The Tower Works: Devotional Writings by St Thomas More, 309 pages
This book collects a number of devotional works written by St Thomas while imprisoned in the Tower of London awaiting his trial and execution. Not surprisingly given the author's circumstances, two of the three main treatises focus on the suffering Christ. The first, the unfinished Treatise Upon the Passion, ends with the Last Supper, while another, The Sadness of Christ, meditates on Gethsemane. Linking the two thematically as well as physically is the middle work, A Treatise to Receive the Blessed Body of Our Lord, on the Blessed Sacrament.
St Thomas lives up to his reputation as a scholar, a lawyer, and a Christian, combining a breadth of learning with keen argumentation, all in the service of an ever-deepening love of God. Although he does not refer to his personal situation, awareness of it makes the texts more poignant, particularly his warnings against the treachery of flatterers, the fragility of worldly esteem, and the Lord's human fear on the eve of His Passion.
No comments:
Post a Comment