Saint of the week: John Fisher

Aimee Boudreaux MacIver
Jun 19
2 min read

“Christian people, I am come hither to die for the faith of Christ's Holy Catholic Church; and, I thank God, hitherto my stomach hath served me very well thereunto, so that yet I have not feared death; wherefore I desire you all to help and assist with your prayers, that, at the very point and instant of death's stroke, I may in that very moment stand steadfast without fainting in any one point of the Catholic faith, free from any fear. And I beseech Almighty God of his infinite goodness to save the king and this realm, and that it may please him to hold his holy hand over it, and send the king a good council.”

These are the last words of Cardinal John Fisher just before he was beheaded by order of Henry VIII on June 22,1535. Even 500 years ago, Fisher sounds like a classic English stoic. He's terrified yet retains cool dignity. The cardinal, as did husband and father St Thomas More, had served the king faithfully and with rich wisdom, but would not endorse Henry's chaotic divorce, salacious affairs, and reckless separation from the Church. Rather than save their earthly lives, both men chose Heaven.

I find several things profoundly moving in Fisher's last words:

He calls for help via the people’s prayers; prayer is more than totally impotent thoughts and vibes, but a true and effective action available to all.
Even at the last moments before execution, he prays for the king’s good; what a powerful lesson that non-endorsement of another’s choices is not “hate.”
He is willing to die rather than compromise “any point” of the Catholic faith; this is a stunning integrity that very, very few have today, even in the smallest matters like choosing entertainment or using profanity or praying grace before meals. Do we live and choose like God and His law are real and paramount, even in the most absurdly mild ways, or do we compromise, over and over for our own comfort?

St John Fisher is one of those saints whose stories truly sober me. It’s a stark and blunt story of increasing suffering that ends in violent death. It’s a story in which the bad guy seems to win and has no earthly consequence for his destructive selfishness. It’s a story of the cross.

But sobering is good. Beautiful. We dare not forget what St John Fisher held before his vision constantly: life is fleeting, and eternity is in the balance. We must live like God and His law are real and good and the only, only path to life.

St John Fisher's feast day is June 22.

P.S. Watch this powerful, gorgeously painful scene of St John Fisher's final testimony. The way he talks about his day of martyrdom being his "wedding day"...I weep.