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Scalia: Have courage in face of contempt • Top Stories (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital)

Scalia: Have courage in face of contempt • Top Stories (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital): "The justice urged the hundreds in attendance to have the 'courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.'

'We are fools for Christ's sake,' he said."

Thomas More Answers Slate's Question: Post-Mortem Prayer - Can praying for a dead person help get him into heaven?

In Dialouge Concerning Heresies, Thomas More answered the question posed at Slate:

Do Christians think praying can help a dead person get into heaven?

The answer, written by More in 1528:

You may for the most part both pray for them and pray to them, as you may for and to those who are still alive.  But someone who is canonized, you may pray to him to pray for you, but you may not pray for him...St. Augustine says anyone who prays for a martyr is insulting the martyr.  With regard to everyone, you can hope rightly and be seldom sure, but of the canonized you can consider yourself sure.

Dialogue Concerning Heresies

Thomas More's Dialogue Concerning Heresies, which is available at The Catholic Company in new editions for about $20, is one of the most insightful readings for a Christian. 

One highlight:   
Reason and nature say not that a miracle is impossible, only that it is impossible for nature...miracles are possible for God; and those who report them do report them as things done by God.  Therefore, they are telling you no impossible tale."

At times, I wonder how More authorized the burnings of heretics, since that seems to go against the humanity he shows in this (and his other) writings.  He also finds ways to avoid discussing abuses of the clergy.  It is brilliant Christian theology, though, and strengthens my faith whenever I read it. 


As Aubrey De Vere wrote:
Fisher and More!
Twins of one justice
On equal thrones

Why I think it is called Wolf Hall

I read an interesting blog post about why Wolf Hall is called Wolf Hall.  That is the home of the Seymores.  Maybe it has to do with Cromwell's crush (?) on Jane Seymore, as has been suggested.  Although, I am not altogether convinced of that, as several times in the book he doesn't want to give the time to listen to a woman.  Maybe that time will come at Wolf Hall?  He doesn't seem too concerned with romance or passion in the book, so I am not sure that would be a cause for a title, unless there is a major character shift.

I think it could be called Wolf Hall because that is where Thomas Cromwell plans to take a break. Slate's podcast noted that Cromwell is not lusting for power, but he is fixated on it.   There is one scene that I just noticed in listening to the audio book that I missed while reading it.  Cromwell is growing increasingly stressed and looking for a place in his calendar to take a break.  He notes that he will have a few days as a break when they are at Wolf Hall. 
Maybe during the break his fixation for power will transform into something stronger, as Henry's own fixations transform.   Maybe it is called Wolf Hall because that is the point where he will stop striving and stop being "he" (the pronoun use bothered me) and start being "I".

What will the sequel be called? The Tower? The Block? The Axe ?  It would fit the pattern of titling it by future destination.

A Daughter's Love by John Guy

This is the story of Margaret More Roper and her quest to preserve her father's place in history.
 

"Without her ... his collected works would be a completely different book and perhaps not exist at all.  He would have been diffident about it, preferring to be known as an honest Londoner with the ability to make people laugh."

It seems unjust to the rest of the More children that Margaret Roper is always referred to as More's favorite child, because he loved all of them.  A Daughter's Love does a good job of highlighting the special connection between Thomas More and his daughter.

Nice Bits:

• Guy suggests that Margaret Roper and Thomas More decieved Thomas Cromwell about their visits.  He thought she was trying to convince More to sign the oath; quite the opposite was taking place.  "Because she was a woman, Cromwell didn't have the stomach to prosecute her." (267)
  
• People were worked up about a proper English translation of the Bible, and the person who could have produced a version even More would have approved of was Margaret, but no one considered that because of her gender.

Sadly, it is not available as a Kindle book...yet.