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To work for the proper implementation of canon law is to play an extraordinarily constructive role in continuing the redemptive mission of Christ. Pope John Paul II |
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Resolution 1152 x 864 |
Updated 10 jan 2013 |
Review of James Monti, The King's Good Servant, but God's First (Ignatius, 1997) 497 pp. |
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Edward Peters, Review of J. Monti, King's Good Servant, but God's First (1997), in National Catholic Reg. (21-27 Jun 1998) 8.
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If
you don't count the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is, after all, in a league of her
own, there are more books, articles, and reviews written about St. Thomas More
(1478-1535) than there are about all other lay saints combined Biographies of
the famous English chancellor who refused to budge on King Henry VIII's
"great matter," began to appear soon after his judicial murder early
one summer morning in the Tower of London. Since his inexplicably tardy
canonization in 1935, a rich harvest of Moreana, as it is known, has
graced secular and ecclesiastical centers with obvious fruit to all who consult
it.
In
recent years some of the more ambitious attempts to analyze Thomas More's life
and writings have been flawed by the use of dubious psychological theories,
apparently under the assumption that any man who could give up so much power and
prestige over a technical matter of which he himself was not entirely sure, must
have been just a little crazy. But on this count, the verdict of history has
already pronounced More "not guilty" and he who quipped more than once
about making "merry in Heaven" with his executioners, would doubtless
rejoice at meeting some of his sheep-faced modem critics at St. Peter's gate as
well.
Ironically,
however, it is this very embarrassment of riches in Thomas More studies that may
serve to keep the glittering example of the man's life and works from being
better known at the popular level. More's most famous book, Utopia, is
not typical of the man as he actually lived and believed, and his apologetic
writing, comprising by far the largest portion of his works, seems, in the eyes
of many, dated. Indeed, Robert Bolt's play, A Man for Seasons, presented
on stage and screen, has done more to keep the Thomas More story alive in the
popular mind than have, it seems, all of the published materials by or about
this great saint. The King's Good Servant but God's First: the Life and
Writings of St. Thomas More, may help change all that.
In
producing his first major monograph, James Monti has accomplished what, strictly
speaking, rather few have tried, and even fewer have succeeded at: he has
produced a book which examines the writings of St. Thomas More from the
perspective neither of their times nor purpose, but rather as an extension of
the life of the man. Not simply another biography of More (however nicely done)
and not simply another critique of More's works (however useful), Monti sets out
to "present a new portrait of Thomas More in the light of his writings -
most especially his writings in the Church and the spiritual life. In this context
we will discover a fundamental theme of More's apologetical writing: a
passionate dedication to the unity of the Church, a unity of faith he saw as
necessitating assent to all her teachings and obedience to her ordained
ministers."
It
is Monti's focus on More's lengthy apologetic writings, works usually dismissed
as amateurish and acrid, that I found most valuable. Many of the themes which
More developed in his published debates are as relevant to the ecumenical issues
of today as they were to the doctrinal discords of his times. In discussing
these overlooked texts, as well as the later devotional works More penned (or
charcoaled, as the case often was) from prison, Monti never fails to relate the
saint's written words to his life of charity and faith. "Key to our
understanding" writes Monti, "will be the recognition of three
fundamental traits of the saint's inner life: his consciousness of the mystery
of 'man's mortality, his pervasive devotion to the Passion of Christ, and his
deep love for Holy Eucharist. These elements permeate his spiritual writings,
having largely shaped his thoughts, words, and actions. But it is also possible
to discern other characteristics of More's spirituality: his intense prayer
life, his acts of penance and works of mercy, his devotion to the Heart of
Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as his love of Scriptures and the
sacred liturgy."
Monti's
book could scarcely be better timed. Yale University has brought out 16 volumes
of its definitive Complete Works of St. Thomas More series which, however
expensive they are, represent the vital first step in presenting authenticated
Latin and English texts to a much wider audience than was possible even
just a few years ago. Monti wisely keys his own study to these volumes and
thereby makes his own book an excellent companion to the direct study of the
saint's writings.
My
criticisms of Monti's book are few. He could do with fewer oxymorons such as
"appears certain" and "gently berates." Anyone who needs to
be reminded that 1492 was the year Columbus discovered America, surely needs to have explained that a "butler" in an "Inn," as was
Thomas More's father, was not a servant in a hotel, but rather on the road to a solid legal career: The bibliography of secondary sources is also uneven.
For example, Monti lists Hilaire Belloc's Cranmer but omits his Wolsey.
Alistair Fox's flawed but important biography does not appear anywhere, but then
neither do any of Gerald Wegemer's valuable recent monographs. But these are
small points in comparison to Monti's otherwise fine service.
Gilbert
Keith Chesterton, an Englishman who, if he were ever to be canonized,
could give Thomas More a run for his money in terms of total materials being
published about him, once wrote that "Thomas More is more important at this
moment [1929] than at any moment since his death, but he is not quite so
important now as he will be in about a hundred years." That only leaves us
about 30 years. Let me suggest making Monti's study one of the first things on
our St. Thomas More things-to-do list.
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