans while the children ran around outside getting soaked with water guns-a well-deserved relaxation. After everyone dried off, we watched the concluding half of The Sound of Music (we had started it a couple weeks ago) while we ate dinner on the living room floor. Now I guess I should get back to work.
Oremus pro invicem!
3 comments:
I'm shocked it took 300+ years for Thomas More to be canonized. That's a long time.
Make that 400 years exactly.
It does seem odd that two (Fisher and More) such widely known and clear cut martyrdoms of men of known piety took so long for canonization. Yet maybe not. Usually the process must commence in the diocese where the saint lived-yet these dioceses were under persecution and Catholicism was not allowed until the 19th century, so... maybe this is why.
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