Saint Thomas More (1478–1535) was a devoted husband, father, scholar, and statesman whose unwavering faith made him a powerful witness to conscience. As Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry VIII, More was admired for his intelligence, wit, and integrity. However, when pressured to endorse the King’s break from the Catholic Church, he courageously refused, placing fidelity to God above loyalty to the crown.
More was imprisoned and eventually executed for his refusal to compromise his beliefs. At his martyrdom, he famously declared, “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.” Canonized in 1935, Saint Thomas More is the patron of lawyers, politicians, and public servants, and a model for anyone striving to live with moral clarity in public life. His feast day is celebrated on June 22.
Today, we pray for all those entrusted with public office, may they be guided by integrity, wisdom, and courage—placing truth and the common good above personal gain or political pressure. Through the intercession of Saint Thomas More, may they govern with a well-formed conscience and a heart anchored in justice.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Holy martyr for the Church, you used your talents to bring God’s love and mercy to earth. Yet you realized that human fame and glory were momentary and fleeting.
In your practice of law, you understood and were loyal first to God’s eternal law spoken through the successors of the Apostles. While a servant of the king, you were a servant to the Church first.
Help me to see that loyalty to God’s laws must be the first part of my ties and responsibilities with others. Strengthen me to seek out what the Church teaches. Give me the wisdom to make the right choice, and the fortitude to carry it out. This I ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Saint Thomas More, pray for us!
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tomorrow’s saint of the day is Saint Etheldreda.
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